Successful Fundraising Projects with Melamaster
If you're looking for personalised products that will grab people's attention and help you raise a pretty penny, then Melamaster is the place for you. Melamaster specialises in school fundraising projects. Once you have decided to start a fundraising project with Melamaster, you and your school pupils will receive a paper template to get creative with. Then it's up to us to bring the design to life in a melamine plate, giving you custom prints to keep for life. Personalised, useful products are great for fundraising projects, but besides stocking up on great products, what else does it take to organise a successful fundraising project?
Build a clear, shared goal
The most important part of any school fundraising project is the cause. You need a cause that will encourage people to purchase your melamine products. You can communicate this in your melamine design, making the cause clear from creation. You may also want to set goals for the size of your fundraising project, you'll need to know how many designs and final products you need. This will tell you how many templates you need (e.g. one per pupil) and will help you set a goal for how much money you want to raise for your school.
Don't just tell people about your fundraising projects, show them!
Show everyone exactly where their money is going and why your school's fundraising project is important. Use statistics to educate people about your school's cause and show them what a difference their money could make with images and videos. This reminder could also be incorporated into the design of your Melamaster products, templates can be personalised with School logos, mottos, project titles (the list goes on), making the plates even more special for capturing a memorable moment in time.
Talk - It's not a bad thing
Communication is vital in order to make the most of your fundraising project. You can use a range of communication options to keep fundraising participants, such as parents updated on your fundraising journey. This could be by phone, email or social media. It is also important to give the people the choice to opt-out of communications. You could update them on how many Melamaster products you have sold and how much this helped you raise. You can use this communication to inform people on how they can gent involved in your Melamaster school fundraiser, or even organise their own.
Say Thank You
This is a simple gesture that goes a long way. Many fundraising projects are not as successful because they fail to thank their donors. This could be as simple as an email or flyer, detailing how grateful you are for their help in your school fundraiser and what their money will be put towards. You could do this in a letter sent out by the school, thanking them for their involvement and showing images of what the pupils created.
Keep your participants updated
Keeping your fundraising project participants updated on any achievements from the fundraiser or any future events lets them know they are still part of the cause. The pupils' parent may want to hear about any future Melamaster fundraising projects and even get involved themselves.
Melamaster is here to provide you with the perfect personalised products for your school fundraiser, give us a call today.
Putting yourself out there with Melamaster
Let's set the scene. You're working closely with Melamaster to get your gorgeous and bespoke printing completed. You're an aspiring artist and now you have your items in front of you and you're lost as to where to start with selling them.
First thing is first – Don't worry. We're on hand to help and steer you in the right direction. If you're a new and aspiring artist, then we don't want to set you up for a fall. We're not going to guide you and push you through the office doors of big corporations, however, small and steady steps are the way forward.
Your local coffee shop
The smell of a coffee brewing and the sounds of the milk being steamed and frothed are iconic to most coffee shops and more importantly to us. We know from pop culture and television programmes that local coffee shops can be some of the coolest places to be and hang out. However, if you take a moment to look around, you may also realise that coffee shops are amazing places for young, local and aspiring artists.
At Melamaster, we work with aspiring artists all the time and we can appreciate that 'getting yourself out there' can definitely be a tricky hurdle to overcome. However, a local coffee shop could, in fact, end up becoming your best friend. Many coffee shops are looking for a group of artists or photographers to rotate their art and products on show and for sale as a way to attract new people and create an artistic and creative environment.
It also allows them the opportunity to engage with the local community while showcasing artists creations on Melamaster products. This allows guests something unique to purchase as well as bringing new and innovative creations to their coffee shop floors.
Showcasing your artwork
For artists, showing your artwork on Melamaster products and then into local coffee shops can have huge benefits. Coffee shops and cafe owners are often happy to negotiate and if they agree to adorn, you will receive a much bigger exposure with a wider audience. Though art galleries have a good offering too, they can have peculiar hours and only cater to a certain crowd and community … not forgetting that most demand a fee to enter the building. Meanwhile, coffee shops appeal to lots of different … for free.
Furthermore, there may be an opportunity to draw attention in other ways. Sometimes, local media can give exposure to both the coffee shop and your Melamaster products. We can't also dismiss the power of Social Media. If a bypasser and customer share something online about your products, the coffee shop or their surrounding, you could also gain exposure that way.
What happens next?
So, if you think you are ready for local coffee shops to display your own Melamaster custom printed products, getting your foot in the door may be much easier than you first may think. Like many things in life, art is in the asking.
Firstly, seek out a locally owned coffee shop. Even though we encourage all of our Melamaster clients to aim high, avoiding big chains like Costa, Starbucks and Cafe Nero is probably the best option for now. These big giants are less likely to accept your art.
Instead, look for the popular hole-in-the-wall type coffee joints. Make a list of the coffee shops in your area and check them out in person to make sure you like the vibe of the place and it would make a good venue for your artwork to stand out and contribute to that vibe.
Next, talk to the manager of the shop. Remember, they're not just investing in your artistic products, but they are investing in you as well. This is also best to do in person. A general tip is to not bother the manager when the coffee shop has a long line to the barista or is very busy or crowded. Find them when business is a little slower. Also, some businesses are more welcoming than others, so if you get rejected, don’t take it personally.
Saying YES with Melamaster
After you get the big yes you're waiting for from a coffee shop, there are a few things you need to prepare.
You will probably need a good artist statement about you and your work. This will help people get to know you and your art to help people connect with your work.
Coffee shops are probably not the best place to display your larger works. Often, smaller pieces work better and you can stock them nicely on a shelf. And you can always mention your website or gallery page in your artist statement to let people know about larger pieces or photos.
And once these things are done, enjoy all the benefits of the exposure you’ll gain from supporting a local business and having a wide audience see your art.
If you need a hand with what Melamaster products to choose, let us know. We’d love to hear your story, so be sure to call us.