Service Club Programs
A little-known service organization in Lincoln Nebraska raised over $10 million in six years with Spiral Wishing Wells. This page describes how they did it.
We appreciate the opportunity to supply Spiral Wishing Wells to a variety of service clubs around the world. If you have a Well and your organization's name is not on this list, please let us know.
Alpha Phi Omega |
Your logo can be added to the sign, or placed on the front of the rim or door. You can use our generic sign, or slip your own custom design into the clear frame.  |
Spiral Wishing Wells are a perfect fit for service clubs. Not only do they raise money for your projects, they serve as a billboard promoting your organization INSIDE the most valuable real estate in your city.
"The income is great. But the most valuable benefit for us is that we get our project name in the middle of the best advertising venues in town. It is amazing how many more people are aware of our involvement in the community now. That helps our Charles LeGrande, |
You can turn that exposure into membership by posting an invitation right on the sign. You can even affix a peel-off card or literature tray that describes events and membership opportunities.
There is no other way to get your organization's name and project in front of so many people. You don't have to spend money on advertising when you can place a Well inside stores and restaurants. It is much more effective than a billboard, a fleeting radio or television ad, or any number of fund-raising projects.
Loan Program In addition to placing Wells in permanent store locations, clubs can keep a Well available to loan out to local fund raising events. This includes churches, schools, and local charities. Of course, the Well would have your club logo, name, and telephone number on it, and you can "require" the people borrowing it to include an invitation to join your club or attend a meeting in their printed program and with the microphone. Many of these local events include media coverage, so the positive exposure for you can be very significant. We receive many requests to borrow Wells locally. We would gladly refer those requests to you. Just let us know you have a Well for that purpose. You can also generate a lot of local activity by letting the schools, library, churches, and other charities in your area know that you have a Well available to borrow. |
Fundraising Fatigue
We hear a common lament from all service clubs. Membership is strained from "fundraising fatigue". Member's schedules are very busy, and when they have a little time off, they want to spend it with their family. Some clubs are experiencing a decline in membership as a result. That doesn't bode well for the future.
Spiral Wishing Wells will help solve these issues in three ways:
1) They raise money the easy way. They don't require the kind of organization and time that other fund raising events demand. This will reduce the burn-out and member fatigue.
2) They provide in-store public relations that tell people who you are, that you are actively involved in helping your community. It is like having bill-boards INSIDE the most valuable real estate in your community.
3) The positive public relations with your club's name inside stores helps to draw more members. You can even post your contact phone number and weekly meetings with a "Visitors Welcome" invitation. People want to be a part of something that is exciting and active. Seeing Spiral Wishing Wells in their community tells them that your club is involved.
How many Wells should you place in your area?
The answer depends on your goals. We encourage you to start with one and see how easy it is to place, and how much money it brings in. As soon as you experience those two things, and how much the stores like it, you can decide how many you would like to place in your community.
A little known organization in Lincoln Nebraska started with one Well and kept reinvesting the income in more and more Wells until they had 300 of them throughout the region. They raised over $10 million in 6 years and nearly EVERYONE in the Mid-West learned about their summer camps for blind children. Before that, they were largely unknown. While the $10 million was fantastic, the exposure and long-term impact has also been a great benefit.
Since the Wells pay for themselves very quickly, perhaps a better question to ask is, "How many would you like if they were FREE?"
If you want everyone who lives in your city to see your name and project when they walk into stores and restaurants, then you will want to place as many as possible. Some Clubs might only place them in the stores owned by their fellow members. Still others may encourage each member to purchase one and be responsible for placing it and collecting the coins. This is a very easy way for each member to participate, and the total income and exposure is very impressive.
Regional and National Programs
If you represent a regional or national level, the numbers and impact on the communities can quickly be in the millions of dollars. How many clubs do you have? What would happen if each club placed just one Well and it raised a modest $200 or $300 per month, and accounted for a few new members? How would that affect your current and future projects. And what if 10 members from each club placed a Well in their city? You can quickly see how the numbers multiply.
Will stores accept a Well raising money for your project?
The easiest locations are stores owned by club members. But even if the owners are not members, most local stores, restaurants, theaters, bowling centers, hair salons, and every other kind of retail walk-in stores are very happy to participate by providing the floor space for local fund raising projects. The key is to offer to place the Well there for a couple of days so they can see how much fun it is for their customers and that it doesn't solicit them or make them feel uncomfortable.
But what if they are part of a large chain and they already have a preferred corporate charity? Will they let you place a Well?
Yes!
Many of the larger chains already have a corporate charity, and they are less likely to let you raise money in their store. However, there is a very simple way to get your Well into their store by offering to "split" the revenue with their charity. That is how the blind service organization in Lincoln Nebraska mentioned above raised over $10 million for blind summer camp programs. They split the coin revenue with stores in the Mid-West. Remember, half the revenue in a larger chain store like Wal-Mart or McDonalds can be greater than 100% of the income in a smaller location. And of course, your club still gets the public and media exposure as the sponsor!
Click here to see a complete word-for-word strategy about how to approach large corporate chain stores and restaurants with a revenue-sharing program.
Summary
As you consider the challenges of traditional fund raising and how difficult it is to organize volunteers, we offer the most effective fund raising solution of all time.
- Spiral Wishing Wells are easy to place...
- Stores love them...
- They don't solicit customers...
- They are like billboards INSIDE the most valuable retail environments promoting your club and project...
- They are much easier than traditional fund raising projects...
- They pay for themselves very quickly...
- They raise lots of money for your projects...
We are here to help. We have the strategy and exact wording for approaching a store already perfected. We will help you with one Well, or if you want to put a larger regional or national program together.
We invite you to review the website for more information, or call us at 1-937-384-0003 (New York Time Zone).
