Raffles, bake sales and smoky bingo halls are all financial staples for
volunteer groups.
Whether it is the church women’s auxiliary, the local service club or a
health support group, money to fund activities doesn’t come as easily
as it once did.
Provincial governments give gambling revenue to charitable groups, but
that can be taken away, as in Alberta’s recent budget.
Debbie Menard, program co-
ordinator for the Plamondon and Wandering River Community Resource
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Society, a seven-year-old non-profit group in north-central Alberta
that offers child and youth activities as well as classes on parenting
and anger management, said it is difficult to raise money.
The provincial government pays wages for the group’s five employees,
but fundraisers pay for programs.
“It’s very limited in small towns, where everyone has their own
project,” Menard said. “With schools and church groups, people get
overwhelmed with requests. Even volunteers get burnt out.”
Creativity can ensure the success of fundraisers, whether it be tours
of interesting local homes and gardens, or a fun event with food.
Menard said successful fundraisers focus on what the community likes.
In her rural area, raffles of recreational vehicles are popular.
While sales of baked and sewn goods are regular events, the society has
also been holding a talent show that is open to the community.
“We usually pack the gymnasium in the school with about 300 people,”
said Maureen Hagen, a society employee. “That’s pretty good for a small
town. Wandering River is about 150 people and then there’s the
neighbouring farms.”
Most of the acts are music and dance, although last spring, one mother
and daughter team did a skit about why parents ask their teens so many
questions. The kids prepare their own routines and one jazz dancer
wowed the crowd, Hagen said.
“She was awesome. She was all over the floor, doing the splits, funky
arm movements.”
This year’s talent show will likely be held in September. Menard said
events and sales can take too much in energy, time and mileage costs.
“It’s a Catch-22. Sometimes you spend more time on fundraising than the
actual programs.”
Brownies and Girl Guides have used cookie sales for decades. In fact,
it is the only official fundraiser endorsed by the Manitoba Girl
Guides, said Catherina Dueck, community relations co-ordinator for the
provincial council.
Dueck said many groups have had to come up with newer methods to
increase interest in their traditional fundraising, such as a wide
broadcast of faxes urging support of events like daffodils for cancer
and tulips for the lung association.
The Girl Guides in Kipling, Sask., used an egg run to raise money for
the Canadian World Friendship Fund. According to the Canadian Guider
magazine, the girls would ask a resident for an egg in exchange for a
recipe. They then took it to the next house to sell for a donation and
a recipe. The event was advertised in advance so residents were
prepared.
