Tony Bull's Firefighters Charity Ball
Learn how Tony Bull raised £1800 towards his Cycle Vietnam challenge by organising a ‘Firefighters Charity Ball’ at a local nightclub.
In raising money for Cycle Vietnam I decided I would attempt to raise as much money as possible in one go. I am a firefighter so I thought that I may as well make the most out of the so-called ‘image’ and arrange a Firefighters Charity Ball, which would take the form of a disco at a local nightclub. I contacted a club close to where I live and work, and promised them I would bring in 250 people on a Thursday night, which isn’t necessarily a busy night for some clubs. The gave me the club plus DJ, bar staff and doormen all for nothing with me keeping the door money, and they in return keeping all the bar receipts.
I designed different flyers aimed at getting men and women along. The women’s flyers were rather clichéd I’m afraid, and promised an evening of ‘fun, frolicking and cavorting’ with 125 firemen! I put the girl’s flyers in local shops, offices, factories, hospitals…anywhere in fact!
I gave myself two months in which to sell the tickets and within a month they had all sold out. The night was a great success (despite most of the women being extremely disappointed when they realised that most firemen are middle aged, overweight and have more than one chin…not really tying in with the calendar image) and I organise a couple a year now on a regular basis. I raised about £1800 on this occasion, but have raised close to £2500 on another.
I realise I am quite lucky being able to sell a night out based on this concept, but I see no reason why anybody who doesn’t work in a big organisation, office, school or hospital couldn’t do something similar. If you have a good idea, it’s easy to raise money as long as everybody is aware of it. I went on the principle of ‘if I tell enough people, I will sell enough tickets’.
I designed different flyers aimed at getting men and women along. The women’s flyers were rather clichéd I’m afraid, and promised an evening of ‘fun, frolicking and cavorting’ with 125 firemen! I put the girl’s flyers in local shops, offices, factories, hospitals…anywhere in fact!
I gave myself two months in which to sell the tickets and within a month they had all sold out. The night was a great success (despite most of the women being extremely disappointed when they realised that most firemen are middle aged, overweight and have more than one chin…not really tying in with the calendar image) and I organise a couple a year now on a regular basis. I raised about £1800 on this occasion, but have raised close to £2500 on another.
I realise I am quite lucky being able to sell a night out based on this concept, but I see no reason why anybody who doesn’t work in a big organisation, office, school or hospital couldn’t do something similar. If you have a good idea, it’s easy to raise money as long as everybody is aware of it. I went on the principle of ‘if I tell enough people, I will sell enough tickets’.
|