In reply to bizymom regarding the prizes used for their carnival... You stated that you used Rhode Island Novely. We used them last year as well. We found their items to be the best overall price wise but their shipping charges are outrageous. Once you add the shipping cost into the prices, they basicall come out to be about the same as Carnival Mart. Do you know of any way to get the shipping charges reduced? I know with Carnival Mart, if you spend a certain amount, they will ship for free. And if you order by a certain time, they will give you a certain percentage off your entire order. [img]smile.gif[/img]
If you start early enough, you can get your local grocery stores to donate hot dogs and buns, get your local pizza places to donate pizza. this is all FREE money for you to make.
Ask your Gift Wrap distributor to donate prizes. I just did and got a HUGE box of really cool free stuff.
I agree with using local talents for music. Ask Parents that have EZ ups to donate them for the day.
we have a cake walk, donated by parents.
we have a cotton candy machine donated by a teacher
we rented a snow cone machine (huge seller).
if you start early enough, coco cola or pepsi will donate their softdrinks for you.
get your local baseball or football mascot to come to your event.
fire trucks are always a hit.
set up "massage chairs" for back rubs for parents from your local chiropractic or nursing students.
your local military base will give tours and pictures with a helicopter or F-16 for groups of 20.
Hey quick note--consider using wrist bands instead of tickets. We made the switch last year and our parents were SOOOOOO grateful. We still charged 11.50 for a wristband but we had 4 or 5 blow ups (all sponsored by local businesses). We also scheduled entertainment during the carnival (brass band from the high school, middle school step team, and our 5th grade chorus performance). Brought in TONS of people. We had a dippin dots stand, DJ and shaded sitting area for parents with tots. Also there were several "parent stops" with chairs along the way. If you have blow ups, consider some chairs for parents there as well. What all of this does is keep folks there longer. Then they buy more raffle tickets, more food, more drinks and you make MORE MONEY....if that is your goal (which it was ours). We had a petting zoo, the local fire truck, some boys scouts making s'mores and a helicopter even flew in for a few hours from the local rescue station. In all we cleared about 8,000 dollars (300 alone from our cut on the Dippin Dots). Plus EVERYONE had a terrific time. So we'll always do bracelets. Now we did offer tickets but the primary seller was the bracelets...
bizy,
how many people do you figure come to your event to clear $6,300 @ .20?
Our first ever event is this year and I was considering $1 tickets across the board, with a prize given at every booth.
Scottmom and others with tiers,
Do you find that you're spending more on prizes by offering better prizes for more tickets? Is it safe to assume that you've done this many years, know how many people to plan for, and don't overbuy too much, from experience? That would be my fear.
We charge a flat rate of $5 just to get in and there are prizes at each booth. Every child gets a prize at every booth, really. Ours is not a fundraiser; it's just supposed to break even.
