Music Shapes March for Music Fundraiser

Being a small, grassroots nonprofit, Music Shapes designed a creative fundraiser requiring less prep time and expense than our traditional banquet hall event. We created a virtual 1K event for $20/person fee. Participants chose their activity, location, and time of when the 1K was completed within one month. We held a pizza party for participants at the end of the month. This event required a few weeks of prep time compared to months for a previous fundraising initiative. Donations for the 1K were $5000 vs $6500 for the previous initiative! This is an effective fundraiser requiring little time and expense! Perfect for small organizations.

1. Create an event that keeps Music Shapes active in the community and brings in funds to support sending kids to music camp.
2. Create a less formal fundraiser that requires less time and money to execute but brings in donations. We set a goal of $1000 net in donations.
3. Make the fundraiser flexible, participative, interactive, fun, and affordable for most people to donate.
4. Do not have a formal event requiring a minimum number of attendees. Do not have a silent auction requiring obtaining the items, setting up, creating bid sheets, monitoring, etc..
5. Have at least 20-25 people attend the Pizza Party, compared to 50-70 people for our previous fundraising initiative.

Our fundraiser’s focus is always to attract donors who support children’s education and those who support the importance of music in a child’s life. The previous fundraising initiative ticket fees have been $50, which is modest for a nonprofit event. Even so, some cannot afford that. We wanted this event to be available to everyone, so we created a virtual event, which allowed the ticket price to be very affordable at $20 per person. Completing a 1K event is also quite doable for most people, so we hoped it would attract more people who maybe do not care to attend a more formal fundraiser. The previous fundraiser had 50-70 attendees who were mainly family, friends, and sponsors. We hoped to reach new donors with this fundraiser since it was an activity.

Activities took place from December 2024 to April 2025 (101 hours to prepare)

1. Music Shapes Board agrees to the virtual 1K plan in December – 15 min
2. Create event Flyer, event logo, website, January – 6 hours
3. Contact and invite Sponsors January through February – 72 hours
   We invited Sponsors who have supported Music Shapes over the last 7 years. We also obtained new Sponsors who liked the idea of the 1K as it promoted movement! The contact method for inviting sponsors was via email. Time spent on contacting potential sponsors was 12 hrs/week
4. Promote event/sell tickets on social media, email, person to person, January through February – 2-3 hours each week

4. Contact the restaurant and reserve for a pizza party, January – 15 min
5. Prepare party favors for pizza party: candy boxes, gloves – 4 hours
   • Print labels for candy box, design iron-ons for gloves
   • Fill the box with candy and affix labels
   • Order gloves, receive and affix the iron-on logo
6. Post photos on social media of participants executing 1K during March – 2 hours
7. Print posters for pizza party – 15 minutes
8. Enjoy the party! 3 hours

We designed the 1K walk/run/skate/bike…. to be managed by the participant. We did not monitor the activity. Therefore, there was no time required to do this.

Music Shapes Board (3 Directors) – Approve Fundraiser Plan, 15 min

-Sell tickets 1-3 hrs/week

One Director – Create Flyer, logo, and website, contact sponsors, reserve restaurant for pizza party, 7 hours

One Director – Prepare party favors, post on social media, print poster for party, 6 hours

1. Computer: email, social media, Online communities such as PATCH and Nextdoor
2. Printer: labels, posters, flyers
3. Cricut Machine for vinyl iron-ons for gloves
4. Students created a short video expressing how music camp is important to them and how Music Shapes has assisted them.

We were very specific about what was to be supported with the funds. Instead of identifying “programs at Music Shapes,” we targeted Summer Music Camps! We have a fund to provide financial assistance for kids in need to pursue musical interests. We used this fundraiser to highlight the awareness of this fund and to raise more funds to help send kids to camp.

We thought that if we had students create a video of their camp experience or how Music Shapes has helped them, then it would be beautiful to share this within our community as part of the marketing of the fundraiser. We had two students who made a video for us. One was a young lady who had received assistance from Music Shapes in the past, and another student who was planning on attending band camp. They did an awesome job. We posted on social media and newsletters, and we had supporters who decided to donate based on the words of the student!

As a result, we have received three applications for camp funds this Summer and have approved all three students compared to the last two years, where we had no applications!

In addition to the fundraiser focus and the young people’s videos, we have found that good old-fashioned word of mouth has served as the best method when it comes to promoting our events. Being a small nonprofit, we do have loyal friends and family who support our cause. They share our cause with their friends, and the new supporters return each year. We do post on social media and online community networks.

The strategy of the fundraiser being a virtual activity vs. a banquet also brought new donors to Music Shapes.

Purchase 24 pr knit gloves and vinyl iron-on material $72

Candy Kisses $17

Pyramid gift boxes $25 ( we had these already)

Avery labels $25

Paper/ink print flyers on hand

Pizza Party for 28 people $200 (Sponsor paid!)

PayPal Fees from donations $40

Total < $400

We were fortunate that the restaurant had a % 50% off pizza the night of our party! We are an all-volunteer organization where leadership receives no salary. Therefore, we have not included any manpower hours in the budget.

We did not experience any obstacles with this fundraiser! Everything went well. It was well received and the attendees loved the gloves…. and the pizza!

Looking at the Objectives, we say YES! It was effective.

1. Create an event that keeps Music Shapes active in the community and supports kids going to camp.Result: $5000 can cover camp for 10-15 students! The camp costs we approved this year were $300-500. We had two requests that were over $1000.

2. Create a fundraiser that requires less time and money to execute but brings in donations. We set a goal of $1000 net in donations.Result: Our previous fundraisers required 5-6 months of prep time, with easily 2 to 3 times more hours of planning. Expenses for the banquet event were $3000 vs $400 for the virtual 1K, while the net intake for the banquet was $6500 vs $5000 for the virtual 1K. We far exceeded our goal of $1000 in donations! The $5000 added to our reserve fund of the Goldstein Music Shapes Me Fund allows Music Shapes to continue to help kids in need take part in music.

3. Make the fundraiser flexible, participative, interactive, fun, and affordable for most people to donate.Result: Donors were happy to support with $20, whether they completed the 1K or not! Many donated more than $20! We received many photos of people completing their 1K in different activities! We suggested participants create a music mascot to include in their photos as well – we had some fun pics!

4. Do not have an event in a formal Hall. Do not have a silent auction.Result: Done! Far less time spent on acquiring auction items and preparing the Hall.

5. Have at least 20-25 people attend the Pizza Party.Result: We had 28 people confirmed for the pizza party! About half of the number we get for the banquet fundraiser.

The fundraiser provided $5000 more for Music Shapes to help fund camp tuition for young musicians! Three students were approved for camp funds this Summer. Holding the fundraiser and being present in the community demonstrated that Music Shapes is active and committed to the community. We are assisting members of the community in the form of music workshops, camp tuition, music lesson fees, and more.

Small budget, small resources can achieve a lot! Be bold! Starting is the hardest part. Create a fundraiser that fits your size and attracts your supporters. Have a specific focus for the event and promote it. Promote with real stories to attract donors. Your best promoters are those whom you have served.