Do you put the FUN in FUNd-raising?

Satin Stitches | Jan 14, 2010 | 0

Flock of Flamingos Fun!

Fund-raising. Is it one of those necessary evils, or is it the savior of childrens activities?

Fund-raising is VERY necessary for many companies that cater to the dance industry. In fact, I would guess that maybe 75 percent of all of our Satin Stitches custom dance and show choir costumes are paid for by the fund-raising efforts of dancers, coaches and many booster parents.

Come to think of it, I LOVE fund-raising! I am occasionally privy to some of the trials and tribulations of our customers fund-raising efforts. There are so many different fund-raising options available. They range from sophisticated discount card programs to what I would refer to as, carb-unit products, offered by candy, pastry and pizza purveyors.

One of my favorite and really unique fund-raising concepts that I have heard, was the Flock of Flamingos thing. As I recall, your group buys all the Flamingo lawn decorations you can find. You sneak out in the middle of the night-watch out for curfew regulations, and set them up in someones yard. The lucky yard owners then have to pay your group to remove them. Your group then does the same thing to another unsuspecting yard owner, and so on and so forth.

Seems to me, there may be a few possible problems with the Flock of Flamingos. You want to make sure your lawn ornaments find accommodating and good-natured yard owners, and be careful of trespassing problems. You do not want your dancers in jail! But if it works out, it seems to be a truly unique and fun project. It can promote team building and it is definitely does not involve a high calorie count!  Here is my disclaimer. I am not condoning this activity! Please do not blame me!

Fund-raising. My earliest experience with fund-raising was when I was a Brownie. For those who do not know, that was the younger version of the Girl Scouts. We needed to sell Girl Scout cookies. Lots of cookies! Oh my!

I was a shy little girl. Faced with the prospect of needing to talk to strangers, and urge them to buy something, was just something so big and foreign to me. I remember that it was an absolutely terrifying experience for me! I recall forcing myself to sell a few boxes, but it was not any fun at all. This is when I first realized that I was not cut out to be a salesperson.

I know when my own kids were faced with needing to sell products for their school activities, it brought back my own insecurities. I know that I did not overly encourage them to excel at fund-raising projects, as I still had bad memories of my Girl Scout cookie-lack of sales.

Saving aluminum cans or soup labels was more my thing. Or helping with car washes or book sales. Bake sales are passe these days, or even the really old fashioned cake walks-does anyone remember those?

These days, there are so many more creative methods to raise funds for dance teams. The most lucrative seems to be producing an invitational dance competition. I have been partaking in several local high school dance team invitationals, the last few weeks. Some are run much better run others. I really appreciate the well run ones.

Dance competitions take lots of work. Some groups are able to make them seem easy, as they have lots of experience and pass down all their experience and expertise to the next set of parents. Yes, it takes truly dedicated parents, and lots of them, to produce a successful competition.

Besides the obvious, the fees for teams to compete, ticket sales for the audience, programs sales, event T-shirts, there are advertisements for the programs, food sales, flowers and gifts for your favorite dancers, photos, dvds, vendors, and so on and so forth. A really inexpensive idea, is to sell good luck notes, to be delivered to the dancers.

I know that many costumes are purchased from Satin Stitches, because of the success of many dance team and show choir competitions. Thank you, dancers, coaches, and especially the involved parents, SO MUCH for all your hard work. My hat is off to you!

Another, sometimes forgotten fund-raising opportunity was mentioned to me recently. And it is the  main reason for at least one large Satin Stitches dance team uniform order in December. It is too late for this season, but keep it in mind for next season. Donations from non-profit organizations.

Think about it. All non-profit organizations need to distribute their funds by the end of the calendar year, generally. If your group is involved with any of these non-profits, by helping them in any way, you might be on their list for a charitable donation.

If your dance team puts on a show, marches in their parade, volunteers to serve at their pancake breakfast, helps collect canned goods or helps in some other way. If you keep in their good graces, you might be helped out with a check for a big chunk of money, that could be earmarked for new costumes, or for funding for travel expenses to a regional or national competition, etc.

This is one of those win-win situations. You help them, and they help you, and everyone feels good about what they have accomplished. Not only will your dance team help others and potentially earn funds, but this is a wonderful team-building experience.

I know that not all fund-raising plans work for every group. Some groups excel at one type of activity versus another. If you are a member of a dance organization, network with your peers to hear what has worked for them. Find out WHY it worked, and consider if you think it might work for your group.

Remember that successful fund-raising takes enthusiasm for the project, lots of planning, and lots of very hard work.

I am very grateful for all of you who help your non-profit organizations to fund-raise. Thank you!

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Teacher, Enthusiast, Parent, Studio, Costumes, Fund-raising (all tags)