Retooled parties become fundraisers

Fundraising is never far away from politics, but within hours of Sunday's announcement that the Republican National Convention would be scaled back, raising money for hurricane victims became a major focus of the gathering.

Many groups were heeding Republican presidential candidate John McCain's plea to begin the fundraising for Hurricane Gustav relief before the storm made landfall.

At a Landmark Center reception for Arizona and Minnesota delegates Sunday afternoon, pink fliers on the tables at St. Paul's Landmark Center urged partygoers to donate to the Red Cross. By the end of the event, a bowl near the entrance held a mix of ones, fives and twenties.

When members of the Ohio delegation got on paddleboats for a Mississippi River cruise, they received pledge cards. Pledges are to be matched by corporate sponsors.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Distilled Spirits Council of America are changing an event on the fly.

The "Spirits of Minneapolis" event that the groups are co-hosting tonight at the trendy Solera restaurant in downtown Minneapolis is now "Spirits of the Gulf Coast."

"We're going to ask the people coming to the event -- we expect at least 1,000 people -- to make a voluntary donation to American Red Cross disaster relief," said Frank Coleman, the group's director of public affairs. Those donations, Coleman said, will have a significant corporate match.

There were discussions about canceling the event, said Medtronic spokesman Chuck Grothaus, but the decision was made to go ahead with the changes. "It makes sense to do something good at this point," he said.

Late Sunday, Grothaus said the Medtronic Foundation would match the first $125,000 donated to the Red Cross.

Charlie Weaver, head of the Minnesota Business Partnership, was involved in post-Katrina fundraising and said the Minnesota business community would respond again.

"We raised more than $30 million last time, and I'm sure the business community is ready to do the same this time," he said.

While raising money for disaster relief will go on, Weaver said political fundraising -- normally a big sideline to a convention -- may be reduced. Much of that will depend on the severity of hurricane damage, he said.