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Fundraiser Event Guidelines

Thanks for offering to organise a fundraiser for Safe Amp!  Before you get started, there are a few things you should know, just in case. 

First of all, make sure that all parties involved (bands, venue, etc.) are aware that the event is a fundraiser!  This will help to avoid confusion when the time comes to count the money at the end of the night. 

Next, you'll need to decide whether or not you want your fundraiser to be an official Safe Amp event. If you don't, and you aren't going to use our name anywhere in the promotion of the event, then it doesn't really matter what you do. Just go right ahead and then pass on the money afterwards as a private donation.

If you do decide to make it an official Safe Amp event or advertise it with the Safe Amp name associated with it, then there are a few rules you'll need to follow.

First, make sure you're a member. Only members can organize Safe Amp events.  Don't worry - it's easy to become a member! Just fill out the form (either online or on paper at any of our events or meetings) and our secretary will send you the official welcome letter within a couple days. The work you're doing to set up the fundraiser counts as your 2 hours of volunteer time, so check the box on the form that says "I have paid my membership fee with 2 hours of volunteer time."

Okay, now on to the real meat and potatoes! 

It is the responsibility of the member organizing the event to ensure that it is legal, affordable and all-ages.

- All-ages means any person must be allowed to attend the event, regardless of their age.

- SASS generally defines 'affordable' as a cover / ticket / entrance charge that is $5 or less. If you wish to charge more than $5 and have a good reason to do so (for example it's at an expensive hall venue, there's 10 bands playing or there's a famous touring act that needs a guaranteed amount of pay), we may be able to make an exception to the $5 rule, but our directors need to discuss the event and approve the higher cost at a special meeting. Email secretary@safeamp.org if you want to apply for an exception to the $5 rule. Lately, we've been charging a $5 - $10 'sliding scale' for all fundraiser shows.  This means that $5 is the minimum charge, but those who can afford it are invited to pay more. You can also keep it flexible by allowing those who can't afford the minimum to pay what they can, and reminding people that if they're feeling generous, they can donate as much as they want at the door. You might be surprised to hear that many people do in fact pay more than the minimum!

- Legal means the show must be held in a legal location. We don't expect you to demand to see all of the venue's licenses and permits, but generally it just has to be a legitimate venue. Restaurants, cafes, galleries, and halls are all usually okay. House shows usually aren't, unless they are for a private audience, but in that case they're not accessible to everyone, which is a problem. Shows in guerilla spaces such as parking lots, abandoned warehouses, parks or banks are generally not legal unless you have explicit permission from the property owner. Alcohol may be sold at SASS events as long as the venue is properly licensed and booze is not being sold to minors. We’ve recently learned that BYOB is illegal at every non-residential location in British Columbia, and so as of December 2009 we will not be allowing BYOB at any non-residential Safe Amp events. Our event support team can help to make sure illegal activities are not occurring at SASS events, but ultimately it is the responsibility of the individual event organizer to ensure it is legal as well as affordable and all-ages.

Once you've finalised your line-up and venue, send the information to secretary@safeamp.org. He'll list the event on our website and Myspace, and will make a Facebook event page on your behalf. It's a good idea to let the Secretary or one of the other Safe Amp directors make the event page through the Safe Amp Facebook Group, as that way we can automatically invite all 500+ group members to the event! Once the event page has been created, we'll make you an 'admin' so you can invite people and make any necessary changes.

After notifying our secretary about the event, you'll also be put in touch with our Publicist and Event Support Co-ordinator. The Publicist can help you promote the event, and the Event Support Co-ordinator can arrange for volunteers to help you with the running of the event itself.

One more thing: if you're advertising your event as a Safe Amp fundraiser, it's important that the funds you raise actually go to Safe Amp. This might sound obvious, but we've actually had situations before where people hold "fundraisers" and then don't actually give us a cent of it. Not only does this rob us of the money from that event, but it actually discourages future donations as well, because people who attended the event think they've already made a contribution when in fact they have not.

Our Fundraising Committee has been organizing a monthly series of fundraiser events. If you need help with anything, they're great people to ask - you may even choose to work together on the event and make it a part of the series! Email them any time at fundraising@safeamp.org.

Phew!  I know there's a lot of information to digest here, but it's good stuff to know before you begin.  If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask! Just email fundraising@safeamp.org, secretary@safeamp.org, or any of our other directors.

Bonne chance...