How about raising money to fund your creative family beach vacation reunions?

Before you can start raising money for your reunion, you need to determine how much money you will actually need. This is where a budget comes into play. The budget you establish will be dependent upon the number of people attending, and how elaborate the event is going to be. Don't plan an event so elaborate that nobody can afford to come. In addition, be sure to give them as much notice as possible...so they can save up.

How Much Do You Need?
In your initial budget you should list everything that you can think of. The cost of the meeting hall, the cost of the decorations, the cost of any meals, etc. Be sure to add a leeway to cover the cost of unexpected expenses that always seem to come along. This may have to be a rough "guesstimate" for your first reunion, but after that you will know what to expect and the job will be that much easier. Aren't you glad that the attendees themselves will be paying for the hotel and airfare... :)

How to Get It
Once you have determined the amount of money that you will need, the next step is to determine the best way to get it. If you are a millionaire, you might want to fund the whole event...especially if it is a college reunion, and the education you received helped you land that high-paying job. If you are not a millionaire, here are a few ideas on raising money.

Charge Admission
Charging admission to the reunion is one great way of raising money for the event. If you have a rough idea on the number of people who will be attending, then you can give a discount for children, and even seniors if you like. So, let's say that your budget for the event is $1000. If you plan on 50 adults and 20 children and 10 seniors attending, and giving a 50% discount for a child or senior, you would charge each person:

= $1000 divided by (50 + 20/2 + 10/2)= $1000 divided by (50 + 10 + 5)= $1000 divided by (65)= $15.39 for each adult, and $7.70 for each child and senior.

Mention the Attendance Fee
The key at this stage is to mention in the invitation that you will be charging an attendance fee, what the fee is, and where that money is going to be used. You don't want people to think that you are making a profit from your reunion.

Set a Deadline
Set a deadline to receive the response from the guest, and the money. This will be needed to place downpayments and deposits for the facilities, and give the guest a "commitment" sense. People will be more inclined to actually attend an event if they have paid for it in advance. Be sure to keep good records on who paid for the event, and when. A spreadsheet is ideal to keep track of this.

Auction
Another way to raise money, once you are at the actual reunion, is to have either an auction or raffle. In the case of the auction, have each member attending the event bring one item that they would like to offer. It's true...one person's junk is another person's treasure. Personal items such as baked goods and crafts are perennial favorites. Don't overlook the appeal of a "silly item". A little "statue" with the words "Reunion Oscar" may not be worth much on the open market, but if you tell people that all the money for this little item will go to paying for the reunion, you'd be surprised who has "deep pockets".

Raffle
Before you auction off everything, pick out one item that you feel will have mass appeal...as many people as possible would like to own this item. With the item chosen, the next step is to print out some raffle tickets, and sell them to the guests. Make sure that the price of the raffle ticket will procure you a nice profit for the raffle.

With these tips in hand, you will have no problem raising money for your next creative family beach vacation reunion.

Return from "Raising Money" to the "Reunion" Web Page