Please find a summary of the Interguild Workshop Summary notes from the “Innovative Fundraising” discussion held on Tuesday, February 23rd 2016.
Summary Notes – Interguild Workshop Event –
“Innovative Fundraising”
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
Fundraising Initiative #1 – Gala – Presented by St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School
Presenters – Erin Grace (erin@drgrace.ca) & Andra Carpino (pfcarpino@aol.com)
Summary
St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School PA hosts a black-tie gala fundraiser once every two years and has raised just over $800,000 over the past 3 galas. Our most recent successes have been attributed to “Creative Venues”, “Using Gifts in Kind to cover Expenses”, and “Selling Multiples of Live Auction Items”.
How often does this event occur?
The event occurs biennially.
What time of Year?
The event has traditionally taken place in the spring; and usually early May.
Approximately how many people attend?
The average attendance is 350 people. Of that 80 per cent would be parents of the student body and 20 per cent community supporters.
Approximately how much money is raised?
The average profit donated to the school is $250,000; Range is $150,000-$328,000.
What are the major costs associated with running the event?
The largest expense would be Guest Dinners, depending on the venue we have been able to have alcohol donated. In addition when held at an “unconventional venue” we have had to pay for rentals, which are costly.
What aspect of the event makes the most money?
1: Corporate Sponsorship;
2: Ticket Sales;
3: Live Auction;
4: Silent Auction.
What is the key to the success of this event?
Unique Venue, Sponsorship, Multiple Live Auction items that are fully donated. Moving beyond the school donors to outside community donors.
What is the major challenge of running this event?
Donor and Volunteer Fatigue,
Who is the target market, or audience?
Parent community, students, alumni, local community, other. 80 per cent parent community; 20 per cent local community.
Additional Notes
- Most recent successes attributed to using a car dealership as a unique venue which allowed for the “Driving Her Future” tagline
- Increased interest from the school population
- Unique venue allowed for the use of “gifts in kind” to cover expense (ie. wine, scotch and vodka donations)
- fortunate to be able to sell mutiples of live auction items (ie. vacation property and unique experiences)
- school was also able to acquire an outside corporate sponsor in lieu of the use of the school’s parking lot in the evenings and on weekend.
- advancement provides potential contacts lists
- approximately 15 sponsors at various levels
- Sr admin helped promote
- follow-up, thank you and see the results – visit provided by school for donors
- Other events held by SMLS: Movie night – welcome, Father-Daughter bingo, Ladies golf, Xmas fair
- Planning committee – Sept-May = planning
Additional Discussion from Workshop Attendees
- University of Toronto Schools – facing volunteer & donor fatigue, uses Alum resources
- Andrew’s College – hosts a gala fundraiser every year
- Hillfield Strathallan College and Royal St. George’s College – Advancement Department rotates through contacts so that no one donor is called upon too frequently, RSGC also provides Alum discounts to events, RSGC utilizes electronic bidding to register, accept payment and all bidding transactions, RSGC has also been able to offer unique & multiples of Live Auction items, RSGC has also held their gala in a unique venue (Maple Leaf Gardens)
- The York School – questioned the group whether a “more casual gala” concept would work?
- Bayview Glen – alternates between gala and golf events
- Crestwood – holds a casino event rather than a golf event
- Crescent School – holds no gala event and no additional fundraising events are planned or dollars asked – annual giving focus
- Villanova – uses a “Directed Funding” approach
- Holy Trinity – wants to know “how to increase the ticket price without turning away attendees?”
- Michael’s College School – utilizes “Wordpress” for their electronic bidding, registration and payments, nominal fees
Fundraising Initiative #2 – Deck the Hall – Presented by Bishop Strachan School
Summary
Deck the Hall (DTH) is the only fundraiser organized by the Parent Association. It is held every year in November, before the holiday season, beginning Thursday afternoon and wrapping up Saturday afternoon. We raise approximately $120, 000+ each year. The school provides us with a “Wish List’ of items the school feels the girls will benefit from. The PA fulfills this wish list as well as donates a substantial amount to financial aid.
Thursday Day – Bake Sale
Our very large bake sale runs Thursday after school and Friday all day. The bake Sale committee collects home baked goods as well as bakery donations. There is a separate Nut-Free Bake Sale table. We raise close to $10,000 from this alone. The Bake Sale closes in time for setup for the evening cocktail party.
Thursday Evening – Cocktail Party, Silent Auction, Raffle, Vendor Sale
With a tremendous amount of community support and donations, DTH kicks off Thursday evening with a cocktail party and silent auction. Tickets are sold for $75 per person. Raffle tickets are sold at the door. Items for raffle have included fine jewelry, an iPad, etc. Vendors are open for sale during the time of the cocktail party.
Vendor Sale
We have approximately 38 Vendors over the 3 day period. They are located in the gym. To participate in the event there is a $200 Vendor booth fee which includes an 8ft table, tablecloth and required chairs. Each vendor has its own curtained space. In addition to the Booth fee, 15% of all Vendor sales excluding sales tax during the event must be payable to BSS. This includes all orders taken at the event. The DTH committee provides the Vendors with Sales Booklets in order to record all sales. Students grade 7 to 12 and Parents can sign purchases to their account or use another payment method the Vendor is accepting. Hours of the Vendor Sale is as follows:
Thursday from 6pm to 9pm (Cocktail Party)
Friday from 10am to 6pm (BSS Community only)
Saturday from 10am to 4pm 9 (Open to the public)
BSS PreSale Component
The Chairs of the DTH Committee will organize the sale of BSS items to the Community. The sale begins several weeks before the DTH event and are ready for pick up during the event. Items have included “Study Pants” (Lazy Pants with BSS on them), pajama bottoms, water bottles, sweatshirts… These items are not part of the BSS uniform.
Additional Notes
- Holt’s organizes fashion show
- Men’s night – scotch tasting, chef
- raise $80K from silent auction
- $75 to attend cocktail party to get first crack at vendors
- $200/table/vendor + 50% of total sales made
- vendors in gym
- silent auction – hallway
- mystery boxes (items that don’t fit into Silent Auction)
- vendors are fed snacks
- no raffle
- raise $120K, highest $154K
- school’s only fundraiser
- Burgundy boutique – used uniforms sale
- Sept-Nov full time
- 40 people + 60 volunteers
- meet people, new families, 20 years
Fundraising Initiative #3 – A Gift of Glamour Fashion Show –
Presented by St. Michael’s College School
Presenters – Deanna Biffis-Liakakos (dliakakos@rogers.com)
What Time of Year?
This event takes place once a year in the second or third week of November.
How Many Attendees?
The event has an approximate attendance of 550 to 600. The attendees are St. Mike’s Moms, alumni wives and friends of St. Mike’s.
Approximately how much money is raised?
Total profit is approximately $73,000.00. Major cost is the dinner, staging, audio visual, lights and the professional producer for the fashion show.
All areas of the evening bring in great funds. Example: advertising, vendor tables, silent auction, raffle. We do not have sponsorship packages.
Committee Details
The committee consists of approximately 14 to 20 ladies and takes about 4 to 5 months to put together. The total number of meetings is 6.
The challenge is to ensure that a great committee is put together. Quotations are obtained to ensure that items for the event are being properly quoted and priced. It is also a challenge to make sure that it remains a fundraiser and not a friendraiser.
Additional Notes
- 32 vendors
- $300/table,
- sell advertising, income $5,200
- silent auction $24K
- Raffle $8,700
- Profit $73K
- tickets $125/per
- profit per ticket $75
- 4-course meal, red/white wine
- professional fashion show
- boys 7-11 grade
- Acapella men’s store
- boutiques span different cities
- producer $4,900
- sound and audio, staging, lighting $10K
- Miscellaneous $600
- $113K revenue – $40k = profit
- gift bag value $150-$200
Fundraising Initiative #4 – Garage Sale – Presented by Crescent School
Presenters – Lori Fisher & Deanna Biffis-Liakakos (dliakakos@rogers.com)
How often does the event occur?
Once a year
What time of year?
April
Approximately how many people attend?
Over 1500 customers
Approximately how much money is raised?
$20K-$30K
What are the major costs associated with the event?
Custodial staff costs, truck rental, garbage bins & disposal, security guards
What aspect of the event makes the most money?
None in particular but clothing & sporting goods always do well
What is the key to the success of the event?
Good organization & our 300+ volunteers
What is the major challenge of running the event?
Storing, sorting & organizing merchandise & ensuring donations are acceptable or not on our prohibited list
Who is the target market or audience?
The general Toronto garage shopping community
Additional Notes:
- 26th year of the event which started as a bike sale & has grown over the years
- Run annually on an April Saturday 8-11:30am in our Field House (largest space on campus)
- Planning begins in January by appointing Section Heads (clothing, sports, toys electronics, furniture etc)
- Section Heads plan, manage, set-up and generally organize their particular areas
- A Volunteer Coordinator solicits, manages & assigns over 300 volunteers to run this event
- Communication plan includes both internal communication to the Crescent community (to solicit donations & volunteers) & external communication to the greater Toronto community (to publicize the sale).
- Begin collecting donations approximately 2 weeks prior to the sale by parking a rented cube van in our pick-up/drop-up zone, manned by 2 volunteers to ensure prohibited items are not dropped.
- Each night the truck is driven down to the Field House and unloaded.
- Set-up begins 3 days prior to sale by putting down a durable floor covering, having tables & clothes rack rentals delivered.
- Thursday at 7am preparation begins: table set-up, sort, unpacking, organizing, displaying & pricing wares.
- On Saturday of the sale, some customers line up as early as 6am. Over 1500 customers will come through our doors
- 6-8 volunteers man each section & we have 4-6 security guards at entrances and exits
- Have an MC to announce specials & discount items, especially in last hour of the sale.
- When the sale is over, we work to usher people out quickly & begin cleanup
- 1 hour after the sale, rental tables & racks are picked up, then a stream of charity trucks (pre-arranged) arrive to pick up any leftovers
- Any winter clothing is stored for our fall Coat & Boot drive
- Cleanup also entails large garbage bins & bagging/tying of recycling
- By 2:30pm Field House is clean & we are done
- This sale would not be possible without 100% support from the school, custodial staff, parent volunteers and the boys. It requires A LOT of volunteer hours to run this event.
- The benefits are:
- a really good connector for our parent volunteer community (people love this event)
- a great way for our families to get rid of gently used items to a good cause
- really good deals on items for the garage shopping community
- a successful fundraiser
- The biggest challenges for us are:
- managing and sorting the huge volume of donations
- waste and recycling management
Fundraising Initiative #5 – DesignWerx – Presented by Hillfield Strathallan College
Presenters – Kristy Faggion & Nick Timms (nicholas.timms@hsc.on.ca)
How often does this event occur?
Launching September 2016
What time of Year?
September – June
Approximately how many people attend?
Employs 6 students in its startup year; client lists to be determined.
Approximately how much money is raised?
Unknown at this point.
What are the major costs associated with running the event?
Design and construction of studio space, plus all associated hardware and software.
What aspect of the event makes the most money (eg: silent auction, sponsorship, etc)?
All works is to be billed to clients at a competitive rate.
What is the key to the success of this event?
Student engagement and school support.
What is the major challenge of running this event?
It’s a startup venture, there the risk factor is strong, however support has been terrific.
Who is the target market, or audience: parent community, students, alumni, local community, other? The HSC community as a whole, plus the GHTA.
Additional Notes:
- run an ad agency with school
- 6 students + designers and accountants
- 3-5pm together with two teachers, M-F
- students have to apply
- they get paid at rate of camp counsellor
- $ made through work goes back to innovation fund
- launches Sept 2016
- related to school’s strategic plan, 6 pillaors
- company is called Designwerx
Fundraising Initiative #6 – Holiday Home Tour & Seasonal Boutique – Presented by Pickering College
Presenters – Donna Fordyce (dfordyce@sympatico.ca) and Krystie Robinson-Vincent (krystierobinsonvincent@hotmail.com) or Shelley Frank, Manager of Special Events at Pickering College (sfrank@pickeringcollege.on.ca)
Frequency of Event?
Occurs once per year
Time of Year?
November
Attendance?
Approximately 1000 people attend
Money Raised?
Funds raised range from $70 000 – $85 000
Costs Associated with Event?
Publicity/promotion, printing, payment to designers and florists, food for volunteers, safety within homes
Money Making Aspects?
Ticket sales, sponsorship, advertisers in ticket booklet, and vendor fees (Seasonal Boutique)
Key to Success?
12 years of experience carried forward each year with wonderful volunteers and tour goers who support the event
Challenges?
Selecting homes, designers/florists, finding volunteers for homes, competition with other home tours
Target Market/Audience?
Parents, students, alumni, local community member
Additional Notes:
- Our Holiday Home Tour showcases 5-7 festively and professionally decorated homes, decked out in their holiday splendor where you may tour and garner inspiration and ideas to incorporate into your own seasonal décor.
- Tickets are sold to 800-1000 people plus 200-300 complimentary tickets to various people associated with the Tour.
- Funds raised range from $70,000 – $85,000 with 5-10% to a charity of choice each year. (We are in our 12th year and 12 years ago when we began with a Holiday Home Tour, we raised a total of $45,000.)
- Major costs associated with this event are: staff costs, signage, publicity and promotion (print ads, posters, and air time), printing, payment to designers and florists, food for volunteers, safety within the home
- Aspects that make the most money would be ticket sales, sponsorship, advertisers within the ticket booklet, and vendor fees per table at the seasonal boutique.
- Challenges: finding homes and matching with designers and florists, getting and keeping volunteers within the committee and in each home including parents plus staff plus students, keeping up with the competition. There are a lot of home tours in our area and we try to keep an edge above by offering different home styles and décor, and providing each home with food and entertainment to keep our tour goers coming back year after year. A major challenge could be its long planning cycle which begins towards the end of January to cumulate in the big event in November.
- Successes: 12 years of experience carried forward each year with a wonderful team of volunteers and tour goers who support the event year after year to ensure a smooth flow of our Tour. Pickering College has an excellent reputation for delivering a fantastic show with lots of variety and always a level above the competition. Advertisers see success by an increase in their business when over 1000 people see their name in print in our ticket booklet, posters, home signage, etc. Many people attending the Tour have stated that they appreciate the fact that Pickering College is a registered charity and the funds raised are also put towards another registered charity. In the past we have supported The Women’s Centre of York Region, Southlake Hospital Pediatric Oncology Department, and Habitat for Humanity just to name a few. An added perk for the home owners who have their homes on the Tour — their home is decorated in style for the Holiday Season, nice and early, and it is all done for them.
- Target Market: EVERYONE!! This event kicks off the Holiday Season in Newmarket and the surrounding communities. We have 150 plus businesses involved in one way or another. The Home Tour promotes recognition of Pickering College and many local businesses. The weekend has become an annual outing for many where they tour Friday evening to enjoy the Tour with seasonal lights followed by a Saturday visit at the Seasonal Boutique for gift shopping and lunch. Not to be missed.