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Fundraising- 6
Fundraising ideas
Money for reunions is both a universal and continuous dilemma. Many reunions offer clever and realistic ideas to raise money for expenses. Some sell custom-made souvenirs (t-shirts, caps, calendars, directories, cookbooks, quilts). The price of items determines how much profit goes into reunion coffers. Others hold auctions and raffles; usually with items donated by members. Fees, memberships, dues and donations are also common ways to raise funds.
Corporate sponsorship is something many reunions would like to tap into, and while some have been successful, it requires skill, finesse and someone willing to write an excellent letter/proposal.
Find firms who know the value of directing some of their limited marketing budget to your captive audience. Corporations underwrite projects they feel will generate goodwill or beneficial exposure. Start with companies you or your members do business with or are employed by and be prepared to demonstrate why your reunion is a good way for the corporation to reach these potential customers.
Distinguish your reunion from everybody else who is trying to raise money for their organization. Corporations are very careful with their discretionary spending, but if they see a direct relationship between their product and your members, they may go for it. So making a point of what the corporation will get from you is essential. State in your request that you will prominently display the sponsor. Appreciate your sponsors by acknowledging them loudly and with appropriate pomp and signage.
We learned in an article in New York’s Newsday that the Watts Family Reunion, Hempstead, New York, raised nearly $10,000 for their 2000 reunion. The committee projected that the reunion weekend would cost about $6,500 and they charged $20 per person. Fundraising events were held throughout the year including skating and bowling parties and dances. The excess was applied to future reunions.
The same article described costs for the Tory Family Reunion organized by Gloria Winslow, West Hempstead, New York. $50 for adults and $25 for children covered costs for a picnic, banquet (with performance by an African dance troupe) and hotel hospitality suite. Several day trips cost extra; a sightseeing excursion to Manhattan, shopping at a mall or a jaunt on a floating casino.
The Utley Family Reunion held regularly in Jackson, Tennessee, raises money to offset the cost of decorations, name tags and programs by selling Utley family calendars which are 12 months from reunion to reunion (August to July). Each month includes notes of family birthdays and anniversaries. Utley charges $10 per calendar, which covers the cost. The profit goes toward reunion expenses. The family also takes and sells photos (5"x7" $6; 8"x10" $7) and videos ($15) but they don’t mark them up to make money.
Jackie Utley takes the calendar, copy-ready, to a local quick printer who makes copies, put covers on and binds them. The binding is the largest expense. Utley uses the calendar feature in Family Tree Maker and says very little of her time is involved (other than entering the info).
More fun(d) raising ideas … appropriate for any kind of reunion
Auction anything left over. Have centerpieces worth auctioning. Ask creative or artistic members to make centerpieces that become collectible. Use "then and now pictures" and mementos cleverly arranged. If the reunion has special colors, concentrate on those. Auction left-over food, supplies, sodas and beer.
Audrey Delorme, Henvelton, New York, says at this year’s Delorme Family Reunion they will raffle a crocheted ripple blanket for 50¢ each chance. Gift baskets for men and women sell for 50¢ chances. The women’s basket has bath beads, bubble bath soap, a loofa and perfumed bath salts. The men’s basket will include a loofa and soap-on-a-rope, among other things. Children, newborn to age 12, receive a prize for signing in. The Delormes also have a bargain sale to help raise funds for the reunion next year.
King family is creative
Carolyn R. Clark, Kingsley, Iowa, King Family Reunion writes, “We put out disposable cameras to get an assortment of pictures to put on disk and CDs so family members can buy them. The past reunion I had a Family Tree Throw Blanket made with grandparents names and wedding dates on CD. All of the names were embroidered on the blanket. We sold tickets and held a drawing. It was a huge success.
I also had a family calendar sample made for orders. We are putting together a family medical booklet and a family cookbook. I'm already embroidering a family tree picture now for the next reunion.”
Michael Jordan helps Curtis/Butler Family Reunion!
Joan Waters, Charlotte Hall, Maryland, Curtis/Butler Family Reunion, was excited when she wrote, “Oh, we had a fantastic fundraiser selling tickets to a local basketball game, one of Michael Jordan's last games. We made over $950! A family member was able to buy tickets really cheap, months in advance of the game. We tacked on a few bucks and were still able to resell them at $20 below face value. Our planning committee divided the tickets and hit the streets. The pitch was that it was one of Michael’s last games with the Washington Wizards. The money goes entirely to the reunion. It paid all costs for family matriarchs and a disabled member, for banquet hall rental, DJ, nametags, goody bags, door prizes, youth essay awards.”
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