Metzy Mom--as always you come through [img]redface.gif[/img] ! Our community is so diverse--we're a lower middle-class "bedroom of NYC," we're getting a number of Central/South Americans coming in, have a fairly smallish number or older people, a lot of families just getting by and some singles. Unfortunately fundraising is difficult, because so many people feel resentful about giving money, that the BOE should be supplying things for the school, though everyone freaks when our already high taxes go up every year. Tailoring to the area is so hard, other than knowing the majority of the populace in my town would NOT respond well to say, a gala event at the opera, or a wine-tasting event (a friend of a friend did one two towns over, charged ~50$/head, had all the wines donated by local businesses, had hot appetizers donated, got a free rental from I think the KOC, and cleared something like $25,000).
You've given me some food for thought though!
I'm thinking that the proper marketing, say with well-timed and well-written flyers would help too. Any thoughts on this?
To run a successful fundraiser you should know your area and what it will support. For example, in a rural farming area, chances are pretty good that you are only going to sell so much Banquet Chicken (they raise and kill and eat their own chicken so...). In Hershey Pennsylvania, chances are pretty good that a Ghirardelli fundraiser would do poorly... These are just examples (not Gospel!) of why a fundraiser needs to be tailored to an area. I think that most areas will support a brochure sale of some sort, but you need to make sure the merchandise is stuff that your area can afford. Living in Kingman, AZ, the average income is social security (lots of older folks here...lol...), so it is unlikely that a higher priced (or even a medium priced...lol) candle sale would be appropriate. But a brochure with low to medium priced crafty knick knacks, chocolate and wrapping paper go over very well.
We also do cookie dough here. I get a good price from the vendor. The 'premium' dough costs a bit more from the vendor, but I run the sale with all the doughs at the same price. Sure I make a little less on the premium ones, but I make up for it in quantity. So that is another 'key', sell your product at a price everyone can afford and make the big bucks in quantity. Another example of this might be a basket raffle sale. You could sell the tickets for $5 a piece, but you are only going to be able to sell those to a few families for that price. Instead, sell the tickets for something like .25 (5 for a dollar as an incentive). The families who would've paid $5 a piece will still buy $5 or $10 worth, but now you've made it affordable enough so that even the families who only have a dollar or two can buy. And those 1 or 2 dollars buyers are what will make or break your event.
Lastly, don't be afraid. Fundraising is a tried and true kind of thing. Until you try, you just can't know how it will turn out. I worry (that's different from being afraid... but I'm not sure how...lol...) every time I run an event. I've ran so many successful ones that I just know I'm due for a bad one... that doesn't stop me though. I just keep plugging... and it all works out in the end.
The 'keys' to running successful fundraisers? In my book they would be:
1. Know your area
2. Have items that everyone can afford
3. Quality and sometimes more importantly, quantity, is important.
4. Don't be afraid to try new things as long as you have done your homework and know your target buyer.
You know...I don't have any keys to it but I can give you some points maybe....I don't worry anymore like I use to. We have to have a budget of 18,000plus each year. We do a brochure sale and make about 25,000-30,000 off it. So in 1 easy fundraiser we cover the buget...the rest of the fundraisers are extra mulah. So I get some security in that. But ppl complain all the time, not because I do a bad job there is just tons of people so I don't take anything personal. The treasurer and I talk a lot about fundraising, as ideas and such. I actually do the leg work of the fundraising I love the fact I have someone who knows how the school run can help me think ideas through. You can only do what you can do. Next year I am going to try to get someone to be cochair with me. This way we can have more family fun nights.....those are a hit...not really fundraisers per say since you really either make no money or little off of them. Good luck and have no worries, you will make money and in case you don't raise as much money as the prior girl that god forbid help the next person raise money for the school who cares......do your best feel confident about that and if anyone compares ignore them.....thats just like comparing your chilldren together in a sense...something you just don't do. Some people just really don't understand how to respect others.
I've been reading everyone's postings about the various fundraisers and what they've raised, and while on one hand it makes me optimistic that our task to raise (Hopefully! [img]tongue.gif[/img] ) $75,000 will be easier than I think, I'm also terrified that the cheapies in my area will rule, and we're going to fall flat on our faces! :eek: I know not EVERY fundraiser will be a smash, but I also don't want to mess this up!
Our VP's sister managed to raise close to $85,000 in about 5 months (about 6 years ago when the economy was a LOT better), most of which was done through corporate sponsorhip. She was kind enough to let us have copies of her jealously guarded "master" letters that seemed to do the job for her, plus I've been doing my research in that arena. She told us her key was making a "sponsorship" brochure, broken down into several different price levels with photos of what they'd be donating. In the end they actually ended up expanding the original plans because response was so overwhelming!
Everyone seems to be so good at fundraising, and I'm dying to know how you market yourselves to get such tremendous response from your communities! I have this overwhelming fear we're going to start out and each time we try something it's going to be our little crew with the proverbial "crickets chirping" in response!
