Clever Ideas, Luck Can Pay Off for Council Fundraisers

Sea Power, Feb 2004 by Atkinson, Peter E

"Ronnie," the Beanie Baby, is Bear of Good Fortune for Santa Barbara Council

Aside from maintaining and increasing membership, fundraising is the most difficult, time-consuming job councils face. But, of course, it's a necessary task: how else will councils be able to afford all of their various projects and support programs like ship adoptions, Sea Cadets, awards, scholarships and official visits?

Some standard fundraising vehicles are built into the council system (dues, donations, membership drives, community affiliate programs, member rebates, etc.). The challenge comes in raising funds above and beyond that financial base, and that can be a daunting challenge indeed.

But the right combination of a clever idea, some good publicity and a bit of luck can really pay dividends. A case in point is the Santa Barbara Council's "Ronnie the Bear" Beanie Baby one of the most successful council fundraisers in recent memory. Proceeds from nationwide sales of the bear, which was issued last summer to commemorate the commissioning of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and help support the ship, are approaching a half-million dollars.

Ty Warner, creator of the "Ronnie" bear and inventor of the wildly popular Beanie Babies, is donating 100 percent of the profits from the original sale of the bear to the Santa Barbara Council.

"This is something very unique, for a local council to do a nationwide program," said council Vice President Faye Eson. "But for a council with a limited budget to tackle the kind of project we envisioned (adopting the Reagan) we had to get very creative. We are fortunate to have someone like Ty in our community. He's very engaged with the community, knows the Navy League and has done a number of benefit Beanie Babies. It was a natural fit."

Warner, chairman of Ty Inc., has created special benefit Beanie Babies for the Diana, Princess of Wales Foundation; the American Red Cross in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks; the USO; the Pediatric AIDS Foundation; and he has contributed to a number of projects in the Santa Barbara area.

He was honored by the council for his contributions Oct. 15, 2003, in a ceremony aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS Denver, which was visiting Santa Barbara for a Fleet Weekend the council sponsored as part of the city's Harbor & Seafood Festival. Warner surprised Council President Connie O'Shaughnessy-Los with a check for $200,000 from the second month of sales of the bear. First-month sales of the bear generated $135,000 for the council.

The council is expecting another contribution for sales of the "Ronnie" bear through the end of 2003 in the near future, Eson said. "The effort not only has provided funds that we need, but has gotten the word out about the Navy League and enhanced the knowledge not only of who we are, but what we do, and that's just as important."

Looking For Ideas?

Of course, few councils are blessed with the good fortune of having the creator of an internationally successful product in their midst. "In that respect, we were very lucky," Eson noted. And many councils have more modest goals in mind for raising funds, or don't have the means or the manpower for large special events (Fleet Weekends for visiting ships or air shows, for example) that involve significant planning and promotion.

If your council is stuck for fundraising ideas, resources are available from Navy League headquarters, which offers training workshops, materials, and information. Workshop information is available online on the Navy League web site. You also shouldn't be shy about asking other councils for advice or ideas on programs that have worked for them.

Resources also are available at your local public library, and by searching the internet. There are even magazines, such as Grassroots Fundraising Journal, that provide information to organizations about how to raise money.

In her Grassroots Fundraising Journal article, "Fifty-Five Ways for Board Members to Raise $500," co-publisher and fundraising trainer Kim Klein offers suggestions for diversified, but easily managed, creative money-raising efforts. The article recently was reprinted as part of the book, The Board of Directors (Grassroots Fundraising Journal/Chardon Press, 2000).

Among Klein's recommendations:

* Teach/host a seminar. Public education efforts offer tremendous fundraising potential, according to Klein. Find a topic of interest, or one you might be expert in yourself (just about any topic is fair game, from financial planning and gourmet cooking to such timely issues as homeland security), and a place to present it, then charge people to attend. A topic that resonates with the community and a little promotion not only can raise money, but provide recruitment opportunities as well. And with Navy League National President Sheila M. McNeill making it a priority to educate the public on the importance of sea power to our national security, that alone offers a good place to start.

* Progressive dinners. In this alternative to the usual potluck suppers, each course is served at a different home and attendees move from one to the next until the dinner is complete. You can charge by the course or for the whole package.