High School Fundraisers - High School Fundraising Article

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FUNDRAISING EVENT IDEAS #3

In the previous articles in this series, I've talked about the ongoing search for fundraising event ideas that are:

1) easy to do
2) don't cost a lot
3) make a lot of money 

It's also been previously mentioned that there is no perfect event, i.e. one that fits all three categories.  This article follows with further recommendations for events that fall into each category.

An example of a fundraising event that's easy to do is staging your own amateur musical revue.  It's a must to get a support package from a supplier that includes just about everything you need.  A company called Christopher Allen Productions, aka CAP Follies, supplies all the music, fantastic costumes, scripts, and even a director!

Staging an amateur musical revue is a unique, exciting way to accomplish your fund raising goals.  A CAP Follies is great for commerce, community relations, and discovering the "hidden talents" of participants!  First-timers are often surprised not only by the amount of income a Follies can generate, but also by
the positive impact the project has on the entire community.

You need only provide contestants, a place for the performance, and an audience.  Among the theme choices are Box Office Review, Hooray For Follywood, Barnum's Animals, and Let's Get This Show
On The Road.

This is the type of High School Fundraising event that brings out the ham in everyone.  People look forward to repeating these each year. 

A High School Fundraising event that doesn't cost a lot of money is hosting "A Night At The Races."  You re-create the atmosphere of being at the racetrack with an all-inclusive event package. 

Rental includes horse races on video or 16mm films, official racetrack programs, wagering tickets, daily doubles, play money & a complete instructional guide. Your guests wager "funny money" on the races and receive a "drawing ticket" or additional "funny money" if they win a race.  At the end of your event, a
drawing or an auction is held for prizes.

Volunteers from your organization solicit prize donations from local merchants.  You offer food and refreshments and make a profit on the "donation fee" charged to attend your event. Additional revenue can be accomplished by printing your own Race Programs and selling advertising space.  Another interesting
idea is to "Sponsor-A-Horse" for prize drawings.
  
You have a choice of selecting Thoroughbred Racing, Harness Racing or Greyhound Racing in the desired racing format.  These "Racing Kits" contain enough supplies for an audience of 200 people to play the basic six (6) races within each Standard Basic Kit.

A good example of a fundraising event that makes a lot of money is hosting a Bed Race.  A Bed Race involves rolling beds down a local street and having local businesses, organizations, and clubs sponsor the beds. Teams consisting of 5 member’s race in two-bed heats until the winning bed is determined.

You're probably thinking that this fundraiser sounds like a bad fit for all three categories - it would be an awfully large amount of work, cost a ton of money, and probably wouldn't even recoup expenses.  Well, you're off base and I'll tell you why.

First, there's a company called Bed Race USA that has this event down to an art, if not a science.  They provide the entire package - everything you need to host a fundraising bed race. You get a detailed 100-page manual, the racing beds, event banners, fundraising event t-shirts, and even a videotape to
show to prospective sponsors.

Second, Bed Race USA even comes to your community to help you solicit major sponsors and bed race contestants.  Not only that, they come four different times - 120, 90, 30, and 7 days prior to the event. Your fundraising organization is still responsible for various logistical tasks, but everything that you need to do
is spelled out in the manual.   

Third, this type of event lends itself to massive amounts of free publicity, particularly if you enlist the help of a local radio station or newspaper as a participant/broadcaster. 

Your group can make a lot of money when all the ingredients to a successful fundraising event are not only present, but pre-mixed and ready to bake to perfection.

That's all there's room for in this article.  Look for further follow-on articles in the fundraising event ideas series in the near future.  And of course, you can always read all about it in my book, Fundraising Success!

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