Fundraising

One of the challenges in fundraising is to keep the momentum going. It's easy to set up a fund, everyone gets excited and donates some money, then that is pretty much it until the next wave of excitement is generated.
I would suggest that another model might work better.
Our church is saving for a new sanctuary.
Yes, there is an occasional loose offering dedicated to the building fund, but the real money for it comes in those plain envelopes that some people put in the offering plate week after week after week.
Every month at our church board meetings, you can pretty well guess before the treasurer's report is even given, what has been donated to the building fund.
There is a dedicated core of people contributing on a weekly basis. Some people might donate $100/week, but some contribute much less. But they contribute faithfully every week, no matter what.
If people really, really want to see 483 run, this might be a way to get a nice nest egg started.
As has been stated above, if there is a large enough pool of money dedicated to 483 to begin with, it will tip the balance in favor of that locomotive when other funding sources emerge.
Just a thought.