Send a "Thank You" to Carl Crawford from the Tampa Bay Community

Very soon, Carl Crawford will have signed a contract with another team. After nine seasons with the (Devil) Rays, he's finally moving on. We here at DRaysBay want to send him a special note to show him how much he's appreciated - how much he's meant to our community. No other fanbase has ever created such a gesture for one of their players, so this would be a unique effort that would make me proud to be a Rays fan. Like to contribute? Here's how you can help:

We'll be creating an original "Thank You" note to appear in the Tampa Bay Times on the Friday after Carl Crawford signs. Our original plan was to target the St. Petersburg Times, but when looking to it further, the Tampa Bay Times (TbT) fits our project much better. The TbT is a free newspaper that is published Monday through Friday (with their Friday paper serving as a larger exposure "weekend edition") and is affiliated with the St. Petersburg Times. Its ad rates are cheaper, allowing us to afford a full-page "Thank You" note, but it still has a large circulation and is available widely throughout the area.

The "Thank You" will feature a note written by our writers at DRaysBay, and be presented as a graphic designed by the Tampa Bay Times media team. You can find the graphic here, and the text is reprinted below:

The Tampa Bay Rays franchise has undergone a lot of change in the past nine years: new name, new uniforms, new managers, and new ownership. The one constant in all of that change has been Carl Crawford.

Our franchise leader in hits, batting average, stolen bases, doubles, triples, runs scored, breath-taking defensive plays, and more, Crawford has become one of Tampa Bay's most beloved sports figures. It's rare for any player to spend nine years of their career in one city, let alone the best leftfielder in all of baseball.

The Rays are still strong and will stay competitive, but we should consider ourselves lucky to have seen Crawford play. Good luck in the rest of your career, Carl - you've earned it.

Thanks for everything,

The Tampa Bay Community

Brought to you by the fans at DRaysBay.com.

In order for the "Thank You" note to run, we need to purchase ad space in the TbT. We need to raise a minimum of $2,875 for a black-and-white ad or $3,225 for a color ad. We will be collecting donations to help fund this project through the website Ulule, an independent website that specializes in facilitating group-funded projects of this nature. All transactions will be tracked and organized by Ulule, and will be conducted securely through PayPal. If you're unfamiliar with PayPal, donating is as quick, simple, and safe as buying a book off Amazon.

Running the donations through Ulule provides us with a special feature: your account will not be charged if we do not make our minimum donation requirement of $2,875. If you make a donation now, your account will not be charged until Sunday, December 12th. If we do not reach our minimum fundraising goal of $2,875 by that date, all donations will become void and your account will not be charged. It'll be like the whole thing never happened.

If we do reach our minimum goal, all donations will be processed on Sunday, December 12th - no sooner or later, regardless of when we reach our goal. All donations pledged beyond $3,225 will be nullified before being charged, and if we reach the black-and-white threshold but not the threshold for a color ad, all donations pledged beyond $2,875 will be canceled and not charged.

In other words:

1. Transactions are safe and simple.
2. No account will be charged until December 12th.
3. Donations will only be processed if we reach our minimum fundraising goal of $2,875.
4. And we will not be accepting any more money than is minimally required to pay for the ad. If more money is pledged than is required, we will nullify the transaction before it is charged to your account.

If you would like to contribute to this project, visit our fundraising page at Ulule.com here:

If you donate $13 or higher, you'll be given the option of having your name (real or online) printed here on DRaysBay the day the "Thank You" runs in the Tampa Bay Times. We hope to collect notes and personal memories from people on that day, and to send them to Crawford after the fact.

Thanks in advance for all your support! And please, spread the word!