To Book Your Race Nights In The Merseyside Area, Call : 07858 923012 - Free Disco/Karaoke With All Hosted Race Night Hire Packages
Tips & Guides To Get The Most Out Of Your Next Fund Raising Race
These Are Free Guides Based On Our Experiences Of Hosting
And Organising Race Nights In The UK
Take Your Time Reading This - Bookmark This Page -
Some Of Our Clients Class This As "The Bible"
Of Fund Raising For Race Nights
You Can Always Come Back To This Page..We Know You Will !!
If Your Not Booking Our Services Please Feel Free To Use These Guides And Tips - We Hope You Raise Hundred Of Pounds From Our Guides
This Is A Six Week Strategy Plan To Maximise Fund Raising For A Race Night Event
I WRITE THIS GUIDE ON BOTH MY PREVIOUS CLIENTS AND MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCES ON OBTAINING PRE-RACE NIGHT SPONSORSHIP, RAFFLE AND AUCTION PRIZES AND SELLING DOUBLES CARDS AND TRI-CAST CARDS OWNERS & JOCKEYS SHEETS
NOT FORGETTING SELLING RAFFLE TICKETS TO BE DRAWN AT YOUR EVENT.
PEOPLE WHO PUT THE EFFORT IN WILL RAISE MORE THAN THOSE WHO DON'T....(Fact)
When It Comes To Organising A Race Night I Often Hear The Words We Had To "Beg", "Borrow" And "Steal" To Get Some Money/Prizes Off A Local Business Or A Person For Our Race Night.
Please Don't Steal (It's Illegal)
REMEMBER IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT AT THE END OF YOUR RACE NIGHT
Any Type Of Fund Raising Will Usually Require A Letter Of Authority, On Headed Paper From The Good Cause/Charity Or Group You Are Raising For - This Should Include Your Name & Contact Number, What Your Doing, When/Where Your Doing This And Where The Funds Raised Will Go.
Most Importantly A Contact Number For Any Verification That May Be Require.
Have The Original Letter Copied So You Can Leave These With Any Potential Sponsors/Donators
Getting Your Race Night Sponsors
Firstly Start With Your Club/Team Members, Friends And Family And Your Venue For Your Race Night. - If Any Of Their Employers Can Sponsor A Race Or The Event The Better, Try To Get Eight Race Sponsors @ £25 And Push The Bigger Main Event Sponsor For Up To £100
This Can Generate Up To £300 In Sponsorship - Get This Done Straight Away F/R-Strategy (Week 1)
You Can Also Ask Local Business To Sponsor A Race Or Other Teams In Your Leagues.
Remember An Individual Person Can Also Sponsor A Race..It Doesn't Have To Be Businesses.
Remember To Give Complimentary Tickets To Your Race Sponsors Ask Them To Bring Some Friends With Them, Reserve Them A Table If They Are Attending. They Will Obviously Place Bets Throughout The Night And Purchase Raffle Tickets, This Is More Money For Your Good Cause.
Booking Your Venue - HAGGLE TO SECURE THE BEST DEAL
Always Remember You're Fund Raising, The Less Overheads The Better.. If You Are Guaranteeing 100 Guests Will Attend Your Venue And Spend Money Over A Bar Or On Food, You Should Be In A Position To Negotiate A Discount Or Free Venue Hire. Your Venue Should Be Aware Of The Good Cause You Are Fund Raising For, It May Be Their Own Team Or Local Group Or Charity. If You Do Get Your Venue Free, Ask Them If They Would Also Like To Sponsor A Race Or Become The Main Sponsor - Its Always Worth Asking. You Can Always Incorporate Their Business On All Your Advertising Material You Display Promoting Your Race Night - Ask For Food & Drinks Offers On The Night - Bottles Of Wine Usually Sell Well As Many Guests Can Remain In Their Seats And Pour Their Own Drinks Whilst Placing Bets. Some Venues May Offer Buffet Food - Check Their Prices Against Supplying Your Own. Sometimes A Big Pan Of Hot-Pot / Curry And Rice Or Several Trays Of Homemade Sandwiches To Serve At An Interval Through The Night Is Always Something Nice To Offer Your Guests. Keep Your Venue Up To Date With The Numbers Your Expecting And Your Fund Raising Efforts, Display Posters At The Venue, Ask Them To Sell Some Doubles Cards/Raffle Tickets To Their Regular Customers Prior To Your Race Night.
Promoting Your Race Night
Before Going To A Commercial Printer...Ask Friends,Family Or Team Members. Someone Will Usually Know How To Designs A Poster And Tickets On A Home PC, Then Someone Will Always Have Access To A Photocopier In Work(But Always Ask If It's OK To Use It For Promoting Your Event),Or Don't Get Caught!! This Can Save You A Small Fortune And Once Again Reduce Your Overheads.
If You Have Obtained All Your Sponsors Try To Include Their Names And/Or Logo's On Printed Advertising Material (Posters & Tickets) - This Shows Your Sponsors, That They Are Getting Something For Their Money, Even If They Are Just Raising Their Own Company Profile.
Getting Sponsors In F/R-Strategy (Week 1) Makes Promoting Your Event In F/R-Strategy (Week 2) So Much Easier As You Should Now Be On The Way To Hosting A Successful Race Night In Four Weeks Time.
Remember Posters & Tickets Should Include The Following Information - Date Of Your Race Night, Location (Venue) Of Your Race Night. What Your Raising Money For.(The Beneficiaries) The Time Your Race Night Will Start - Inc. The First Race Start Time. Ticket Price, Contact Number And Any Other Activities To Promote Sales Of Your Race Night - Buffet - Disco - Hot-Pot Supper - Karaoke - Live Entertainment- Drinks Offers Etc.
Display Your Advertising Materials (Posters) In Local Shop Windows..Have Contact Details On These, Place Posters At Your Venue, Sports Halls, Community Centres, Libraries, Church Hall, And Large Superstores.(Although I Don't See Tesco Promoting A Race Night In Light Of The Recent Horse Meat Scandal) But Every Little Helps!! (Sorry Couldn't Resist)
Create An Event On Facebook Invite Your Contacts To Attend Your Night, This Can Usually Give A Good Guide To Expected Ticket Sales And Guests Attending Your Event. Once Again Include All The Key Details When Creating Your Facebook Event.. Post Reminders On Your Wall, Tweet About Your Race Night- The Internet Is A Major Advertising Medium That Can Really Help You, Ask Friends For Prize Donations- Maybe An Unwanted Christmas Gift Set To Put In Your Raffle - These Prizes All Mount Up.
Try To Get A Mention In A Local Newspapers Or A "Shout" On A Radio Station. It Is Best To Try This The Week Before, Or A Couple Of Days Before Your Event. This Is Usually Done By Emailing Them Directly With A Cover Note Explaining What Your Are Doing - Get Your Details Correct On These.
Selling Tickets For Your Race Night
Ensuring You Have Sold Tickets In Advance Means You Have The Money For Your Cause, Try To Avoid Taking Money On The Door, But Charge Any People Who Never Bought A Ticket In Advance. If You Expect 100 Guests To Pay On The Door And Only Half Turn Up, You Could Have Just Lost Up To £500 In Potential Revenue From Bets And Raffles From Guest That Never Turned Up. Its Always Better To Sell Tickets, If They Don't Turn Up - Your Cause Will Still Made The Ticket Sale.
Selling Tickets For A Couple Of Pound, It Will Roughly Give You An Idea Of How Many People Will Attend Your Race Night. But Bear In Mind That Some People Will Buy A Ticket To Support Yours Cause, However, They Can Have No Intention Of Attending. I Would Say That 20% Of Your Ticket Sales Will Not Attend, So Factor This In To Your Planning.. Sell 20% More If You Can. This Also Apply's To Race Sponsor. Try To Confirm Attendances A Few Days Before..Use Social Media Sites And Text Messages.
Example :"Are You Still Coming The Race Night.. We Need Numbers For The Food..Text Back/Message Me Back Please...Thank You xx" A Plain And Simple Message Don't Forget The Kisses.
Sports Teams / Groups - Make A Night Of It Bring The Missus Out Or Him Indoors, Get Yourself A Small Group Together To Sit On One Table, All The Family Or All York Work Mates. Remember Its About Making The Night A Success, Having A Laugh And Raising Some Money. The Women May Think Its A Night At The Races Or Ladies Day..But They Don't A New Dress.
Decide On A Sensible Ticket Price - For What You Are Doing - Remember You Want Your Guests To Place Bets, By Raffle Tickets And Bid In Auctions So Not Too Much...You Want Them There And With Money In Their Pockets To Spend. Factor In Any Food Costs - Ensure That Ticket Sales Have Covered The Food.
Right Venue Booked, Posters Up, Tickets On Sale, Race Sponsors Completed.
You Should Be About Four Weeks Away From Your Event
Everyone Will Know What You Are Doing By Now
It Shouldn't Come As A Surprise Now
When You Start Asking People For Some Support With You Event.
You Need To Start Selling - Doubles Or Tri-Cast Cards, The Owners & Jockeys Club An Raffle Tickets
We Referred To As Pre-Race Fundraising, Which Is Very Important
You Need To Get Some Raffle Prizes / Auction Items & Sell Raffle Tickets
You Have Four Weeks To Raise As Much As You Can Prior To Your Race Night - Pushing Too Much To Quickly On People Will Cause Your Strategy To Stall - You Don't Want This. If You Are A Team / Club Or Group You Should Ask All Members To Do Their Bit, Offer An Incentive "The Person Who Raises The Most Money Gets A Prize".For Example If Your An Adult Football Team And Have 20 Members Including The Manager/Coach And Substitutes, Expect Them All To Raise £50 In Pre-Race Fundraising. This Is The Cost Of A New Kit For Next Season, If You Don't Get £50 You Will Be Playing In This Old Shabby Kit. If Your Not A Group Or Team, You Need To Ask As Many Family, Friends And Collegues To Help You With This Pre-Race Fundraising
Pre-Race Fundraising
You Need To Choose What You Want To Do, Doubles Sheets, Tri-Casts Or The Owners & Jockeys Club. You Can Do All Of Them Together, But This Requires A Lot Of Effort And Can Sometimes Leave You With Uncompleted Sheets On The Race Night Itself, You Don't Want This To Happen!!
Choosing What You Think You Will Be Able To Sell - You Can Always Add More
Doubles Sheets
Keeping It Simple:-A Doubles Sheet Looks Like A Lottery Bonus Ball Sheet - But, It Has 56 Squares Not 49.
(View A Sample Doubles Sheet Here)
These Can Easily Be Sold In Advance In Your Local Pub/Bar To Customers For £1 A Square. Customers Simply Put Their Name In Any One Square On The Sheet Just Like A Standard Bonus Ball Sheet. The Difference Is That These Squares Contain Two Numbers Eg. (2-5) These Numbers Reflect To "The Double". These Are The Numbers Of The Horses In One Of Your Races At Your Race Night And The Position In Which They Finish The Race(In A Eight Horse Race). Eg. (2-5) Would Be Horse Number 2 (Finishing In 1st Place) With Horse Number 5 (Finishing In 2nd Place). The Person On The Winning Numbered Square Would Win A Prize. This Can Raise £56 At £1 Per Go. You Can Pay-Out Cash Say £20-£30 To The Winner, Or To Make More Money For Your Cause Buy A Bottle Of Whiskey From The Proceeds As The Prize. Each Sheet Can Make You Up To £56 If Your Paying Out In Way Of A Donated Prize.
These Can Also Be Taken In To A Work Place And Sold Between Your Work Colleagues In Advance, It Is Always A Good Idea To Try To Complete It In The Work Place As You Can Now Guarantee One Of Colleagues Will Win The Prize(Its Like The Office Sweep-Stakes) This Can Also Raise The Profile Of Your Race Night And Cause And Generate Potential Ticket Sales. Ensure The Person Completing This Doubles Sheet Returns It To The Work Place And Displays It On A Notice Board After Your Race Night And Pays The Winner Their Prize.
Tri-Casts Sheets
(View A Sample Tri-Cast Sheet Here)
Keeping It Simple:-A Tri-Casts Have 316 Squares To Complete.But Can Pay Out £150 To One Winner.
Very Similar To The Doubles Sheet, But These Squares Contain 3 Numbers Eg.(5-7-1) These Reflect 1st - 2nd - 3rd Place In A Chosen Race At Your Race Night, With These Numbers Being The Numbers Of The Horses.(In A Eight Horse Race). We Would Usually Play This In The Last Race Of The Night Or A Bonus Race At The Very End, This Will Keep Your Guests At Your Event Till The Very End In Anticipation Of Winning A Large Pay-Out.
These Can Take A Long Time To Sell And Can Often Be Left Uncompleted If You Can't Sell All The Squares. A Local Business With Good Passing Trade Within You Community Is A Good Place To Sell These, Or Ask A Local Supermarket To Allow You To Sell These For A Day On Their Premises. If Selling These To The Passing Public, Ensure You Get A Contact Number In Case They Win And Ensure You Tell Them About Your Cause And Your Race Night... Some People May Simply Give You A Donation To Help You. These Can Also Be Played On The Race Night Itself, But Require All 316 Squares To Be Sold To Your Guests Before You Can Display The Bonus Race. However, This Can Have Adverse Effects On Your Tote Bets As Guest May Not Bet On Both.
The Owners & Jockeys Clubs
(View A Sample Owners & Jockeys Clubs Here)
Keeping It Simple:-Selling The Horses & Jockeys Before Your Race. Ideal For Smaller Groups
The Owners & Jockeys Clubs Allows People To Own Or Become The Jockey In One Of Your Races At Your Race Night. Don't Panic They're Not Really Riding The Horse. We Have Simplified This To Suit Smaller Groups And Clubs And Children' s Groups, Scouts & Guides And Teams Allowing Them To Sell The Eight Jockeys In A Race For For £2 Each, Prior To Your Race Night. Although This Will Only Generate £16 Per Child Completing A Jockeys Club, As Long As These Clubs Are Purchased By Adults You Can Pay The Winning Jockey With A Bottle Of Cheap Champers From A Lidl/Aldi For About £3 AKA "Chateau De Ch-ite" Just Print Some Bottle Labels To Cover The Original Label With Prit-Stick To Say "Winning Jockey". This Will Maximise Your Fundraising Whilst Adding To The Experience Of A Race Night. You Will Know In Advance, By How Many Completed Jockey Club Cards You Have Completed Prior To Your Race Night To Purchase The Required Amount Of Champers. Making £13 Or More Per Card
The Owners Club - Same As The Jockeys Club But You Must Pay £5 To Own The Horse, This Is More For The Parents Of Smaller Groups And Clubs And Children' s Groups, Scouts & Guides And Teams, Selling Eight Owners At £5 Each Is Easily Achieve Between Family & Friends You Would Simply Increase The Prize To A Bottle Of Scotch Or Vodka - Remember When Purchasing Alcoholic Prizes Always Check Which Supermarkets Have The Best Deals On The Week Of Your Event. Saving £3 On 10 Bottles Of Spirits Is A Further £30 To Your Fundraising Fund. Use This Link To Compare The Four Main Supermarkets - Just Enter What Your Looking For Eg. Smirnoff / Bells Whiskey In The Search Box
6.02 pm February 13th 2013 - 70cl Smirnoff Vodka In Asda Only £12 Whilst £15.90 In Tesco & Sainsbury's That A £3.90 Saving- Always Check Before You Buy Prizes..
Raffle Tickets & Prizes
Try To Get As Many Prizes Donated To Your Event - Do This By Asking Local Businesses To Donate A Prize Or A Voucher. Eg. A Free Hair Cut, Meal For Two, Spa-Beauty Treatment, Free Car Wash. Some Businesses Won't Part With Money, But Will Gladly Offer A Voucher For One Of There Services. Place Vouchers In A Sealed Envelope And Save For The Raffle.
Ask Friends For Any Unwanted Gifts That Can Be Used As Raffle Prizes, This May Be A Gift-Set, Unopened Bottle Of Wine/Spirits Or Anything Unwanted That Could Be Sold For You Cause.
Use Facebook And Other Social Media Sites To Ask For Raffle Prizes. Simply Pop It On Your Status And See Who Pops Up With A Gift/Prize.. (If You Don't Ask...!!)
Make A List Of Raffle Prizes That You Have For Your Raffle, Let People Know Some Of The Good Prizes When Selling Tickets, Always Say "And There's Lots More Too" If Your Not Sure What You Have. Always Buy Several Books Of Raffle Tickets(Different Colours) , Have Several People Selling Them 3 Weeks Before Your Event. It Is Quite Easy To Raise A Few Hundred Pound In Raffle Tickets Before Your Event. Always Get Names And Contact Numbers On The Back Of Raffle Tickets To Make Your Draw Run Smoothly.
On The Night Ensure All Your Prizes Are Displayed On A Table So Your Guests Can See Them. You Now Have A Further Opportunity To Sell More Raffle Tickets To All Of Your Guests, Appoint Someone To Sell Raffle Tickets On The Night, Get Your Host To Announce This For You. Just Before You Draw The Raffle Offer The "Last Chance Saloon Raffle Tickets" Tell Your Guest They May End Up On The Top Of The Pile If The Bucket Is Not Shaken Properly With A Greater Chance Of Winning, Sell A Few More And Now Give It A Good Shake.
Spot The Balls
A Typical Spot The Ball Will Have 30 Spaces And Pay Usually Pay A £15/£20 Cash Prize For A £1 Stake. Maximise Your Income By Purchasing Three Packs Of Beer From A Supermarket, Use The Price Checker To Find The Best Deal, You Can Usually Get 3 For £20-£25 On Some Offers, Now Sell Three Spot The Balls And Use You Beer As Prizes. This Will Generate You £65-£70, A Lot More Than Paying Out Cash A Prizes.(Try This Before Your Event, Or At Your Event) Its Another Win/Win. If You Don't Sell Them All, You Can Put These Items Into Your Raffle.
Pigeon Toss
On Your Race Night Try This Little Favourate Of Mine. It Can Raise Quite A Few Pounds For Your Cause, We All Played This At School But, How Good Are You At It Now.... Start With A Bottle Of Spirits, Jack Daniels Is Always A Safe Bet To Get Your Guests Playing (Plus Its Square Not Round). Now To Make This Fair, Play On A Carpeted Area Of Your Venue. Place The Bottle Of JD On The Floor, Mark A Line On The Floor With Some Tape 12 Foot Away From The Bottle, For Your Guests To Throw From. Now Charge £1 Per Go, They Throw Their Own £1 Coin. The Closest To The Bottle Wins, Use A Marker Pen For Your Guests Initial Their £1 Coins To Prevent Cheating. Monitor Who Is The Closest Carefully,Remove Losing Tosses To A Glass Jar, Get Your Host To Promote This Quick Event, This Can Get Very Very Competitive Between The Alpha Males, Get Some Women To Have A Go. By Playing On A Bouncy Carpeted Area Makes It Harder For Any Good Players (Tossers) To Take Any Advantage, This Can Become A Game Of Chance, Even A Little Old Granny Could Win. I Have Raised Over £100 Playing This Game Within 15 Minutes, Although Once An Old Gentlemen Had A Touching Coin On The Third Or Fourth Go And It Basically Ended The Game.(This Very Rarely Happens). Getting Rid Of 100 £1 Coins With Initials On Is Usually A Bit Harder. Finally In The Event Of A Draw - Rule 1 And 1 Rule Only For This Outcome, The Affected "Tossers" Sorry Guests Must Re-Toss. Closest Wins.
