We charge $10 for Set up for each game, and $10 for Teardown of each game, so therefore $20 is charged for each game that we are delivering. This accounts for the time it takes our Delivery Personnel to unload it, take it up an elevator, bring it into a room and set it up. Then again when our Delivery Personnel return to grab your order, they will pack it all up, carry all of the items back down that elevator or stairs, and load it back into the truck. Our Delivery Personnel will also inspect everything, make any last minute repairs, and give it a wipe down if got dirty during transporting it.
Archives: FAQs
How much is the Transportation Fee?
If you have added on Set up & Teardown which is $20 per game, you will then be prompted to enter in your Delivery Address while in the checkout. A Transportation Fee will be added to your cart after entering in this address. The calculation is simple – it is $2.50 per km from our showroom, to your location. Keep in mind that when broken down, this is more like $0.63/km each way, as we have to travel to your location, back to our shop, to your location, and back to our shop again. We are not like other Delivery companies where they can get a large trailer and do 30 deliveries in your city that day. We are only going specifically for your event and might only have 1 or 2 other deliveries the whole week.
What does this Transportation Fee include?
The bulk of this fee will cover our Delivery Personnel’s time as much of their time will be spent packing/unpacking your order, as well as loading/unloading your order onto our trucks. Then there is all the time spent on the road as they go to your location, back to our shop, to your location and back to our shop again. It also covers for Fuel Charges and upkeep to our vehicles. Additionally, depending on how large your event is, sometimes we need to rent special equipment or a larger vehicle to fit all of your games into one load. This Transportation fee will cover all of this.
How do I get Prizes and How Many should I get?
Buying Prizes
- Do not rely solely on donations!
- You may have to spend some money to make money, so look for the sales.
- Save up your Air Miles, PC Points, or credit card points and purchase prizes
- BBQ’s, TV’s, iPads, concert tickets, sporting event tickets, gift cards, or even gift baskets are great prizes and they are things that you can usually find on sale.
- Never pay full price for prizes… there are deals everywhere.
- Keep your eyes and ears open and ask around for some sales.
- But really do your best to focus on donations so that you are not spending hundreds or event thousands on prizes. Free is better for Fundraisers!
How Many Prizes Should I Get
- Be weary of one thing – sometimes people think the more prizes, the better.
- It always looks impressive when the prize tables are absolutely loaded with loot.
- Consider that it takes time to draw a ticket for a prize, so more prizes mean more time drawing, and guests can become agitated.
- If you have a lot of smaller prizes, consider consolidating them into “Prize Packs” or letting the DJ give some away for spot dances – a great way to get your guests up dancing and enjoying themselves.
- A good problem to have, is that you have TOO many prizes to give away.
- If this is your case, then use these prizes for games, rather than giving away money.
- Plan to have 1 huge Grand Prize, 2-3 smaller but still big prizes, and then a Raffle Table of about 20 -30 prizes. You can consolidate some of them into baskets as we mentioned before. Too many, and it will take too long to coordinate. Too little, and nobody will want to buy tickets!
- Consider renting our Raffle Containers as you see pictured above. Keeps things neat and tidy!
Carrie (owner of Jack of all Spades) just had her own Stag & Doe in June 2018, and 99.9% of her prizes were donated so pretty much…. All. Of. Them. She bought an LCBO gift card for the toonie toss, but besides that, she was not out of pocket for anything. She worked hard, and worked for months getting prizes, she got a quadrillion “NO’s”, but her persistence paid off. Definitely get help though, as its a huge undertaking. Good luck with requesting Donations for Fundraisers – see our other pages to help with Writing your Donation Request Letters and how to ask!
How to Write a Donation Letter Request
- First of all, do not hand write your Donation Letter Request!
- Type it up and print in advance.
- Keep it in your car and when you are in the area, drop it off!
- Give to your committee members too if they live close to the location.
Step by Step Instructions on what your Letter should say:
should be addressed to their company name / person’s name – don’t make a generic one that you hand out to everyone
- ie) To: Manager/Owner of Boston Pizza
include a picture of the person the Fundraiser is for, or a company logo on its letterhead if a Corporate Event
- coloured picture is best!
who and what the Fundraiser is for (if different)
- This letter is to request a donation for myself (first and last name) and my fiancé (first and last name) to use at our Stag & Doe (or insert type of Fundraiser) that we can use to raffle off for our Prize Table
say something unique about your sitaution
- I can appreciate that you get a lot of donation requests, but we hope that you consider our circumstance a bit different. (insert your story in one sentence. Here is an example – My fiancé and I met in high school and we have been dating for the past 12 years. He has been overseas for work and has finally moved back to Ontario so we we have decided that now is the right time to tie the knot and start our new journey together!)
what type of donation you are looking for
- Specifically, we are hoping that your company is either able to donate a $50 gift card, a free service, or a gift that we use to raffle off, however we would be grateful for whatever it is that you are able to donate!
when the event is
- Our event is being held on (insert date with year)
where the event is
- at the (insert hall name with city)
how many you expect to show up (be realistic and don’t inflate the number!)
- We have already invited (insert number of people) and are expecting approximately (insert number of people) to attend our event in person
why you thought of this particular company
- We love your company because we love (insert reason – your prices, your location, your staff, your line of products, etc. But be specific)
your favourite product
- We especially love your (insert item that they sell that you legitimately enjoy. Google their company to get specifics and to spell things right, and don’t sound too general)
how you anticipate people will react to their gift card/prize, etc.
- We know this will be a popular prize to win because (insert your reason such as – there will be a lot of golfers there, there are lots of people with young children in attendance, lots of moms who love wine, etc)
show your appreciation
- We would be so grateful for whatever it is that you can to do help us out
how they can contact you – give several options (text, email, phone)
- Please contact me anytime by text/call (905-555-5555) or by email (x@x.com)
tell them you will follow up if you don’t hear from them
- If I do not hear from you within the next week, I will be following up with you as I am so excited about the prospect of using your product/service for a prize!
put your name down and sign
- Thank you for your time, (insert name & then sign below)
Other Tips:
- Staple an actual ticket of the Fundraiser to accompany it – it just shows it is more legitimate.
- Do not make your letter sound vague (I am requesting a donation) but instead be straight to the point and clearly state what you want (I am requesting a gift certificate for $50).
- Do not make it too generic like this one (I am asking for a donation to my stag and doe and appreciate your help). Boring! Make yours stand out because they literally get these weekly if not daily, so make yours stand out from the rest, so they remember you. Make it personal with something they can relate to you about. Talk about how you and your hubby met if it is a romantic story, the kids you have, how much you love shopping there, or a memory of the first time you purchased from them, or a favourite product that you cannot live without. Add a picture of you with your spouse or kids, as it is makes it much more personal.
- Just remember you are in competition with a LOTTTTT of others, so make your letter and story special.
Ticket Packages
Package Signage
Ticket Packages are the most common way to sell tickets at Fundraisers now. People have gotten so creative and have come with some great ways to sell Packages. Here is an example of a local girl who put together these Packages. This kind of pricing is very common, but you can change it around however you want!
This trend has people offering 3 types of Packages at a Fundraiser:
- Couples
- Singles
- DD’s
Obviously the Couples Package will be the most enticing and will include the liquor tickets, but don’t leave out the Singles! And of course the DD’s need their own package, so we agree with this kind of pricing and try to promote this way of thinking. It encourages people to spend more than they might have originally, but it is easy for them to make decisions too. People want to go once, buy a Package, then sit down. They don’t want to keep going up to buy one ticket at at time whenever they need it. We really cannot see any downfalls with offering Ticket Packages. We just encourage you to be fair in your pricing and not overcharge by being greedy. You want people to feel like they are getting a deal, which is the way you are supposed to feel when you buy a Package deal. Now lets take a closer look:
Couples Package
This is what we have seen as being a common Couples Package, and we have seen them for somewhere between $40 – $60. We think this is a fair offering and it is the most popular package purchased.
- 4 beer tickets
- 2 refreshment tickets
- 4-6 grand prize tickets
- 2 penny sale sheets (or 2 arms lengths of Raffle Tickets)
Singles Package
The Singles will have about half the amount offered in a Couples Package, and it would be about half the price, plus a tiny bit more. It is common to see the Singles Packages for around $25 – $35. It might include:
- 2-3 beer tickets
- 1 refreshment ticket (optional)
- 2 grand prize tickets
- 1 penny sale sheet (or an arms length of Raffle Tickets)
DD Package
This Package won’t have any alcoholic beverage tickets and will be the cheapest package offered. We commonly see this Package listed for between $15 – $25. It might include:
- 2-3 refreshment tickets
- 2-3 grand prize tickets
- 1 penny sale sheet (or an arms length of Raffle Tickets)
Nevertheless, having Ticket Packages is a great way to earn more money. Otherwise, a couple may approach the booth, and just get 2 beer tickets, 1 grand prize ticket, and 1 penny sale sheet only. So you are definitely encouraging people to buy more by offering Packages! Important Note: You cannot specifically say that they end up getting a free beer by getting a package. Instead you must be careful by saying that the liquor prices have not been discounted somewhere on your sign.
Separate Signage
You will also want to have a separate sign advertising what they are per ticket, because some people are just more comfortable with that. Or they might have already bought a Package and just need 1 more drink. So make sure that is clearly outlined on a sign right next to it, how much you are selling per refreshment ticket, liquor ticket, beer ticket, penny sale sheet, or raffle ticket, or even game ticket. Just make sure you are not discounting drinks, as that is illegal (buy 1 drink ticket for $5 or 5 drinks for $20).
Here are some ideas (and have a pic of the ticket beside it as people are visual):
- Liquor Ticket: $5 (if in Hamilton region, $4 if in Niagara region, $6 if in Halton region)
- Refreshment Ticket: $2
- Raffle Ticket: $10 for 5 tickets, $15 for arms length, $20 for wing span
- Penny Sale Sheet: $10
- 50/50 Tickets: 5 for $5, or 15 for $10
- Grand Prize Ticket: $5 each or 3 for $10
Keep it Simple!
Just don’t confuse people with having too many options, or don’t confuse them by being too wordy or having a busy sign. Keep in mind that a confused mind says NO and will instead opt for the simplest thing, and therefore you could lose out on potential profit!
If you have some different ideas on pricing, make some comments below!
How to Save Money on Drinks
Measure!
You have to measure what you are pouring if you want to save money on drinks. Everyone loves a generous drink, but when you are trying to make a profit, you cannot be giving away drinks for free! See this image? That is all you need to know! Beauty!
Also have a sharpie at the bar, and have them write their name on their cup before pouring the drink. Then they can bring this cup back each time, thus saving you money on the cups.
Stay away from buying coolers – although it is nice for people to have some choices, you don’t make as much money on Coolers than you would a Beer or mixed drink. Save the coolers for home parties when entertaining a few close friends.
Lastly, if this is a Fundraiser, DO NOT buy all expensive brands. People will be happy with whatever you are serving. Do not buy super cheap brands too… just buy middle of the road brands that will be crowd pleasers.
How to Set up Your Hall?
Figuring out how to set up your hall can be tricky but we have some great tips. Make sure that when you are setting up the tables, they are not all in straight lines like you would see at a bingo hall. Be creative and funky and change it up a bit. Maybe even draw out a layout ahead of time. From experience, we have found that you should have zones for everything: food, games, dance floor, seating area, bar, etc. This makes it easier for your guests to navigate and not miss anything. It also spreads the guests throughout the hall more evenly which will prevent people from feeling closed in and congested. You want people to mingle and walk around rather than stay in one area the whole night.
You should put games like Blackjack, Poker, Roulette and Craps up against the wall so that your guests cannot go beside or behind the dealer and cheat. It is fun to place games like the Jail & Bail in the middle of the room, since it is free standing and will make people notice it. Don’t throw this game in a dark corner – be strategic and place it where people will notice it! A huge dance floor is not needed; you want the attention to be on the games, which is where you make your money. As games start to close at the end of the night around midnight, that is when the dancing may really take off, but probably not before.
How to Run Raffle Draws?
Need some help with how to run the Raffle Draws? Plan to shut down the games no later than midnight, as you will need time to run the raffle draws. When your guests purchased Raffle Tickets throughout the night, they would walk along the long line of prizes on the Prize Table, and choose which prize(s) they wanted the most. Then they would tear half of their ticket and put it into a Raffle Container that corresponded with that Prize.
One big mistake people make when they have lots of raffle prizes, is that they use a microphone to draw the raffle prizes all at once which stops your party dead. It also drags on and on and on, and it can be annoying. Especially if you are one of those parties that have 100 prizes.
It is a good idea to draw a couple of prizes publicly and either have the DJ announce the other winners in between songs or rent our Dry Erase Boards to post the winning numbers silently. This is a good way to keep the sale of Raffle Tickets going, as your guests will be constantly reminded about the prizes people keep winning. As the night goes on, the prizes get more expensive and more appealing, thus encouraging people to stay longer and spend more money.
Another idea is to have people write their names on the Raffle Tickets before they put them in a Raffle Container. This way, the announcer does not have to read the numbers eight times before people hear him correctly, they will understand a person’s name much easier and it will go faster. Also, if they are not there anymore, you can get them the prize another day. So people don’t have to stick around…. however you kind of want them too! The longer they are there for, the more they will spend on drinks and games, so you choose what is best.
How to Sell the most Raffle Tickets at my Event?
We hate to say it but if you must know how to sell the most Raffle Tickets at your event… but we are just going to say it. Specifically choose some good looking men and women to sell these tickets. Terrible isn’t it? So shallow! But it works. Ev..ery..time.
Make sure they charm, smile, and hustle for best results. It is good to have a few different colours of Raffle Tickets too, because one girl can have the red tickets, and one girl can have the blue tickets. When the red ticket girl sells tickets to a group of people, the blue ticket girl can come around and ask them to buy tickets from her. When your guests say that they already have some, the blue ticket girl can say, “but you do not have my colour,” with a pouty look on her – works every time!
Typical pricing would be 3 tickets for $5, an arms length for $10, or a wing span for $20! Another good option is to also offer $15 for a hug, which means that a pretty girl will hold the tickets in her hands and will hug your guest. When her hands meet around their waist, then that is how many tickets they get. Guys are a sucker for this!
So we recognize how awful these tips are when trying to decide how to sell the most raffle tickets, but just trust us when we say it works.
Party Alcohol Liability Insurance (PAL)
Nowadays, most halls require you to get Party Liability Insurance, also known as PAL, when having a Wedding, Stag & Doe, etc. which will cover you for liability from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000. Some halls have their own Insurance company that they work with and offer great rates. If fact, the Peach King Centre in Grimsby, offers a great rate so be sure to check them out! Would be nice to save you the hassle of having to apply for this separately – just another step in the planning process that you can avoid! If the hall does not offer its own Insurance, then we recommend using PAL Insurance Canada which is the most well known company that offers PAL for Stag & Doe’s and Fundraisers. Also check with your auto or home Insurance provider, as they may offer this.
The last time we checked (Feb 2019), their rates (including tax) were:
- $150 if you have between 1 – 100 people
- $188 if you have between 101 and 500 people
- $220 if you have between 501 and 1000 people
Here is what PAL Insurance Canada’s website says about what they cover:
This program provides protection when lawsuits are brought against individuals, organizations or companies who host single/multi-day functions with alcohol service. Designed for event hosts who are holding reception-type events in a rented facility. A valid liquor permit or license must be in place for service of alcohol.
https://www.palcanada.com/index.php/en-us/event-hosts/party-alcohol-liability
Events with live entertainment OR sports DO NOT qualify for this policy.
Note: DJ’s are not considered as live entertainment
So just click here to fill out their simple online application, or feel free to shop around. Definitely ask your hall if they offer it though, as this could save you some time and money.