First, a big thank you to everyone who made it to club officer training in Daejeon this past Saturday on July 18! We had wonderful turnout from Busan, Daegu, Gwangju, and beyond; thank you for coming! For those who couldn't make it, we'll likely have another round of officer training in August.
I met one new Toastmaster this past weekend from JNU Toastmasters (in Gwangju) named Ryan. As we were talking, Ryan shared that his club was able to pay for four of their officers to attend officer training. I mention this because I know that both time and money are significant factors for traveling to officer training, contests, and conferences. There isn't much I can do about time, but I can share some strategies to help your club raise money to mitigate travel expenses. Please know that these are ideas only; they may not be right for your club. However, I hope that some clubs will be able to try one of these ideas to make travel for Toastmasters more affordable for future events.
Fines
At my club, we have two types of fines: Word of the Day (WOD) Fine and Ah-Count Fine.
For the WOD Fine, any paid member who has a speaking role (Speaker, Table Topics Speaker, and Evaluator) must pay a 1,000 KRW fine if he/she does not use WOD. If someone is both a Table Topics Speaker and an Evaluator and forgets to use WOD both times, then he/she pays 2,000 KRW.
For the Ah-Count fine, the top three paid members who have 3 or more unnecessary sounds (ah, um, so, you know, etc.) must pay a 1,000 KRW fine.
Do any of your clubs have fines? If so, what for? Please comment below so that we can share ideas!
1,000 KRW Entry Fee
This idea comes from Ryan (thanks, Ryan!). At JNU Toastmasters, each attendee pays 1,000 KRW to the club. This isn't a fine or a rental fee; it is simply a 1,000 KRW payment to the club. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is a fast and effective way for a club (especially a new club without much money) to accumulate funds. It can be hard to pay a lump sum of money, but 1,000 KRW per meeting isn't much of a burden. For new clubs that want to raise more money to support officers and members, I would recommend trying this approach.
One challenge to this strategy might be if a club is already paying to rent a venue. Who in Division C rents a venue? Who has a free venue? Those of you meeting at free venues, how did you secure this location? Do you have any advice for clubs who want to find free/low-cost venues?
Speechcraft
Toastmasters has a variety of community outreach programs, which you can read about by visiting:
https://www.toastmasters.org/Membership/Community-Based-Programs
One of these community outreach programs is called Speechcraft. Speechcraft is a great way to find new members, help the community, and raise money for your club. Essentially, club members donate their time and talent to run a series of mini Toastmasters meetings and education sessions (4, 6, or 8 meetings depending on how your club decides to run the program). To learn more about Speechcraft and/or to buy a Speechcraft Starter Kit, go to:
https://www.toastmasters.org/en/Shop/Members/manuals-and-programs/success-communication/Speechcraft%20Starter%20Kit_205.aspx
What other ideas do you all have for fundraising? How do your clubs raise money? What are some ways that your club can spend money to educate your members? Please comment below so that we can get a discussion going. We all learn when we share ideas!
I met one new Toastmaster this past weekend from JNU Toastmasters (in Gwangju) named Ryan. As we were talking, Ryan shared that his club was able to pay for four of their officers to attend officer training. I mention this because I know that both time and money are significant factors for traveling to officer training, contests, and conferences. There isn't much I can do about time, but I can share some strategies to help your club raise money to mitigate travel expenses. Please know that these are ideas only; they may not be right for your club. However, I hope that some clubs will be able to try one of these ideas to make travel for Toastmasters more affordable for future events.
Fines
At my club, we have two types of fines: Word of the Day (WOD) Fine and Ah-Count Fine.
For the WOD Fine, any paid member who has a speaking role (Speaker, Table Topics Speaker, and Evaluator) must pay a 1,000 KRW fine if he/she does not use WOD. If someone is both a Table Topics Speaker and an Evaluator and forgets to use WOD both times, then he/she pays 2,000 KRW.
For the Ah-Count fine, the top three paid members who have 3 or more unnecessary sounds (ah, um, so, you know, etc.) must pay a 1,000 KRW fine.
Do any of your clubs have fines? If so, what for? Please comment below so that we can share ideas!
1,000 KRW Entry Fee
This idea comes from Ryan (thanks, Ryan!). At JNU Toastmasters, each attendee pays 1,000 KRW to the club. This isn't a fine or a rental fee; it is simply a 1,000 KRW payment to the club. As I'm sure you can imagine, this is a fast and effective way for a club (especially a new club without much money) to accumulate funds. It can be hard to pay a lump sum of money, but 1,000 KRW per meeting isn't much of a burden. For new clubs that want to raise more money to support officers and members, I would recommend trying this approach.
One challenge to this strategy might be if a club is already paying to rent a venue. Who in Division C rents a venue? Who has a free venue? Those of you meeting at free venues, how did you secure this location? Do you have any advice for clubs who want to find free/low-cost venues?
Speechcraft
Toastmasters has a variety of community outreach programs, which you can read about by visiting:
https://www.toastmasters.org/Membership/Community-Based-Programs
One of these community outreach programs is called Speechcraft. Speechcraft is a great way to find new members, help the community, and raise money for your club. Essentially, club members donate their time and talent to run a series of mini Toastmasters meetings and education sessions (4, 6, or 8 meetings depending on how your club decides to run the program). To learn more about Speechcraft and/or to buy a Speechcraft Starter Kit, go to:
https://www.toastmasters.org/en/Shop/Members/manuals-and-programs/success-communication/Speechcraft%20Starter%20Kit_205.aspx
What other ideas do you all have for fundraising? How do your clubs raise money? What are some ways that your club can spend money to educate your members? Please comment below so that we can get a discussion going. We all learn when we share ideas!