Craft Fair

How often do you do have this fundraiser? We are trying for once a year

What type of fundraiser is this? Craft Fair

What do you do to prepare for the fundraiser? Choose a weekend that your hall

is open, preferably in early fall. Early in the year send out invitations and

contracts to crafters in your area. Once you determine the number of vendors,

make a map of your hall were tables will be set up and then assign the vendors

to their locations. The vendors set up their own display booths.

What are the costs to put on this fundraiser? Our cost for our first time was low.

Only the postage for mailing out the invitations and contracts to the crafters.

Local Newspapers provided free advertising to nonprofit organizations. Some

members made signs from material they had.

How much do you charge for the tickets or meal, etc.? We charged $10.00 per

table for the 2 day event. Some vendors bought 2 or 3 tables.

How many members are needed to put on the fundraiser? Only a few members

are needed for this event. The hard work is in the set up and clean up.

How much do you usually profit from the fundraiser? This year was our first

attempt at the craft fair and we made about $200 on table sales alone. Some of

the vendors were members that sold items for their charities and the kitchen sold

food also.

What do you usually hold the fundraiser for? This fundraiser was for the

Waukesha Community Service Fund but it could be for any other fund also.

Additional Comments: This was our first year for this event and we sold out all

the space we had. It would work well for an Aerie with a large hall. The only way

we could increase our income would be to raise the table rental charge.

Advertising is the key to a good customer turn out. It was fun to do but I am

having trouble finding an open weekend to do it next year.

Submitted by Donald Jansta of Waukesha, Wisconsin #453