Ladies Night Out
| First Name | Lisa |
| Last Name | Maggrah |
| lisa.maggrah@gmail.com | |
| Club Name | Kinette Club of Medicine Hat |
| District # | 4 |
| Number of Members | 11-25 |
| Community Size | Medium-sized community (20,000-100,000) |
| Community Type | Urban |
| Project Name | Ladies Night Out |
| Type of Project (check all that apply) | Ticketed event (Gala, Princess Ball, Comedy Fest, Lip Sync Battle, Trivia Night etc.) |
| If other, please describe | |
| Was this project a fundraiser? | Yes |
| Description of project | Our annual Ladies Night Out is our biggest fundraiser and typically we raise between 15-20 thousand dollars. It is typically chaired by one or 2 members and ideally sub committees that look after details such as catering, decorations, games, prizes, advertising etc. Our ticket prices have been around $65 for the past few years. We hesitate to raise it more as we have a consistent attendance base and we don't want to jeopardize that. We finalize our theme, ticket prices and venue typically at least 9-10 months in advance with ticket design and sales beginning 4 months prior to the event. Collection of donations for the silent auction and prizes is usually started 3-4 months prior. We have had attendance between 350 -600 over the years with fluctuations expected based on economy, venue etc Decorations are theme based but still kept as simple as possible. Ladies seem to enjoy dancing, games, drinks and a chance to dress up in theme. We offer a variety of activities through the evening such as games for prizes, 50/50 draws, bucket draws, liquor tombola table, photo both We insist that all members contribute in some way to the success of the event as it is our major money maker and we need all hands on deck as much as possible. We have recently decided that we will not allow our members to purchase tickets to participate in the event as that leaves others to do more work. We will hold monthly work meetings to prep decorations, plan donation collection or finalize details. Donation collection is handled by one person who delegates a list of local businesses to each member and each member is expected to contact those businesses and collect the donated items to be used as prizes or silent auction items. Games we have at our event vary depending on previous years interest and the current theme. Feel free to contact for some examples of games that have worked and the details of how to run them. We always have a major sponsor who provides the grand prize at a discounted rate. usually $5000 in jewellery |
| Service Hours | 100+ |
| Did you leverage this project as a way to recruit new members? | Yes |
| If you answered yes to the question above, please explain: | We use the time that we have a captive audience to let the ladies know what we do, who we are and why we are relevant. We let them know where their dollars are going and how they could be a part of the team. It is important that we make sure we are having fun when we execute this project so that we set an example of how fun it is to be in Kin |
| How was this project promoted in your community? | We use facebook, radio and posters in the community to advertise. We also rely greatly on word of mouth from past attendees. We reach out to attendees after the event to get their feedback so that if there are problems we can tend to them before they become public or detrimental to future successes. |
| What were some challenges you faced with this project, and how could your project be improved? | We have faced many challenges such as member participation, venue location, costs etc. Each year we complete a project report with suggestions for solutions for the coming year so that they can be tackled pre-emptively and it is a greater success every year. Each year it is a struggle to get members to commit to helping out and that could be due to the overwhelming size of the project. we would do well to break tasks down into more manageable chunks and ask for help based on peoples skillsets rather than out of desperation. |
| What was the approximate budget for this project? | $1,000-$5,000 |
| If the project was a fundraiser, what were the sources of revenue for this project? | ticket sales, silent auction, sponsorships, raffles |
| If this was a fundraiser, how much money was raised (minus expenses)? | $10,000+ |
| What were the expenses for this project? | entertainment, venue, meals, decorations |
| Is there anything else you would like to share that would assist another club in duplicating this project in their community? | It is most important to nail down the major factors first and not get lost in little details at the beginning. once you have the venue, date, entertainment and meals sorted, the little details can come together. |