With
the end of the school year fast approaching, it's time
to take a look at the upcoming summer. For many of you,
summer means sleeping late, fun time at the beach and
just general laziness punctuated with lots of summer
anime viewing. For others, summer means more school
as you try to catch up on those classes so you can graduate
with your classmates. Either way, you're probably thinking
about hitting a convention, as summer means the heart
of convention season is here! So if you're planning
to hit a convention, why not look at taking the whole
club with you. Of course, to make it practical, you
may want to consider utilizing your club numbers to
help make it easier for everyone to get to the con.
Most cons offer group discounts and with more people,
hotel rooms cost less. Of course, depending on the status
of your club, you may be able to help defer a lot of
the costs for your members. With organized fundraising,
you could even potential take the whole group to a convention
with them having to spend very little of their own money.
This month, with a little inspiration from the following
letter, I want to take a look at something all clubs
face; the need for money. But first, let me get to
Kat's question:
This week's question comes from Kat MPC anime
club President.
" Hey AD,
I'm the club President of a Junior college anime club
in So. Cal. Our membership varies anywhere from 10
to 20 with attendance anywhere from 7 to 25. Despite
our normally small size we typically have no problem
getting support from our members. They support the
majority of our fundraisers with vigor.
My letter to you has two purposes really, a suggestion
and a question. I'll start with the fundraising suggestion.
Because of limited time and the fact that we have
to fill out a form to request the use of anything
at my college we don't normally get very many fundraisers
in done in the course of a semester. But one that
was really successful was out Pie an Officer. You'd
be surprised how thrilled people are to be able to
smack their anime club officers in the face with a
whipped cream pie. (And we imphasized that it was
anime club officers)
We set up newspaper to cover a large square of
the ground out of the way near our viewing room for
easier clean up. You then fill aluminum pie tins with
whipped topping/whipped cream (whichever is cheaper,
just don't buy the 99cent store stuff it burns the
skin) and have the member stand about a foot away
and give it a good splat in your face. This is messy.
So after learning the first time, we were better prepared
the next. I suggest wearing old clothing for the officers,
shower caps to protect your hair (you can get cheap
ones) trash bags (with a whole ripped for your head)
and goggles. It may seem like cheating, but beleive
me, enough gets in your mouth anyway and you look
so silly that no one cares.
My question is what do you do when the local
anime vendor that chose to support and sponsor your
club ceases to do so without informing you of his
want to withdraw? We never had any problems with him.
In return for the discount that he gave our members
(when they showed vaild ID and our membership card
signed by both the Pres and VP) we sent our club and
friend's business his way, bought all our prizes for
fundraisers from him, and even stocked our snack bar
from his cart. Any hints?
Sorry that was so long and drawn out. ^.^ Thanks
for taking the time to read it all.
Kat MPC anime club President"
No problem Kat. Thanks
for the fundraising suggestion; I'll have a few more
in a moment, but first to answer your question. I mentioned
before about working with a local store to encourage
membership in your club. There are quite a few benefits
for both your club and that store. First, people are
more willing to join the club if they can get a discount
at a place they will be shopping at anyway and the store
gains by having a set of regular customers coming in.
From the sound of things, everything was working out
fine, but suddenly things have changed. Something has
obviously happened. You need to talk to the owner to
find out what's going on. There's a lot that could have
happened, but until you talk with the owner, there isn't
any possible solution. Most likely, it’s a misunderstanding.
If things don't work out, then you may want to find
another store to deal with. Of course, if his store
is the only game in town, you might just be out of luck.
Without the full details, it's hard for me to provide
any advice.
With Kat's suggestion, I'll now talk about fundraising.
Depending on your club's situation, funds may not be
all that important. Maybe, you have the use of a room,
equipment is provided that meets your needs and you're
using the screening programs of the different companies
out there to get anime for your meetings all at no cost
to the club. Still, even with a good situation, your
club might still need some cash. If you are a campus
organization, you may want to participate in school
activities that require entry fees, or maybe rent a
van to get the club to a local convention and while
there, help defray the costs of the rooms. Also as the
year ends, you may want to throw a club party for all
your members.
For clubs based at universities and colleges, you have
a few options. Depending on your size, you may be able
to get support from your student government. You'll
probably have to prove the worth of your organization
to the campus. To play the game of student politics,
you have to think outside the box. Most outsiders would
look at your club and say you just watch cartoons. There
are a couple of different comebacks ranging from a study
of art and animation to promoting cultural diversity
through the study of a culture's entertainment. Look
at participating in school activities as a group. Many
campuses have club activity days, and running a booth
or merely having a presence will make you more visible
on campus. Also, if given the opportunity, make sure
you have a club representative in the student government.
Most student governments on campus are made up of senators
representing the different clubs.
If you are a small club, you may want to work with
another club or organization on campus. Look for organizations,
like film clubs, sci-fi clubs and video game clubs.
If that doesn't work, talk to some of the international
student associations. Together, you can seek representation
in your student government or have a larger presence
at school functions.
If getting money from your student government doesn't
work out, you may need to fall back on the yearly club
dues approach. Club dues, as long as they are consistent
and fair can help a club stay on top of things. And
remember that a club membership should have benefits.
Working with a local store or using club membership
to get a chance at a discounted rate at a convention
are good perks. The next option is fundraising. Kat
suggested a favorite of many clubs, paying for a pie
to get back at the club officers. There are also the
traditional fundraisers such as car washes, pancake
breakfasts, bake sales and even gaming tournaments (Video
Games or collectable card games with donated prizes
up for grabs).
What works for your club is going to depend on the
size and make up of your membership. To be truly successful,
you need active members willing to work hard. This is
where you need to have clear goals on how the money
is going to be spent. Without clear goals, no one will
be willing to help out. If they can't see benefits for
themselves, then they won't help out.
That's it for this month. As always, if you have any
questions or comments, feel free to email me at boxie@azraelproductions.com!
Thanks for reading!
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