Today's Meeting

It seems the blog has been hard to access or forgotten about by some, myself included, but there should be a facebook group and if possible a print out on the fundraising wall, so no excuses :)

Point 1 - CAKE SALE!

We have done so well with bake sales so far, £148 was raised this week just to remind everyone :D
To save everyone baking, and to manage our time better, the class has been split up into two teams. A and B. (list is on the door or fundraising wall)
So for the next bake sale on the 8th of November A will be baking and B will be selling. Then we swap every two weeks.

But Trish thought that we should maybe change tactics as bake sale posters for other departments are going up allover the place. Possibly a lunch time buffet?
Where we each bring in salad? sandwiches? potato salad? a nice healthy lunch but we would need to look into health and safety. Can we heat things up in the microwave? Or do we have to keep eveything cold?

£2 or £3 for a plate, they come into the studio and can eat there or take the plate away with them?
This may or may ot work but we should give it a shot, it might come into play next week after we check health n safety etc.


Point 2 - Badges and Cards

A fair few badges have been made so far but if we could have them all finished by the 4th of November so we can sort out prices and possibly sell them at the bake sale (possible lunch buffet) on Monday.
Carrie has the badge backs. 5 each.

But if we would rather make more x'mas cards than badges then it's not a problem :)

Carrie also has the cards and envelopes. People have been taking 5 or 10 to have done by the 15th November so that we can begin selling mid-november.

We are hoping to have a table set up downstairs at reception early December, they said this shouldn't be a problem.
We will each be setting the prices for ur own cards, depending on time spent/how much we would pay etc etc, but a minimum of £1.50.
Carrie is going to ask Hatti about a craft fair near x'mas in Pitimine (sp).


Point 3 - Calendars


Lorri and Caroline have had 12 pictures put forward for the calendar so it seems we are only doing 1 unless more come forward. They are just waiting on more card samples being sent as the last ones were pretty rubbish, but once they've got them printing should only take a week.


So get those 10 by 10 images in tout de suite!!



Last but by no means least


Point 4 - Fashion Show


A high percentage of the class have been worried about if this will be worth it in the long run and rightly so.
Will it take up too much time? as there is no point in comfortably being able to afford to go to new designers if we have no good work to show.

A few people in the class will be going to see Irvine/Irving this evening, meeting at 7.30pm outside DOJ to ask questions such as this, with the answers being put on the blog as soon as. It is also agreed that we will have a meeting after tonight to decide on the outcome.

POSITIVES:-

He has a lot of contacts in this area and a lot of experience. He is doing Face of Freedom 2010 in fat sams live soon. He also used to help DOJ students with fashion show for 20 years until 2003, no idea why it stopped.

He knows things that we wouldn't think of, such as insurance for clothes (as last years' 4th year did not have this).

Radio contacts

Newspaper contacts.

We could also sell the badges, cakes etc etc at stalls there.

Good publiciity for us if we decide to have items of our design in the show.

It's also good to put on your CV, that you can help manage and run a successful *fingers crossed* event

Questions:-

Ticket price? is £10 too high. perhaps £5/6 would be more reasonable?

How much time and effort is he expecting us to put in?

Will it be worth it?

Does he have his own models?

Date? after January.


Sophie and Celeste have both has experience with college fashion shows, they said it took a lot of rehearsals but they really enjoyed it.

REMEMBER it's to raise money, no freebies to friends. And we won't be bothering with goodie bags etc.

After tonights meeting we will have answers and a better understanding of the things he is expecting us to do.

freedom hairdressing

Hey ladies!
Tonight we had a meeting with Irving at Freedom hairdressing
(Dock Street)
He has offered to help us put on a fashion show...when we say help,we mean underwrite the costs,call the contacts,
he'll provide the lights and the cameras
our job is............ACTION!

The best dates are around the beginning of February,possibly combining Valentines times,and suggestions went something like...find some models,borrow clothes from high street stores/boutiques/2nd hand shops,put some looks together ,they do the hair make up blah blah , we get fat sams live, we set up some stall sell some badges/cards/cakes/whatever your in to ......£10 a ticket, and,
VOILA-New Designers here we come!
Irving would like to meet a group of us next Thursday if we're keen, so what does everyone think?

BRIAN COX EVENING on MONDAY!

hey friends its mario!i have kidnapped lizete u may not see her again.......

Brian Cox the actor and Uni rector has agreed to be our PATRON. This means while we are raising money for New Designers,asking folk for cash , raffle prizes etc, he is going to basically putting his name on the correspondence so that we look 'more official' and get more responses! He's a cool guy with a lot of connections Dundee and worldwide so....on Monday evening there is a meet and greet session with Brian at the union, since he has agreed to be our patron and may help financially in the long run it would be great if a bunch of us could go along and MAKE OURSELVES KNOWN!!

So ladies lets get together and say HI on Monday night! Lets make a big effort for EVERYONE to go its for all our benefits!

you all got an email on your dundee accounts with the invite for the evening so check it out!
Marion :-)

Cake Sale!!

Just a wee reminder to everyone to bake up some yummy goodies for our next bake sale on Monday 25th October....

Hope everyone is having a lovely Reading Week.

C xxx

Donate Money online

We can get a paypal button on the blog to try and use the web to ask online people via twitter and facebook and email to donate. Maybe some of you got a placement over the summer and they could circulate the email in their offices, for example.



http://www.bbnow.com/webnow/

E-mail & Twitter

I have set us up our own e-mail address for fundraising and contacting people and things, it is:

textiletastic@gmail.com

Lorri, if you want to change the blog e-mail to it, go for it (though I doubt it'll make a difference).

Also, I have set twitter up with it (instead of my e-mail address) and located the password. I will give this to everyone tomorrow so we can start tweeting away to our heart's content and advertise via that media. Encourage everyone to follow us @textiletastic and follow yourselves if you have twitter already (or use the helpful tutorial to set up your own if not). :D

- Eilidh

Fundrasing Ideas

Printer's not working (quelle suprise!) so I'll just post the ideas from the suggestion box here & we can discuss at tomorrow's meeting:
FUNDRAISING IDEAS

- MAKE 2 CALENDARS USING AN IMAGE FROM EVERYONE, PEOPLE’S FAMILY MEMEBERS ARE MORE LIKELY TO BUY IT IF IT HAS THEIR WORK IN IT. (CHOOSING AN AMOUNT AND DOING HALF/HALF.)

- DO A PANCAKE DAY (OR EVEN BEFORE) CREPE SALE USING CARRIE’S CREPE MACHINE AND TOP WITH BANANNAS, NUTELLA ETC (MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK INTO HEALTH AND SAFETY)


- CAKE SALE!! HAVE A SALE EVERY TWO WEEKS, EVERYONE WOULD KNOW AND LOOK FOREWARD TO “CAKE DAY”

- TRY AND MAKE THINGS TO SELL AT THE CRAFT FAIR IN GENERAL, POSSIBLY THINGS LIKE LITTLE POUCHES FILLED WITH SMELLY THINGS (IE LAVENDER), MACHINE KNITTING SCARVES ETC.


- DO THINGS WITH BETTING (I THINK IT’S EASIER EXPLAINED IN PERSON)

More Funding links and useful ideas!

I've basically nicked the SYT fundraising pack off their website, but we could easily adapt it to our own needs:

Dear Participant

This pack is full of information to help you start fundraising and help you raise the course fees. We do hope you will take the time to read it and act on it, there is money out there and your fundraising efforts can really pay off.

The most important advice that Scottish Youth Theatre can give you about raising funds is to START NOW! The more places you apply to, the more likely you are to get help. Unfortunately it is very unusual for any one to obtain funds to cover the whole cost of the course, particularly if there are residence fees to consider as well as the course fees, but, as the old saying goes, every little helps!

We have provided advice on fundraising from the following sources, and would recommend that you try as many as possible, and any others that you can think of and we have included an example letter that you could base yours on:

General Fundraising

Local Press

Private Firms

Grant Making Trusts

Local Councils

It is important that you do not approach the Scottish Arts Council as they already fund Scottish Youth Theatre directly and will not be able to help you.

Please feel free to telephone the Scottish Youth Theatre office where the staff will try to help in any way possible. Don’t give up and good luck!

Fundraising

Here is some information on themes to use to fundraise and also some tips for successful fundraising. The SYT office is here to help, so all you have to do is write or pick up the phone. We have information available on the work of Scottish Youth Theatre in the form of Annual Reports and the SYTizen newsletter. It may be useful to give potential supporters a copy of such publications.

10 steps to successful fundraising

KEEP IT SIMPLE: A clear and straightforward idea and a bold message - make it something you will enjoy and others will too.

ORGANISE: Make sure you have enough help. Enlist friends and family to help.

PLAN: If organising an event, choose a date that is free of other charity events in your area, work back from the date of the event to plan preparations. Allow enough time for possible setbacks.

BUDGET: List expenses and potential income before starting; don’t spend lots of time and money organising an event with only modest returns.

CHECK: Legal constraints; liaise with SYT office.

PUBLICISE: Make sure the public know what you are raising money for; let everyone know what you are doing. Contact the local press. Talk to as many people as possible as this may generate new ideas and offers of help.

PERSONALISE: People like to know how you will benefit from the money they give.

THANK: Supporters and helpers; don’t forget to publicise the results of your efforts.

BUILD ON SUCCESS: Use records of helpers and supporters when planning any future events; don’t be put off by one unsuccessful event; learn from your mistakes and try again.

Fundraising Ideas – an a - Z

A – An all day event. Ask at your local sports centre or youth club if you can arrange a 24 hour sponsored event. Perhaps a sporting event.

B – Bag packing. Ask your local supermarket if you can raise money by packing bags.

C – What about a car boot sale or a coffee morning. Both of this have proved popular with previous Summer Festival applicants.

D – Organise a disco and charge an admission fee. Ask your school or youth club if they’d be willing to provide the venue.

E – Put a twist on a karaoke party and host a eurovision themed party charging an admission fee.

F – Try arranging a fun filled fashion show. All your friends and family can help by modelling for you.

G – Host a games night.

H – Hula hoop contest. Get sponsorship for how long you can hula hoop. Alternatively how many hula hoops can you eat in one minute?

I – Offer to do all the ironing for a month for a fee.

J – Jumble sale. Ask people to donate unwanted clothes for you to sell to help raise funds.

K – Karaoke evening. Host a karaoke evening and charge an entrance fee or a fee to perform.

L – What about a limbo contest or a laugh-a-thon. Do something creative and a bit different.

M – Musical cabaret. Instead of karaoke, ask everyone to perform songs from the musicals.

N – Ask your school if you can hold a non-uniform day. Ask students to pay a small fee to wear casual clothes for a day.

O – Odd jobs. Offer to do odd jobs such as cleaning and dish washing for friends and family in exchange for a small fee.

P – Pyjama day. Wear your pyjama’s for a day and get sponsored. Two previous Summer Festival participants raised money by doing a sponsored walk in their pyjama’s.

Q – Arrange a quiz night.

R – Raffle. Ask local businesses to donate prizes and then sell raffle tickets for the prizes. Don’t forget to ask local restaurants if they can donate a meal for two.

S – Sponsored events. Why not arrange a sponsored silence. Ask friends and family to sponsor you to stay quiet for an afternoon (or even longer)! Alternatively organise a sponsored swim or bike ride or leg wax. Previous male participants of Summer Festival raised funds by waxing their legs!

T – Organise a theme night and charge a fee to attend. A 70’s disco is popular.

U – Used and no longer needed. Have a clear out and sell any unwanted stuff that you have.

V – Organise a variety show during a school lunch hour and charge a small fee to come along. Don’t forget to get permission from your school first.

W – Wash cars for cash.

X – X-Factor themed party.

Y – Yukky food. Ask your friends to sponsor you to eat something you really don’t like.

Z – Zzzzzz why not host a pyjama party and charge an entrance fee.

Use your imagination and drama skills …………. you might want to come up with an original idea for fundraising that reflects your passion for acting.

Remember when organising any fundraiser, it is important to check legal constraints beforehand and always ensure that everyone knows exactly what they are donating money for and how you will benefit.

Using The Local Press

Local newspapers, whether they are free or sold, are a very good way to help your fundraising get off the ground. Papers can be used in several ways:

Ø You can either write to the letters page to appeal for funds now that you have successfully passed your audition.

Ø You could phone direct and ask for the news desk. Explain about your acceptance to the course and ask if you could appeal to their readers for funds, sponsorship or moneymaking ideas.

Ø Local press can also be used to publicise other people's support for you.

Ø If you tell local businesses and groups that you are trying to get coverage in the press it may encourage them to help you as they will get free publicity when you mention them.

The main trick with local papers is to simply ask. If they are not interested then you have lost nothing, but in the main papers will be willing to help, and can be a very effective way to start fundraising.

Private Firms

Some participants manage to get sponsorship - usually from small local businesses. The only way to obtain money from small firms is to write a lot of letters. For addresses, try your local Chamber of Commerce or use the yellow pages or www.yell.com

Why would a business want to sponsor you?

Local businesses can gain from sponsoring your course through positive publicity. If a business does sponsor you, you could ask the local press to run a story featuring both you and the business. When approaching local firms, the key is to try as many as possible and it helps if you have a friend of family connection e.g) a relative who is an employee. Remember to send a letter of thanks to any business that offers help.

Grant Making Trusts

Grant Making Trusts are charities that exist to give money to other charities or individuals. The majority of trusts prefer to give to charities, however, there are trusts out there that are in a position to give to individuals to take part in projects such as the Summer Festival. Some are particularly interested in children and young people; others in general welfare or education; others in certain geographical areas.

Most grant making trusts are swamped with applications and could easily give their money four or five times over on the basis of the applications they already receive. This does not mean that you should not apply, but rather that you will have to put time and effort into making a good application to an appropriate trust. Applying to trusts can be a complicated business as each has their own policies, application deadlines and preferred method of application. The trick is to find ones that match your personal circumstances. Here are some examples:

Foundation For Sports And The Arts

Foundation for Sports and the Arts is a trust fund that has shown support to a number of our participants over the years. They can support individuals who take part in arts activities and are more likely to fund participants who only ask for a portion of the fees and try to gather the rest through fundraising activities. FSA also prefer applicants who are passionate about their opportunity and therefore willing to access further information for them. A poorly processed application and one that does not follow their guidelines will not impress. However, do not let this put you off, as many of our SF participants are successful.

Telephone 0151259 5505 for an application pack or write to:

The Foundation for Sports & The Arts, PO Box 20, LIVERPOOL, L13 1HB

The Prince’s Trust

The Prince's Trust is an important funder of work with disadvantaged young people. It also fundraises itself to promote its own programmes of work. The Prince’s Trust can offer a Development Award grant if you are:

Ø Aged 14-25

Ø Looking to improve your skills or get into work

Ø Unemployed, underemployed, under-skilled, leaving care, disabled, parenting alone or facing discrimination

Contact: 0141 204 4409 or email webinfosc@princes-trust.org.uk for further information or write to:

The Prince’s Trust, First Floor, The Guildhall, 57 Queen Street, Glasgow, G1 3EN www.princes-trust.org.uk

Young Scot

The Post Office Young Scot Action Fund distributes small grants, up to £200 for individuals and up to £750 for groups, six times a year.

Application forms for this fund can be found on the Young Scot Website: www.youngscot.org The Young Scot website contains some helpful information and has a hints and tips page on how to fill in their application. It is worth checking out their hints and tips as these can be applied to other applications.

The Internet

The Internet is an excellent way to find many different kinds of Trust Funds. Why not try:

www.funderfinder.org.uk

Your Local Library

Most Libraries have books and publications on Sponsorship. Larger Reference libraries such as the Mitchell Library and the National Library have loads of really up to date information. So why not give that a try?

Some good titles are

• ‘The Directory of Grant Making Trusts’
• ‘Grants Resister’
• ‘Charities Register’

Applications

It is very important that any applications you make or letters you write are clear and give the relevant information. Make sure you include the following:

a) Your name, address and age b) Your occupation or the school, college etc. you attend

c) Why you are applying for a grant i.e. give details of the Scottish Youth Theatre course you wish to attend, and of your family circumstances and family background. Remember to include details on your personal interests and passions as well as why you want to do the course.

d) The cost of your fees and expenses for the course. It is a good idea to list all fees separately; e.g) course fees, residence or accommodation fees, travel expenses (including the cost of getting to and from residences at the start and end of the course if this is relevant) and additional expenses, e.g) money for meals.

Always include a stamped addressed envelope as this increases your chances of getting a reply. Keep copies of all letters you send and any replies, even refusals, as this will help you keep a record of all the places you have tried.

Local Authority Contact Details

CONTACT NAME	ADDRESS	E-MAIL
Anne Watson	Aberdeen City Council, Summerhill Centre, Stronsay Drive, Aberdeen AB15 6JA	www.aberdeencity.gov.uk
Walter Taylor	Aberdeenshire Council, Woodhill House, Westburn Road, Aberdeen AB16 5GB	www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Andrew Ross	Education Development Officer, Education Development Service, Angus Council, Bruce House, Wellgate, Arbroath DD11 3TE	www.angus.gov.uk
	Community Regeneration, Argyll & Bute Council HQ, Kilmary, Lochgilphead PA31 3RT	www.argyll-bute.gov.uk
	Council Information Centre, Corporate Services, City of Edinburgh Council, High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1JY	www.edinburgh.gov.uk
Rosa McPherson	Clackmannanshire Council, Greenfield, Alloa, FK10 2DD	www.clacks.gov.uk
Mr Houston	Arts Office, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Council Offices, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2BW	www.cne-siar.gov.uk
Anne Campbell	Education Officer, Dumfries & Galloway Council, NCS Centre, Lochside Road, Dumfries, DG2 0EL	www.dumgal.gov.uk
Mark Kummerer	External Funding Officer, Dundee City Council, Communities Dept, Tayside House, Dundee DD1 3RZ	www.dundeecity.gov.uk
David Mitchell	East Ayrshire Council, East Ayrshire Council, Council Offices, London Road, Kilmarnock KA3 7BU	www.east-ayrshire.gov.uk
Jim Bicket	East Dunbartonshire Council, Provision & Planning Dept, Boclair House, 100 Milngavie Road, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 2TQ	www.eastdunbarton.gov.uk
Margaret O’Connor	East Lothian Council, John Muir House, Haddington, East Lothian EH41 3HA	www.eastlothian.gov.uk
Winnie Gallacher/ Gary Morton	East Renfrewshire Council, Council Offices, Eastwood Park, Rouken Glen Road, Giffnock G46 6UG	www.eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk
Gillian Thompson	Falkirk Council, Municipal Buildings, Falkirk FK1 5RS	www.falkirk.gov.uk
Jim Douglas	Fife Council, Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes KY7 5LT	www.fife.gov.uk
	Glasgow City Council, City Chambers, George Square, Glasgow G2 1DU	www.glasgow.gov.uk
Lynn Johnson	Highland Council, Badenochuth & Strathspey Area, Ruthven Road, Kingussie PH20 1EJ	www.highland.gov.uk
Tom Bryan - Arts Development Officer	Highland Council, Community Education Centre, Ackergill Street, Wick KW1 4DT	www.highland.gov.uk
Adrian Clark	Highland Council, Inverness Area, Town House, Inverness, IV1 1JJ	www.highland.gov.uk
Helen Semple/ Ali McDonald	Highland Council, Lochaber Area, Mamore House, The Parade, Fort William, PH33 6BA	www.highland.gov.uk
Shona Arthur	Highland Council, Nairn Area, High Street, Dingwall IV12 4AV	www.highland.gov.uk
Wendy Sanders	Highland Council, Ross & Cromarty Area, High Street, Dingwall IV15 9QN	www.highland.gov.uk
John MacDonald	Highland Council, Skye & Lochalsh Area, Tigh na Sgire, Portree IV51 9GP	www.highland.gov.uk
Roxana Meechan	Highland Council, Sutherland Area, Main Street, Golspie KW10 6RB	www.highland.gov.uk

CONTACT NAME	ADDRESS	E-MAIL
Bob Barr Youth Worker	Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Greenock PA15 1LY	www.inverclyde.gov.uk
Director of Community Services	Midlothian Council, Midlothian House, Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith EH22 1DJ	www.midlothian.gov.uk
Caroline Coomber	Moray Council, High Street, Elgin IV30 1BX	www.moray.gov.uk
Chief Executive Dept	North Ayrshire Council, Cunninghame House, Irvine KA12 8EE	www.north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Lizanne McMurrich	North Lanarkshire Council, PO Box 14, Civic Centre, Motherwell ML1 1TW	www.northlan.gov.uk
Jeremy Baster	Orkney Islands Council, School Place, Kirkwall KW15 1NY	www.orkney.gov.uk
Finance Department	Perth & Kinross Council, 2 High Street, Perth PH1 5PH	www.pkc.gov.uk
Rana Keane	Renfrewshire Council, North Building, Room 1.2, Cotton Street, Paisley PA1 1BU	www.renfrewshire.gov.uk
Nicki Toneri	Scottish Borders Council, Newton St Boswells, Melrose TD6 0SA	www.scotborders.gov.uk
Suzanne Shearer	Shetlands Islands Council, Town Hall, Lerwick, Shetland ZE1 0HB	www.shetland.gov.uk
Margaret McCubbin	Grants Office, South Ayrshire Council, Development, Safety & Regulation, Newton House, 30 Green Street Lane, Ayr KA18 8BH	www.south-ayrshire.gov.uk
Stephen Kelly	South Lanarkshire Council, Almada Street, Hamilton ML3 0AA	www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk
Mary Prior	Stirling Council, Viewforth, Stirling FK8 2ET	www.stirling.gov.uk
Jill Graham	West Dunbartonshire Council, Levenford House, Helenslee Road, Dunbarton G82 4AH	www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk
John Reid	West Lothian Council, West Lothian House, Almondvale, Livingston EH54 6QG	www.westlothian.gov.uk

Draft Letter

If you want to write to local business, funding bodies, the press or your local council to gain funding for Summer Festival, but are having difficulty getting started, here is an example letter, which you could copy.

(If you are under 16, please inform a Parent/Guardian of your intention to send out letters)

If organisations reply to you, needing more information or proof of your participation, contact the SYT office on 0141 552 3988 or email info@scottishyouththeatre.org

Date

Your Address

Dear Sir or Madam, (TRY TO FIND OUT A CONTACT NAME IF POSSIBLE)

My name is YOUR NAME and I attend NAME OF SCHOOL/COLLEGE. I have successfully auditioned for a place in the Scottish Youth Theatre NAME OF COURSE, as part of Summer Festival 2009.

The course will take place on DATE & VENUE OF COURSE.

(BRIEF SUMMARY OF WHY YOU WOULD LIKE TO PARTICIPATE IN SUMMER FESTIVAL AND HOW YOU WILL BENEFIT FROM IT)

I am currently seeking sponsorship and would really appreciate any support YOU/YOUR ORGANISATION could offer me.

Summer Festival is a fantastic experience and hopefully, with your help, I can be a part of this event.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours Sincerely

Your Name