It’s hard to beat a fundraiser like the one that happened a half-century ago in Bono, Arkansas – even though our 21st Century strategies can help make yours a winner, too.
Bono High School was looking for a fundraiser that would generate enough money to send the school’s senior class to Florida.
Despite some initial reservations from school administrators – who weren’t too keen on having a hip-swaying rocker come to the school – the students decided to reach out to the King of Rock n’ Roll for help. However impractical the idea may have seemed at first, the students succeeded in bringing Elvis to town.
Bono high-schoolers brokered a deal with Elvis’s manager to get 40 percent of the profits from the King’s show. But they were responsible for promoting the event. As part of the package, the school also got celebrities Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins.
When the big day arrived on Sept. 6, 1955, there were cars parked on both sides of the only road leading into Bono, a tiny community of 300 people. The school’s gymnasium was soon packed to the rafters.There were so many fans, in fact, that Elvis arrived late because he couldn’t find a parking spot.
An organizer named Betty Craft, recounting the event a half-century later, remembered going weak in the knees outside the King’s dressing room when Elvis flashed her a lopsided grin, picked up his guitar, shook his hips and sang a few lines from “Baby Let’s Play House.”
“My heart was thumping like crazy,” she said. “I had a hard time breathing and I thought I would just faint. He had such magentism.”
That night, Bono High School set a new standard for what it means to have a successful fundraiser: The combined weight of the crowd was enough to cause the gymnasium floor to buckle and sink in one section. But the King of Rock n’ Roll kept right on playing hits such as “Milkcow Blues Boogie,” “Blue Moon of Kentucky,” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” All in all, the crowd numbered 1,152.
So even though you may not be able to draw a celebrity like Elvis Presley to your fundraiser, that shouldn’t stop you from trying something bold or new. Look for opportunities to give your fundraising event some extra zing that will capture media attention and a crowd. Both will help your cause.