Why Do We Fundraise?
by Karen Boyce
Regional Treasurer
Fundraising has become a necessity for both the Southern Region, and for every region, to hold both regional awards banquets and shows and to sponsor the CFA Annual Meeting every seven years. The CFA surcharge on entries has decreased, and now gives regions very little money. Many shows now rely on raffle tables as a necessary element in covering show expenses. Few shows now make a profit, and most barely break even. At the same time that entries are decreasing, the costs of producing shows are rising. These trends fuel a downward spiral where shows, and even clubs, cease to exist.
Regional events are planned for in advance, and ideally a year in advance. However experience also shows that things often do not go as planned. Over the years, the region has experienced disruptions to plans, such as venues cancelling our event, weather disruptions, and clubs/individuals abdicating their roles as event sponsors. Disruptions such as these can, and have, been the cause of unanticipated expenses.
Raising funds for events by necessity happens far in advance of the events that it will support and in the past it has always been enough because the support was there. However, in the past few years fundraising efforts yielded fewer funds than in the past. Sponsorships have decreased, show entries have decreased, and thus, monies in have decreased. On the other end of the spectrum we have seen the demand for more sophisticated trophies, fanciers productions, and nicer venues. That is all in keeping with the Southern Region's pride in itself, and in its winners. But we have reached a point where the incoming monies are now not enough to support the events in the manner that we would like for them to be.
What if we thought about supporting our region not through fundraising, but through FriendRaising?
At the heart of our involvement with CFA and the cat fancy are our friends. The ones who celebrate our victories with us and whom we cheer on in their own wins, and with whom we commiserate not just show hall losses, but personal ones as well. Our awards events are where we raise our friends up and honor their achievements.
Without the support of the region as a whole, this celebration cannot be the one that we desire for our friends. The term "pay it forward" comes to mind for this year we may be celebrating our friends' achievements; next year they may be celebrating ours. What is clear is that there IS no celebration without the support of everyone.
This is also the Southern Region's year to host the annual, putting the spotlight on own region to the rest of CFA. We should be putting our party dress on and shining! But again - we cannot do that without the support of the region.
So - how best to FriendRaise
?
For the annual: The first in several of several FriendRaising events have already begun. Two Echo Shows have been donated to the region, and tickets for them are only $2 each. Jennifer Herr has made and donated cat teasers special for the annual for only $10 each. And our regional pins have been available since July. All of these items are currently listed at
http://cfasouthern.org/fundraising/ . More events will be listed soon. Fundraising for the annual will end early next year, and we will then begin focusing on the delegate bag and its items.
For the regional: Our regional awards banquet is the epitome of FriendRaising as the celebration is so tied to the amount of funding. A celebration in the tradition of regional awards past will require more active giving than in the past. That means more people sponsoring more awards, participation in both the show and the dinner, direct donations (which are always acknowledged), perhaps buying dinner tickets for friends. It also means volunteers to help produce both the show and the banquet. If that support is not forthcoming, then the awards banquet will need to be dramatically scaled back.
We ask that you remember your friends, remember your region, and remember to support them both.
The region is currently raffling off not just o
ne, but TWO Amazon Echo devices!! Many thanks to Krista Schmitt for donating them! Wondering what they are?
Read about them
here
(and wouldn't they be great for monitoring queens and kittens?).
Originally, the drawing for the Echos was to be at the Cat Club of the Palm Beaches show. However the recent hurricanes impacted attendance at shows and attention to this raffle. Therefore, the drawing for them will be on Sunday, Nov. 5, at the Cotton States' show. So there's still time to get your tickets
from
Karen Boyce
. Complete details are on the region's website.
We keep hearing that individual clubs are working on their own small fundraising activities. Please let Karen know since we are developing a page on our website to show our progress and future activities. This will be a great venue to advertise you fundraising event.
Fundraising Last Month:
- Fundraising Pins
- Lead: Jean Dugger, Karen Boyce
- current amount raised: $1352
- 2018 Annual Cat Teasers
- Lead: Jennifer Herr
- current amount raised: $320
- Fundraising Show - Sept 2-3
- Ocicats International, Jacqui Bennett
- amount raised: $252
- Echo Show Raffle
- Lead: Karen Boyce
- current amount raised: $194
Supporting the Southern Regional fundraising activities helps the 2018 Annual, which will be held in Atlanta, Georgia. More information will be available soon, and please know that the Southern Region Team is hard at work making this a fantastic event for all of CFA to enjoy and we all very much appreciate every ounce of your support.
