Planning a “Fun”draising

EventAndrea Adkins

4-H Volunteer & LibrarianWashington County

Find this and more online at tips4hvols.wordpress.com

Washington County 4-H Endowment Dinner• Organized as a sub-committee of the Washington

County 4-H Advisory Committee

• Committee has own EIN, checking account, officers, constitution & by-laws

• Meets bi-weekly beginning in January with a wrap up meeting a few weeks after the event

• Held in late March/early April depending on when Easter falls

5k Run/Walk for Hervida• Organized and ran by the Oak Grove Explorers 4-H Club

• Benefits Camp Hervida, our local 4-H Camp. Money has gone to the Camp Hervida Endowment for the past three years but can be put to use for Hervida as the club sees fit.

• Held in late May/early June depending on what other races are in the area.

Steps in Planning• Decide what you want to do

• Find people to create a committee for a county-wide event /head up a club event

• Find a location, date to hold your event, what will happen at the event, and cost for entry

• Find sponsors, collect donations, prepare/serve food, and volunteers to work at the event

• Publicize your event

• Carry out your event

• Send out thank you notes/letters

• Evaluate your event

Decide What You Want to Do

• What need are you trying to fill?

• What is your goal?

• What transferrable skills do you or others have that can be used to the benefit of the county/club?

Create a Committee

• At the county level make sure to go through the 4-H Advisory Committee

• At the club level make sure to go through proper procedure as you would for any other club business

Pick the Location/Date• Free is best!

• Big enough for what you think you’d like to do at your event. Too big is better than too small.

• What transformations need to be made in the venue for the event?

• No other large fundraisers are being held on the same date nearby.

• Not a holiday or holiday weekend.

Washington County 4-H Endowment Dinner

5k Run/Walk for Hervida

What Do People Do at Your Event?Endowment Dinner

Silent AuctionEat Dinner

Live Auction

Hervida 5kRun or Walk 3.1 miles

Eat Snacks and Wait for Results

What Do People Do at Your Event?

How Much Should You Charge?Endowment Dinner

Pre-purchased or reserved: $20 Adults/$10 ages 19 & under(bill for tickets not picked up)

At the door: $25 Adults/$10 ages 19 & under

(first year we’ve increased at door amount)

5k Run/WalkPostmarked by a certain date $12

Postmarked after a certain date/day of $15

Finding Sponsors/Donations• Write a letter and mail out to everyone in the Chamber of Commerce• Visit in person and use personal connections

Serving Food at Your EventFundraising Dinner

• Find someone in your area who knows how to cook a large amount of food and is willing to donate their time and the time of their helpers.

• Find a local supplier for most items. Hopefully some will be donated.

• Save yourself a headache, if you do not have experience prepping food for 450+ people find someone who does!

5k Run/Walk• Water for before/afterwards• Cookies, apples, oranges, bananas, grapes

Finding Volunteers to Work Your EventEndowment Dinner

• Endowment Committee, 4-H Club, & Jr. Fair Board Members

• Master Gardeners• Donated time of an auctioneer• Donated time of food preparation

5k Run/Walk• Club Members/Families• Club Alumni• Camp Hervida Board• Personal connections with thosethat have the skills

you need• Local running club

PublicityThe Key to Success!

Press Release• Send out four weeks before your event or deadline!• You local extension office should have addresses they use• Troll the internet looking for local contacts at newspapers and radio/tv stations• Proof read! Have someone else read it for content/clarity/grammar/spelling.

4-H Endowment Dinner & Auction The 2014 Washington County 4-H Endowment Dinner and Auction will take place on Saturday, March 22, 2014 at the Washington County Jr. Fair Building. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. for the Silent Auction. Dinner will be served at 6:00 p.m. with the Live Auction starting at 8:00 p.m. Dinner includes a choice of grilled NY strip steak or grilled chicken breast with salad, green beans, baked potato, roll, dessert, and beverages. Tickets in advance are $20 for adults and $10 for youth 19 & under. Tickets at the door are $25 for adults and $15 for your 19 & under. To purchase tickets call the OSU Extension Office at 740-376-7431. Check out our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/4HEndowment to find out more about the Washington County 4-H Endowment and to see some of the auction items as they become available.

5k Run/Walk for Hervida The Oak Grove Explorers 4-H Club will host the 5k Run/Walk for Hervida on Saturday, June 1, at 9 a.m. starting at the Oak Grove Recreation Center. Pre-registration is $12 and must be postmarked by May 20. After May 20, registration is $15. Registration forms for the event are available at http://www.rivercityrunners.com/images/aps/2013%20Aps/Hervida%205K%202013.pdf. All proceeds from the event benefit the Hervida 4-H Camp Endowment Fund. For more information or questions, contact Andrea Adkins at 740-350-4669 or abradkins@yahoo.com.

TV/Radio Appearances

Contact your local TV and radio stations and see if they have a time people come and talk about local events.

Posters• Make sure all pertinent

information is included.

• Make in different sizes. 8.5x11 and 11x14 are good – regular weight paper

• Ask local business if you can hang a sign. Most libraries have public bulletin boards.

• Put up about six weeks before the event.

Facebook

For an event like a 5k race, create an event using your

personal facebook account.

Create a facebook page to help

promote something like an endowment

dinner.

Carryout Your Event

• Have a plan but be flexible. You never know what might come up or not work right.• There are many specifics that will not be enumerated on but you can think about.

Endowment Dinner• Who has to have a ticket? If people are working the event, when do they eat?• When should we setup? How much time should we allot? Who will help setup?• How should the tables be arranged? How can we find enough tables & chairs?• The venue is not the prettiest, what can we do to make it more appealing?• How many serving lines should we have?• Who serves? Who cleans up?• How we keep track of who buys what?• How do people pay for and pickup their items? When and where?

5k Run/Walk• How in the world do you make sure the walkers walk and not run?• How do you time people and assign awards?• Do I have to have t-shirts?• Are we going to find enough sponsors?• It’s raining!!! What do we do now?

Evaluate the Event• What did the attendees think?

• What worked?

• What didn’t work?

• Are there any suggestions for improvement?

• Do we need to continue the event? (Has it met it’s ultimate goal? Is it not time/money worthy anymore?)

Recognize Your Supporters

• Signs work great for a 5k. • Supporters of the Endowment Dinner are put on the

placemats along with the auction order. • Thank you notes should go out as soon as possible and

hopefully within a month of the event.

Contact InformationAndrea Adkins

4-H Volunteer, Washington CountyOLC Certified Public Librarian

Email: abradkins@yahoo.comFacebook: Andrea Beth

Twitter: @abradkinsLinkedIn: Andrea Adkins

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