Fundraising for a dream

[Delilah]

Ok so I am part of a group of mermaids at a renfaire and we just got some great news that we can have our own area! Thing is we have to build it ourselves, out of pocket. So we are looking into fundraising ideas. They can't be too elaborate because we all have busy lives and little money.


I have some mermaid accessories I can give away to donators and we thought we would try indiegogo but beyond that I got nada .

Any ideas?

[Mermaid Melusinah]

chicken wire, papermache (sp?), paint, a few fake aquatic plants, sea shells and BAM! you can make yourself a rock grotto! :D its SUPER inexpensive and endless possibilities! PLUS light weight and easy to transport!

[Delilah]

thing is it cant look like ariels grotto and papermache wont last very long, plus we would need the money to purchase all those materials

[Mer_Adella]

kickstarter.com

[Delilah]

Kick starter and indiegogo are actually the same thing. Kick starter is more for movie/ book / buisness productions and indiegogo is for the everyday

[Mermaid Margarete]

Indiegogo is a really awesome way to raise money for a dream.

Make sure to put time and effort into your project, tho. Show your audience it's something you're passionate about and people will more likely donate. Also, with it being a group of you there are more of your in spread the word about your poject to more family and friends!

[Delilah]

I have done indiegogo before I am looking for other ideas to expand the possibilities

[Mermaid Lei Loni]

To be completely honest and open with you, you might have to spend some money to get this started on your own. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are great, but they aren't always reliable sources for fundraising, especially since you have to usually raise the full amount. When I have done setups in the past for street fairs, Pirate Festival, etc I have paid for a lot of them out of pocket. It meant I had to hang on to a job for a little longer that I hated, but it was worth it in the long run. Consider getting a part-time job, or find a way you can make the money. In a lot of situations, you have to spend money in order to make it. And as most of us on this forum know, being a mermaid isn't cheap. :) At the festivals you can ask for donations (or charge people to see you or take pictures or something) to help offset the costs. Just make sure you take the cost of materials out that you spent first before dividing the funds between friends. I think the set up that I did for 3 different festivals cost me about $100 out of pocket, and that isn't a terrible price to raise.