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Benefits for Dummies



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 24th 05, 04:42 AM
Singh
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Benefits for Dummies

No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter, etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions. All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something, but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.

Blessed be,
Baha

--

Three thousand years ago,
cats were deified in ancient Egypt.
To this day, they have not forgotten.


  #2  
Old July 24th 05, 04:43 AM
CatNipped
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Singh" wrote in message
...
No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter,

etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions.

All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something, but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's

enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done

such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please

enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.

Blessed be,
Baha


How about asking neighbors for donations for a huge garage sale?

Also, you might ping Sherry Riddles who does a lot of this type of volunteer
work for a shelter, she'll probably have some good ideas for you.

Hugs,

CatNipped

--

Three thousand years ago,
cats were deified in ancient Egypt.
To this day, they have not forgotten.




  #3  
Old July 25th 05, 03:04 AM
Candace
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Posts: n/a
Default

CatNipped wrote:

How about asking neighbors for donations for a huge garage sale?


That or a bake sale.

I know of fundraising ideas for larger organizations but they cost a
lot of money to put on, takes money to make money in those cases, but
on a smaller scale, do you (the OP) know any musicians who would donate
an evening? If you have a nice enough yard you can have an outdoor
party or even a block party if you get a permit. Then, make the food
and have some of your friends also make some dishes. It would be nice
if you had alcohol, too (at least with my friends, they wouldn't be
interested in coming if there was no booze). Again, you could ask a
few of your close friends to chip in for that or just get a keg, I
don't think they're that expensive. Then charge people to come. You
have to get the word out to the right people, though. You need enough
to come to make it worthwhile and you don't want rabblerousers.

It's hard to do fundraisers, the amount of detail planning even a small
event is overwhelming. There's always one more thing that needs to be
done, it seems. No one ever understands that when they come to an
event; they think it all just got pulled together with a minimum of
effort. Not so.

That's why I would maybe start small and then perhaps you can take some
of those proceeds and build up to a bigger event.

The easiest way to get big bucks, though, is with corporate
sponsorships. $5K is nothing to a company and they get a write-off and
positive PR. Can you approach your employer, your grocery store, other
businesses you frequent? Just make sure they are nicely acknowledged
and get some sort of positive PR for it, an article in a paper, even a
small mention in a neighborhood paper, a mention on a local radio show,
something both to acknowledge their support and to get people
interested in your event. Make up a nice little solicitation letter
with info about the organization, some brochures if they have them, a
sappy little article about a particular animal helped by the org, tug
at their heartstrings. Then hand deliver these packets to key people
at some businesses asking for their sponsorship.

You're in the US, aren't you? If the group you want to benefit is not
a 501 (c) (3), you won't get corporate sponsorship very easily so
disregard previous paragraph. Then it's back to the yard sale, bake
sale, block party ideas.

Candace

  #4  
Old July 24th 05, 11:23 AM
Yowie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

"Singh" wrote in message
...
No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter,
etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions.
All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something, but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's
enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done
such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please
enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.


Very boring, true, but the standard way non-profit organisations raise funds
around here is to sell fund-raising chocolates. A freddo frogs (38g of
Cadbury chocolate in a frog shape) are sold for $1 each, and come in fund
raising boxes of about $30. There is *always* one of these fund raising
boxes sitting in the tea-room fridge at work, its just different boxes from
different employees who belong to different organisations.

Most people don't mind shelling out one dollar, its a nice snack size
without the "guilt" of buying a whole block, it goes to a good cause, and
even better, there's a supply of chocolate in the building when the three
o'clock munchies hit and/or its "that time of the month".

Does Cadbury, or any other chocolate / candy manufacturer do the same where
you are?

Yowie


  #5  
Old July 24th 05, 04:31 PM
Enfilade
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Singh wrote:
No, not Idiot Insurance.


In our area, some group like a family or church organization gets
together, rents a hall, a DJ and gets a liquor license, then throws a
benefit dance on a Friday night. The community gets to party and the
money comes in.

The risk, though, is that if no one shows, whoever throwing it is out
the cost of the hall, DJ and license. (Liquor stores in the area will
take back unopened bottles of liquor and unopened cases of beer. Talk
to them when you are buying though--the rules may be different).

For a benefit for someone with cancer or who lost their house in a
fire, usually everyone shows up if they know the person involved and
money comes rolling in. How big a "customer base" does Tenth Chance
serve? This may also work better in rural communities than in big
urban centers where there are lots of other choices for entertainment.

--Fil

  #6  
Old July 24th 05, 04:31 PM
Enfilade
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Singh wrote:
No, not Idiot Insurance.


In our area, some group like a family or church organization gets
together, rents a hall, a DJ and gets a liquor license, then throws a
benefit dance on a Friday night. The community gets to party and the
money comes in.

The risk, though, is that if no one shows, whoever throwing it is out
the cost of the hall, DJ and license. (Liquor stores in the area will
take back unopened bottles of liquor and unopened cases of beer. Talk
to them when you are buying though--the rules may be different).

For a benefit for someone with cancer or who lost their house in a
fire, usually everyone shows up if they know the person involved and
money comes rolling in. How big a "customer base" does Tenth Chance
serve? This may also work better in rural communities than in big
urban centers where there are lots of other choices for entertainment.

--Fil

  #7  
Old July 25th 05, 02:13 AM
Christine Burel
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Singh" wrote in message
...
No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter,

etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions.

All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something, but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's

enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done

such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please

enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.

Blessed be,
Baha

--

Three thousand years ago,
cats were deified in ancient Egypt.
To this day, they have not forgotten.


Baha,
You might try contacting the people at the Good Mews shelter for ideas.
Here is their website:
http://www.goodmews.org/home.htm
I get their newsletter because of a donation I made to them and it seems
like an extraordinarily well-run organization.
hth,
Christine


  #8  
Old July 25th 05, 03:19 AM
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default



Singh wrote:
No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter, etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions. All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something, but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.

Blessed be,
Baha

Sorry, Baha, I didn't read this thread because I thought it was about
job benefits or managing 401K or profit sharing accounts! (duh, sherry)
Thanks to CN for pointing me here.
You're right, benefits are easier to arrange for established shelters.
But I know there are still things you can do.
This is a good time for benefit garage sales and raffles. You can get
your friends together for a rummage sale, combination bake sale and at
the same time sell chances on anything--see if you can get a merchant
to donate something cool. Car washes are good--there's usually a local
Boy Scout troop who'll help out with that.
If you've got a corps of volunteers who will help, our best effort is
always the annual Charity Auction. We rent a room at the country club,
and get merchants to donate items, and auction them off. We serve
dinner and drinks, too (open bar before the bidding really helps hike
the bids up, LOL)
Do you know any entertainers you could get for a benefit concert?
We even set up decorated jars at 7-11's, etc. for people to donate
change. Once we had a "Best Pet" contest at 7-11. People "entered" by
bringing a photo of their pet, and we put a can with a slot in it in
front of each picture. People put money in the can to "vote" for the
best pet. Best Pet got a trophy, which didn't cost hardly anything, and
we got to keep the $$$$. It was fun, and it got competitive--of course
it was the *owners* "voting" for their pet!
We had a barbecue dinner once for "Be Kind to Animals Week". I thought
this was a terrible faux pas to eat beef on BKTA week but we made $300
in two hours.

The one that amazed me was, we had a hot dog stand in front of Wal Mart
once. Sold hot dogs & drinks. We made $1500 in one day, and that's
above our costs.
What we've got going on right now is a "Shower the Shelter" party. Like
a baby shower, only for the shelter. We "registered" at Wal Mart. We
got a local hotel to loan us their meeting room for free.
Theoretically, when people get their invitations, if they don't want to
come and bring a gift, they can mail us a check. OK, I know it's
begging. But you gotta do what you gotta do. :-)

Good luck. E-mail me if you want or need any help that I can do. I'd be
glad to help any way I can.

Sherry

  #9  
Old July 25th 05, 04:05 AM
CatNipped
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

wrote in message
oups.com...


Singh wrote:
No, not Idiot Insurance.

Louei and I have been bouncing about the idea of doing a benefit for a
struggling shelter, Tenth Chance, the people who gave us our dear little
(well, not so little now) Brandy. These poor people have a mountain of

vet
bills over 3 grand, so now the vet won't give service to newly

surrendered
cats until they get the bill chewn up. Not to mention food and litter,

etc.
They don't have their own building, just volunteer foster-people like

our
dear friend Marilyn and others who are knee-deep in cats; and Alexis

still
has not found a home, so Marilyn keeps the poor little playful girl in

her
own bedroom, away from the other cats.

How on earth do you arrange a benefit? Other shelters here like Ten

Lives
have got more resources, they have two buildings dedicated to cats and a
network of both foster-homes and businesses who make huge contributions.

All
we can do is maybe get the place where we do karaoke to do something,

but
the bar is kind of a dive; good food though, but I don't know if it's

enough
to get some serious cash raised. If any of you out there have ever done

such
a thing, whether it be for cats or Girl Scouts or whatever, please

enlighten
me, because these folks need help, and I'm stumped.

Blessed be,
Baha

Sorry, Baha, I didn't read this thread because I thought it was about
job benefits or managing 401K or profit sharing accounts! (duh, sherry)
Thanks to CN for pointing me here.
You're right, benefits are easier to arrange for established shelters.
But I know there are still things you can do.
This is a good time for benefit garage sales and raffles. You can get
your friends together for a rummage sale, combination bake sale and at
the same time sell chances on anything--see if you can get a merchant
to donate something cool. Car washes are good--there's usually a local
Boy Scout troop who'll help out with that.
If you've got a corps of volunteers who will help, our best effort is
always the annual Charity Auction. We rent a room at the country club,
and get merchants to donate items, and auction them off. We serve
dinner and drinks, too (open bar before the bidding really helps hike
the bids up, LOL)
Do you know any entertainers you could get for a benefit concert?
We even set up decorated jars at 7-11's, etc. for people to donate
change. Once we had a "Best Pet" contest at 7-11. People "entered" by
bringing a photo of their pet, and we put a can with a slot in it in
front of each picture. People put money in the can to "vote" for the
best pet. Best Pet got a trophy, which didn't cost hardly anything, and
we got to keep the $$$$. It was fun, and it got competitive--of course
it was the *owners* "voting" for their pet!
We had a barbecue dinner once for "Be Kind to Animals Week". I thought
this was a terrible faux pas to eat beef on BKTA week but we made $300
in two hours.

The one that amazed me was, we had a hot dog stand in front of Wal Mart
once. Sold hot dogs & drinks. We made $1500 in one day, and that's
above our costs.
What we've got going on right now is a "Shower the Shelter" party. Like
a baby shower, only for the shelter. We "registered" at Wal Mart. We
got a local hotel to loan us their meeting room for free.
Theoretically, when people get their invitations, if they don't want to
come and bring a gift, they can mail us a check. OK, I know it's
begging. But you gotta do what you gotta do. :-)

Good luck. E-mail me if you want or need any help that I can do. I'd be
glad to help any way I can.

Sherry


See, I told you Sherry had some great fund raising ideas (I especially like
the vote for your favorite pet one - that one would have gotten big bucks
from me! ;).

Thanks Sherry!

Hugs,

CatNipped


 




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