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.

First of all, let’s simplify things.  Do not allow bets of nickels or dimes or quarters at games.  This will eliminate having to have a separate float at each game, and to keep rolls of coins at each game.  Instead just deal in loonies and toonies and bills.  Keep it simple man!

At the front door when people enter, you will need a large float there to break people’s twenties because that is what most people will start with.  Consider renting our Deluxe Cash Box as it separates all the change and bills effectively.  You may have 10 people show up at once so you need to make it a smooth transition into the hall and take their money fast!

Bringing along Food for Fundraisers is a daunting task as there are so many mouths to feed!  You can bring your own food to the hall, use the caterer at the hall, or find your own caterer. Nobody expects you to make everything, so do not be afraid to ask people to help prepare the food and have a sort of pot luck.  Lots of people may offer you help but not know how to help.  Ask them to bring an appetizer or even better – give them a few options to choose from.

Some great party food suggestions are: pizza, cracker and cheese trays, deli sandwiches (although these can be a lot of work and money), vegetable trays, fruit trays, potato salad, etc. Try to get foods that you can prepare before hand; do not have to be heated up when you get there; and that are easy for cleanup too.  Use disposable containers or foil pans as you have zero clean up when done!  Bring lots of tupperware so that you can make some take-home meals for people who could use it, assuming you have lots of food left at the end of the night. You might even want to consider Roma Pizza, as you do not have to worry about ordering hot pizza to be delivered at a certain time, and this pizza is amazing!  Just pick it up from their Barton Street location in Hamilton the day of.

Music relaxes people and it encourages them to stay longer and spend more money. A home stereo, renting speaker equipment, using an iPod to play downloaded music, or using Spotify playlists will work if you are under a tight budget. But that can be a lot of work to prepare the songs in advance or have a buddy look after the music selection throughout the night. If you hire a professional DJ, they can help keep your guests happy as well as keep them at the hall longer, which is key. DJ’s are trained to entertain their guests, and they can actually help you earn more money by making announcements throughout the night informing your guests of a new raffle or game that is about to start. Give them a schedule of when things are happening, such as Raffle Draws or a competition for one of the games or when the bar is shutting down.  They can hustle and take the pressure off of you to help sell things.  They can also get people to participate in games, or they can announce the Door Prize winner’s name.

But… they do come with a price.

If you have chosen a DJ, he/she should have a very large selection of music that will work for all age groups. Look at the possibility of hiring the DJ for the wedding as well, as there may be a combo discount. Decide whether you want dancing at this event or if you want your guests to concentrate on games only. If the hall is small and congested with a lot of games and activities going on, there is a good chance that less dancing will take place. However, a good selection of background music to please the guests creates an exciting ambiance. Hire the D.J. from 7pm to 1am, but keep in mind that the majority of guests tend to show up between 9pm and 10pm.  Kids today huh?! For a good D.J. you should pay between $400 and $500 however you can definitely pay up to $1000 if you get their special effects. We highly recommend checking out Spirit of Sound.

Obviously we are a bit biased when we suggest that you have games, but the games serve a dual purpose as it provides entertainment but it also generates money for you too.  We put together a few packages for you that are fantastic for Fundraisers, and there are great savings here!

When you are choosing your games, keep in mind that you may want to introduce different games throughout the night to keep it interesting, rather than doing them all at the same time all night. As an example, when guests arrive they may do one round of each game and then sit at a table for the night. But if you keep bringing out new games and get people excited about new tournaments or prizes to win, they will be more likely to keep getting back off their comfortable chair!

Find people who are outgoing, good in the field of sales, who are well liked and know lots of people, are not afraid to ask people for things to sell your admission tickets. You should get family members to sell to family members and their friends; friends to sell to their family and friends; coworkers to sell to coworkers and their friends, etc.  Make a list of everyone you know, go through your phone contacts, go through your Facebook contacts, talk to neighbours, talk to coworkers, talk to people in your social circles at school, sporting events, or church.  Keep talking and always have your tickets handy!!

You might want to put on the ticket itself, what the major door prize will be.  That way if people have bought the ticket but are contemplating going, this will remind them of why they need to go!

Do not have just one person selling the tickets as this is a lot of pressure and not fair to them. Get many people selling them, as it is a lot of work and you will sell more this way. Do not count on people showing up at the door either just because you told them when it would be – always sell tickets in advance even if you are certain they will come. Many people will buy tickets just to show support, but will have no intention of going to the event.

You definitely cannot do this alone so you need to recruit lots of help!  Delegate as much as you can.  We find that people want to help, they just don’t know how.  So if you can assign certain jobs for people, they will feel helpful and confident that they know what to do. Or if you don’t feel comfortable dictating what you need people to do, instead give them a list of 3 or 4 things and ask which one they can help with.

These volunteers should be people you can trust (probably family, coworkers, or close friends), as they will be handling a lot of cash. You might want to consider giving them free entrance to the event and maybe 1 or 2 free drinks. Ask them not to indulge in alcohol until they are off the clock especially if they are handling money. We offer Dealers to run the games for you – just ask us for a quote.

Most importantly, you need to create a schedule!  It will state when your helpers will arrive, when certain games are going to begin and finish, who is running them, who is the backup, when the food will be served, when last call is, who is taking the games home, who is packing up the food, etc.

You may want to post this schedule the night of the event for the volunteers so that everyone can stick to it. Keep in mind that these volunteers will want to have fun as well so give them some free time to enjoy the party.

We understand that many people, despite the regulations, still share their event with anybody who will listen – so with the general public.  Something like – “Please invite your family and friends to attend my event” is a big no-no.   Advertising Fundraisers through social media is technically not allowed unless you do so following their guidelines.  Advertising with a Facebook group is allowed though as long as it is NOT open for the public to see.  Taken directly from the AGCO website, they said this:

Acceptable forms of notification may include social media (not available for viewing by the general public, must be a personal guest list), private invitation, etc.

They recommend to keep a list of ALL people who bought a ticket, and ALL people who said they will buy their ticket at the door.  It cannot be advertised to the public and instead seen as an invite only event.  So just ensure your settings are accurate when setting up a Facebook Event, and you are good to go! Most newspapers now know not to allow advertisements related to Fundraisers because of some legislation that went through in 2013.

In order to estimate the number of people that will come to your Fundraiser, start by making a list of family, friends, coworkers, neighbours, your parents friends, etc.  Ask your wedding party to make a list of friends or family that know the couple, and who may like to come or at least buy a ticket.

Get your committee to review the list because chances are, you forgot a ton of people. Keep in mind that some people will just buy a ticket for support but do not intend on going to the event. Once you have your list, expect that 60% to 70% will show up if you are lucky.  Even for people who say they will come, and you know that they will be there no matter what – people cancel last minute all the time, so that is to be expected.

Legally you are not permitted to advertise your event on public webpages or newspapers, but you can promote yourself within your own friends group on Facebook by inviting people personally. Make sure to give permission to others to invite to your FB page, because as long as someone is invited, they are able to come, even if you don’t know them. We just cannot have people walking off the street coming in because they heard there was a party going on.

Be weary of Facebook though because people will confirm they are coming but they may not have bought a ticket from you yet, so don’t count on their “confirmation.”  Other times people say “maybe” as a reply which really doesn’t help you at all.  The sole purpose of the Facebook Event Page is to generate excitement, invite those who you normally would not run into or who you would phone, and keep everyone updated with any important details. So do you want to know how to get an ACTUAL number to work with? Read about our Calculation below.

The age old question we are always asked is how much people make at Fundraisers? We got the inside scoop because year after year, our clients tell us! We have had people break even from their Fundraiser (OUCH!) and we have had several people make just under $30,000.  The people who broke even (honestly maybe we have met 5 over the past 12 years) obviously did not plan this out too well, and obviously did not follow Jack of all Spades’ suggestions.  ? CLICK HERE to see those suggestions by the way.

Wow, there are many things to buy for this event, but do not worry as long as enough thinking and planning goes into it. We have created a Fundraiser Budget for you to follow along and fill out as you go. This keeps you on task without overspending.

Also, one thing we should mention is to not depend on your wedding party to pitch in financially if you are holding a Stag & Doe.  They are already being expected to buy dresses, tuxes, get their hair and nails done, buy you an expensive wedding gift, pay for a shower, bachelorette party, stag, devote their time to help, possibly pay for a plane ticket if its a destination wedding, etc etc..  That is asking a lot already!

Plan on spending this money out of pocket, hope for donations, and make your money back and then some after the party is done.  We know that for prizes it is common for the bride and groom to ask the wedding party to buy a bottle of booze for a booze basket, but again – do not take advantage of their generosity and plan to spend out of pocket if you must.  Follow our instructions on Donations to help in that area.  On that page we mentioned that Carrie (owner of Jack of all Spades) had her Stag & Doe in the summer of 2018, and she had 99% off her prizes donated, except for the toonie toss LCBO gift card.  Other than that, everything was donated from local businesses, so it can be done!  Don’t ask your wedding party for more, that is all we are saying 🙂  Have a Fundraiser Budget in place, stick to the plan, and hustle for those donations so that your profit margin is higher.

A common question is when should I have my Fundraiser, because there are literally 365 days to choose from, and it can be very overwhelming!  But this is one of the first decisions you need to make when planning for a Fundraiser, and it is kind of an important one.

First check with your main circle of people to ensure that the day you are considering works for them.  That is obvious right?  You would think so, but we thought we would mention it.  Perhaps give them 5 dates and ask which ones DON’T work, and cross those off your list.

So how many people are needed to plan a Fundraiser? This is not something you want to do alone!  You definitely need to start by getting a Fundraiser Committee of people together (perhaps the wedding party, family members, or close friends) to help organize the Fundraiser as it is way too much work for one or even two people.  Choose people who have maybe done this before for another friend or family member and know what to do.  Choose people that YOU have helped before at their event.  Choose people that are responsible and helpful and that you know will have your back and are happy to help.  There might be some people that you will ask to be a part of your Committee, but that you know won’t do squat!  That is just the way it is as some people are quite selfish.  Sometimes however, they just underestimate how much you really need their help, and they won’t really understand the importance of a team effort until its their turn to hold one for themselves.

Some people are lucky and have people lining up to help, but others have a harder time.  If you are the first person to get married out of your friends’ group, the others will not yet understand what is entailed and won’t really get how much work and help is needed to make it successful.  They may not grasp that the bridal party is supposed to do the majority of ticket sales and other running around and planning.  Sorry about this!  It is very frustrating to be stuck with all the work, and many of our clients complain about this.  So it is up to you to tell people what their jobs are (in a kind way of course).

Obviously we are a bit biased when we suggest that you have games, but the games serve a dual purpose as it provides entertainment but it also generates money for you too.  We put together a few packages for you that are fantastic for Fundraisers, and there are great savings here!

When you are choosing your games, keep in mind that you may want to introduce different games throughout the night to keep it interesting, rather than doing them all at the same time all night. As an example, when guests arrive they may do one round of each game and then sit at a table for the night. But if you keep bringing out new games and get people excited about new tournaments or prizes to win, they will be more likely to keep getting back off their comfortable chair!