Opinions please

[dwhunter]

Folks I need your input here.

I have had a few bear hunts donated to support a group I do alot of work for the Paralyzed Veterans of America and their Heritage Fund. It is designed to help our guys and gals get back out into the shooting and fishing sports and other outdoor sports.

If you have seen my site you have seen I do some work with Craig Boddington and he is on our Board of Directors for the Heritage fund.

I would like to one either auction one of the hunts and the winner will hunt with Craig for say 4-5 days or two do a raffle drawing for the hunt.

I of course want to maximize return for the PVA after all expenses are paid and I am thinking that a raffle would be the best way.

This is still in the infancy stage and I would like your input. Would you drop say $5.00 even 10.00 for a shot for a raffle ticket for a chance at this hunt. I will also be sweetening up the pot with a few Kerhshaw knives, SureFire flashlights and perhaps some other goodies.

If you have any ideas of how I could make the raffle/auction better please pass them on.

Thanks for you input,

Doug

 

[barrowdave]

Doug,

These guys certainly deserve anything and everything that can be done for them. Count me in for any of the above, $5,$10 or the auction. And thank you for your efforts.
Dave

 

[dwhunter]

Re: Craig Boddington

Re: Craig Boddington

Missed the edit window

The other hunts I mentioned above I will tie in with a TV show for the outdoor channel and either auction or have a drawing for them as well, once again trying to maximize the return for the PVA.

Doug

 

[dwhunter]

PVA

PVA

Thanks Dave,

I have got to tell you, I go to Walter Reed and Bethesda about 4 times a year and visit with our newly injured, paraplegics, amputees etc and it keeps me going to help develop opportunities and open areas and get these guys and gals back into what I take for granted and they want to do again.

Doug

 

[cusackla]

Tickets and more!

Tickets and more!

Doug,
You can count me in for $100 worth at whatever denomination you choose to set them at. I work up North and some of our guys will pay more per ticket if they can increase their odds. I would go with $5 or $10 per if I had a large distribution area for ticket sales, but if my coverage area was limited, I would go for more per ticket and less tickets.
If you need someone to sale tickets, I would gladly volunteer and work with my company to get authorization to sell them up north.
I am also starting an out of state hunting lodge (Iowa) and once I am established, I would love to offer a hunt to an organization like your or the make a wish foundation.
Louis

 

[caribou-man]

Raffle

Raffle

I think you might maximize income with a raffle rather than an auction. I will buy tickets for a raffle just to donate to a worthy cause and I'm sure many, many others will too. I would not participate in an auction because I wouldn't really have a chance at my income level. Plus, with the raffle you may find that the other expenses involved with the hunt for the winner might stop him from going and he may donate it right back to you. I have seen that happen a couple of times. The person bought tickets just to help out and didn't really expect or plan on going if he won. A raffle gives more exposure time as you can sell tickets over a longer perod of time verus the short duration of an auction.

Now if you were to auction off at hunt like this at say a SCI meeting you might well increase your take with little effort.

My 0.02

Best of luck to you.

 

[dwhunter]

Thanks

Thanks

Thanks everyone for the input so far and Louis thanks for the offer to help on your end.

I will be talking with Craig tomorrow and will begin putting something firm together for this project, I would like to have something solid before I come to Anchorage in July.

Doug

 

[AKArcher]

Raffle...

Raffle...

Count me in as well. Great idea, and I applaud you for doing this. I am a Vet with no injuries, however I appreciate you and everyone else that helps a Veteran!

 

[Bill S.]

If you limit the number of tickets, go for $20 a ticket. If you don't limit the number, go for $5 and you'll sell a lot, $50 for me, atleast.

 

[AkHunter45]

Tickets

Tickets

Great idea, anything to help our vets!!! Let us know how much the tickets are going to cost and when the raffle is taking place.

 

[dwhunter]

Thanks everyone

Thanks everyone

Craig left for Tanzania this am and when he returns in a few weeks we will figure out dates and everything else to make this happen and I will pass on the info.

Thanks for all your input, this is definitely for a worthy cause these guys are great. Some of you guys from the Fairbanks/North Pole areas may be familiar and perhaps even met some of the guys I take moose hunting every September at Chena Lakes in North Pole. I will be back this September 1-5 with a new group of hunters, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for these guys.

Doug

 

[8x57 Mauser]

Big money vs. big exposure

Big money vs. big exposure

The best way to make big money for a cause is to get people with money in a room and let 'em watch each other spending it. That means an auction, and the bigger the better. They're a fair amount of work to plan. Think about giving an existing organization a commission on your hunt - offer 10% of what their auctioneer gets for it, see if they'll bite.

The raffle certainly taps into more potential donors, but for a lot fewer bucks per donor. You need a heckuva lot of motivated ticket sellers to raise the same money.

If I read this right, you're not in AK. Our raffle regulator is one of the most helpful, straightforward bureaucrats you will ever encounter in all of your life. Just be sure you work with yours well in advance. Never like to see a good cause get caught up in red tape...

 

[dwhunter]

Raffle

Raffle

8x57,

You forgot to mention alcohol for the auction

I have outlets to make it a national raffle if I needed too. I do numerous things like this all year long for the organization but this is the first time I have done a hunt, it is usually guns, fishing equipment etc. I am also involved in numerous auctions, I have one next week in DC and we will have one when I am in Soldotna in July for the same organization.

I am not looking to sell tickets to 10,000 people, I would much rather make it something that would give someone a reasonable chance at winning. I think a raffle will win out in the end and only a certain amount of tickets will be sold for all of the hunts.

Thanks for all the input

Doug