Annual Benefit Drawing (raffle)
Dear Parents and GGBC Member Boys,
The annual Benefit Drawing (raffle) effort has begun. Clip boards and tickets were distributed to all attending boys at the Oakland Wednesday rehearsal on March 28th. Clip Boards and tickets are awaiting your son at his next scheduled rehearsal.
We have conducted the Benefit Drawing for each of our 30 years of independent operation. The income from the Benefit Drawing supports the non-profit GGBC school, a 501 C3 organization. Put bluntly, along with donations and concert income, the BD helps close the gap between the expense of operating the choir and keeping the tuitions reasonable, as well as making scholarship and campership awards possible.
To insure that everyone contributes to this effort, each family is expected to sell or purchase a minimum of $250 in BD tickets. They are $5 each or $10 for three ($20 for six, etc.). Boys who can sell more are surely encouraged to do so, and after the initial $250 in sales, the next $250 in sales is credited to your camp or tour account. More tickets are always available at rehearsals, or by appointment with Mr. Meyer. It is the Board policy to bill families for the different between this minimum and your turn in final amount.
Please note that we did not conduct the Evergreen Sale or the Crab Feed/Cake Sale events in November and March, so the BD takes on special importance for our financial stability in 2018.
Please do not send cash in your return envelopes if at all possible. Parents, please take the cash and write the GGBC a check in kind. If you receive checks in the mail, please do include those. If someone does not want a ticket, but makes a donation anyway, the salesman may write his name on the ticket and turn in the donation.
Each family or boy may find the best manner of collecting the donations for the BD Chances - some only do letter writing campaigns to their parent's Christmas card list - others find it successful to spend a few hours on Union Street, or before a Symphony, Opera or Ballet Performance. Note; we were invited to record with a well known rock star who bought $100 of tickets from a Ringmaster on Union Street on his way to dinner. The BD provides some much needed representation of the GGBC to the public in the person of our boys. Some boys offer to sing a verse of a song (a cappella) when pitching a sale, but only for a donation of $10 or $20. Jared Fine sold on Chestnut Street, using two clipboards to increase his take in opportunities.
The conclusion of the BD is at the Memorial Day Lunch at SVdP Parish Hall on Memorial Day Monday. All turn ins must be made by 11:30 a.m. that morning. Board member Tony Hanley is the chef for the hamburgers and hot dogs, and last minute accounting is done, before the drawing takes place, winners and the three highest salesman are announced.
Tips for a Successful BD Campaign - Yours and Ours!
1. Boys represent the GGBC. When out selling, they should be well mannered and well dressed in the GGBC concert or Blues and Whites uniform.
2. Pairs of boys, with a Ringmaster or parent chaperon, often do better than a single boy. Each boy needs encouragement and support. GGBC does not endorse or recommend any situation in which our boys are not supervised by a competent chaperon.
3. Upon reflection, boys and parents have reported that having to ask for the sales to strangers and learning to graciously accept a "no" was a good learning experience for the boy.
4. Boys should use a fanny pack or other device in which to collect $ and not just stuff it into their pockets. He may need to have a few dollars of change available when going out to sell ( and learn to make change).
5. Yes, we are insured - paying for our insurance bills, each policy of which is several thousand dollars a year - is one of the expenses parents and boys may not understanding we must incur just to operate. Yes, GGBC is 501C3 non profit organization, Federal Tax number 94-3093661.
6. Malls do not welcome sales by the boys. Some Grocery Stores and other shops may allow a boy or boys to set up a table, play a CD at the table, make a sign and sell. Always ask the store manager first, and make an appointment in advance. Do not block points of entrance or exit from any establishment.
7. There are photos and sound samples available on line (ggbc web page, FACEBOOK, u-tube videos) which can be used for email or snail mail letter writing campaigns. Some boys sell all their tickets through their personalized mail campaign.
8. There are prizes as announced during the campaign, and end of BD prizes for top salesmen.
The law requires us to give a free ticket to anyone who requests it, but declines to make a donation. Refer any such requests to the GGBC office phone number (510) 887 - 4311, and we will send them a ticket. This has only happened one time in 30 years, but parents should know this.
9. PoC - Points of Contact. Whether writing, calling or selling in public, those being asked are a point of contact with the GGBC program. The chaperon or boy may include an invitation attend a concert, view the GGBC web page, recruit an eligible boy.
GOOD LUCK!
Steven J. Meyer Director of Music, Organist and Choirmaster Parish of Saint Vincent de Paul, San Francisco. If your matter is urgent, please contact me at (510) 887 - 4311. Thank you.