Soc Hop
 

How often do you do have this fundraiser? Once a Year (so far)
 

What type of fundraiser is this? Dance
What do you do to prepare for the fundraiser? Obtain the services of a DJ familiar with music from the 50's & 60's. Check with your membership to see if anyone does DJ-ing or knows someone who may be willing to donate their services. If you have to pay for your DJ, that will be your biggest expense.
Decorate your hall with 45's and 33 cut outs, or what ever 50's theme you decide on.Ask for donations of snack and finger foods. Organize some contests, such as Best Greaser, Best Bobbie Socker, Best Dancer and hold a Hula Hoop Contestand have prizes such as 50's/60's music CD's.
Get donation of candy that was popular back in that day. Yes, there are still some around, such as Bazooka, Mary Jane's, Root Beer Barrels, etc..... place an amount on each table. Find some old time fun things such as paddle balls, slinkies, etc... to place on the tables for your guests to play with.

What are the costs to put on this fundraiser? If you can get everything donated, there will be no cost.
How much do you charge for the tickets or meal, etc.? $5 per ticket. If you have to hire a DJ or provide more extensive food items, you may want to charge more.

How many members are needed to put on the fundraiser? You'll need a few members to decorate and do clean up. And then your Chair person to annouce the contest winners, and a couple people to sit at the door to collect and sell tickets, as well as a couple people to go around and sell raffle tickets during the event.

How much do you usually profit from the fundraiser? This was our first time doing this event and with our small membership (<300), we raised a little over $500

What do you usually hold the fundraiser for? We raised money toward a new floor for our hall but you can designate any charity or benefactor.

 Additional Comments: In conjunction with the Soc Hop, we also had a Raffle Basket. Members donated items to the basket to Raffle off. We got so many donations, we were able to make 2 baskets to raffle off. We started selling the raffle tickets several weeks prior to the event. We also held a 50/50 raffle during the event.

As a last minute thought, we also put out a basket and asked members to donate a clean pair of socks (Soc Hop) that we will donate to our local Rescue Mission.

Submitted by Linda Butterfield of Springfield, MA #148