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Fund Raiser Ideas
The following items should be
read very carefully and then compared with your company's handbook to be sure
that they are something that is permissible by your company.
These should simply be regarded as suggestions - and not to imply they are
approved fundraisers.
Idea #1:
I host a fundraiser every March. This year was my 5th year and it gets
better every year. This year the Show was over $3K so I was really
pleased.
The thing to keep in mind is that you can set your fundraiser up however YOU
want. What I mean is that you can donate a portion of your commission or
all of it. You can give them the Hostess benefits, split them, or keep
them for yourself.
Here's what I do. The group I raise $$ for is very dear to my heart so
I give them 100% of my commission plus I spend the Hostess $$ on something for
them so that they can auction it off later for more $$. I purchase
something for myself with the 1/2 price since the organization does not want to
spend any $$. I buy an extra package of Catalogs and brochures (this is a
write-off) and I send them out along with a note to each person who purchased
from me in support of this fundraiser the previous year. For those
who have supported me in the past but not the previous year, I send them a
postcard letting them know I am hosting the fundraiser again. I do not
send notes to my "customers" unless I specifically know they have an
interest in my cause. I also make up order forms on the computer and
include one of those with the packet too. The organization has a
newsletter publication in which I place a blurb about my fundraiser. Make
sure the write-up is FBC-compliant.
I give them the entire month of March to make their purchase but ALL orders AND
money must be in my hands by the last day of the month. I didn't used to
take credit cards with the fundraisers since I donate all of my commission but
found that people like to pay by CC. Plus, some wait till the very end and
cannot get their orders to me by the deadline. So, this year, I accepted
CC but tacked on the CC fee (they knew this up front).
I also give people the option of donating to my cause but not make a purchase by
writing a check directly to the organization (so that they get the write-off)
and send it to me. I collect the checks and send them in along with my
contribution.
Once I have submitted my Show order, I send out thank you notes to everyone and
let them know how much money WE made for the organization. I also send
thank you's to the people who send me checks and don't make a purchase.
As for what "I" get out of it. Well, I will tell you that I have
gotten several regular hostesses from my fundraisers but that was certainly not
what I was pursuing. I really started it so that I could make a
"decent" donation to a group that is important to me. But, I
will tell you, although I give up my commission, it truly helps with my sales
and helps me achieve an incentive level that I may not have reached otherwise.
I hope you will consider hosting a fundraiser for a group that is important to
you. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't go exactly as you planned the
first year. It takes time for people to hear about it and place an order
(and tell their friends!). This year I actually had people contact me in
Feb asking if I was hosting my March fundraiser. That was a *first* for me
but I was thrilled to tell them YES! :o)
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE
SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
BASKET
LOTTERY
Most
of the information collected was from Kathy Thomas.
Don’t know if she is a member of the Vine.
She answered questions I had a year or so back.
I have bought tickets but never organized a lottery fundraiser.
I do know that a license is required in PA (at least in my county) to run
one of these….and you need to be careful if you are physically selling tickets
in more than one county ..you may need more than one license or at least
understanding people.
The
first thing is to determine when the 3_digit number is drawn in your state. In
Maryland, we have two 3_digit drawings every day, seven days a week. The
customer I sold to lives in Virginia and there they do not have a drawing on
Sundays. Since she wanted her fundraiser to take place in June she needed 26
baskets. (30 days in June minus 4 Sundays). You need to have 1,000 tickets
printed, not 999. You need to allow
for the possibility of 000 being drawn.
Ask
an organization to sponsor the cost of the printing of the tickets and include
on the ticket "Tickets courtesy of ____________" for a little free
advertising and no cost to the group.
SELECTION
OF BASKETS is at the discretion of the group holding the fundraiser.
You have to have an interesting mix of good stuff.
Feature items are nice but should come with at least liner and protector
(unless there would still be time for the individual to order them.)
At least one Hostess only item is nice to include…some people never
have an opportunity to make the higher levels.
But this decision would be up to the organizers.
SELLING
TICKETS: Of course you want to be able
to sell most of your tickets, so this would be a fundraiser best for a large
group or at least very enthusiastic one with great salesmanship!!
Most people are willing to spend $5.00 on a chance to win a basket….and
with a lottery held for a whole month they get 30 chances to win!!
You might even want to sell 6 for $25.00.
Some
tickets have been presented to me inside a sealed envelope and it was impossible
to know the ticket number you were buying.
If you are not a lottery player and are not aware.....people like
to play their anniversary, birth dates, or just a favorite number.
While it would not always be possible to provide everyone with the number
they want....at least having it as an option (i.e numbering the outside of a
sealed envelope!!!!) .....probably would help sales.
WINNING
NUMBER:
If you do not sell all your tickets and the lottery number is drawn was
not sold what do you do with the basket? Your
options are: hold onto the basket
for a future fundraiser or hold a consolation drawing including all the
non-winners for the month.
NOTIFYING
WINNERS:
although all the tickets should indicate someone to contact (if the buyer
follows the lottery numbers and know they won), it would be nice to notify the
winner’s daily. So make certain
your ticket stubs hold all the info you would need to know:
name, address, phone number.
TICKET
APPEARANCE........
The
ticket was a two part
PART
1).....name/address/phone on the
tear off part the seller kept for the drawing (numbered of course)
****COULD ALSO PRINT BACK SIDE SEE BELOW
PART
2).....and the part I kept had following info on it......
(March)
Basket Lottery, Name of organization selling,
Proceeds Benefit ___________
Thank
you for your support.
(And
of course the number of my ticket)
REMEMBER
THE NUMBER MUST BE ON BOTH PARTS OF THE TICKET-THE ONE THE ORGANIZATION KEEPS
AND THE ONE THE BUYER KEEPS!!)
The
ticket was given to me in a sealed envelope which had the Following
information.......
Name
of Organization selling
March
Basket Lottery
Weekday,
Month, Date, Basket awarded on this date (this info listed for each day of the
month)
Donation
$5.00 per ticket
Rules:
1) All numbers are played straight as drawn by the three number PA Daily Lottery
2) All winners will be notified by phone
*****Also
I have bought tickets of this sort where the part the buyer keeps has all the
info (noted on envelope above) on the back side...so both sides of the ticket
kept by the buyer would have print on it.
Just an idea....don't know if printing costs are more or less this way.
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
BINGO
PROPOSAL
Basket
Bingo is the typical bingo played at fire halls, churches, wherever ... where
the prizes are {Your Company}Baskets. If
you have ever been to a fundraiser bingo game you already know most of the idea.
The
Basket Bingo’s I’ve been at used paper strips type playing cards (3 or 4
cards to a strip) One place you only get one strip and used the old see through
discs to mark numbers (which they provided).
Other places give you a packet of strips, you use blotters, and use a
different strip each game. (If you
use blotters...sell some blotters at your bingo...someone always forgets theirs
..and you can sell them at about twice their cost and make a little profit!)
Regardless of the type of cards you use, you must be prepared for
DUPLICATE CARDS. You must be certain to note in your rules.....ONLY ONE BASKET
PER GAME WILL BE AWARDED. Also note
how tiebreakers and duplicate cards will be handled.
(I think I noted this in the proposal rules)
In
our area you need to buy licenses for Bingo games and a different one for
raffles. So make certain you check
out the licenses needed for your area. This
information is found at the courthouse in our area.
One
bingo I’ve gone to has 4 sets of 5 games in a row. Between SETS 1 & 2, SETS 2 & 3, SETS 3 & 4
there is a door prize drawing (for a total of 3 door prizes.)
An intermission is held between SETS 2 & 3.
Another
bingo has 2 sets of 10 games, an intermission between the two and 1 door prize
(which is nicer than the booking baskets noted in the proposal).
While
the bingo is being held, someone walks around with the basket so everyone can
see.
At
one bingo they sold JARS (gambling tickets), but the prize was a basket (which
you knew ahead of time what you were playing for). These went over very well, but I did not propose this on our
first time out. And the consultant
involved pulled from her own stock that she could replace after the bingo.
This way no extra baskets were purchased.
We
used the following as our guideline of prizes needed.
20
GAME BINGO (20 Baskets)
03
RAFFLE BASKETS
03
DOOR PRIZE BASKETS (Booking Baskets)
12
Consolation Prizes (for Play-off losers) Possible idea - Basket Magnets $3.00 ea
Select
the baskets you want to give at Bingo. Choose
a nice selection from each price range. Although I have one advisor who believes you should stay away
from the smaller priced baskets (25-35 dollars), I disagree.
I think putting some from this area as well as from the upper range of
$60-$70, gives you a nice spread. But
this is a decision each group must make for itself.
Play
with the baskets in different orders to get the most of your Hostess dollars.
All the Bingo’s I go to have regular-line, current campaign or hostess
only baskets as the Raffle Baskets. So
you must plan far enough ahead to include a variety.
If the product is no longer available when you hold your Bingo, I believe
you are in a much better position. So
of course you may want to use your ˝ price selection to buy the special combos.
Now
for your regular-line baskets, I don’t believe in spending your money for
liners and protectors. I believe
this gives the individual an incentive to seek out their consultant and buy
these things. And while protectors
are priced okay....liners are outrageous and you don’t really know what people
would want for their own decor.
Someone
pointed out to me that if you arrange your order so that the Hostess dollars go
toward the higher priced items on your list, you will pay less in tax and
shipping and handling. This takes
some effort if you want to get your selections at their very cheapest, and
sometimes only save maybe a total of 10.00.
Something to consider while arranging your order, but I would not go back
and fix one if I forgot to consider it.
A
concept I like is getting an organization or business to sponsor part or all of
your basket price. One organization
around here just asks for $25.00 donation from each company that is willing to
sponsor a basket. When the bingo is
played the company is announced as the sponsor and it is also printed on a
handout sheet (see sheet a few pages from here). Some people in my organization wanted to go for broke and
give a sponsor a potential range $30-70 to sponsor a basket. We assigned the
higher priced baskets to the sponsors who gave the most money.
Go for whatever you are willing to try and works best for you.
This sponsorship really helps to offset your basket costs.
We
also are asked other businesses we knew wouldn’t sponsor a basket to consider
filling a basket. These are plant
shops, gift shops, candy shops, grocery stores, hair salons, fast food
certificates, etc to give something that will suit a basket or just fill it.
For example, put cake mixes and icing in the cake basket, pie fixings in
a pie basket, tissues in the tissue basket, recipe cards in the recipe basket, a
spaghetti dinner in any basket it fits in, etc.
It really does not cost much to fill a basket even if the organization
pays for it. In some cases you get
trashy stuff from donations that you would just as soon not use anyway. Too many people asking for stuff these days I guess.
I get very disappointed over this and have offered to just fill the
baskets personally. Winning a
filled basket really goes over big!
I
also had pretty netting bows for our baskets, a special tag noting sponsor and
filler....anything to make it special. Colors
and tag shapes can be fitted to suit a theme.
We did leaf cut tags and green bows for fall.
The
next few forms were used as an advertising page for our fundraiser and the page
we handed out at bingo to let everyone know what was being played for...the
sponsors....and rules we would follow. You
must have a set of rules. Bingo
people tend to get upset when rules on made up on the spot!
FRIENDS OF THE NEW OXFORD LIBRARY BASKET BINGO
Friday, October 17, 1997
Ticket
Cost is $10.00
Each
person MUST have a ticket to enter. No
children will be permitted in school hall unless they have their own ticket.
Children under the age of 18 can play bingo if accompanied by an adult.
Raffles
will be held for the following:
1997 (name of product and description here)
1 Qt Dish
1997 (name of product and description here)
1996 (name of product and description here)
Paper
cards will be used. Twenty games
with four cards per game. Food will
be available at 5:30 pm when doors open. GAMES
BEGIN AT 7:00 PM.
Tables
can be reserved for groups of six or more.
We will need your ticket numbers and names to reserve tables.
The proceeds of this Bingo benefits the New Oxford
Library.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!!!
An
additional game packet can be purchased at the door for $5.00.
Only one per player will be sold. Admission
ticket must be presented at the door in order to purchase the additional packet.
BASKETS FOR BINGO
(List all baskets/products here. For
the sake of this sharing of information, we must remain compliant with {Company}.)
BASKET BINGO
featuring {Company}** Products
October 17 1997
Sponsored by the Friends of the New Oxford Library to
benefit the New Oxford Library.
All bingo prizes are genuine {Company} Baskets.
REGULAR BINGO
consists of Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal & Four Corners
Game #1
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #2
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #3
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #4
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #5
(list)
Letter “N”
Sponsor:
DOOR PRIZE - (list)
Sponsor: Betty Teasly
Game #6
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #7
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #8
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #9
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #10
(list)
Letter “O”
Sponsor:
DOOR PRIZE - (list)
Sponsor: Vicki Waters
I
N T
E R M
I S
S I O
N
Game #11
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #12
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #13
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #14
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #15
(list)
Letter “L”
Sponsor:
DOOR PRIZE - (list)
Sponsor: Brenda & Sally
Griffin
Game #16
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #17
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #18
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #19
(list)
Regular Bingo
Sponsor:
Game #20
(list)
FILL THE CARD Sponsor:
R A F F L E S ! ! !
1997
(list and describe)
(list
and describe)
1997
(list and describe)
**This
Bingo is in no way connected with, nor is it approved or sponsored by {Company}.
The name is used only to describe prizes.
B
I N G O R U L E S
1. All regular bingo games will be
played across, down, diagonally or four corners.
2.
All winners must yell loud enough for the caller to stop the game.
Keep hand raised until recognized. We
will not be responsible for winners missed that do not follow the rules.
NO additional winners will be accepted after the caller has asked
for all winners.
3.
One prize per game will be awarded.
In the case of a duplicate winner, a winner will be determined by the
person having the next number called on their winning card.
In the event of a duplicate card, each individual involved will be given
a new card to play to determine one winner.
4.
Door Prizes will be chosen from ticket stubs.
You must be present to win.
5.
Raffle tickets to be pulled at the conclusion of bingo.
Tickets available for $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00 until drawing is held.
No raffle tickets will be sold in advance.
ODDS
AND ENDS ADVICE
One
rule that we did not include, but I have heard at other bingo’s is you must
have bingo on the last number called.
Thus if you had bingo two numbers ago and just didn’t see it...you were
not eligible for the prize. Again...the
group must decide what rules it wishes to employ.
How
you define “regular bingo” again is a group decision. Some people did not
like the adding of four corners....but hey I won once with that and liked adding
it. You also have to consider
making your bingo simple for everyone to understand.
Basket bingo players are not generally bingo players so you need to make
sure they understand how to win. Also
playing with the letters “N” “O” “L” helps extend the games length,
because “regular bingo” goes fast. Our
letters of course stood for New Oxford Library.
You can choose letters that highlight your organization.
Provide a diagram showing how to make the letter so everyone knows when
to call bingo.
We
sold food at our bingo. We had
soda, hot dogs and rolls, chips donated.
Baked goods donated. Some
bingo’s around our area include dinner in the price of their bingo ticket.
I still don’t know how you make that a profitable position, but I guess
they make the dough or they couldn’t do it.
You
must be able to sell your tickets. We
only had 96 people attend our bingo. I
had hoped for at least 150 and we had seats for 200. On the date of our bingo....it rained, parking was limited
(but we did hold the bingo at a “regular” bingo game site), and there were
several high school football games occurring.
Whether these events had an affect on the low turn out or we were just
too small of a group to sell enough tickets...I don’t know.
We did make about $1600, which is not a bad fundraiser.
However, a lot of work went into it and if we had not had our sponsors,
we would have had a very poor night.
The
ticket price.....I prefer to attend bingo’s that only cost $10 and have 20
baskets for games (and preferably no more than 200 tickets sold).
This is a little bit of money for a possible nice return.
However, if you have all retired baskets...$15.00 or $20.00 for the night
is not unreasonable.
For
easier clean up after the event it helps to place paper bags along the tables so
your players can dispose of used bingo papers and any other garbage they may
collect during the night.
If
you have any questions...please feel free to ask.
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
BINGO:
As stated previously, you need a license to hold the event, as it is a game of
chance. (It is best to hold it in a building where they have the license
already, and the equipment.) You, the consultant can have no active part in
the Bingo, the day it is held...such as selling the tickets at the door,
announcing the games, carrying the baskets up and down the aisles, etc.
You may purchase a ticket and play, as a participant.
The group that is benefiting from the event should start planning and selling
tickets for it about 6 months (or more) ahead of the date. Tickets range
from $10 to $20, depending on the baskets given as prizes, etc. The TWO biggest
"drawing crowd" Bingos in this area, are the ALL Past Featured Basket
Bingos, and the ALL "Filled" Basket Bingos. For the "Past
Featured" Bingo, you need to start about 12 months before, and start
collecting your featured items. For the "Filled" Basket Bingo, you
have members of the organization take the baskets to various shops, companies,
clubs, individuals, and have them donate the "filling items" for the
basket.
To even make it more of a profit-maker for the organization, you can ask
individuals, groups, companies, etc., to pay the basket's purchase price (as a
donation), so the group holding the Bingo does not even have to buy the baskets.
Means more money going to your "cause". This "at least" gets
your Bingo on-the-road.
Having selected the type of Bingo you are having, it is BEST to advertise
the Basket for the Game Number Winner (such as: Game #1- list here; Game #2-
list here; etc.) Knowing the baskets that are being given as prizes....is the
BEST seller! Also, list how tie-breakers will be done: If 2 or more have Bingo
at the same time, a tie-breaking game will be held among those involved. First
one to have Bingo, gets the MAIN prize. The others usually a Tie On, Garter,
Mug, etc.
For Past Featured Baskets and Filled Baskets, here in our area, the tickets are
usually $20 per ticket (this gives them 5 cards). For regular line baskets
and some combos, they are $10 to $15. Extra cards are sold when they enter the
door.
Another BIG "earnings" for your organization, is the opportunity to
sell Raffle Tickets at the door for a special basket. Naturally a big-ticket
hostess basket, with a protector and liner, would be GREAT! You figure the
organization will be spending $1,000 PLUS, to purchase these baskets and
accessories, so the opportunity is there to get a big Basket.
Either
way, the organization can expect to spend $1,200 or more, to get their Bingo
off-the-ground. AND, expect the group to advertise and sell tickets. Ads in the
papers always help.
Hope this has helped those of you who are asking more details.
One last thing...another BIG way of earning money at the Bingo, is your
organization selling the food! Having glasses of water and FREE popcorn sitting
on the tables, gets their "tasters" up, and midway through the game,
take a break, and FOOD will be wanted!
Happy Bingo-ing!!!
Thank
you Mary ZK.
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
Daily
Three Numbers:
This is planned around your state's Daily Three Lottery Number. (You must be an
organization that has a license for the "chance" games.) Your
organization sells "NUMBERS" printed on an envelope....along with a
certain MONTH selected for this contest, and it's dates printed on the envelope.
Alongside the days of the month (usually you do all 30 days...meaning 30 baskets
as prizes), you list EXACTLY what Basket/Combo will be given as a prize that
day. Ex: Feb. 1- list here; Feb. 2- list here; etc.
In addition you need to have one or two names of your group's people (and
phone numbers), for WINNERS to call when they have a winning number.
Instruct winners to call either of these two people IF they have the SAME number
that appears on the Daily Three of your state's lottery! Sometimes there are
several days with no winners, so extend it to the next month's dates, until all
are gone!
This is a more "hassle-free" way of doing a Number's Game for a
charity organization.....but, some folks like the day or evening -out of a Bingo
game.
Thanks
Mary ZK.
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
BASKET
BINGO
I live in PA & have helped several organizations hold basket bingo fund
raisers. I'll explain how these bingo fund raisers have been conducted,
but keep in mind, not everyone does them the same way, even in our area.
Be forewarned, this is a long post.
To begin, you need a committee of about 5-6 people to organize your fundraiser.
These people will do most of the work. Your consultant should help you
with ordering the baskets, but she'll need to know your budget & any ideas
you may have about what it is exactly that you want. She can also advise
you about the company guidelines for advertising your event.
You must first check with the county treasurers office to see if you need a
license for bingo or small games of chance. Here they cost $15 & each
non-profit organization may hold one bingo each calendar year. This needs
to be done at least 6-8 weeks before your fundraiser date.
For bingo cards, we buy paper cards from an organization that holds their own
bingo games on a weekly basis. We also rent their hall for our bingo
because they already have the equipment & know what they are doing.
This is a big help! We use sheets with 9 cards on each sheet. After
each game, you tear off the used sheet & start over. This is a
personal preference, you have to decide for yourself, taking your budget into
account. We can also get bingo supplies & rent equipment from a local
novelty shop. You will have to see what's available in your area.
Our admission fee is $25 per person & entitles that person to play 25
regular games. Regular bingo usually consists of getting bingo vertically,
horizontally, or diagonally. Some places also use four corners.
Those 25 regular games are played for classic line baskets with a retail value
between $50-60. We have found that people appreciate getting the liners
& protectors with their baskets, so that's what we give them. Not
everyone does, it'll be your budget so that's your call.
We try to do a "theme" for our bingo. Some ideas are giving away
Easter baskets just before Easter, Mother's Day baskets in early May, etc.
One year we did “red-white-and-blue” baskets in the summer with a picnic
theme. My favorite is buying a feature combo each month from January till
August, ordering Christmas baskets on September 1, & holding the bingo in
early November with a holiday theme. This is especially fun because most
of the baskets are "retired" at the time of the bingo.
We also play 4 special games & 1 jackpot game. We charge an additional
$5 for the packet to play these 7 extra games & these games are completely
optional. One special game is played after every 5 regular games.
Special game prizes are usually either feature combos or higher priced regular
line baskets. To win the specials, instead of regular bingo we play for
the letters, like "T" or "H". The jackpot game is
really 3 games in 1. On the same sheet of cards, we first play for regular
bingo, then we play for frame (outside edge), then for coverall.
We also hold raffles for some bigger, usually hostess-only baskets. The
raffle tickets are extra $$$, & optional also.
You will need to be prepared with some small, inexpensive items to be used as
consolation prizes. Frequently, there are multiple winners for the same
game. We have those winners draw numbers out of a basket & the highest
number gets the specified basket prize, while the others get consolation prizes.
We try to use basket related items, the post-it-notes & holders with the
{Company} pens make nice consolation prizes. We wrap them up in a theme
related cellophane bag & tie with ribbon. Illustrations Plus makes
great little hostess bags & you can order them to say "basket bingo
winner." Sometimes we get small tie-ons from the Basket Road
shows. I would urge you not to "cheap out" in this area.
Picture yourself picking #4 while someone else picks #15, would you want a cheap
little votive candle instead of the coveted basket prize?
Another thing to think about is food. We've done this two ways. At
one fire company hall we rent, they like to sell their food. At another
place, you get use of the kitchen with the hall rental & we do our own.
If your group is large enough & you have to do the food yourselves, ask
people to donate baked goods, candy, salads etc. Buy soda & snack
items when they're on sale. We usually sell hot dogs & burgers,
chips & pretzels, soda, coffee & iced tea, & baked goods &
salads (pasta, potato, macaroni) that people in the group donate.
You need to have helpers the day of the bingo. How many depends on the
number of tickets sold. For 125-150 guests, we have anywhere from 6-10
helpers. They will take pre-sold tickets at the door & hand out bingo
packets, sell tickets at the door for walk-ins, sell packs of specials, sell
raffle tickets, work in the kitchen, & check cards when people win &
hand out prizes.
I urge groups to budget between $2000-2500 for their fundraiser, with about
$1700-2000 going for baskets. Yes, I know that sounds like A LOT, but keep
in mind, no organization I have worked with has made less than $1900 profit. Some
have earned as much as $2700 profit. That is profit AFTER expenses
(including the baskets) have been paid for. Several things factor into
making that much money. First of all, the committee running the fundraiser
must be enthusiastic about it. Enthusiasm sells tickets & ticket sales
are the most important thing. You must sell tickets to get the people in
to your bingo. You sell tickets by word of mouth through your group &
the second most important thing: ADVERTISING!!! Current Campaign
literature around town, in the group’s newsletter, handed out at meetings...
Everyone should know what your group is doing. Most people don't
understand you have to spend money to make money, but you do, ask any successful
business person. Spend a few bucks to put a small ad in the weekly local
newspaper about a week or two before the event. Call your local radio
stations, a lady I know in Delaware gives her station 5 pairs of free tickets to
give away & they talk about her event for a whole week! That's FREE
advertising. It doesn't cost her anything to give them the tickets &
the winners usually come & spend MORE money buying the specials, raffle
tickets & food! Local cable TV stations sometimes have an on screen
bulletin board & most don't charge non-profit groups for ads. Wherever
you can, ADVERTISE your event.
Whenever I sell baskets to an organization for a bingo, I give them the choice
of being the hostess for the shows & getting the hostess benefits, or me
being the hostess & I get the hostess benefits, but they get a small portion
of my commission in the form of a donation back to the group on the day of their
bingo. This is a donation, not discounting, because they must pay full
price for the baskets, up front, when they are ordered. My donation is
made after the baskets have been sold, & only represents a percentage of my
commission, not the whole 25%. You will have to work this out with your
consultant ahead of time.
Lastly, don't think you have to start off the first basket bingo fundraiser
selling 150 tickets & playing 25 regular games. Your fundraiser
committee must decide what your group can afford to budget for the fundraiser
& then you plan your bingo accordingly. Maybe you'll start out on a
smaller scale & increase the number of games & the price for tickets
gradually after you've done one or two & been successful. Any profit
is good, in the beginning the key is to not lose money. It's all trial
& error to find out what works in your particular area.
Some
other things that I have seen done for this type of fundraiser is to have the
baskets donated or sponsored by local businesses. The basket prizes come
with a business card attached or a note saying "donated by." You
can also ask local businesses to fill the baskets with items from their shop or
store. The prizes can be donated by people in your group, also with the
card saying "donated by." Whatever you can come up with that
works for your group is fine. Use your imaginations.
Thanks
Rose F. for these tips.
IT IS
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
SAMPLE
PRESENTATION FOR FUNDRAISING WITH A GROUP
This is a copy of a letter someone used ... there will be
some things you need to change in the wording ... to make it suitable for your
company, your location and your situation. Check your company for the
'legality' of this.
[Date]
Dear [organization],
I would like to offer you an exciting fun raising
opportunity ... {Company/Product} Bingo!! As a 5 year consultant for the
{Company}, I can tell you that {product} fever has hit the {local} area.
People are crazy for our products. I think this fund raiser would do well
for you.
I would like to mention, that I have not conducted a bingo
before - and the advise I am giving is based on information from a {Company}
Consultant who lives in {location}. She told me the group she worked with
was very happy with their results. Because of my child's relationship to
{organization} I will donate my profit to make this even more profitable!
The {Company} prohibits me, as a consultant, to actively
participate in the operation and arrangement of a {product] Bingo ... but as a
{organization} mom, I'll do my best to make this work. I think you could
recognize a profit near $1,000.
The {organization} would need to do the following things
(there may be more as we go on) -
-
Set date/time
-
Secure location to hold the Bingo
-
Place order for products at least 4 weeks (6 would be
better) prior to date of Bingo
-
Rent or borrow bingo equipment
-
Visit a Bingo here in town to see just how they work
-
Sell tickets (pre-selling 74 tickets will pay for
products)
-
Advertise
-
Provide refreshments & drinks for sale during the
Bingo (more income)
-
Need PA system and someone to "call"
-
Check with the state gaming commission or some
authority for appropriate permits (I think this is free)
I would suggest the {organization} order $xxxx in
merchandise to give an adequate number of prizes. When you order $xxxx you
qualify to receive $xxx in FREE products.
I have included a sample order. It is grouped into
suggested "prizes" - with the exception of the mugs and napkins, these
I suggest using individually as a gift with a napkin folded accordian style in
each mug to make a cute presentation.
If you have any question, please let me know.
Sincerely
NEXT PAGE OF PRESENTATION (on colored sheet)
This page, not shown here, should include groupings of your
company's products that will make a nice bingo prize for each game. The
example submitted showed enough groupings to have prizes for 20 bingo
games. Valued at $13 - $80 each.
The order was totaled:
EXAMPLE:
Total of this
order
$1012.00
Shipping
$ 86.02
Sub-total
$1098.02
Tax
$ 65.88
Sub-total
$1163.90
Minus
commission
$ 202.40
Total due from this portion $ 961.50*
With a $1000 order you can
order one item at 1/2 price plus you get $150 in FREE products
1/2 price item [choose something only HOSTESS can
get] $113.50
Tax
$ 6.81
Total This
portion
$120.31*
FREE item [again choose something only HOSTESS can
get] FREE
Tax
$ 8.94
Total From this portion
$ 8.94
Booking
product (charge is consultant's fee - since donating profit) $10.60
Totals Due:
$10.60
$961.50
$120.31
$8.94
$1101.35 This
should be what the total product cost would be.
(THIRD SHEET OF
PRESENTATION)
MORE NOTES:
As you can see from
the colored sheet, your cost would be $1101.35, based on the sample order.
With what i have listed there you would have 20-21 games. You could change
that order to make less games and BIGGER prizes if you wanted. (The other
{location} lady said they did 21 games and it took about 2 1/2 hours.)
You will have some
cost for advertising and perhaps rental of equipment. It may be one of the
places here in town that do Bingo might donate their equipment (and/or location)
for the evening since this is a charitable cause.
With the HOSTESS
item you got for 1/2 price or the {product} that you got for FREE I would
suggest selling $1 raffle tickets. We recently did a charitable basket
raffle and sold over $700 in tickets. Whichever basket you do not use for
a raffle, can be the "jackpot" ({State} law says all your prizes have
to be under $100 in value except the "jackpot").
A time line would
be good. Here is a suggestion, again based on the {location} group,
6 weeks
before the date of your event, begin advanced registrations ... this will get
you your money up front so you don't have to worry about whether or not you have
enough to cover the cost. If club members "hit" this real hard
and sell 74* pre-registrations in this 2 weeks you will have covered your
costs. Anything over 75 will be the profit your organization makes on this
fundraiser.
4 weeks (or
more) before the event the {product} order goes in and registrations continue.
2 weeks prior
to the event, mail confirmations to all registered participants
1 week prior
to event place ads in newspaper (could do it 2 weeks prior and then again at 1
week prior)
PROXY PLAYERS:
{State} allows you to sell tickets to people who can not be there and have
some one play for them. The {location} folks charged $20 for this.
ADVERTISING:
You can not use the {company} name in your advertising, but could make obvious
references and clues and everyone would know. I would be happy to let my
customers know of your upcoming Bingo. Be sure to let all the people in
your organization (and sister organizations) know about it.
*If you sell 150
tickets at $15 each, you will bring in $2250 or $11.48.65 more than your
products cost. Add that to refreshment sales and raffle ticket sales!!
SAMPLE
ADVERTISEMENT SUGGESTION:
Do
you love {product} from {location of company}?
{ORGANIZATION}
presents
{PRODUCT}
BINGO
{Date}
{Time}
Your
$15 allows you to play all evening!
20
Game!
Can't
come? Play by PROXY ... $20
Limited
# of players - allows excellent odds of winning!!
HUNDREDS
of dollars in prizes!
Jackpot
prize valued at $xxx
Call
{telephone number} or {telephone number]
for
information or to register.
$1
raffle tickets available from {organization}
members
for {product}!
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
MY
EXPERIENCE AT A BASKET BINGO
To
everyone interested in Basket Bingo it was pretty much what Sharon from MD
stated. I have attended 2 so far and will be attending one next
month. Organizations hold these as fund raisers and are quite
profitable. The first one I attended cost $10 for 20 games and I think
they gave us two or there cards. You could purchase extras (3 card
@$2). I am not a consultant but my consultant says that the organizations
contact them and purchase the baskets from them and I believe the organization
would be the one who is credited with having the show. Since they purchase
enough baskets to probably get over the $1,000 mark they can choose big show
HOSTESS only baskets. The organization then raffles off usually two large
baskets. If this is planned well in advance of the Bingo they could have
their consultant order special baskets throughout the months. The
organization cannot advertise the company name with the bingo as it is against
Company rules. Usually the consultant they purchase the baskets from
attends the Bingo. She/He is not allowed to discuss anything {Company} at
the events. Consultants can check with their company for guidelines.
The second bingo was $15 and they had 40 games/40 baskets. They give away
door prizes (tie-ons, pottery pieces, fabric pieces). One big point I
would like to make to anyone thinking of organizing one of these is that you can
only have ONE winner per game (there are duplicate cars out there) and sometimes
more than one person could win. If there is more than one winner, the
winners keep playing until they don't have the next number called so it ends up
with only one winner. Duplicate cards were then removed and the players
were given new cards to play. At one bingo, any winners that weren't a
final winner in that round of bingo put their name on a stub and then at the end
one name was drawn for a basket. Usually 250-400 people attend and usually
they sell out.
IT
IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BE SURE THESE ACTIVITIES ARE ALLOWED BY YOUR COMPANY.
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