I'd also love to hear the name of that agent that helped you out so much with a Florida package. My email is This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Thanks!!
We managed to put together a Florida vacation package for our spring festival last year. I had no luck calling myself but there is a travel agency that specializes in Disney in our area. I called and asked if they may have a contact that would help. She couldn't get everything donated but she got the majority of things and then took care of finding local businesses to sponsor the remaining portion of the package. She definitely had more success at getting stuff donated than I was having on my own. We sold tickets for the vacation package as part of a raffle and we advertised the sponsoring companies on the tickets, signage, web site, and our newsletter. She got us a set 2 day park hopper tickets for Disney World, 2 day Universal tickets, round trip air for 2 to Orlando, a limo from the airport to the hotel and some merchandise stuff (tee shirts, autograph books for the kids, mouse ears and that sort of stuff) as donations then she got sponsorships to cover a set dollar amount for the rest. She got enough sponsorships to cover 4 nights in a hotel and 2 kid tickets for both Disney and Universal since the donations were for 2 adult tickets only. We sold tickets for $5 each or 6 for $25 and we made about $2700. We had no money invested in it except printing flyers and signs to advertise it and then printing the tickets. I think we could have done more if we had given ourselves longer to sell tickets.
After doing that the agent offered to do an ongoing passive fundraiser for us. She sends us flyers and emails that are customized for our PTO. We send them home or email them out and then any family that books a vacation she donates back 30% of her proceeds to the school. She has a web site we can track stuff on and as of no, we are up to about $3500 and it is another one where we don't spend a dime. I am all about passive fundraisers whenever possible!
From talking to her, it sounds like a lot of her clients come from the web and aren't always local. I don't know if she is able to, or willing to, do the same set up for schools in other areas but I will be glad to ask if anyone would be interested in talking to her. Even if not, consider the option of getting local
businesses to sponsor the cost of some of the vacation.
The only luck we had last year with hotels is through a school contact. I wish I knew another angle to try! I'd love to pull together a Florida package... and Universal & Sea World won't even consider a ticket donation without airfare and/or hotel.
