Suggestions Org Banquets/Events

[NDGuy]

Morning all!
I am helping run the Mule Deer Foundation chapters in ND. We are getting to the planning stage for our fundraisers and banquets for this year. I wanted to get some thoughts on things that drive people nuts or that they enjoy about the events your local outdoors/wildlife habitat chapter put on.

What are some of the things good & bad that you would suggest to change or add?

Also, concerning prizes I had a few things as well.

1. Winning firearms, personally I feel most people don't get excited about spending money to win budget $200-400 guns (Savage Axis, Remington 783, etc). Would you agree we should be trying to raffle higher end stuff OR think outside the box and offer some things not everyone has in their safe like revolvers, 16/20 ga shotguns, calibers outside of the ole .270 30-06 etc.

2. What types of equipment/items do you like to see besides guns? Backpacks, tents, meat processing kit, art prints etc.

 

[Billy Goat]

I'll comment on winning the lower end guns. I could care less about winning one, however the high end guns you have a lot more money in and generally people buy a ticket or they don't. Doesn't matter that much what the gun is. In my experience. Best thing to do is to be working with a local store where the winner could trade in the firearm on something else. Place we are using will just credit the individual for the rifle or whatever and let them apply that towards something else. Also on the popular rifles we sometimes can offer a caliber of choice.


At a fundraiser make sure you have lots of women's items. Keep the wife's interested.

 

[NDGuy]

At a fundraiser make sure you have lots of women's items. Keep the wife's interested.

This is definitely something I haven't thought about. I will definitely suggest having a few things geared towards the ladies!

 

[Justin Crossley]

I personally won't buy raffle tickets for cheap guns. I think you want to match the firearms to your attendees' interests.

Keep everything as upfront and transparent as possible. I have been to a few banquets where it appeared some very shady stuff was going on. It makes it really hard to go back and support when people don't have faith that everything is on the up and up.

 

[WCB]

Maybe have a few "lower end" guns for automatic entry type drawings or even have a kids raffle for them. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there is no speaker or mention of specifics on what the organization/chapter has done or is planning on doing. A ton of these banquets are just hey thanks for your money, here is some food see ya next year. I understand it is a fundraiser but you have audience that you can educate on mule deer and habitat and they can intern pass the word of things like: how much habitat was protected/created, status of herd health, legislation, etc.

 

[NDGuy]

Keep everything as upfront and transparent as possible. I have been to a few banquets where it appeared some very shady stuff was going on.

Could you elaborate? Like volunteers winning prizes? Or not having as many prizes as they claimed etc?

 

[NDGuy]

Maybe have a few "lower end" guns for automatic entry type drawings or even have a kids raffle for them. One of my biggest pet peeves is when there is no speaker or mention of specifics on what the organization/chapter has done or is planning on doing. A ton of these banquets are just hey thanks for your money, here is some food see ya next year. I understand it is a fundraiser but you have audience that you can educate on mule deer and habitat and they can intern pass the word of things like: how much habitat was protected/created, status of herd health, legislation, etc.

Agree completely, and we try to do that by setting up a few maps/brochures on where their money has gone over the years. I enjoy seeing them get excited about it.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Could you elaborate? Like volunteers winning prizes? Or not having as many prizes as they claimed etc?

A couple of years back the national president for the organization won the most valuable prize ever given away at our local banquet, a desert sheep hunt. A year or two later a wife of a board member won two sheep hunts on the same night. I think a third party should handle all the drawings or staff members should not be entered.

I've also seen first hand where a leader from another organization flew himself and his wife across the state and stayed in a hotel for a few days just for a meeting. According to him, their trip was paid for by funds from the foundation. I know that travel expenses are sometimes necessary but this was excessive and there was no reason for his wife to be at the meeting.

 

[Dvidos]

I'll comment on winning the lower end guns. I could care less about winning one, however the high end guns you have a lot more money in and generally people buy a ticket or they don't. Doesn't matter that much what the gun is. In my experience. Best thing to do is to be working with a local store where the winner could trade in the firearm on something else. Place we are using will just credit the individual for the rifle or whatever and let them apply that towards something else. Also on the popular rifles we sometimes can offer a caliber of choice.


At a fundraiser make sure you have lots of women's items. Keep the wife's interested.

+1

 

[NDGuy]

A couple of years back the national president for the organization won the most valuable prize ever given away at our local banquet, a desert sheep hunt.

I remember reading that, that is some sketchy stuff. It's one thing to win a prize of any nature but the grand prize is a whole other world.

Totally agree about misappropriating funds!

 

[Kootenay Hunter]

Consider high end optics, spotters, scopes, binos for raffles. These have more appeal and more versatile.

Board members and family members of board members winning raffles leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

I attended a national event this past year where one of the prominent (well know nationally) board members won a pretty awesome prize....I though that was in bad taste as i;'m sure they already enjoy a lot of perks from the organization.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

I purchased an African Safari at a DU banquet. They had a special: $10 commemorative pint glass, with unlimited refills on beer. That definitely lubricated the wallet.

Great volunteers make the events work well. I've volunteered at some PF events and worked hard to get people to buy/bid/play games, etc. Some folks just slouch over and play with their phones. Fire the volunteers up and remind them how important their jobs are to the overall mission. Maybe do something special for them (volunteers) all, like a shirt or hat, and offer incentives at different fundraising goal levels.

Make it fun. Lots of games to win raffle tickets or things like that keep people interacting and make them feel welcome. It shouldn't just be a "show up, pay too much for a meal, and leave" kind of event. Maybe encourage networking and solicit volunteers for activities between now and the next event.

Also, some high end camping gear, even things like a SuperTarp or Headlamps, etc. instead of just guns would be really neat.

 

[ODB]

I’d say focus on things that people want but don’t have because they can’t bring themselves to buy them.

Outdoorsmans pan heads
High end trioods
Good glass
Bottle of Pappy VanWinkle
Hilleberg tents
Canvas elk tent
Good GPSS
Good bags
MacBook Pro

I’d buy a ticket for everyone of these...except maybe the booze

 

[Billy Goat]

A couple of years back the national president for the organization won the most valuable prize ever given away at our local banquet, a desert sheep hunt. A year or two later a wife of a board member won two sheep hunts on the same night. I think a third party should handle all the drawings or staff members should not be entered.

I've also seen first hand where a leader from another organization flew himself and his wife across the state and stayed in a hotel for a few days just for a meeting. According to him, their trip was paid for by funds from the foundation. I know that travel expenses are sometimes necessary but this was excessive and there was no reason for his wife to be at the meeting.

Are you meaning actual board members or committee members?

I'm on the committee of a few local chapters of large organizations. Committee members do win several of the prizes, but that's because they spend a pile of money themselves at the banquets.

 

[Billy Goat]

Also work with some local businesses. They might offer something local for an auction or raffle items. Doesn't need to pertain to what the organization is about. Look at bed and breakfast operations, restaurants, even outdoor powersports places. For the right advertisement companies will sell you something at a pretty steep discount.



Also one of the committees I work with everyone puts money in for a kids gift bag. Normally a fishing pole and some stuff like that, but do every kid that comes gets something.


And generally the name of the game is to make the booze as cheap as possible. Gotta get the pocket lube going.

 

[Justin Crossley]

Are you meaning actual board members or committee members?

I'm on the committee of a few local chapters of large organizations. Committee members do win several of the prizes, but that's because they spend a pile of money themselves at the banquets.

I have seen both. The problem I have isn't the fact that those people who are putting in all the work for the banquets and foundations are winning things. It's the way things look for the organization when people running it are pulling names of their counterparts and their families. That's why I mentioned having a third party run at least the drawings.

 

[Billy Goat]

I have seen both. The problem I have isn't the fact that those people who are putting in all the work for the banquets and foundations are winning things. It's the way things look for the organization when people running it are pulling names of their counterparts and their families. That's why I mentioned having a third party run at least the drawings.

I don't think third party doing drawing is bad. We have kids do it a lot. Just on raffles. One time the boy did draw his dad a few times.

 

[sndmn11]

Morning all!
I am helping run the Mule Deer Foundation chapters in ND.

Send me an email and we can get you some items donated [email protected]

We go to a few banquets every year. I have never seen a list of prizes or auction items before hand and it drives me nuts. I ask the person in charge every time a week or two before that banquet, and nobody ever knows. I want to know before hand so I can research and also plan out my spending. I'm not going to bid on a hunt without knowing who the outfitters is, and I'm not going to spend big if I'm not sure I am over paying. I like options for the items; every banquet I find something I would buy with one change like caliber of magnification. I HATE bottom tier items for auction or prizes. One of our retired owners has a few dozen never touched axis/citadel/Rock island/Windham/charter arms firearms that were bought because nobody would bid on them. Gift certificates are much better than a very specific piece of gear. Don't let anybody have the microphone who you wouldn't let drive your kids around town in their current condition. It should be very clearly explained to every helped what is going on. Sometimes we go to banquets wanting to find things to spend money on, but the one person who knows what raffle tickets go to what, or even if an item is a bid or raffle, is nowhere to be found. Every helped should have every answer, or be in charge of a single specific thing....I hate "I don't know" when I ask how to give money away.

 

[NDGuy]

Send me an email and we can get you some items donated [email protected]

Sent thanks man!

 

[CorbLand]

It wasnt a wildlife banquet but a fundraiser that I went to once had a local company donate 5 or so free oil changes. They went for a fair amount and were really popular. Sometimes the little simple things like that go a long ways and its a good way to get local businesses involved.