Creative fund raising ideas

[gypsymare]

I need ideas fund raising ideas! What better way to come up with them than to tap into the COTH hive mind?

What kind of creative things does your hunt do to raise money?
What other ideas would you propose for raising additional funds?

One I haven’t seen elsewhere is our Puppy Auction. Every year the new entries are “auctioned off” to the membership during our local hound show held at the kennels. The following year the huntsman picks the best hunting hound and that winner or syndicate wins half the pot!

[ndirish07]

Belle Meade has a great idea of doing a tally ho wagon for their opening hunt. They put people in hay wagons and allow them to follow along and watch the action. They do the opening as a drag hunt so they know the routes are passable for the wagons. It’s my understanding they’re quite successful with this!

[ecileh]

We (Limestone Creek) auction off puppy naming rights and also do hound sponsorships every year.

Other, smaller, donations come in from the “hound jar” every member has to save their change in, as well as hound jars at breakfasts, hunter paces, etc.

We also host four hunter paces (with all proceeds going to the hunt), a landowners party (ditto), and a couple of silent auctions at various events. My experience with auctions is that they make more when they are live and there is lots of alcohol.

We tend to have the best luck with fundraising when there is a specific target, though. We need $10K for a new barn, or $3K for new gps collars, etc. Every time we have done one of those, we exceed goals. We had a hound hit by a car my first year hunting and the fund for his vet bills was more than double the cost of the bills…I think people like knowing exactly what their money is going towards.

[gypsymare]

@ndirish07

Belle Meade has a great idea of doing a tally ho wagon for their opening hunt. They put people in hay wagons and allow them to follow along and watch the action. They do the opening as a drag hunt so they know the routes are passable for the wagons. It’s my understanding they’re quite successful with this!

That sounds like so much fun! And a great way to introduce non-hunting folks to the action.

[gypsymare]

@ecileh

We tend to have the best luck with fundraising when there is a specific target, though. We need $10K for a new barn, or $3K for new gps collars, etc. Every time we have done one of those, we exceed goals. We had a hound hit by a car my first year hunting and the fund for his vet bills was more than double the cost of the bills…I think people like knowing exactly what their money is going towards.

That is a really excellent point. With a large overhead budget people can think their general donations don’t count for much, but when it’s a specific item you have something tangible to show for your investment.

[Willesdon]

I’m a member of two hunts so I’m trying to think what each does…

A raffle at each meet,
Annual hound sponsorship,
Quiz nights with multiple teams,
Festive meals such as Burns Night, New Year etc
This year, an on-line auction, including e.g. a day hunting up with the huntsman, a behind the scenes tour of a local racecourse, a day with an adjacent hunt, as well as art work etc
This year, an on-line raffle
Pre-Big Sport Event Q&A with panel of experts such as riders going to Badminton or Cheltenham National Hunt Festival trainers (popular with a wider audience than just hunt members),
Fun rides (about 10 miles) over some excellent hunt country with opitional jumps (good for attracting riders who don’t hunt)
Team chase (probably too insane for an American audience),
Get your horse ready for the season demo half-day with vet, farrier, nutritionist,

For one hunt I pay my subscription by a monthly standing order (a nice regular income for the pack) but the set amount I pay exceeds the actual cost so for two months of the 12 it is really a donation.

A personal favourite, a group hound walk. One pays and is then allocated a single Bassett hound to walk on a leash through some hunt country. Very sociable. Can have moments of excitement with a keen hound on a slippery slope.

[trubandloki]

I do not hunt but I always enjoy the hunter pace(s) that the hunt does as a fund raiser.

[gypsymare]

@Willesdon

I’m a member of two hunts so I’m trying to think what each does…
Team chase (probably too insane for an American audience),

We do have one! The Foxhall Farm Team Cup Chase!

I love the hound walking idea. We did some walking trail “meets” this summer and I was thinking of how much they would be improved by walking a hound puppy! With the COVID restrictions it was too much of a logistical mess.

[Foxglove]

I personally had success with organizing a tack sale/exchange at the hunt club —at one of the first cubbing hunts, I (with permission, of course) asked via email each member to bring any equipment/clothing hunt or horse related to the hunt club. Each was given a table in the dining room where he/she found markers and price stickers. After the hunt, but before the meal, the members had time to look at other’s stuff, and purchase --there was far more participation than I expected and much, much more stuff —after the sale/exchange was over, anyone who didn’t want to take home their unwanted items could donate to the Pony Club (they have their own auction later in the year) --I had the Pony Club rep there with a truck ready to take any unsold/unwanted items. Prominently on the front table was the Hound Jar --members were encouraged to put a donation into the jar for participation. Instead, most if not all (I have no way of knowing) donated their entire $$$ to the hounds. While I never was told the final amount (went straight to the MFH) I heard it was over $5K for a couple of hours of fun before the meal. Everything was completely on the honor system.

[SLW]

I’ve organized Poker Rides for my hunt as a small fundraiser. The pot is 50% to the club and 50% to the winning hand who usually donates his/her winnings back to the club so it works out well. Obviously the larger the group the more $$ to make. I do door prizes for Low Hand, oldest rider, youngest rider and rider who drove the furthest to attend. I provide simple snacks and drinks and encourage folks to bring a picnic lunch if they want more. You can make the entry low(affordable) to encourage non-hunt members to come check out the hunt or make the entry higher to make money, your call.

[Willesdon]

@gypsymare

We do have one! The Foxhall Farm Team Cup Chase!

I looked it up, that does look like a lot of fun!

We did try timber races in the UK and it didn’t really take off: point-to-pointing is too firmly established, perhaps.

Team chasing is a group of 4 riders running over mainly natural hunt country, about 25 jumps, speeding against the clock as the fastest team wins. It can be a bit manic. To make it more interesting, at least 3 in the team must get through the finish, so there is some strategy.

[Kodiak]

Hunter paces are very popular and fairly lucrative ($4 to 7K, per). Probably 75% of the riders are not hunt members and we get lots of juniors, too.

Someone once posted the rules for a Murder Mystery Ride (basically the game of Clue) on one of the FB groups. If you can lay hands on the rules, it sounded like a ton of fun and an easy way to make a couple grand.