*** SAR Fundraising *** SARINFO - Martin Colwell From: Jedidiah Peterson [jedidiah@hotbot.com] Sent: December 1, 1999 19:17 To: sar-l@listserv.islandnet.com Subject: Beg, borrow, or wheel-and-deal The recent thread regarding grants reminds me of a topic that I have found interesting with other rescue colleagues, and that is "alternative funding". When my unit was founded, we were under strict directives that no tax dollars had been authorised for Cold Water Rescue, we were designed to be a fire department, and if we wanted to "play on the lake" we would have to get the equipment ourselves. We began an aggressive publicity campaign and beg-o-rama and were able to fully outfit an 8-man ice and cold water capable surface sar team within about 10 months. Here are some ideas... 1. Endorsements-- If you have a favorite piece of equipment, ask the company if you can strike a deal. Be careful how you use your organization's name and insignia (more importantly how THEY might use them) but to say that you count on Spacely Sprockets, if you really do, is an easy way to score some sprockets for the home team. 2. Product Testing-- This is usually a result of a previous endorsement. When they come out with the Sprocket 2000, they might send you a few to see what you think. You can actually be involved in decisions that improve products for other rescuers. 3. Logos/insignia-- Out first hovercraft bore the insignia of both the local charity that funded the outfitting, as well as the local marina which obtained the hovercraft prominently on the engine cowling, across the bow and down both gunwales. Most media coverage of the team included shots of these insignia. All our cold water suits had the charity's insignia on the shoulder (similar to NASCAR sponsor placements) which was displayed as a condition to one-on-one television interviews. Basically if we could find a square inch in a prominent place we traded it for something. 4. Point-of-Sale charity boxes-- Who do you serve? set up a change box by the register at a camping gear store, sporting goods, marina, fishing/hunting supply outlets, anywhere your rescuees tend to congregate. Not big returns, but well worth the minimal effort. 5. Media, Media, Media-- Use your local media. They are almost always looking for local content. Spoon feed them (I have had many releases go to press completely unaltered) Give them a thrill. Once a year we take the "new TV reporter" out on the hovercraft and let them fall through the ice and get rescued. They LOVE it. They will give you 3-4 minutes that are priceless. This coverage is a big part of how we get new funding, and how we recruit new rescuers. I won't say that these ideas were not met with some resistance (many people believe a rescue vehicle should not be a billboard...) but we have saved over 20 lives since '92 and I have yet to hear a complaint from any of them about the logos... jed --- Jed Peterson Cumberland Head Fire Department-Water Rescue Unit Plattsburgh NY "Smoke Detectors save lives...does yours work?" Date: Sat, 06 Jul 1996 07:07:37 -0700 From: Martin Colwell Organization: Search & Rescue Info To: spowers@mail.entrsft.comSubject: Re: Fundraising Info. Hi Steven, The perennial problem of fundraising... The quickest method to raise funds we have found to be casino nights - If this is permitted in your state. For us they are government regulated and we take 50% of the proceeds of two nights weare permitted to half-manage the operation. We have made $15-20,000 twice using this approach. We have sold 'discount ticket' books such as Entertainment and the Gold Book. These net about $7 a book and usually make us a few hundred dollars. Local raffles have been moderately succesful but are more work. We sell a map we have produced of our area. This makes small but steady income and we are very happy with it (much detail, waterproof paper). Occasionally we receive requests to monitor operations such as mountain bike a-thons and have done work for Outdoor Shows in the local stadiums, as well as erecting signage on high structures for trade shows. We also supplied rapellers for a huge opening event of GM Place Stadium. These last venues can be quite good at generating revenues as they are tied to commercial ventures. Being field marshalls for parades may also work - People with radios and first-aid skills are definitely an asset to organisers. Our most steady funding is the meal and gas allowances we receive from searches from our government SAR agency. This money is technically due to our members but generally they permit the funds to go to the team instead. (I guess we are truly volunteers!) I hope this gives you a few ideas. Best wishes, Martin Colwell. Lions Bay Search & Rescue Date: Wed, 01 Oct 1997 22:06:10 -0700 From: Brett Fournier To: Martin Colwell Subject: RE: Fundraising Hi Martin, I was just flipping through some archives on SARINFO and came upon a message you had posted regarding fund raising events. Here is something we do in Calgary that has been extremly successfull for us. Canadian Tire Money! What we do is put boxes in all the local Canadian Tire Stores close to the door where people can deposit their money as they walk out we've collected around $10 000 in a year (approx). The managers of these stores are more than willing to let us do this because it stops the problem of having to go pick it up from the parking lot. This is very useful because a lot of gear used can be picked up from Canadian Tire. Just another idea to get some extra cash into your group!. Brett Fournier Calgary Search and Rescue Association Date: Fri, 2 Jan 1998 09:17:10 -0700 (MST) From: "Howard M. Paul" To: sar-l@listserv.islandnet.com Subject: Re: Funding the Volunteer SAR Group Our organization has been successful with just a few "large" events/means. The last thing we want to do (because or "crisis-repsonder" volunteers won't) is put rescue volunteers to work at high volume, low return events such as raffles, car parks, etc. 1. If you are in an area that has a substantial federal workforce, seek out the "Combined Federal Campaign." This is an autumn event in which federal employees make contributions through payroll deductions. They may be to the CFC fund for disbursement to any CFC-registered non-profit, or they may designate your group. A side benefit is the CFC sends a monthly check to you based on contributions. Helps even out the cash flow. 2. We run an annual 5K-10K race for about 1800 runners. With sponsorships covering many costs, and a committee of local (non-team) citizens as steering committee, we net $12,000 - $20,000 per year. 3. We provide medical support for a series of four summer 100-mile bicycle tours. The Bike Club pays us a flat fee per rider, which amounts to a few thousand per season. 4. We apply for and (usually receive) grants from two state programs. One for EMS equipment and training, another for SAR equipment and training. 5. For a specific project (new vehicle) we also conducted a direct mail campaign to every postal address in the USPS delivery area. Very low effort, with respectable results. PS. A note to the poster regarding the IRS and paid fundraising campaigns: the IRS has no authority or jurisdiction over how you raise or receive funds (how you spend it, yes.) They may grant a not-for-profit charitable and/or tax exempt status, if you meet the criteria. I suggest you enlist the volunteer service of an accountant and/or attorney experienced in not-for-profit law. I speak with experience, as my *real* job is the paid manager of a not-for-profit organization. Date: Fri, 02 Jan 1998 13:20:18 -0800 From: Mike Larish To: sar-l-d@listserv.islandnet.com Subject: Fundraising Our unit gets money three ways. 1. Antique Show - Each year, antique dealers come from throughout the Western U.S. to Chico for a large antique show for the public. We get all door profits (charge public to enter) and all food/drink profits. Our unit puts in a lot of work on this helping set it up before hand, physical setup on the show weekend, cooking/vending on the show weekend, door/entrance work and finally security for the show. For four days solid work plus lots of pre-show work, we gross between $12,000 to $19,000. 2. Country Western Show - A professional marketing group gets the act (usually a somewhat well known country artist), sets everything up, does the phone and mail soliciting, etc. and uses our name. We, as a unit, do little to no work on this. We gross between $18,000 and $30,000 for our unit itself. 3. Individual donations by local organizations and private individuals. Our unit does a bunch of smaller community events to show the unit and keep our name out in the public's eye. Over a year's period, we probably take in about $5,000. That is the entirety of our operating, training, equipment, etc. budget per year. We'd like to increase that by another $20,000 as we're getting to the point where we need to replace some big equipment items and increase our training budgets from $9,000 to $20,000 per year. Date: Sat, 3 Jan 1998 11:42:24 -0700 From: dlaugh@juno.com (Dennis R Laughlin) To: sar-l-d@listserv.islandnet.com Subject: Re: Dues, fund raising ideas, etc We get some funding from the local county through the EM office for vehicle maint. , utilities, gas. Our special equipment funding has come from several sources over the years. 1) 1 commercial solicitation per year. This year it was a letter drive covering the entire county, both commercial and private. net about 10,000 2) collaborating with a local supermarket (they approached us) we put on two community rummage sales a year. A portion of the parking lot is sectioned off and the stalls (1 parking space) are sold for $5 a piece. the team gets 100% of this. We also operate the stores outside concession stand for this operation. We get a % of the take for this. We also have a 1 day raffle. Last year it was a bike and a couple of sports coolers donated by Walmart. Our part of this includes partitioning the lot, selling the food, getting the raffle items and selling the raffle tickets, doing a demo of some type, (usually an extrication, but we have borrowed a crane and done a vertical also) and cleaning up after the whole thing. The store pays for fliers and a few radio spots as a part of their regular advertising budget. They get good PR, We get good PR and $$$. Average take if we have good weather is between $500 and $700. (we also have the option of selling some donated "rummage", but have found it more of a headache that a money maker) 3) The only grant ever received was a state EMS grant -------------------------