January 28, 2012

A Cappella Fundraising: Nine Ways to Bring Home More Bacon

brought to you by Mark Hines

Hey, folks – hope y’all are enjoying the [insert relevant meteorological anomaly here]. We’re having a busy winter at TVC, but we wanted to take a few minutes and talk to you about something that makes most groups start twitching in their collective IKEA chairs: money. Not what you’re paying us – what you’re seeking for yourselves.

That’s right. We’re here to help you put the “undr” in “fundraising”:

• Undr-taking, as in yes, it requires some effort, but if you’re as committed to your group as we think you are, that won’t be a problem.
• Undr-stand, as in we gon’ teach you a little something-something about how to do it correctly, and then it won’t be so scary.
• Undr-wear, as in…well, wear some. Or don’t. Whatever makes you comfortable.

OK, ready? Here we go.

STEP 1 – DEFINE YOUR GOALS

What do you want to do with your money? The answer could be things like tours, ICCA competitions, albums, raging keggers (hey, we all need one now and then). But don’t limit your thinking by focusing on what you think you’ll be able to do. Just focus on the goal.

Why do you want to do it? This one’s more important than you think. If you don’t know the answer, staying on track will be tough. “What’s my motivation here, people?”

How much – realistically – is it going to cost the group to achieve the goal(s)? Again, don’t worry about whether you think it’s actually feasible. Just be honest with yourselves about what it’s going to take.

All that stuff above? Write it down. ALL of it. We’re much more inclined to do something when we can constantly see it in writing. Make it your screensaver. Set your phone to give you hourly pop-up reminders. Tattoo it on your knuckles. Whatever it takes.

STEP 2 – REACH CONSENSUS

Make sure everyone in the group is on the same page, and understands that decisions will be made based on the original set of goals.

That is: If the group realizes one day that it has $6,749.38 in the bank, and the opportunity presents itself to throw a Mega-Keg-Blowout-Bash™, and the bash will only cost $350, do NOT throw said bash if it’s not on the list of goals. (Be honest with yourselves during that whole goal-setting phase, too.)

STEP 3 – PRIORITIZE AND PLAN

Prioritize your goals, and develop a sound financial plan for reaching them. Figure out which of your goals is most important one, and set the financial “moment” when you can actually execute it.

That is, if the goal is to do an album, and the album is going to cost $10,000, you’re probably not going to be able to knock it out the second the meter hits ten grand – because the group has to purchase other things, too.

Define what you need to embark on projects like albums, major time commitments like tours, and whatever other goals you come up with, and…yep, we’ll say it again. We can’t stress enough the importance of writing it down (and agreeing on it).

STEP 4 – REAP THE REWARDS

Profit. Duh.

Implement the three steps above, and with some of the following fundraising approaches as starting points (along with the epically weird and wonderful ideas you’ll generate on your own), the only limit is…well, we’re sure there is one, but we’re not in the business of telling you what you can’t do.

• Ask for it. It’s surprising how few people think about this one, and it’s easily one of the most effective. Here’s the thing, though – if you don’t have a clearly defined “something” to ask for and an equally compelling answer to why you’re asking, you’re less likely to get the support you’re looking for.
• Kickstarter. Srsly. Don’t use a knock-off, either. Trust us.
• Pre-purchase albums as a group. This is one of our favorites! Two MAJOR initiatives are accomplished with this practice:
  • (1) Group members now have skin in the game. Do you think your group is going to mess around come recording time if each member has a personal monetary investment in the project? We don’t.
  • (2) Group members also have incentive to sell/distribute the finished product…which is kind of the purpose of making it in the first place, right?
• Pre-sell your albums. Get your adoring public to help you purchase the production of the album. (Also known in the industry as a “no-brainer.”)
• Bake sale, and don’t knock it. Or whatever it is you’re good at making. Sounds cheesy? Bet your ass it is. But it might put a cool $500 in your proverbial pockets. If you try it and end up wasting four hours of your lives, well, don’t do it again. But let’s face it: everyone loves cookies. EVERYONE.
• Car wash. Like the bake sale, make it work for you…and by make it work, we mean WORK IT. If you don’t succeed, don’t rinse and repeat.
• Pudding wrestling. Just do it and see what happens. Oh, and send pics.
• $5 rehearsal cover charge. Yeah, you read it right. Every rehearsal, every member, five bucks. Assuming you rehearse twice a week and have 10 members, that’s $100 per week (golf claps for TVC’s calculus gurus). It won’t fund a tour of Germany in the next five years, but it’s extra cash that you’d likely spend in a much worse fashion otherwise. Amirite?
• Grants. They’re out there. We don’t have much (read “any”) experience tracking down and securing grants, but we can certainly tell stories about people we know that have. Ask us.

The undr-lying truth? Any effort you put forth – and this applies to everything you do as a group, not just fundraising – will be exactly what you make of it. In other words, we can share information till we’re Smurf-faced, but until you commit and pursue it with discipline and determination, you won’t be bringing home the bacon.

Mmmmmm…bacon. Go get some.