wendi brandow writes

“Exequtive” Participants and Single Ask Spell Success for Bee Competition*

Ever wish you could see your boss on the hot seat? Attendees of the Executive Spelling Bee actually get that opportunity and the result spelled great success, raising $40,000 for the Alliance of Families & Children (Lynchburg, VA) in 2007.

            Tracey Dixon, director of prevention and marketing says, “People really enjoy seeing the executives put in the spotlight. And these are not easy words!”

The spelling bee competition pits teams of three prominent community members against each other, including CEO’s, executives and local celebrities. Because the spellers compete in teams it is easier to recruit participants who may shy away from competing on their own.  

Businesses pay $1,000 to sponsor a speller of their choosing. In addition, sponsors receive four free tickets to the event.

Dixon says the choice of spellers actually help sell an additional 180 tickets. “There are times when the staff of an entire company will attend just to see their boss compete.”

Attendees enjoy a cocktail reception with heavy hors d’oeuvres and audience participation, with space left in the program for attendees to spell along. Dixon says they also appreciate coming to an event and not being asked to give more. Other than a small raffle, there is no additional fundraising that occurs at the event. “It’s just a fun night—no more asking for money. It creates a really nice feeling.”

Ticket sales cover the entire cost of the event allowing sponsorship money to go directly to the 11 different programs administered by the Alliance. Dixon says this gives board members a very compelling argument when securing sponsors. Sponsor recruitment begins four months prior to the event with sponsors being locked in two months out.

The fourth annual event will be held on February 29, 2008.

Published in Special Events Galore! Stevenson, Inc. (www.stevensoninc.com)

Thinking Outside the Strip Means Big Success for The Gathering Place*

We’ve all seen the traditional annual fund brochure with pictures of clients served and

projects completed. That approach can run the risk of the appeal never making it off the

receiver’s kitchen table, much less back to your organization in the form of an annual gift.

     Benjamin Light, development director, The Gathering Place (Beachwood, OH) says

that was his concern for their 2007 piece. The organization had gone traditional for the

past five years, with good results, “but this time we wanted people to open it up and say,

‘WOW,’ to really look at it because it was so different.”

     The Gathering Place, a caring community for those touched by cancer, had been

featured in the syndicated comic strip Funky Winkerbean with tremendous local response.

Development Committee members decided to build on the momentum from that and use

a comic strip in the 2007 brochure. Local illustrator, Mike Ayers, designed the piece

using text they had given him.

      The brochure was included in two separate mailings that dropped right before

Thanksgiving. One went to 2,000 existing donors with a letter and a live signature

from an active member of the organization. The other was sent to 7,800 people who

weren’t current donors.

The second mailing has already shown a 70% increase in response over the same

date last year. Total gifts are up 14% with total funds raised up 18%.

            An added bonus? Light says because the piece was printed on newsprint for authenticity,

 it was relatively inexpensive compared to the 12-page piece from the prior year. Postage costs

were also less because of the lower weight paper and fewer pages.

            The Gathering Place has a budget of just under $1.5 million with more than 1/3 of that

coming from the annual fund. Only seven weeks into the campaign, the new approach has

yielded $370,000 with 100% participation from the board and staff. Gifts have ranged from $5-

$27,500, with a lot in the $100-$150 range.

Published in Successful Fundraising, Stevenson, Inc. (www.stevensoninc.com)

Making your publications look more polished for less money*

In order to be good stewards of donors’ money, it is imperative to find ways to keep

expenses down. Publications raise awareness and funds, but can eat up a big portion of

your budget. Be sure to follow these tips to keep printing costs down.

Paper:

• Ask for house stock. If you request a specific type of paper that isn’t in stock, printers have to order way more than you need for the job. That expense is passed on to you.
• Add the words “or equal” to the paper line in your bid. This gives the printer latitude to substitute a similar stock paper at a lower price.
• Ask for donated paper. The printer may have overage from other jobs if you can be flexible.
• Ask about current trends in the field.  Currently, coated stocks are about the same price as uncoated and foreign papers are as cheap as domestics. Both of these will help your piece look more polished at a lower price.

Color:

• What’s the difference? You may be surprised to find that without bleeds, four color printing can be affordable and effective for certain showcase pieces.
• Stay away from custom colors and bleeds. These always add considerable cost to the job.

Setup:

• Make sure the file is correct. The job file should be ready to go to press when it’s delivered.
• Consider size. Try and stick to 8 ½” x 11” or multiples of 8 ½” x 11”.
• Utilize waste. If you must use an odd size, see if you can set up another job on the waste. As long as the paper weight and colors are the same, note pads, business cards and other small jobs can sometimes be printed on the edges of the paper, which normally would be trimmed and tossed.
• Order more than you need.  Ordering in volume will save you money.

The Maternity Wardrobe: How to get by with less and still look great!

One of the harshest realities of the pregnant woman is how hard it is to find decent maternity clothes that are affordable, wear well, and make you feel good. A maternity budget of $200 can easily be blown on two or three items at specialty shops. The mom-to-be can save her time, sanity, and most importantly, money by using the following tips:

1. Timing is everything. Many women don’t begin showing until the second trimester. This means you won’t likely outgrow your clothes before then either. Work with what you have for as long as you can, because soon you won’t have a choice.
2. Help your existing clothes along. Chances are your pants will be one of the first things you outgrow. Help your pants along by using a hair elastic, looped through the button hole, to give you an extra ½”-1” of space. This one trick could keep you in your pants for an extra 4-6 weeks. Just make sure you wear a shirt long enough to cover “your secret.”
3. Evaluate what you have. When you do start outgrowing your existing clothes, take stock of what you have that may still work. Sweat pants, elastic-waist pants and skirts, the ski sweaters of winter, empire-waist anything…all of these are things that might work with your body throughout your whole pregnancy.
4. Ask your friends…and anyone else you know. The average American family has 3.18 children. This means most women will only wear the maternity clothes they invest in a handful of times. Think about women you know who have been pregnant recently and are similar in size and build to you. Ask them if they have maternity clothes they would be willing to loan you. Just remember to return the favor should they get pregnant again. The beauty of this is the clothes are usually in mint condition because they are worn so infrequently.
5. Work with today’s trendy styles to avoid living in maternity clothes. Let’s face it, maternity clothes are expensive and have a limited shelf life for most women. When you begin shopping, think about what hot styles of today might become tomorrow’s maternity clothes. Kimono tops are just one example of a hip style that will cover your second trimester belly in style and still look great long after you’re toting baby around.
6. Think about what you really need. Do you work in an office with a strict dress code? Do you work in a profession where your work and play clothes are interchangeable? Think about your biggest clothing needs, and start by shopping for them.
7. Adjust to the idea of a limited wardrobe. You are not building a wardrobe to last a lifetime. These things likely won’t be classic items you’ll have in your closet ten years from now. They simply need to get you through nine months, possibly a few times over. Think simple, interchangeable, and coordinated. Two-three pairs of pants, a pair of jeans, a few skirts, four to five tops, and a few sweaters (if your climate calls for this) should suffice. Make sure they are all washable and in like colors, then mix and match your way through your pregnancy.
8. Splurge on a few key items. Every mom-to-be needs a few things that will make her look and feel great, no matter how tired or nauseous she is. Buy a few items that do this for you, but make sure they work with a number of pieces you already own.
9. Check out consignment stores and sales. Maternity items are some of the hottest things going at consignment shops because the quality for the value can’t be beat. Maternity clothes are almost always “gently worn,” so browse the racks and see what you find.
10. Try everything on before buying. This is definitely not the time you want anything itching, hitching, riding up, or pinching. In addition, some maternity stores have very stringent return policies. Make sure you are comfortable with your purchases, you know the return policy, and that you keep your receipt as long as necessary, preferably until you outgrow the item or at the very least, have worn it several times.

One last piece of advice—don’t scrimp on bras or shoes. You will need good ones of each to provide support to your changing body throughout your pregnancy.

Published in The Dollar Stretcher, June 2008

I Smelled Chocolate Milk

“I smelled chocolate milk.”

That simple phrase ended the most agonizing five minutes of my life—the five minutes when my three-year-old son was missing.

It may have only actually been two or three minutes, but it seemed like an eternity.

We weren’t in an enclosed space, but on an extremely busy main road in a summer tourist haven. He didn’t just let go of my hand, he simply disappeared.

Reality didn’t quite hit when I saw my husband walking towards me. “Where’s Luke?” I asked. He didn’t know. He thought he was with me.

I ran past him to where my in-laws had parked, assuring myself that Luke had simply gone up to see what Grandma and Poppy were doing.

Reality hit when I realized they were alone. In that moment, everything changed. My mind was racing, but my body was stuck in slow motion. So was everything around me.

We all ran up and down the street, screaming Luke’s name. He didn’t answer. No one else on the street seemed to notice anything was amiss, or even ask if they could help.

The man who had been standing next to our car when we parked said he didn’t even see a little boy get out of it.

I was terrified, but didn’t have long to think about that. At that moment, right in front of me, a car was parallel parking, backing in with an ease and a swiftness that brought new panic to my heart.

“Oh my God, he’s going to get hit by a car.” My mind hadn’t yet allowed itself to go to all of the other potential horrific outcomes of this scenario. I could only think about how little impulse control my son had. I was thinking about all of the times we had talked with him about looking both ways and actually verbally saying, “No cars coming? No cars coming,” before he crossed or went into a street. I was thinking about all of the times, in spite of that, he darted out into a street or parking lot any way. I braced myself to hear screeching of tires, a horrible thud or crash.

And then I stood, silent, not knowing what to do next. We had run up and down the street multiple times, splitting up and going in different directions. We had screamed his name with no response. Was he really gone? What should we do now?

At that moment, I spotted the red Elmo shirt we had gotten for him on an earlier trip to Sesame Place. His tiny body was being carried by my sister-in-law, and I couldn’t quite believe it.

I had no desire, as some might, to chastise him or scold him. I simply wanted to hug him, hold him, as tightly and as long as I could. His body graced my arms and it was the most incredible feeling in the world, better than the first time I ever held him.

His three-year-old brain was oblivious to the sheer terror that had been felt by those around him. All he knew was that he had climbed out of the car, “smelled chocolate milk” (actually a nearby chocolate store), and seen an open door. When my sister-in-law found him he was standing all by himself, at the counter of the chocolate shop, no doubt dreaming of all the treats spread out before him. That open door and the delights that transfixed him may have saved his life, but he was too young to understand that. For him, the moment was over.

I wish I could say the same for myself. The real terror of those moments didn’t hit until several hours later, after we had done book time; said bedtime prayers to God thanking him for bringing Luke back to us; and rocked our son to sleep, with him no doubt dreaming about that smell and those chocolates.

Only then was my mind able to quiet itself and think thoughts I couldn’t stop. Nothing compared to this. Every conceivable ending to this scenario played out in my mind. I thought about John Walsh and his son Adam. I thought about every picture I’d ever seen (but not really looked at) on milk cartons, bulletin boards, and news flashes.

I thought about how Luke had been wearing a gold medal souvenir he had received at one of the sites we had visited earlier in the day. How innocent he was, and how proud and happy he was to be wearing that little thing around his neck. Unfortunately, that made me think back to my criminal justice training and every newspaper story I had ever read about how the people who like to hurt children keep souvenirs from their victims.

I gained a new empathy for parents sending out a missing child alert at malls, stores, and fairs. I thought about the parents who lived near me, whose daughter had disappeared nearly ten years before from her college campus. They still did not know what happened to her. The feeling of not knowing where my son was for a few minutes was almost more than I could bear. How did parents do that for years on end?

The one thing I did not gain that day was peace of mind. Even though we keep a much closer eye on Luke than we did before (if that’s possible), and have talked to him about never wandering off or going anywhere with anyone, even a relative, our new truth reminds us that none of that may matter. The worst reality is that we cannot protect our child. No matter how vigilant we are, something could still happen. That is the reality that haunts me.

This piece is still looking for a home. If you would like to publish, please contact me for permission.

*All articles published in Stevenson, Inc. publications are the property of Stevenson, Inc.