Possible Fundraisers?

billyjfootball · Sep 19, 2017

Hello, Brothers! I'm looking for any suggestions you might have for possible fundraisers that we can use in our lodge. Our lodge has been fortunate because it's connected to a pizza shop, pawn shop, and printing business. We own the building and collect rent from these places. We also had Easter Star use our place a couple times per month. However, things have taken an unfortunate turn for us. Two of the businesses have left and Eastern Star has merged with a chapter ten miles away. Therefore, we're no longer collecting rent. And we're in the midst of taking a huge financial hit. We're looking to do a fundraiser of some kind. Our Worshipful Master was thinking a hoagie sale. He's also looking for any other ideas to help us keep afloat.

Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!
Bill

Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry mobile app

CLewey44 · Sep 19, 2017

Get some flyers and hand them out to every household within 5 miles of there with some Masonic info and have an open house maybe for guys in your area. Maybe you could get a dozen or so new quality members. Coordinate a 5K or something. Half the proceeds go to Shriners Hospital, half to the lodge? Hope ya'll keep it going.

jsayne85 · Sep 19, 2017

I actually just made a post about a possible fundraiser. https://www.myfreemasonry.com/threads/possible-fundraiser.28876/ I am a Business Partner with a streaming tv company that works off of a referral program. If your Lodge or group signs up as a Distributor, you earn $5 from each person that you subscribe to the service. It is a residual commission meaning that each month they renew the subscription, you get another $5. Sign up 200 people and that is $1,000 per month commission. There are over 900 Live high definition channels including a complete sports package, premium movie channels - HBO, Showtime, Starz, Cinemax, ect., and free pay-per-view. The service costs only $39 for all of those features and the company will be releasing On Demand movies and tv shows very soon. To be a distributor, you pay $39 and you get access to the streaming tv service. For more information please visit the links below.

Disclaimer: If you sign up under me I will receive a $5 commission each month. I am not posting this to benefit myself. My intentions are to offer this opportunity to your Lodge because I believe that this could be a great fundraiser.

orderviptv.com/JohnSayne or facebook.com/saynetv

chrmc · Sep 19, 2017

billyjfootball said:
Hello, Brothers! I'm looking for any suggestions you might have for possible fundraisers that we can use in our lodge. Our lodge has been fortunate because it's connected to a pizza shop, pawn shop, and printing business. We own the building and collect rent from these places. We also had Easter Star use our place a couple times per month. However, things have taken an unfortunate turn for us. Two of the businesses have left and Eastern Star has merged with a chapter ten miles away. Therefore, we're no longer collecting rent. And we're in the midst of taking a huge financial hit. We're looking to do a fundraiser of some kind. Our Worshipful Master was thinking a hoagie sale. He's also looking for any other ideas to help us keep afloat.

If you guys are looking to make up for lost monthly rent, then honestly a one time charity won't do it. The resources would probably be better spent on finding another long term tenant. Hand out flyers, call companies, meet with realtors etc.

Think we far to often in Masonry see situations where the amount of time brethren spend on something, isn't close to what the lodge actually get out of it.

Bloke · Sep 19, 2017

chrmc said:
If you guys are looking to make up for lost monthly rent, then honestly a one time charity won't do it. The resources would probably be better spent on finding another long term tenant. Hand out flyers, call companies, meet with realtors etc.

Think we far to often in Masonry see situations where the amount of time brethren spend on something, isn't close to what the lodge actually get out of it.

We have a saying in one of my Masonic Building committee of management - if you can't get land a whale (tenant) you can still make a meal from enough sardines (small tenants)..... That building has lodge income, casual hire income, repeat hirer income and parking revenue and sponsorships - the sum of which is seeing us slowly renovate.. without a single fundraiser..

chrmc · Sep 20, 2017

Bloke said:
We have a saying in one of my Masonic Building committee of management - if you can't get land a whale (tenant) you can still make a meal from enough sardines (small tenants)..... That building has lodge income, casual hire income, repeat hirer income and parking revenue and sponsorships - the sum of which is seeing us slowly renovate.. without a single fundraiser..

Exactly. I think this is a great way to focus on your primary asset (the building) and optimizing it as much as possible through, big and small events.
What I however think we often see is that someone does a a brisket sale, or a pancake breakfast etc. The lodge ends up spending 3000 dollars to take in 3200 and also waste the energy of 6 brethren in the process. In those cases I question whether the payout was worth the investment.

CLewey44 · Sep 20, 2017

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the pancake breakfasts. I don't think they are very lucrative and they 'Rotarize' us too much.

Thomas Stright · Sep 20, 2017

Gun raffles are always a great idea..... (Well, I am in Texas

)

Bloke · Sep 21, 2017

chrmc said:
Exactly. I think this is a great way to focus on your primary asset (the building) and optimizing it as much as possible through, big and small events.
What I however think we often see is that someone does a a brisket sale, or a pancake breakfast etc. The lodge ends up spending 3000 dollars to take in 3200 and also waste the energy of 6 brethren in the process. In those cases I question whether the payout was worth the investment.

I'd rather just donate $50 than spend hours of my time on something like a pancake breakfast. We've only run 1 fundraiser in the last 24 months, a trivia night, raised $3.4K in one night having a great time - every dime of which went to a local school. Core income for our building is external hire, this week we earned $950 from it, from 1 members labour; 1 invoice and meeting the hirer once to hand a key over. Work smarter not harder.

Bill Lins · Sep 21, 2017

Bloke said:
Core income for our building is external hire, this week we earned $950 from it, from 1 members labour; 1 invoice and meeting the hirer once to hand a key over.

The problem here (GLoTX) is that we are extremely restricted by our GL in to whom & for what purposes we can rent our Lodge buildings out.

Bloke · Sep 22, 2017

Bill Lins said:
The problem here (GLoTX) is that we are extremely restricted by our GL in to whom & for what purposes we can rent our Lodge buildings out.

Unless the buildings are owned by lodges, you might take a wider view. My home building is owned by an Association, and hence we've told GL the Gl Const is nice, but has no standing as a third party and non-legally binding document and our Leaders much look to the Law while discharging their fiduciary duties under Law, particularity in respect to the Incorporated Associations Act and associated Legislation. If you have a Trust Deed, and if the Law (or Deed itself) says as a Trustee you must do all you can for the health of the Trust and to meet its objectives, you might likewise argue you have a legal obligation to rent your building out under Law and the Const is a third party document which cannot inhibit trustees discharging their fiduciary obligations.

Bill Lins · Sep 22, 2017

Bloke said:
Unless the buildings are owned by lodges

They generally are, and any & all contracts, including rental & lease agreements, must be approved by the Grand Lodge.

Bloke · Sep 23, 2017

Bill Lins said:
They generally are, and any & all contracts, including rental & lease agreements, must be approved by the Grand Lodge.

In 1986 we shifted our ownership to avoid that very thing, and now still have a building because of it

BullDozer Harrell · Sep 23, 2017

billyjfootball said:
Hello, Brothers! I'm looking for any suggestions you might have for possible fundraisers that we can use in our lodge. Our lodge has been fortunate because it's connected to a pizza shop, pawn shop, and printing business. We own the building and collect rent from these places. We also had Easter Star use our place a couple times per month. However, things have taken an unfortunate turn for us. Two of the businesses have left and Eastern Star has merged with a chapter ten miles away. Therefore, we're no longer collecting rent. And we're in the midst of taking a huge financial hit. We're looking to do a fundraiser of some kind. Our Worshipful Master was thinking a hoagie sale. He's also looking for any other ideas to help us keep afloat.

Any ideas would be welcome.

Thanks in advance!
Bill

Sent from my iPhone using My Freemasonry mobile app

Pardon my humor but Brother you guys are going to be selling alot of hoagies for a long time, if the vote goes in to make this the lodge fundraiser.

But seriously, have you guys thought of maybe leasing space to host martial arts classes, an after-school study center, bingo, etc? You know things that will pull in the surrounding community.

Remember, "if you build it, then they will come".

Bill Lins · Sep 23, 2017

Bloke said:
In 1986 we shifted our ownership to avoid that very thing, and now still have a building because of it

Great idea, but doesn't avoid the problem here. A change in our Grand Lodge law is needed, but unlikely to pass.

Bloke · Sep 23, 2017

Bill Lins said:
Great idea, but doesn't avoid the problem here. A change in our Grand Lodge law is needed, but unlikely to pass.

I always tell Bros the same thing, be Entrepreneurial and dont let rules get in the way. If your buildings in distress, and it often is around alcohol rules and restrains on who you can lease to, I simply ask the question, "Do you want a building with no alcohol but a for sale sign on it, or beer the the fridge and money in the bank for taxes and repairs ?"/ Further, if we are a benevolent organization. is it not right to leverage our space to allow others, like those teaching ballet, karate, running Alcoholics Anonymous, theatre groups, etc etc build community?? Often my obstacles have been about damage caused by users and the statement becomes "Would you like a building with a nice floor and a for sale sign on it, or once with a scratched up floor we own with the money in the bank to fix those scratches"... That's a very simple and often true statement.

If it is about Grand Lodge Rules, the question becomes should you not change them and end up loosing your masonic heritage and the legacy and wealth your masonic forebears bequeathed you in the form of your buildings, or, should you like any successful organisation, alter some practices to make sure you survive and prosper to carry on the traditions and heritage those before you established and which we now cherish, use and enjoy?

Brother JC · Sep 25, 2017

Alcohol touches on a whole other can of worms, especially in Texas, where there are many dry counties.

CLewey44 · Sep 25, 2017

I know OK did not allow alcohol on the premises of lodges...somehow, so I hear, that rule may or may not be enforced in Guthrie for the Valley weekends lol.

BullDozer Harrell · Sep 25, 2017

Bloke said:
I always tell Bros the same thing, be Entrepreneurial and dont let rules get in the way. If your buildings in distress, and it often is around alcohol rules and restrains on who you can lease to, I simply ask the question, "Do you want a building with no alcohol but a for sale sign on it, or beer the the fridge and money in the bank for taxes and repairs ?"/ Further, if we are a benevolent organization. is it not right to leverage our space to allow others, like those teaching ballet, karate, running Alcoholics Anonymous, theatre groups, etc etc build community?? Often my obstacles have been about damage caused by users and the statement becomes "Would you like a building with a nice floor and a for sale sign on it, or once with a scratched up floor we own with the money in the bank to fix those scratches"... That's a very simple and often true statement.

If it is about Grand Lodge Rules, the question becomes should you not change them and end up loosing your masonic heritage and the legacy and wealth your masonic forebears bequeathed you in the form of your buildings, or, should you like any successful organisation, alter some practices to make sure you survive and prosper to carry on the traditions and heritage those before you established and which we now cherish, use and enjoy?

Interesting thoughts. So even though a group of Lodges might have a building and a Temple Association with its Board of Directors, they would still look to the Grand Lodge to have a say about how they run their affairs pertaining to their private property?

JJones · Sep 25, 2017

Determine your annual operating cost and divide the number by how many dues paying members you have. Increase dues to that amount at a minimum.

It's the best fundraiser there is!

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Possible Fundraisers?

billyjfootball

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CLewey44

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jsayne85

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chrmc

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Bloke

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CLewey44

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Thomas Stright

Bloke

Bill Lins

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BullDozer Harrell

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Bill Lins

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Bloke

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