Pitching a Music Festival Fundraiser: The Diversity of Community and Communication

Frank Murdoch has Master’s degrees in Social Work, Vocational Rehabilitation Counseling, and Vision Rehabilitation Therapy. He serves as vice president of a small local non-profit organization devoted to providing services to the physically disabled in the region of Lafayette, Louisiana. Their goal is to provide access to media that might not otherwise be available to those unable to read print materials. Murdoch, an avid comic book fan who lost his vision at the age of twenty-four, has a personal interest in this goal and can readily communicate the importance of the project.

The long-term fundraising goal is $10,000 over the next two years. In the short term, they hope to raise $3,000 to get started.

The group has held successful fundraisers in the past, but they have also experienced some fundraising disappointments, so it’s important that they get this one right. Murdoch plans to offer the board his own pitch for a music and cultural festival, dubbed “The Diversity of Community and Communication.” He likes the theme of diversity because the program addresses “the diverse ways in which to provide information to all of us equally.” The theme would allow him to “incorporate multiple things from the community to our advantage and still press our agenda: more inclusive inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community.”

Murdoch envisions an event showcasing a diversity of cultures, especially in regards to food and music. If his idea is approved by the organization, he will then pitch his idea to various sponsors.

“The first thing I’ll do,” he explains, “is pitch my idea about diversity and equality… then talk about the richness of diversity in the community appealing to their cultural backgrounds and appreciation for food.” He would also discuss how the proposed program could create “more access [for recipients] for everything from cultural awareness events to important governmental practices and then into their pockets: sales and advertising.”

To create a diversity of music, Murdoch would like to approach a diversity of artists. With help from others in the organization, he has complied a list of acts he hopes will agree to perform, including Acadian musician Nellie Harrington, indie group The Wooden Wings, classic rockers Strazza & Company, blues musician Dege Legg, rockabilly group The Howdies, Cajun rock and rap artist Michael Juan Nunez, zydeco groups Nathan Williams and the Zydeco Cha-Chas, Curley Taylor, and Rosie Ledet, and Southern Creole Blues group Henry Gray and the Cats. In addition, he hopes to showcase “an interactive act in between set-ups and breakdowns,” including belly dancers from long-time supporters, Desert Shadows, Oasis Bellydance Studio, and Trybe Habibi Bizarre.

In order to arrange for a prize draw, Murdoch wants to approach local restaurants, to showcase the diversity of food in the community including Cajun, Creole, Asian, Italian, Mexican, and Middle-eastern cuisine. He knows that many businesses “are happy to provide a thirty-dollar gift certificate to promote their restaurant at the gig,” and adds that he could further help his sponsors by providing them with additional publicity. If his pitch goes forward, “several weeks before [the event] people see four thousand fliers around the city and residential areas to inform people that there is going to be an event and who is sponsoring it.”

Murdoch advises those hoping to pitch a similar music festival to think about reaching the broadest possible audience. Of course, you want to create something new and different. Figure out who your crowd is, and then “appeal to that crowd’s mental and emotional aspects that will get them to help you out.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Small Scale Online Educational Fundraising

Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus offers a year-round alternative high school that “services urban at-risk youth, ages sixteen to twenty-one, who have left their traditional neighborhood school for various reasons such as safety, teen parenthood, going into the workforce, [or] relocation.” For the last nine years, Nancy Salas-Herrera has taught literature and art at one of Peace and Education’s two Chicago campuses, where approximately eighty-five at-risk students work toward their Chicago Public Schools diploma on an accelerated track, in a program that acknowledges their unique needs with features such as on-site daycare and classes held later in the day than at traditional high schools.

Salas-Herrera’s love of teaching originated, she believes, in eight grade, when Ms. Rosemary Shedor at the Sacred Heart of Jesus asked her to teach a history lesson. She remembers, “I jumped at the opportunity!” and she “even threw in a pop quiz.” Then, she realized, “I knew I had to—not wanted, had to—get into teaching.” She wanted to “share, interpret, discuss, deconstruct…to inspire others.”

She describes her art classes as “organic and free,” including “touches of the traditional with a flavor of the unpredictable. I like to incorporate functional crafts, like paper lanterns and loom knitting, and multicultural art from around the world.” To imbue her students with a sense of ownership, she requires them to evaluate and critique their own work, with the help of a guiding rubric, and to defend the grade they feel they deserve.

As a literature teacher, she employs a decidedly interdisciplinary technique, bringing “art, food, film” into the lesson and using whatever methods she can think of to illuminate the subject. While teaching The Kite Runner, for instance, she invited an Afghani restaurateur to cater the class and speak about his homeland. The students also made and flew their own kites, researched the history of Afghanistan and, after they finished the book, watched the film. Other innovative lesson plans have included making papier-mâché helmets for Beowulf, hosting a costumed medieval feast for Canterbury Tales, and evaluating their own homemade Rorschach tests when they read “Flowers for Algernon.”

The Chicago Teacher’s Union provides all CPS teachers with a one hundred dollar stipend, Salas-Herrera’s yearly supply budget.

Typically, her principal provides a ballpark figure regarding available funds for art and selects and purchases student text books. Salas-Herrera researches economical novel sets. “Many times,” she explains, “I get free supplemental materials from the web or swap with other teachers in order to save money.” To supplement her funding, she finds free materials on Craigslist; asks friends, family, and students to donate materials; or chooses projects that require “recyclables or natural objects” such as “branches and sand.” But, to do the project she had in mind for this quarter, she needed markers.

Last year’s markers were done for: old, dried up, and unacceptable. Salas-Herrera required $186 for new markers, to complete a large poster project, as well as teach future lessons in which she wants to “introduce Seurat and pointillism, and pigment dispersion.”

The principal of Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus encouraged teachers to try a website called DonorsChoose to raise additional funds, and Salas-Herrera was further encouraged in this by the endorsement of other teachers, in addition to such personalities as Ophrah Winfrey and her “darling” Stephen Colbert (to whom she adds: “Mr. Colbert, I have another project brewing. Won’t you please, please help me?”). She found the site “easy to use” and its staff “quick to respond to questions.” She adds, “I like that they are honest [about] how and where the funds are being applied to satisfy the request.” To that end, she created her own DonorsChoose project, “Craving for Crayola Markers.”

Her students were encouraged to spread the word, and Salas-Herrera publicized the project on her own Facebook page. In short order, several patrons of the arts donated the money and she soon had her new materials. “It was a wonderful feeling,” she recalls. “People still believe in art education.” She will “definitely” be using DonorsChoose again.

The students at Peace and Education Coalition, Second Chance Campus face challenges that many high schoolers will never know. They may be culturally limited because they are “are afraid or reluctant to venture out of their neighborhoods,” and they often cope with “financial difficulties, run-ins with the law, drug/alcohol abuse, lots of peer pressure, and teen pregnancy.” Some of them are “struggling learners” who require assistance from special education teachers. Often, their emotional issues come to the fore of the classroom, resulting in “disruptions” and student who “shut down” until Salas-Herrera must talk to them individually to “get to the root of the matter, as much as they allow me to know. Sometimes, they just need to cool and calm themselves down before they can approach the daily lesson.”

It’s a challenging atmosphere, and while the work can be difficult, Salas-Herrera says it’s “awesome that I am teaching right by my old neighborhood, the Back of the Yards. I am grateful that I am giving back to the community where I was born and raised.” Alternative schools, she feels, often get a bad rap, but she wants the world to know that, “these kids are not bad. Most them just made some bad choices, but…aren’t we all flawed at some point in time? I commend them for trying to make it right and graduating with a high school diploma. I think it  is an excellent step onto the right path!”

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QR Code Posters for Educational Fundraising and School Events

What do you know about QR codes?

You’ve probably seen these distinctive, randomly-checkered, black and white squares on advertisements in magazines and other print publicity. Anyone with a smart phone can scan them in an instant, and be transported to a sponsor’s web page for more information.

How does that help your raise more money for your school?

What if that QR code sent students, parents, and other potential donors to a website where they could instantly purchase tickets to an upcoming dance, theatrical performance, fundraising event. What if that site allowed them to make an instant online donation? What if you could do it all at an affordable price?

By combining the power of QR codes with the convenience of our TicketRiver online box office, we’ve created a reliable tool for your school. TicketRiver helps you collect money, whether you’re selling tickets or just asking for charitable donations to support the arts, athletics, the building fund, or any other program that requires cash.

It’s Elementary

We know you’re busy, and that’s why we’ve made the process as streamlined as possible. You can start with a call to our friendly customer support staff at 888.771.0809 and tell them you’d like some QR Code Posters. While you’re setting up your page on TicketRiver (totally free, really easy), they’ll help get your Posters started. You can send our designers any image you’d like to use, have a custom design created just for you, or even choose a combination, like a custom design that incorporates your school logo.

We won’t print or ship your posters until you’re satisfied with the proof, so there’s no risk. When you receive them, the unique QR code will feature prominently in the image, letting everyone know that they can instantly buy tickets or send money with their smart phones.

Time to Shine

Just hang your Posters around the school or wherever you suspect your supporters may lurk. Wherever you go, whatever you do, those QR codes keep working for you, so you can sell tickets or collect donations literally any time, utilizing zero human resources. No one has to sell tickets, collect money, count change, or answer questions. Your TicketRiver page does it all for you!

If you’re looking for a way to move your fundraising campaign into the twenty-first century, capitalize on your students’ love of technology, or raise more money while committing fewer resources to the cause, QR Code Posters are smart way to achieve your goals!

 

 

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The Right Choice for a Nonprofit: Sharing Ideas for Success

The tickets we purchased were reasonably priced and very professional looking, which was great for our small not-for-profit group. 

~ Britt C. Menchhofer, R.S., Northwest Ohio Environmental Health Association Planning Committee

The Ohio Environmental Health Association (OEHA) works as a state association, but has four district planning committees that provide education for environmental health professionals and advocates for the profession.  Each OEHA district plans its own events throughout the year.

The Northwest planning committee organizes an “education conference each fall that is offered to local sanitarians (specialists in sanitary science and public health) and other environmental health professionals and industry workers.” Attendees are able to network with other members in environmental health fields, and they are provided with opportunities to earn educational credits.

“In the past our district has had a raffle where prizes were available and tickets were purchased by attendees and placed into the buckets for the prizes. Prizes were usually items donated by individuals and businesses for the event. In the past few years, it has been harder to get businesses to donate prizes for the raffle,” Brad told me.

For that reason, the Northwest Planning Committee needed to rethink its fundraising strategy. It looked to the Northeast Planning Committee for advice.

A Reverse Raffle

“We decided this year to try a reverse raffle to raise more money and also be able to reach more people because the tickets could be sold prior to the event and to people other than attendees. Our Northeast district has a reverse raffle and gave us the details on their raffle.”

The Northwest district learned from the Northeast’s district’s success and adopted its fundraising strategy.

In the most common version of a reverse raffle, tickets are sold as they would be in a regular raffle, but the goal is to not have your ticket drawn. Instead, tickets are drawn in a reverse order. The losers are the ones that are drawn early, and the winners are the remaining tickets. For this raffle, the grand prize was $500, and $25 for every twenty-five tickets sold.

The money from this reverse raffle went to the George Eagle scholarship fund. “The scholarship fund aims to provide one graduate and one undergraduate scholarship each year for individuals studying a field of Environmental Health.”

Everyone is Responsible

In order for the reverse raffle to work, all the planning committee members needed to be on board. Each was asked to sell at least ten tickets each. “The tickets were marketed through email and mailings related to our conference. Asking people face to face is one of the best marketing strategies.” The organization employed both digital and physical mediums in order to reach its intended audience and did not downplay the importance of word of mouth sales.

Unfortunately, some of the tickets were not sold, and the fundraiser fell a little short of its goal, but, “[We] were still able to give a significant amount back to the scholarship fund,” Brad explained. And for that reason, “the event was a success.”

 

 

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Charity Dance Event to Prevent Suicide

The tickets were really professional looking. I would definitely use the service again!

~Patricia Pupek, Event Organizer

On September 17th, the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention held a Zumbathon to raise money for their annual “Out of the Darkness” Community Walk held in early October. Zumba is a combination of Latin dance, music, and exercise. It is meant to be fun and motivational and provide a great workout. A Zumbathon is a charity event hosted by a licensed instructor or instructors.

According to Patricia Pupek, the fundraiser was a great success with,  “about 100 people, which is great, considering we put this together pretty quickly. The best part of the event was the enthusiasm of the people who attended, and the fact that we were able to get the word out about our organization to so many people.”

Raising awareness is one of the main goals of the organization. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) is “the only national not-for-profit organization exclusively dedicated to understanding and preventing suicide through research and education, and reaching out to people with mood disorders and those affected by suicide,” The AFSP hoped to raise $50,000 at the Community Walk event to fund a number of local initiatives. The Zumbathon helped put them on their way.

For the Zumbathon event, the AFSP chose the General Admission Concert Ticket. The colorful ticket had plenty of room for event information plus space for two logos. The images chosen included a life preserver and the Zumba emblem. This provided attendees with visual imagery to accompany the event. The ticket featured a detachable stub as well as individual numbering.

How did Patricia and her team sell tickets to their event? “We sold tickets by word of mouth, posters in our workplace, we posted our event on Facebook, and we had four Zumba instructors who all work at various gyms and health clubs in Western Mass. They promoted the event at the health clubs, put up signs everywhere.

“Also, I gave out a stack of tickets to each AFSP volunteer in our chapter and asked them to sell as many as they could.  Some people bought a ticket even though they knew they could not attend the Zumbathon, but wanted to give a donation.”

The AFSP really covered its bases with this event using every available resource. From sharing the news one on one, creating printed resources such as posters to relying on “ambassadors” to spread the word on the organizations behalf and utilizing social media, as well as professionally printing custom tickets, the AFSP was able to reach individuals in many different ways. In turn, it was able to raise the profile of the organization and the cause.

 

What advice does Patricia have for those planning a similar event?

 

“Start planning and marketing the event a couple of months ahead.  Use Facebook- it works!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A Fundraiser for Spinal Muscular Atrophy

TicketPrinting.com gave us the ability to be professional, and offered us the tools we needed to make our event into a great one! Thank you for making our event a success!

~Charlotte Dunn, Co-Founder and President of Fighting For Damion

Just five months old, Damion Antonio Carbello has already touched countless lives. Born in May 2011, Damion was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), “a genetic disorder that is carried by 1 in 90 people and affects 1 in 2000. SMA is the number one genetic killer of toddlers and infants in the world.”

“Fighting For Damion is completely not for profit, and our sole goal is to help this little family with medical bills, and Damion’s needs, to make things just a little easier,” Charlotte Dunn, Co-founder and President of Fighting for Damion explained to me. She founded the organization with Vice President and Co-Founder Rachel Kessleski when they learned their dear friend’s son had been diagnosed with the disorder.

The organization’s most recent event was a benefit get together sponsored by Scale’s Grill and Deck Bar to raise money for Damion and also raise awareness of SMA. The group “held a Chinese auction, a 50/50 raffle, featured live entertainment and a dinner buffet. One hundred percent of the proceeds went to a secure account strictly for baby Damion.”

For the event, the organization chose the Blue and White General Admission Ticket, a simple but professional ticket with plenty of room for event information. The event ticket featured the details of the event on the front, as well as a logo and slogan on the back. The tickets were individually numbered and featured a detachable stub, which can be used to track attendees and keep account of the raffle.

“Because we are just starting out, we have set our goal very small and I am pleased to say we greatly exceeded it.” Charlotte told me.

To get the word out, Charlotte and her team relied heavily on Internet and radio advertising, “We advertised greatly on all social networks, and local radio stations. We also pre-sold the tickets that your company printed, which [were] a big hit! We also list every event and detail on our website, www.fightingfordamion.com.”

Some event planners choose to focus only on one method of advertising, which means they may reach only one audience. By using more than one channel of communication and reaching out to an online audience, as well as one that might hear about the event from a more traditional route, the team maximized its message and reached more potential attendees.

Another effective method that helped with ticket sales is offering a presale discount.  “We offered our tickets to anyone who would listen for $10 presale or $15 at the door. We advertised them the same way we advertised our event,” Charlotte said. “It worked very well in my opinion. If you can get the word out there on as many sources as you can, your event will sell itself.”

Though the weather didn’t cooperate, the event was still a success. “For me, the best part of the event was seeing everyone who came out having a good time for a great cause. Most of these people have no idea who this family is that they are helping, and yet they still come out to support and donate. It is truly amazing to see people put aside their busy life and help someone in need. ”

When you’re planning a fundraising event, a strong advertising and sales strategy will bring out many people who were unaware of your cause. You may find allies who come to believe just as passionately in your message as you do.

For those planning a similar event, Charlotte has this advice, “Plan ahead! Make sure all loose ends are tied a week prior to your event; it saves a lot of time and money. And remember to have lots of helping hands to help set up and break down!! That is truly the hardest part of any event.”

To donate to Fight For Damion visit FightingforDamion.com.

 

 

 

 

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From Tragedy to Triumph: A Literacy Event in Honor of Alex Johnson

“The tickets were beautiful and added class to the event.”

~Denise Johnson, Event Coordinator, Mother of Honoree

On September 17, The Alex Johnson Memorial Concert was held to benefit the Mississippi County Literary Council.  The fundraiser included an artists’ reception, silent art auction, and a concert. It was held in memory of Alex Johnson, a student and a tutor at Northeast Arkansas College, where he volunteered for the literacy council. In 2009, Alex died in a car crash while traveling home from his college choir practice. He was 22.

Along with honoring the memory of her son, “the event was an effort to raise money for adult literacy in our county,” Denise told me.

In order to advertise the event “we used Facebook, posters, newspaper articles and ads.” The Facebook page for the event was frequently updated with information about the event. The page was a hub of information. Announcements were made when new art was donated for the auction. Information about the performers, The Reba Russell Band, Jo Jo Jefferies, and Lincoln Lane, were included. There were also links to interviews and articles that had been written in advance of the event.

Denise participated in interviews and a number of articles were posted online advertising the event.

For Denise the value of word of mouth advertising could not be overestimated. You can sell more tickets “one on one” than by advertising for patrons to go elsewhere and buy them.

For the ticket, the organizers chose the “Natural Riffs” design. This ticket features a warm color palette. An acoustic guitar and stage lights provide the backdrop for the event’s information. With sequential numbering and detachable stubs, these tickets help organizers keep track of sales and attendees.

The fundraiser was a success, ” Everything went very well.  [The] highlight of the event was song sung by a former Miss. Co. resident and sister of the honoree.” Denise said.

 

 

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Selling Event Badge Lanyards for Educational Fundraising

I was a cheerleader all four years of high school, and now I coach high school cheerleading. My girls are real school boosters, always looking for ways to earn money for various programs—not just their own, but for other athletics, extracurriculars, and academics—and generate school spirit. So I can’t take credit for the lanyard idea. It was the girls’ from start to finish.

Why Lanyards?

Lanyards, I thought, were those ugly woven plastic keychains we had to make in overnight camp more years ago than I care to admit. Back then, we had one security guard in our school, and he knew all of us by name. But the school where I work now has over two thousand students, and each and every one of them is required to wear an ID tag on a lanyard (not plastic, but fabric) around their neck. The lanyards were pretty plain, and some kids liked to customize their with funky buttons. Some cliques had secret codes involving knots in the lanyard, and others tossed the lanyard entirely and brought their own colorful ribbons, shoelaces, or necklaces to hang the badges on.

My cheerleaders found out that the lanyards sold with event badges and printed name tags did not have to be boring, generic, or plain. They came in colors, and could be printed with custom messages. At first they thought about just buying their own cheerleading lanyards in school colors, but then they thought bigger.

The Competition

Why not challenge some of the biggest clubs in the school to a fundraising competition? Each group could design their own lanyard and try to sell as many as possible to raise money for the spring dance. Of course, the cheerleaders thought they would win the contest hands down, but they enlisted the football players, girls volleyball, the National Merit Scholars, AV club, and a few other groups. Each group was responsible for their own design and raising the initial funds to order the lanyards, and then worked all month to sell as many as possible.

The contest is still going on, so it’s hard to know who will ultimately win. What I have figured out is that the student body is buying lanyards, and they’re not taking sides. Some kids are collecting them and color-coordinating their outfits, or braiding them together, or decorating their backpacks with them.

Great Idea, Great Execution

Wearing ID tags at school is an unfortunate reality of the modern world, but my kids have made the best of it. They’ve got to wear their name badges, they might as well make them fashionable. And while they’re working on making the school more stylish, they might as well be earning some money to support the programs they love. It’s a win-win situation.

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Education Fund Raising and Making Money for Public Schools

Arizona has long lagged in educational funding: typically, the state ranks forty-eighth among American states, with property taxes paying an unusually small percentage of the total, and a greater emphasis on sales and income taxes. An aging and often conservative population does not prioritize school funding and often votes down ballot initiatives designed to bail out financially struggling systems. Parents who care about their children’s education soon learn that it’s up to them to make their local schools great.

Lupe Leon is one such parent. Three years ago, she joined the PTA at Lineweaver Elementary, home of the Lineweaver Lions, understanding the importance of being involved in her child’s school and committed to helping out and volunteering whenever possible. With “a passion for helping others,” Leon felt that PTA involvement “would be a great way to support not only the school my children attend but their teachers and administrators as well.”

Today, her support is a huge element in Lineweaver’s success. Not only was she elected PTA president by her fellow parents, she was hired to serve as the school’s Community Representative and also works as Cafeteria Monitor, as well as with the before and after school program, affectionately known as Cub Club.

Responsible for nearly all the fundraising activities that go on at Lineweaver, Leon has her work cut out for her, to the tune of $50,000. That’s the amount she’s committed to raising for the 2010-11 school year. How bad is the shortfall? For the last two years, the PTA has committed to purchasing the school’s paper, pencils, and toilet paper. The school relies on extensive fundraising efforts to fund full-day kindergarten and its spectacular arts program (OMA). The PTA even had to raise the funds for the Cub Club’s license.

Tax Credit Donations and direct donations provide important support. Traditionally, students and parents look forward to seven annual fundraising activities (multiple skate nights, cookie dough fundraiser, original artwork fundraiser, walk-a-thon, spell-a-thon, carnival, and Scholastic book fair) with a new activity, TGIF family dinner night, added this year. Leon divides them into two categories. For corporate activities, such as the skate nights at a local rink, she uses a different metric to measure success. “The thing with corporate fundraisers,” she explains, “is that we only get a certain percentage of the earnings.” Skate nights, for instance, “only raise money if we get more than 60 people.” Rather than worry about money, she sees them as “community building fundraisers. We don’t expect to make a whole lot of money, what we want is for families to come together outside of school and build friendships.”

Homegrown fundraisers, like the walk-a-thon and spell-a-thon, cost very little to stage, and allow the school to keep one hundred percent of the profits. Other activities, such as selling pizza and soda at evening events, usually break even, but don’t add additional revenue to the school’s coffers. Leon explains, “We do those just so families can come out and enjoy an evening with family and not have to worry about dinner.”

She defines success a little bit differently than some fundraisers. The dollar amount is unimportant: “Like I tell my kids, $20 is $20 more than we would have had.” In her role as Community Representative, she’s equally interested in ensuring that the kids have fun, that families come together, and that the products, such as the extremely popular cookie dough sold each year, are enjoyable. The book fair helps get kids excited about reading, and helps “raise money for our library, which is always in need of upgrading books, or just getting books that kids like, or replacing ones that have been worn out.”

An extensive virtual network “plays a big role” in keeping the lines of communication open. Gone are the days when notices for parents disappeared in the black hole of a messy backpack. Everything is available “via email and our Lineweaver Parent Facebook page,” and, since “Most of our PTA board is on Facebook…we update things constantly.” The PTA also maintains its own email address “where families and friends…email questions and get information.” They’re even “in the process of developing a PTA website.” Communication is key is keeping families and supporters aware of the school’s needs and upcoming activities.

Once you start working as an educational fundraiser, one thing you’ll never lack, it seems, is motivation. Much depends on the success of Leon’s work and she’s well aware of how much rides on raising enough cash to provide students with the basics. “If PTA falls short on fundraising, it affects the whole school,” she says. “It means we cannot help with major things like technology or supplies. Which are two major necessities at our school.”

 

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Trinity Services, Inc. “a nonprofit, non-sectarian organization, was founded in 1950 as the Trinity School in Joliet, Illinois.” Its purpose is to serve individuals with developmental disabilities in a variety of ways. From residential services to vocational programs and more, Trinity Services, Inc. employs over  1,000 individuals and provides services to more than 1,400 individuals.

On May, 19, 2011, Trinity Services, Inc. hosted its 18^th Annual Tom O’Reilly Memorial Golf Outing. The theme was “Feel the Funk,” and volunteers dressed up in funky outfits reminiscent of the flower power era. The organization designed and printed custom tickets from TicketPrinitng.com to promote their event.

I recently corresponded with Sherry Ladislas, Director of Development at Trinity Services, Inc.,  to learn more about her experience.

“The best part of the day was the camaraderie people felt as everyone came together for dinner after their game of golf,” Sherry told me. “Other highlights include the interaction golfers experienced on the course with our volunteers, and the live radio broadcast by a local radio station from our event. The DJ interviewed seven of our employees who were able to talk about the multitude of services we provide to people with developmental disabilities and mental illness.”

 

It sounds like the event was a success. Folks enjoyed themselves, established bonds and money was raised for the organization.  In order to host a successful and well-attended fundraiser, an organization should have a strategy that allows it to maximize its ticket sales. I asked Sherry what tactics her organization employed in order to sell the most tickets. Trinity Services, Inc. employed several methods

1.  We included them in the invitation, which was effective,

2.  We sent them out to our core constituents, also very effective,

3.  Event planning committee members also sold tickets. While this was effective for us, the outcome will be determined by the number of committee members who sell tickets, and the number of contacts they have within their own networks,

4.  Lastly, we sold tickets the day of the event.

Sherry and Trinity Services, Inc. chose to have design and print tickets with TicketPrinting .com . I asked Sherry how the products enhanced her event.

“Ticketprinting.com is an easy way to get raffle tickets quickly, which is important when there are so many other details that require your attention as you prepare for a special event. On a couple of occasions we underestimated the number of tickets we thought we’d sell and had to order more. They arrived very quickly so we didn’t miss important ‘sales time.’”

For those planning a similar event, Sherry left me with this advice, “There are so many organizations out there doing great work in a this difficult economy. Like Trinity Services, many of them have golf outings as a means to bring additional dollars to support the work they do. We just held our 18th annual golf classic. Based on our experience, I would suggest finding unique ways to engage golfers – something that makes your outing stand out from all the rest.”

 

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