As we get into the long and cold winter nights, we understand that fundraising can become more of a challenge. It needn’t be though; we hear so many great fundraising ideas we thought we would share with you all a series of fundraising case studies. I’m sure they will inspire you as much as they did us!
What made you choose a music gig?
It was mostly due to personal preference, I have been to a lot of music gigs in the past and I wanted to have a go at doing one myself and raising lots of money in the process!
What steps did you have to take to achieve it?
I was lucky enough to be friends with a talented performer in school who had a lot of contacts, so it was fairly easy to get people to play along, they also were very happy with doing it for free.
I then got in contact with a few local venues and asked them how much they would charge for hire, I was lucky enough to find one who was happy to let me hire it for free.
After I had a line-up of acts and a venue I had to publicise the event. Facebook was key in advertising and we also printed flyers that we distributed in town and schools that not only advertised the event but directed them to the Facebook page. I think using Facebook was a good idea because it relates to the target audience of the gig :) Also handing out flyers and most of all pestering as many people as you can to come along and spread the word!
Did anyone help out and if so what roles did they have?
There was one friend in particular that helped me out a lot by keeping in contact with the acts, advertising heavily and doing as much as she can really. There was also about 10 friends spread around the area at different schools and with different friendship groups selling tickets, this was a good idea because it brought a big mixture of people along!
Did you provide refreshments or any other ways to aid with the fundraising?
No we didn't. The venue had a bar which they kept all the profits from but that would be to compensate for the free venue hire, in the future I may look at paying for the venue for a cut of the refreshments too.
What feedback did you receive?
Very positive feedback; everybody had an amazing time and a lot of people were encouraging me to do it again.. I definitely will be!
What would be your top tip for organising a music gig?
Biggest tip would be to always have a backup plan! Always have reserves in place for your acts because our biggest problem was that two of the five acts dropped out, one of which was the morning of the gig! But we were lucky to be able to find replacements last minute.
Also don't be afraid to annoy people with advertising! It really pays off and get as many people to help out from different places, it’s much easier to make people pay attention to it if it’s coming from a number of people and not just yourself.Would you do it again?
I would definitely do it again! Not only did I raise lots of money I had a really good night out! :)
Did you have fun?
Yessss! It was very stressful and busy to begin with but was definitely worth while!
Well there you have it!, well done Jordan! :D
Have you got a fundraising success story you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you and feature you in our next case study. Please send details of your fundraising idea/event along with photos to our email address:
