A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being able to attend a comedy show held by the Broad Brook Fire Department. The show was produced by a gentleman named Joey Novick from a company called Comedy Works. If you are anything like me, you are always looking for new and innovative fund raisers and this definitely fits the bill.
The show itself was held at the local High School and tickets were sold for $20 each. This price included the show and refreshments. The Broad Brook Fire Department also produced a program guide which included sponsor’s ads as an additional funding source. Joey Novick from Comedy Works ( http://www.comedyworks.org ) booked the comedians, Peter Fogel and Eddie Clark, and he also served as MC.
The man-hour commitment was minimal at the show. A few people at the door to take tickets and a few people to keep an eye on the refreshments. Refreshments were simple, chips, brownies, soda and coffee. There were undoubtedly more man-hours in preparation, marketing, ticket sales and program development then the day of the event, but the total commitment was relatively low.
Joey does a great job of arranging comedians and has arranged acts ranging from club favorites to George Carlin. His company offers three levels of programs ranging from three headliner, top notch comedians to Joey and one headliner. Joey did a great job as the MC of this program and Peter and Eddie did a great job. That being said, I have to give credit to Eddie Clark for stealing the show. I am a huge fan of stand up comedy and I was laughing very hard when Eddie got going.
So the question is, is the program profitable, does it pass the McDonald’s test, and how can you make it profitable at your department? Any entertainment program can be very profitable with minimal man-hour commitment but the commitment that is made must be made in advance.
The first step to a successful program is picking the right venue and entertainment. Some departments will use their own hall which is cheaper but may not handle a large enough crowd. Besides size, the atmosphere, parking and audio visual requirements must be considered. The entertainment must also fit your environment. Depending on your local area you may have to make sure you have a cleaner act or a certain type of band or entertainer. You may want to do a poll of your members and their family to see what would be best.
Using an outside booking agent saves a department quite a few hassles. If you are flexible on your time and can work your schedule around your entertainment to match their tour dates you may be able to get a bigger name for a smaller amount. Departments may also use entertainment to increase their draw at existing events such as carnivals and fairs.
Once the entertainment and venue are set, the next question is price and what add ons you may be able to offer. Broad Brook opted to offer basic refreshments included in the price. Another option would be to make it a dinner and entertainment package with a sit down dinner. You do not need to serve fillet mignon, but a respectable meal will allow you to increase your ticket price and profit margin. Your department can prepare the meal themselves, saving money, but this will require additional manpower. Alternatively, you can cater the event which will have a big impact but at a higher cost.
With your ticket price in hand, it is time to print tickets and sell them in advance. This is a key to the success of the event. Not only will it guarantee an attendance, but many people may buy tickets and not show, which is just profit that you can pocket. Each member should be given a certain number of tickets to sell to their friends, family and coworkers. Some departments have had a great success in running a contest with a prize for the member who sells the most tickets. Sometimes a small amount of competition can lead to a huge success.
What Broad Brook did with their event program guide is to sell sponsorships in return for ads. The program book sales provide a win win situation for all involved. The books give the department another source of funds while the advertisers get publicity and a tax write off. The challenge is getting members to go out and sell the ads and then making sure the book is printed far enough in advance to be available for the event. Program books are great money makers but the deadlines can be stressful.
The last step of program planning is marketing. Paying for advertising in local media is probably not cost effective but most media sources will write an article about your program if you ask them. A great way to get more coverage and attendance is to tie the event to a tangible item that the department needs. It is much easier to convince the public to commit funds for a need such as a new piece of apparatus then to just raise funds for your department’s general fund.
If you have an outside group providing the entertainment, the day of the event is the easy part of the project. You should invite dignitaries and the press to attend the event as their publicity will help you for your next event. Once you have a successful program, the attendance will grow in the successive years due to word of mouth and established good will. Even if your even wasn’t as profitable as you would have liked, that good will may enable you to exceed all expectations at your next event.