My Reason to Host a Fundraiser
Recently, I started volunteering for the MN Chapter of Make-A-Wish. Make-A-Wish is a nonprofit organization that provides life-changing wishes to critically ill children. Each year, Make-A-Wish hosts a gala called Wish Ball to raise funds in order to grant wishes for hundreds of kids in Minnesota.
Unfortunately, due to COVID, this year’s Wish Ball was virtual. With limited seating available, I decided to host my own fundraiser at home in conjunction with the virtual event. It was no easy task, but by the end of the night, my fundraiser house party raised over $5,500 for Make-A-Wish!
How to Set-up a Wine Pull Fundraiser
Picking out the Wine
I have attended several large-scale charity functions that have hosted a wine pull as a way to raise money. It is one of my favorite ways to participate in a fundraiser because everyone wins, every time. You not only get to donate to a good cause but get a bottle of wine to take home with you! It is also a nice way to include guests that aren’t able to donate larger sums of money or bid on higher priced auction items.
When setting up your wine pull, consider asking for wine donations from family, friends, or a local liquor store. Personally, I considered purchasing the wine, food, and decor for the event as my personal donation. However, if you have a contact that could help with access to discounted or donated wine, make sure to ask them! Let them know that it is for a fundriser in your home and explain the importance of the charity that you are raising money for!
Going through the aisles of wine at Costco was incredibly fun. Never in my life had I purchased 41 bottles of wine at once. Plus, I got to use my wine app, Vivino, to scan and search for the best-valued bottles. Wine bottles ranged in price from $7.00 – $30.00, with the big-ticket bottle being Dom Perigon, priced at $150.
Organizing the Wine Pull
Now, the point of the wine pull is to purchase a cork, blindly draw the cork, and then take home the bottle of wine that matches the number of the drawn cork. In order to guarantee that you sell all of your corks, don’t divulge which bottles belong to which corks until all of the corks are spoken for. This way, people continue to purchase corks regardless of which bottles of wine are left. In order to keep the numbers a secret, I placed a small sticker on the bottom of each bottle. Make sure your guests don’t peek!!
There are several ways you can set-up the transfer of payment for the corks and other donations. We decided to empty my boyfriend’s Venmo account prior to the event and then donate whatever amount was in his account by the end of the night. If people paid or donated with cash, I venmoed his account in order to keep the total accurate. This was such a slick and easy way to keep track of the donations!
THIS. WAS. SO. MUCH. FUN.
People were so into this fundraising idea. All of my corks sold within two hours of the event, everyone itching for a shot at the Dom Perigon! For an added flare, I purchased glow sticks to be handed out for each cork purchased. People started competing with each other based on how many glow sticks they had. (& also pressured people into donating in order to not be the only one without a glow stick, hehe!) More glow sticks = more corks purchased = more money donated!
WISH STAR AUCTION
Throughout the event, I had stars on display that had wishes from prior wish kids. All of these wishes were from real kids in Minnesota that had been granted their wish in the last year. The wish kids and their wishes were found online on the Make-A-Wish website. At the end of the night, my friend Blaine and I asked for help in reaching our goal of $3,000. We read off each star, asking for a personal donation in honor of that wish kid.
After all of the starts had been spoken for, I gave a short speech of why this organization is so important and meaningful to me. I made sure to reinforce the mission of Make-A-Wish and all of the good that comes from it. People showed up. When we checked my boyfriend’s Venmo account at the end of the night, we had $5,500 in donations. All of the money was then donated.
House Party Fundriaser Follow-up
Make sure to thank each person that donates their hard earned money to your cause. I also suggset sending thank you cards to anyone that provided wine or other donations to throw your event. Make sure to let them know how much money was raised for your cause and how much their donation helped the overall success of the event. I would also reach out via phone call, text or mail to any donors that donated any larger sums of money. Let them know how much their donations meant to you and what it will mean for organization you are raising money for!
I am so happy with how my first fundraiser went and can’t wait to throw another one. Make sure to stay tuned for future fundriasing ideas and events!