To be knackered! This time of year gets so busy and with a policy of “No” to everything, it’s still busy! I don’t want to go to random parties and things unless it’s going to be great… but it’s also the season for fundraising and that’s what I wanted to mention today.
I’ve been involved in many fundraising things over the years and I’m starting to look at it in a bit of a jaded way. That is, lots of good ideas for making money for various charities that require huge amounts of effort with very little return. This is a hell of a way to run a rail road. So much so that I’m saying “no” to any dumb ass ideas with high effort to low reward outlooks. A BBQ for example is relatively straightforward to organise, easy to set up and pull down and has the opportunity for great fundraising if the snags and/or bread is donated. I’m all for shouting the wonders of the donating organisations while I’m there too. We have a very fine bakery and butcher in Tallangatta and they do a great job. The butcher’s sausages are the best in the North East and beyond – a point I’m willing to argue about (they’re that good!). So a BBQ with great products is always a winner.
But you can’t take on an established BBQ with a fundraising one – if there is a local market and the good people of Rotary or Lions or similar are running a BBQ you can’t take them on. They’ve usually got pride of place, the same tucker and better brand recognition, so you have to be smarter. Volunteer time is precious and it has to be maximised in its application. Spending hours getting ready for a specialised event requiring specialised, high effort products is a waste of time – especially when selling those products for a low rate with a minimal profit associated with them is often the order of the day.
I encourage the leaders of these organisations to really pay attention to the effort/reward balance before diving right into making poor decisions about where to try and earn money. It’s not much different to a business, except people are donating their time (and often stuff) to get the job done for a cause they believe in. Anyway, there ends the rant but with such a busy time of November/December let’s all be mindful of each others time and how precious it is.
Cover image is another great pic from www.pexels.com – a great source for free images.
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