We don't put a self-addressed either-- most companies that donate will either call for a pick-up-- or send something themselves... no need to waste stamps in case they can't donate--
And if you are trying to update the games-- I see nothing wrong with charging for admission this year-- let the parents know why you are going to charge at your pto meeting-- so they know the charge at the door is for a purpose.
We NEVER put a stamped envelope in donation requests. If people are on the fence about donating, I don't think the stamped envelope will be the thing to convince them. FWIW
As far as charging, we had a similiar situation. In prior years, it was run as a give-back and everything was free of charge. However, that being said, the games were not that great, prizes not that great and attendance was not that great. So, when new members came along we totally revamped everything. Games, prizes, food etc. And we really hyped it up. We made sure people understood that it was no longer free. (this was the tricky part) There were some people upset about the new structure and boycotted the event and even talked bad about us being money-hungry etc. The first year was slow. We covered expenses and made a couple hundred dollars.
But after that first year, it has taken off. People now know what to expect and look forward to it. They really don't mind spending money if they get a really fun night out. But, my advice is prepare to be slightly disappointed the first year you change the format. Sometimes it takes time to change peoples minds. But if you build it, they will come!!!
On donations, no I wouldn't include a STAMPED letter, that's a waste of your funds and I just can't imagine a company is going to donate/not donate over the price of a stamp. Perhaps an addressed envelope would be nice. I'm not sure we even did that.
Note - the vast majority of our donations are always local and so not too many are mailed. Most are dropped off with a letter by a volunteer and then picked up later on a follow-up visit.
I think if you're putting together an "awesome" event there is NO PROBLEM charging a fee. I would stay away from tickets though, they are painful. Consider perhaps a flat fee or bracelet for folks that want to play the games. You could do 3 dollars a bracelet with a cap of 15 dollars per family or something along those lines. I've found most folks don't mind putting forth some support if the event is a good one, especially if it will fund future family oriented events. Heck you can't take a family of 6 to McDonalds for under 25 dollars now, so 15 bucks for a couple hours of fun acitivities is nothing.
Our school has a mix of fundraisers and free events so if there is a family that has a tight budget they are not shut out. We also have a sponsorship program that allows the principal to come to us to sponsor a family to an event. We never know who the family is and there is never a problem with allowing them reduced or free participation. You just keep that to yourself and drive on.
Hi! I have been reading a lot of the previous posts but I have a couple of questions of my own. When trying to get donations from local businesses, do you include a self-addressed stamped envelope with the letter you send out? Or are businesses usually good about sending a donation using their own postage?
Also, for our fun frolic (we are a pre-k thru 12th grade school), there are members of our PTO who think that we shouldn't charge for admission or games and only charge money for concessions that night. Apparently in the past there was no charge; however it has been defunct for the past few years and the games look to be sub-par and had no thought put into them (grow-to-pro basketball, tic-tac-toe, etc.). This year we want to totally revamp it and bring it up to an awesome standard, including Halloween themed games/prizes, decorations, etc.
About 1/2 of us feel that we should charge (at the very least) an admission price like $3.00 per family or charge by the ticket (like 25 cents per game); the other 1/2 think it should be free. However, we feel like if we don't charge, we won't be able to fund other activities that can be free throughout the rest of the year (Dr. Seuss, TV turnoff, etc.). What does your school do and why? Thank you!
