Hello all,
Raising dollars for a persons racing pursuits is difficult and more often then not a huge unrewarding challenge! I have thought long and hard about it and have tried many different things, some with success and other things not so successful. Over time I managed to develop a relationship with flooring company in Calgary. Last year we developed a program that has the potential to generate dollars for your race effort and potentially reward the business behind the program. We have done 1 of these so far and it was very well received. Participants had a huge time, the wine was good and the food as well. The following program is for any racers or club organization for that matter, to take advantage of.
The program is called "Wine / Design".
The intent of the program is to offer something MORE to the people who want to support your racing effort than a name on the car and so on. it works like this;
A racer / organization sends out an invite (invite provided by the flooring company) to their network. The invite is to an afternoon or evening of wine and food pairing in concert with some of Calgary's Top Interior Designers / Architects, up at the front explaining the newest of design trends and materials. In between, a wine person will speak about the wines that are about to be tasted and typical foods that mate well with the wines. The function lasts about 3 hours and has a cost of $150 per person. The flooring company looks after all components in the program such as the wine, the food, the designer or architect who may be speaking, the room. Just about everything but the participants. There will be 6 wines tasted, 3 white, 3 red. The max amount of people that can attend is 10. That generates $1500 in gross revenue. The flooring company has gotten some of their suppliers to pick up some of the costs but not all. This event is $2500 all in and the shortfall is whats picked up by the flooring company and their suppliers. A racer who puts 10 people in can expect to receive $1000 in return for their efforts. Now, people that would like to support you get a little more out of the scenario than a name on the race car and have had even more fun associated with your race effort.
What is in it for the flooring company and what is in it for me you may be asking;
This will appeal to people who may be considering a reno on their house or may be about to build a new house or for people who simply want to be up on the latest design trends. The flooring company is hoping that if a person is going to reno or build that they get the opportunity to sell their products (the event takes place at their showroom) or at the least the hopes that the participants will consider them when thinking about flooring and related products or services. I have a wine business and will get the opportunity to sell wine to the event. it also helps the flooring company justify what they already allocate to our race effort. lets face it, sponsorship is code for "give me some $ please and I will try to get you business". With this program, your supporters get something very tangible and at the same time they are helping you, the racer. The flooring company is confident that if you are a person looking to do a reno or build, that the participant will be more likely to shop with them versus somewhere else. The racer does not guarantee sales only puts the people in the room. And if your an organization that simply is looking to raise funds and have nothing to do with racing that's OK too!
Anyway, this is one way that you may be able to generate some dollars for your racing or organization and at the same time give some additional added value back to the people who want to support you / your organization financially. If you have any interest in this program shoot me an email and I can hook you up with the program coordinator.
Blair
Great idea Blair!