How can neighbors raise money for our neighborhood beyond membership dues?
The smartest way to get donations is by asking businesses to donate to our neighborhood (OHPNA) fund.
In return, we offer businesses that donate advertising space in our printed newsletters. Before you say, our neighborhood cannot compete with nearby neighborhoods for local business owners to donate to our neighborhood, consider the following.
- My wife and I moved here from California in 2005. We were real estate agents. For our first couple years, we paid for advertising in our neighborhood Pebbles. In 2008, we decided to create our own newsletter. Besides real estate stuff, we featured funny jokes and stories in our newsletters. We mailed our newsletters to 296 houses in Oak Hollow Park, and about a dozen more outside of Oak Hollow Park, every month. One year later, we went to talk to several local business owners about advertising in our newsletters, telling them that we mailed the newsletters to over 300 homes every month. The business owners enjoyed our effort and our funny jokes and stories. Soon we had over 12 business card ads in our 4-page newsletter real estate newsletter. Our printing and mailing costs were paid for because of our advertisement. We stopped publishing our newsletter after a few years because I retired, and my wife changed to a different career. I know, that was 15 years ago…
- In the fall of 2021, a group of neighbors decided they wanted to be the new board members in Oak Hollow Park. One of the team members was Robert Ramirez. Robert’s family are original owners in Oak Hollow Park. Robert managed to get over 30 local businesses to donate services, like free car wash, free spa day, etc. From the Oak Hollow Park residents that turned in the OHPNA ballots in the fall of 2021, Robert did a raffle, and over 30 Oak Hollow Park residents won those services.
Robert then collected another $1000 ($500 from HEB & $500 from Domingo Duenas) to pay for every resident, a Neighborhood Directory in 2022. So please believe if our neighborhood wanted to raise money, for every resident to get a printed monthly newsletter, it would happen.
Imagine, asking every resident (consider all residents are getting a printed monthly newsletter) to ask their jobs to buy advertisement, for business owners that reside in Oak Hollow Park to donate, and to ask HEB, Pizza places, hair salons, Real Estate agents, Loan agents, Insurance agents, and there are so many businesses to talk to near our neighborhood.
Among our younger, energetic board members, surely there is some that will be able to create some “magic.”
Another Fundraiser Idea
Another way to make money and bring our neighbors together. When my daughter was in high school, we got flyers to go to a certain restaurant, on a certain week night, and the restaurant owner would credit the school with 10% of their proceeds. Of course, when we ordered food, we told the cashier that we were there for the school.
Another Fundraising idea – Raffle
A 50/50 raffle can be a good way to raise money and give donors a chance to win cash. It can also be combined with another fundraising event.