Cow pie bingo and the poop pool

When I was growing up, a local group used to raise money during my town's annual summer fair with an event called the "Daisy Drop."

It's known by different names in different parts of the country... some people call it "cow pie bingo" and others call it "cow chip fundraisers" or even a "poop pool."

The rules were pretty simple... donors could buy a square of land in a big field... then a poor cow (named Daisy) would be released and everyone would wait to see where she dropped her first pile of crap... and if it landed in your sqaure - you won a 50/50 raffle of cash.

It's gross and it's somewhat cruel to the animal involved to have hundreds of locals yelling at it with begging pleas to dump on their square... but I credit this as one of the turning points in my life that made me want to learn more about fundraising.

For some reason, when I read this morning that "five out of the seven winners of the Dar es Salaam Goat races held in Dar es Salaam on Saturday, donated their cash prizes to a charity fund pool," it brough back childhood memories of Daisy.