Fundraiser Ideas for Non-Profits

May 1, 2021/in Past Fundraising Events, Stories

Coffee for a Cause

Who doesn’t love coffee? Whether you take it iced, hot, sweet, or black – it’s a pretty universally loved beverage. Which makes it perfect for a fundraiser.

Hope’s Home has teamed up with a local cafe, Dr. Java’s in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan for the ultimate coffee fundraiser. Dr. Java’s roasts their own coffee beans and supports different local non-profits throughout the year. And of course the month of May is for us!! Hope’s Home!! Their coffee is hands down the best in the city so we know that everyone needs a bag.

There are two different bags, a medium roast, “Beautiful Day to Stay Home,” and a dark roast, “Fueling Hope.” They are $20.00/bag a portion of the proceeds goes to us.

How to purchase a bag?

If you’re from Prince Albert, you can simply head down to Dr. Java’s located at 425 15th St East to purchase a bag (or 4!). There are also bags available for purchase at our Early Learning & Childcare centre in Prince Albert. We take credit, cash, debit, or cheque at the centre!

Any Questions?

Contact Mickey at mmacgillivray@hopeshome.org or give her a call at 306.960.7334!

5 Unique Event Planning Tips and Tricks

Feb 26, 2021/in Past Fundraising Events, Stories

Event Planning isn’t for the faint of heart. You need to be fearless and passionate about your project and willing to put in the effort and the hours to make it happen! My name is Kelsey Stewart and I’m the lead event planner with Hope’s Home and have brought you events like Swinging with the Stars and the Speakeasy Soiree! As a non-profit, our events and fundraisers are integral to the operations of our organization; and therefore each event is planned with attention to detail and a ton of heart.

From large scale galas, to golf tournaments, to more intimate events, I have a bit of experience in everything! Throughout the years, I have learned many ideas and secrets of what can bring your event to the next level! Whether you are planning a fundraiser or a corporate event, I can guarantee that these 5 unique event planning tips and tricks will help your event surpass everyone’s expectations.

1. Give Early Bird Incentives.

- Making special pricing for early bird tickets is a great way to get tickets sold fast! You can get a good idea of the “hype” behind your event if people want to buy tickets early. Ensure that the incentives you are providing are significant enough to convince your audience that it is worth it. And make sure that you are prepared to sell-out at that lowered price. You don’t want to undervalue your event at the early bird price and then end up selling-out and not hitting your targeted revenues for ticket sales! Balance is key.

2. Sell, Sell, Sell!

- Sell your target audience on why they should show up! You need to define what you are doing at the event that sets you apart and sells your tickets. Make sure in your promotional posts that you sell all that your event has to offer. Include information about unique features, added benefits to sponsorship levels, what comes with the ticket, etc.

3. Get Creative.

- You have to put time and effort into every little piece of your event. Experience matters!! Do some research in the sector and find out what is up and coming in the industry. Make it happen! Get away from the same old, same old. Find things that set your event apart from the rest! It could be in the food you serve, in the entertainment you book, or in the theme you choose for your event. There are so many opportunities for you to challenge your creativity – so get to it!

4. Pics, or it Didn’t Happen.

- One of the best ways to measure the success of your event is if people want to share it! Make an event hashtag and use it to promote your event. Make sure that you repost any shares that use the hashtag to encourage more people to share their event photos!
- Design your event so that it encourages interaction on social media. This could be by using a photo-booth, putting the hashtag on the event program, or a live twitter feed on a TV or screen!
- Make sure your event is beautiful and unique. You need to create visual eye candy for your attendees. Little pieces of the event that are “shareable” will make your audience want to share it with their following!

5. Trust Your Vendors and Let Them do Their Thing!

- These are the experts in the field! So lean on them. I love to meet with my vendors, tell them my vision for the event and then ask what crazy ideas they may have! They may be more up to date on industry trends, up and coming technology or maybe they just have a unique idea! This could be your decor rentals, entertainment or chef. It doesn’t matter what vendor it is – make sure you ask what they think and what ideas they have! It could take your event to the next level.
- For my Regina readers, here are a couple vendors that I would trust with my life!

And there you have it! 5 event planning tips and tricks that are sure to elevate your fundraising or corporate event planning game. At the end of the day, it really comes down to having trust in the people you’re working with, letting your ideas run wild, and understanding that every detail is important. It’s been a weird time for event planners with COVID-19 cancelling everything. But I am so excited for life to open up again so I can go all out on my next event for Hope’s Home.

Do you have any other tips you have found helpful in your event planning? Have any questions for me? I would love to hear it! Leave a comment down below or send us a message on Instagram!

Join in on our Hope the Hippo Fundraiser

Dec 4, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

#HopetheHippo is incredibly busy, running around Regina and Prince Albert collecting donations – do you want to join in on the fun?

**Update: Our Hope the Hippo fundraiser closed on December 23rd, 2020, raising a grand total of $58,350 for our organization!! Thank you so much to everyone who played along and got involved. We are beyond grateful.

We have received more support than we ever could have imagined for our Christmas fundraiser campaign. Everyone is having so much fun, meeting Hope, sending her to their friends, and learning more about organization!

As you can tell, our little purple hippo took a fall and had to be replaced with a new hippo – Hank the Hippo!! Everyone is loving him all the same.

Are you interested in making a donation to our #HopetheHippo Campaign?

Remember – all donations are being matched by Affinity Credit Union up to $25,000!!

To make a donation to the campaign:

Send an e-transfer to hopethehippo@hopeshome.org
Please include your contact and mailing information in the message box. This is so we can send you a charitable tax receipt!
- Your full name
- mailing address
- email address
- and phone number.

Thank you so much for following along so far – and we aren’t finished yet! To stay up to date on where Hope the Hippo is that day, make sure to follow us on Instagram or Facebook.

Be On the Lookout for Hope the Hippo

Nov 22, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

Hope the Hippo is on the loose going around Regina and Prince Albert spreading Christmas cheer! Have you spotted her?

We are asking for the public’s help in catching Hope. If you see her around your neighborhood, take a picture with her, post it on your social media with the hashtag #HopetheHippo and tag @Hopeshomeinc.

Watch the video below to see Hope the Hippo in action running around the city!

When Hope the Hippo lands on someone’s lawn, they will have the chance to donate to Hope’s Home to get the Hippo moved, and if they donate even more, they can choose where they would like Hope moved next!

We also have an amazing partner for this campaign. A huge thank you to Affinity Credit Union for matching all donations made up to $25,000. We are truly so blessed to have such an amazing corporate partner.

With the impacts of COVID-19 on our operations at Hope’s Home, we are looking forward to spreading some joy through this campaign and raise vital funds for our children. Thank you for your support now and always.

We hope you play along with our Christmas fundraiser. We can’t wait to see your pictures!

Thanksgiving Celebrations at Supportive Living

Oct 15, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events, Stories

Thanksgiving is meant for family, and that’s what we are at Supportive Living.

Our Supportive Living locations across the province enjoyed some quality family time this Thanksgiving. They took in the last of the fall season going for walks around the river and in their neighborhoods, ate good food, got crafty, and carved some pumpkins.

There is so much to be thankful for. But especially during this time, we are so thankful for the health of our kids and that we are still able to spend time together during the holidays; embracing every moment and appreciating all the joy that can come from the little things.

Fundraising Through a Pandemic – Charity Golf Tournament

Aug 13, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

After cancelling our biggest fundraiser of the year and seeing a decline in revenue and donations over the past 5 months – we were so thankful to start fundraising again.

On August 7th, we put on our 7th Annual Hope’s Home Charity Golf Tournament in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. We are so proud to announce that even with all the complications and limitations of COVID-19, we still managed to raise $14,000 for our organization.

We were grateful to have Malcolm Jenkins of Canadian Tire Prince Albert back on as our title sponsor. Malcolm continues to be a huge supporter of Hope’s Home year after year. He continually comes back for our golf tournament and this year also took on title sponsor at Swinging With the Stars Prince Albert.

Our day started bright and early with the sun shining down. It was a beautiful day to get together and support Hope’s Home. Not to mention it was so nice to see everyone’s faces again!

Our teams came in full spirit and got dressed up in matching uniforms (How awesome are these shirts?!). We loved seeing all the creativity they put in to it. Throughout the day, we played fun mini games at each hole, raffled off a side x side, had a chance to win prizes from our amazing sponsors, and got to finish the day off with an incredible steak supper from Kachur’s Golf Club.

The day was an absolute BLAST and a huge success. We are very grateful we were able to continue on with one of our favourite weekends of the year. A huge thank you to all our sponsors, golfers, and volunteers for making our 7th Annual Golf Tournament one to remember! We can’t wait to see you all out for the 2021 tournament!

That’s why there is no place like Hope. ❤️

GMS Queen City Marathon x Hope’s Home

Jul 14, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events, Stories

You can now support Hope’s Home at the GMS Queen City Marathon. When you sign up, you can choose Hope’s Home as your charity of choice where your pledges will be donated.

Thanks in advance #HopeHommies!

Swinging With The Stars Prince Albert

Jun 16, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

Welcome to the First Annual Swinging With the Stars in Prince Albert!

The crowd was electric, the judges were ecstatic, and the dancers put on a show.

The goal was to raise $60,000 and by the end of the night the room had come together to raise an amazing $110,000.

We can’t thank all the volunteers, Hope’s Home staff, the City of Prince Albert and all you wonderful dancers enough. You’ve helped us raise vital funds for our organization. We love looking back on all the amazing performances – watch them below!

Eric & Brooke – Our 2020 Judge’s Favourite!

Kim & Ayaz:

Lauren & Todd – Our 2020 Crowd Favourite. They raised the most money!

Danielle & Jason:

Dez & Sean:

Chelsea & Randy:

We hope to see you all next year at Swinging with the Stars Prince Albert 2021!!

Swinging With The Stars Regina 2020 - Postponed (2)

SWTS Regina POSTPONED

Mar 30, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

UPDATE as of June 29th, 2020: Swinging with the Stars Regina 2020 is officially CANCELLED. We will be back and better than ever in May 2021 – We hope to see you then! Please check your email for information on refunds as those were sent out already. If you did not receive one, please email swtsregina@hopeshome.org

We are saddened to announce that our event scheduled for May 2^nd will now have to be rescheduled for September 19^th, 2020 due to the on-going concerns of COVID-19. This is heartbreaking for us and our dancers as we have all been working so hard to make this years event the best one yet. However, the health and safety of all of you and our staff will always be more important. We continue to stay optimistic about the event and hope you can all attend the new date! Please note:

FOR GENERAL ADMISSION TICKET HOLDERS:

If you are unable to attend, you will be fully refunded for your ticket. Please email swtsregina@hopeshome.org with the following information if you wish to receive a refund:

Name that you purchased ticket under
Amount of tickets that you’d like the refund for

FOR SPONSORS:

Please send an email to swtsregina@hopeshome.org with one of the following options:

· Our company can still attend the event and wish to keep our sponsorship.

· Our company can no longer attend the event but we still wish to keep our sponsorship.

· Our company can no longer attend the event and wish to receive a refund on our sponsorship.

Please don’t hesitate to email us with any questions or concerns you may have. We are hopeful that all of you can still attend this event as we know we were all looking forward to it!

Stay safe and healthy!

Swinging with the Stars Regina

Feb 26, 2020/in Past Fundraising Events

The fundraising event of the year is back and better than ever – The 4th Annual Swinging with the Stars – presented by Knight Automotive – in support of Hope’s Home.

Once again we have taken 8 of the cities most influential people and partnered them up with professional dancers. After months of sweat, fundraising, and hard work, we gather together to watch them compete for the title of Regina’s favourite dance duo.

Last year we raised $280,000 for our organization and sold out at 1000 attendees. We can’t wait to see what we accomplish this year! So don’t wait – make sure you grab your tickets to the most fun fundraiser of the year!

DETAILS AND EVENT INFORMATION:
______________________________________________________

When: May 2nd, 2020. Cocktails at 6:00 pm, appetizers to follow. Program starts at 7:00 pm

Where: International Trade Centre, Evraz Place. Regina, Saskatchewan

What should I wear: It’s a night out on the town! Dress in business casual or put on your best dress or suit.

Tickets: On Sale March 1st, 2020

Contact: kstewart@hopeshome.org for Sponsorship opportunities!