My article below is based on 25+ years of being involved in church, school, civic, and political fundraising events.  It is based on my experience and observations which may differ from yours and others. The perspective is not necessarily the perspective of any SLHF Board member past or present. Whew, glad I got that out of the way!

The SLHF Board has been evaluating a number of different concepts / ideas to raise funds for operating the organization. SLHF like all the other nonprofits has to raise money to pay the bills. SLHF has looked at "putting on" a gala much like what the other organizations have doing around Ft. Bend County (FBC) for years. The challenge is that there are already many good galas that take place on an annual basis. Finding a date / time of year that you can begin to brand your own is more difficult than it may seem. For example:

1)    There are already a number of well-established galas / events that are put on by very worthwhile organizations. People sometimes joke that FBC is known as the gala capital of the world. Just to name a few, and there are some really good ones that I have not listed because of limited space:

+ The ARC is well known for hosting the "The Best in the West" the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

+ The Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation does a great job of entertaining their guests at their annual gala held on the third Saturday in January.

+ The Ft. Bend Chamber of Commerce Chairmen's Gala is the next weekend in January.

+ The Ft. Bend Education Foundation Gala is always a success in February.

+ The Lone Star Stomp in April hosted by the Ft. Bend Museum Assoc. is a long running event.

+ The Casa Gala in April is a very popular gala.

+ American Cancer, Hearts and Hammers, the Parks Youth Ranch, and many more.

2)     Timing is everything: The official fundraising season is from September to May. Many organizations review their calendars and seek to schedule their golf tournaments, spelling bees, spaghetti dinners, Las Vegas nights, etc. during these 9 months. It is said (I have not fact checked this) that there are approximately 1500 nonprofits in FBC. "IF" that is the case, then you can see why the calendar is loaded with many wonderful fundraisers. You can also see why so many Thursday, Friday, and Saturdays have some kind of fundraising event.

3)  Concept is very important: As listed above, the successful fundraising events have a good concept that the organization has created. BUT even more important, year after year the organization has branded the concept, time of year, style, etc. into a signature event that people associate with their organization.

4)     Mission of the Organization: I write this because it is true and needs to be written. There are higher priorities in life! As such, the organizations that seek to feed, shelter, educated, eradicated diseases, etc. should take precedent in the big picture. At the same time, the organizations that seek to promote the relevance of the past, the lessons of history, the understanding of one's heritage have a place in the fundraising world also. Organizations like SLHF accentuate the value of where a person came from and shed light on the future. 

SLHF is only seven years old with several of those early years being very formative. As such, we are actively seeking to create our signature event(s).  We are looking to find the right combination of timing, concept, and fulfillment of our mission. In another part of this newsletter, there is an article about the Discover Sugar Land Scavenger Hunt Fundraiser. SLHF sees this as a potential signature event. The event fulfills our mission by educating participants about various persons, parts, and buildings in the city. It will be challenging but fun; it will require team work. The Scavenger Hunt combines learning and fun into a celebration of Sugar Land. See the article for more details.

The mission of the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation is to inspire community pride by collecting, preserving, communicating, and celebrating the history of Sugar Land, Texas. Come join us, contact us at 281-494-0261 or visit our website at www.slheritage.org

Regards,

Dennis