Third Party Fundraiser Packet

Transcription

1 Third Party Fundraiser Packet

2 We have a proposal for you And we hope you ll say Yes! Hosting a third-party fundraiser on behalf of Wish Upon a Wedding (WUW) is a rewarding way to give back to your community by making a huge impact in the lives of deserving couples facing terminal illness or other serious life-altering circumstances. Our ultimate goal is to be able to grant a wedding wish to every couple that applies. With your generous support we can make it happen. Wish Upon a Wedding is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides weddings and vow renewals for couples, regardless of sexual orientation. By celebrating the courage and spirit of these couples, it is our goal that others facing similar situations will find hope, strength and the promise of eternal love. Once you re approved, the information in our Third-Party Fundraising Packet will help you expertly orchestrate an entertaining and flawless event. It also contains guidelines and clearly outlines your responsibilities as a third-party fundraiser. Read over everything carefully. If hosting a third-party fundraiser iis something you'd like to commit to, please say "Yes!" by submitting your online application through our website and help Wish Upon a Wedding turn dreams into reality. WHAT IS A THIRD PARTY FUNDRAISER EVENT? Any event organized by volunteers, a community group, or a company that is not an official Wish Upon a Wedding (WUW) activity, is considered to be a third-party event. The third-party accepts full financial responsibility and acts independently, but with WUW s approval.

3 Six steps to hosting a successful Third-Party Fundraiser Like a well-choreographed first dance, these six steps will get you moving in the right direction so you can pull off your fundraising event with precision and pizzazz! Step One Read the Get your App together! checklist before submitting your Fundraiser Application via our website, Step Two Receive approval for your fundraiser from Wish Upon a Wedding. Once you ve been approved, we ll send you our Third-Party Fundraiser Packet. Step Three Sign your fundraiser agreement and return it to us. Step Four Plan your event using the guidelines contained in the Third-Party Fundraiser Packet. Step Five Host your event. Track donations carefully using the form provided in your Third-Party Fundraiser Packet. Step Six Submit your donation to us within 30 days after your event. Be sure to thank everyone who helped make your event an amazing success! BLACK TIE OR BOW TIE? The style of fundraising event you plan and host is up to you. All we ask is that any event being held to support Wish Upon a Wedding is compatible with our mission, vision and values. Please refer to our fundraising guidelines for further information.

4 Get your App together! Pulling off a successful event is a huge undertaking and requires careful planning. In order to make sure your third-party fundraiser goes off without a hitch, we ve created a handy checklist of all the information you need to have gathered before submitting your application to host: Gather all the contact information of the event Organizer (name, , phone, address, etc.). Give your event a great title (e.g., Party at the Port is snappy for a nautical-themed affair). Pick an event date be mindful of other events happening in your area that would compete or take attention away from your event. Provide the event address. Create an event website something your guests will easily remember. Determine if there s a fee for attending the event. If so, how much? Estimate the number of guests who will attend. Describe the event as you would describe it to potential attendees. Explain your advertising strategy for the event. Gather all existing promotional materials for upload. Calculate the estimated donation amount. Indicate whether your donation be earmarked for a specific Wish Upon a Wedding chapter or the national organization.

5 Event-Planning Checklist Every seasoned host or hostess knows that being organized helps an event run smoother. And, since there always seems to be one little detail that gets overlooked, we ve created these handy checklists, so you ll have everything covered like a pro! BEFORE YOUR EVENT Brainstorm fundraising ideas have realistic expectations and goals. Check into any permits, safety or legal issues. Determine how many people you will need to help you execute your plan and enlist knowledgeable volunteers. Communicate your plan with Wish Upon a Wedding by completing the application. Upon approval from Wish Upon a Wedding, find a suitable location. Schedule your event. Promote your event, ensuring all materials with the Wish Upon a Wedding name/logo have been approved and follow the guidelines clearly outlined in the Third-Party Fundraising Packet. DURING YOUR EVENT Assign someone to be responsible for handling onsite donations and have a locked or secure location to store them during the event. Have an adequate number of volunteers on-hand throughout the event to take care of check-in, answer questions, mingle, and coordinate safe rides home, if needed. Display and/or distribute Wish Upon a Wedding materials as stated in the fundraising guidelines. AFTER YOUR EVENT Collect the funds and submit them along with the appropriate paperwork to Wish Upon a Wedding in 30 days or less. Thank your donors with a thoughtful, handwritten note. Evaluate your event and take note of what worked and what didn t. Keep notes of useful contacts and feel free to share your experiences with Wish Upon a Wedding so we can learn and grow, too!

6 Reading the fine print. Just like with any contract, there are a number of formalities we need to share with you. Not a lot of fun, but at least this way you know what you re agreeing to as a third-party fundraiser and can decide whether or not you re in for the long haul. It s our way of ensuring a little happily ever after for all parties involved. THIRD-PARTY FUNDRAISING EVENT GUIDELINES All fundraising is done on behalf of Wish Upon a Wedding (WUW). Please remember that your fundraising event will not be a Wish Upon a Wedding event, but an event to raise funds for Wish Upon a Wedding. This information must be clearly stated on all event promotional and marketing materials. A suggested way of promoting and wording your event is: Funds raised will go to support the work of Wish Upon a Wedding. NOTE: Wish Upon a Wedding should not be named a sponsor on any event materials. THE APPROVAL PROCESS Each application submitted to host a Third-Party Fundraising Event will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Applications for hosting an event that meet specific criteria, and legitimately and genuinely benefit Wish Upon a Wedding, will be approved. Once approved, Wish Upon a Wedding will provide a letter of authorization to be used to validate the authenticity of the event. At that time, you will also be sent our Third-Party Fundraising Packet, which includes an agreement that needs to be signed and returned, as well as your donation tracking form. Should Wish Upon a Wedding decline the application or choose not to be affiliated with the third-party event in question, reference to Wish Upon a Wedding in any form (i.e., use of name or logos, etc.) will not be permitted. Failure to adhere to this stipulation will be cited as fraud.

7 WISH UPON A WEDDING NAME, LOGO & MARKETING MATERIALS If you wish to use the Wish Upon a Wedding Logo, you must submit and have approved a Third-Party Fundraising Application. Wish Upon a Wedding reserves the right to approve the use of its name and logo on all event promotional material, including such things as flyers, posters, promotion on websites, etc. When a Third-Party Fundraising Event benefits more than one charity/non profit organization, the Wish Upon a Wedding logo should appear in the same size as the other charity/non profit s logo. Wish Upon a Wedding reserves the right to revoke the use of our logo at any time. Based on availability, Wish Upon a Wedding will provide the link to our five-minute promotional video and other materials. COSTS, PERMITS AND BUDGETS Fundraising activities and events where 100% of the proceeds are donated to Wish Upon a Wedding are usually easier to organize and manage. The event organizers responsibilities include: All costs, such as rental space and catering. All sales and use tax requirements. Obtaining all necessary permits, licenses, or insurance. Assuming all risks associated with the event and agreeing to hold Wish Upon a Wedding harmless from all claims and liabilities in any way related to the event. If planning an event that will incur costs set a realistic budget. At minimum, 50% of funds raised should go to Wish Upon a Wedding, with event costs at 25% or lower. The Organizer must state in the Third-Party Fundraising Agreement the terms of the donation to Wish Upon a Wedding (e.g., 75% of profits, one-time donation of $1,000, or all proceeds). This information must also be included in all event/campaign promotions. If you intend to hold a raffle or other gaming event such as Bingo, you should check and comply with your local gaming authority about any special conditions. Each state has its own requirements and Wish Upon a Wedding is not responsible for obtaining any required permits.

8 PROMOTION Utilize online social media and free local media sources to raise awareness for your fundraising activity: CharityHappenings.org Craigslist Crowdrise Eventful Facebook Instagram Jumo Pinterest Radio and TV channel sites Twitter Upcoming Yelp Zvents Any interviews with the media should only pertain to the fundraising event. All other matters or requests for information should be referred to the Wish Upon a Wedding Media Chair, media@wishuponawedding.org. In the best interest of Wish Upon a Wedding s image and brand, we kindly ask that organizers refrain from speaking on behalf of the organization or representing themselves as members of the organization unless they are a board member. Because Wish Upon a Wedding is a national organization, our information is constantly evolving and being updated, so we respectfully ask that event organizers also refrain from speaking about our history, wish grants, fundraising activities, or other information. TRACKING AND TURNING IN DONATIONS Keeping accurate records is easy with our convenient Wish Upon a Wedding Third-Party Donations Form to track and submit donations. For fundraising, Wish Upon a Wedding accepts donations by: Cash, check, money order, through our website, or PayPal (online). All checks should be made payable to Wish Upon a Wedding. For security, redeem cash and money orders for a bank cashier s check and mail with the signed agreement from the Third-Party Fundraiser Packet and the WUW Third-Party Donations Form Sheet to: Wish Upon a Wedding ATTN: Third-Par ty Fundraising PO BOX 1141 Santa Clara, CA All proceeds must be submitted to Wish Upon a Wedding within 30 days following the event and we highly recommend that you send your donation in a trackable format, such as registered mail, FedEx, or UPS.

9 TAX RECEIPTS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It takes a lot of dedicated and caring individuals to pull off a successful event. Send everyone who helped you look good the donors, the volunteers, and the sponsors a handwritten thank you note expressing how you really appreciated them going the extra mile. Official tax receipts are only generated by Wish Upon a Wedding, and will be provided to the event organizer upon receipt of your donation. For this reason, the Organizer should never guarantee the tax-deductible nature of any individual item or service. Donations by check will be acknowledged to the name and address on the check. Unless the Organizer is registered as a 501(c)(3), donations made payable to the Organizer do not qualify as a charitable, tax deductible contribution. Likewise, donations (such as products or services) used at the event itself are not tax-deductible unless the organizer is a 501(c)(3). However, all donations made payable to Wish Upon a Wedding are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Please be aware that the following items are not tax deductible: Raffles or payment for gaming-style activities, donations for goods, services or auction purchases. Please be aware that we are unable to: Solicit sponsors, prizes or publicity for your events. Solicit Wish Upon a Wedding Representatives for your event. Endorse any events that include telemarketing, door knocking or face-to-face collections, violent or dangerous activities, the sale or promotion of tobacco products or illegal drugs. Share or mailing lists of donors, vendors, staff or Wish Recipients. Provide onsite representatives or support for your event. * *Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.

10 Third Party Fundraising and Liability Release Agreement Wish Upon a Wedding Third Party Fundraising and Liability Release Agreement Wish Upon a Wedding is grateful to all those businesses, organizations and/or individuals who seek to conduct a third party event in support of our mission. Protecting Wish Upon a Wedding s reputation by being associated with quality third party events is important to us. With this in mind, the undersigned agrees to the following when conducting third party events to benefit Wish Upon a Wedding. 1. The business/organization/individual will not open any bank accounts using the WUW s name or Taxpayer Identification Number. Any check donations listing the Wish Upon a Wedding as Payee will be forwarded to WUW headquarters for deposit in the national WUW bank account. 2. Only donations made directly to Wish Upon a Wedding are tax deductible (to the extent permitted by law). Donations made directly to a third party event can thus, be used to cover the event s expenses, but they are not tax deductible. 3. Due to limited personnel resources, WUW can not provide staff support to third party events. 4. The business/organization/individual agrees to minimize expenses related to the third party event. 5. The business/organization/individual agrees to an open book policy, and to provide an event plan and budget, if requested. 6. Any use of WUW s name, logo, or stationery in any mailing, advertising, or for the media must receive prior approval from WUW. 7. WUW will not enter into any agreement with a business/organization/individual when there is a potential conflict of interest with WUW s programs and policies. 8. At minimum, 50% of funds raised should be allocated for WUW. Any variance must be approved by WUW in advance of the event. 9. WUW does not release volunteer or donor names. 10. All third party event organizers are responsible for providing insurance or permits, as required by law, or by venues involved with the event. 11. A check for the third party event s proceeds (i.e. gross proceeds less all related expenses), must be delivered to Wish Upon a Wedding within 30 days of the event s conclusion. 12. I have read and agree comply with the information outlined in the Third Party Fundraising Event Guidelines. M A S E L P I individually, or as a representative of the below named business or organization, agree to the above requirements and hereby fully release and agree to hold harmless Wish Upon a Wedding and its affiliates, their Officers, Directors, Trustees, agents, employees and representatives, successors and entities, together with their insurers, of and from any and all liability, claims, damages, expenses or causes of action for any reason. Name & Date Business or Organization (if applicable) Third Party Event Name Third Party Event Date Signature Address, City, State, Zip Completed Agreements should be mailed to PO BOX 1141; Santa Clara, CA OR sent by FAX to

11 Cash Donation Log M A S E L P

12 Thank you for applying to host a Third-Party Fundraiser. It is our sincere hope that we will be able to approve your application. If you are approved, you will receive our informative Third-Party Fundraising Packet that contains step-by-step guidelines and all your responsibilities as the third-party fundraiser. Good Luck! fundraising@wishuponawedding.org WISH PO Box 1141 Santa Clara, CA Photos courtesy of BTW Photography, Corey Ann Photography J and J Photography and Paige Hiller Photography"