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11/02/2007 09:07:02 PM · #1 |
Hi all,
I plan on preparing some sort of charity event for the local humane society (animal refuge) and I'd like to be able to go to them with a concrete plan. I have two ideas in mind:
1) Auction off 5-10 larger Prints of Bahamian scenery / cityscapes / general pics, etc.
2) Make a 2008 Calendar with animals currently up for adoption
They both kind of follow the same revenue vs. risk path. Calendar's seem less risky and lower on the profit margin, however an auction could generate 0 sales or get a real winner.
What I'd like to find out from fellow DPC members is what do you think of either idea, which one would work better, what experiences have you made, etc.? All proceeds would go to the humane society, I seek no personal profit.
The one below is of Lula (with my wife), the pup we adopted & one of many on this island (statistics say 4 dogs for every human, they are literally everywhere on the streets).
//img216.imageshack.us/img216/1149/storm1nh3.jpg
Many thanks in advance for any advice you can offer :)
Cheers
Noel
Message edited by author 2007-11-02 21:14:11. |
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11/02/2007 10:37:14 PM · #2 |
My local humane society does it's own calendars. Any idea how many of these you/they might sell, at what price, and what does that many cost you to get? Generally printing isn't cheap (per unit) till you get 500 or 1000 copies. It's also getting a bit late in the year to do a calendar IMO. Great idea for next year - take pics of adopted pets (perhaps with their new owners) and run a contest, via web, to have people vote for each month's winning image. The winners are NOT disclosed until the calendar come out! People will have their friends vote for them, etc generating publicity and hopefully calendar sales. you can solicit sales all year long - buy now at a discount type of thing, and mail out the calendars when they're ready.
the auction...where and how would this occur? Why Bahamian scenery (are you in the bahamas?)
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11/02/2007 10:46:23 PM · #3 |
Thanks for the feedback Chris,
I do indeed live in the Bahamas, should have mentioned that earlier :) When you say too late, do you mean for 2008, As in start preparing for 2009 instead?
I think the contest is a great idea, would definitely generate more word of mouth and get some momentum going, duly noted!
Auction I figured could occur via eBay (think there's the possibility of doing custom themed ones) and a physical display can be produced at one of the organization's functions
Thanks again for your advice, very helpful :)
Cheers
Noel |
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11/03/2007 07:37:02 PM · #4 |
I like the idea of a calendar with photos of the animals. That would generate less revenue per unit but it would be easily afforded by many budgets.
If you're going to do it for 2008 you do need to get things going quickly as the printers will start being a little slower on processing orders due to Christmas rush. |
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11/04/2007 10:55:00 AM · #5 |
cheers to your altruism!
you have two things going here: photography and fundraising. you might want to talk to the humane society to see if they already have someone handling development that you can work with. i shoot a lot of charity events, and let me tell you, fundraising is serious work. i would much rather provide photographic services to someone who knows their business than have to do my job AND then do theirs.
on the other hand, if there's nothing already in place and this is something you want to break into, you might want to ease in slowly. if the humane society doesn't have anyone already doing active fundraising, find another local charity that does and talk to their people to find out what's involved. the thing is, you don't want to have to reinvent the wheel or completely start from scratch.
on another side, one thing i do to help out a little is to shoot events, make the images available for purchase, then donate a portion back to the organization. do keep in mind, there is costs to you involved (time, equipment, print-production, etc.) that have to be taken into consideration; it is up to you as to how much of that you can afford to donate (for example, it's one thing to offer everyone at an event a free 4x6; however, if there are a 1000 people at the event, you are going out of pocket over $200...).
good luck! |
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11/04/2007 11:11:32 AM · #6 |
Man, Skip, your good advice pile just keeps growing. So Noel, read what he said, then reread it. :)
I also really like the idea of a contest over several months. You're going to need publicity in order to raise money either way. Other ideas include contacting your local newspaper and radio stations. Try to get a "lifestyle" piece written about what you're up to or get on a talk radio show to discuss why you're doing it. Both of those are where working with a development (aka "fundraising") expert can help you, as Skip suggested.
Good luck!
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11/06/2007 12:49:38 AM · #7 |
Thank you for the input gentleman, all good ieas :)
I'm thinking I'll change the proposal more towards a photobook of the animals from the humane society or even in their new homes (with owners, would surely increase initial sales). I think this would work well as book for the coffee table and would pack more bang for buck, i.e. 50+ large images... Guess what I'm wondering whilst concepting this plan is, would the quality of blurb be superior enough or should I risk losing some revenue for the charity by going with a classier book, i.e. from Azuka (bear in mind I've never ordered one from any).
Many thanks again !
Cheers :) |
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11/06/2007 03:45:34 PM · #8 |
Hey Noel, :-)
Here is something my local photog club did at a recent event to raise funds for a new pediatric ER going in our local hospital. Several of our members donated themed prints to be hung in the new wing when it is done. At our event we hung these in a special section and had them up for 'adoption'. People could then purchase them, then the money went to the ER, and the print will be hung with a plaque with their name on it in the new ER. We did ask for a minumum price, but all the checks I saw were substantially more than the minimum :-)
(more detail about the event here.)
If it is just you, it may not be exactly what you want, but if you like the idea, perhaps you could modify the plan to suit your situation. |
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