PTA Ball, and what for your money?

[goingmadinthecountry]

That's it really. Do you have a ball, how much do you charge for tickets and what do you get for that in terms of food, drink, entertainment? We're debating one this summer, but recent PTA events have shown some people are really strapped for cash.

All opinions really appreciated.

My inf school has done one for last 3 yrs.

Charge has been about £30 for meal and entertainment - disco, auction, plus something extra eg string quartet and champagne on arrival. Wine is extra.

That's good value, we made v little from tickets. Cash came from auction etc, prizes from businesses/contacts etc, eg haircut and colour, signed footballs/cricket bats, jewellery with provenance (as worn by Pink etc), experience days, head teacher for a day (for the child), meal cooked by two semi-pro-chef parents etc. These might go for £££ (eg Head Tecaher usually about £250) which is all profit.

Event usually makes about £3-4,000, MASSSES of work for the committee tho.

Not on PTA any more(DC have left school ) so not sure if there is one this year - I agree people are short of cash (well in my house we are anyway so I wouldn't be going even if still at school).

We've been debating whether or not to do a ball too. After costing for a venue, disco and other entertainment, drink on arrival and meal - we couldn't get the price below 45 pounds just to be reasonably sure we would break even. Extra money would come from the bar and auctions.

I'm not a big fan of this plan. I personally feel uncomfortable planning any events which are out of the financial reach of many/most of the parents. It smacks of the kind of elitism PTAs are so often despised for. I wouldn't go myself - I prefer to support other events. This view has not endeared me to my fellow committee members.

However, I know of another school that does a ball every year for 50 pounds/ticket and it is well established, well-known and does very well every year. I think they hire a marquee for the grounds.

You need good sponsorship and good auction donations to get the funds going - and some good publicity to get people coming from outside the school.

We did a ball for the first time last year - people had been asking for one for ages but had not actually making the step to do the organising. The school needed some serious fund raising after a building was condemned (we're a VA school so had to fund 10% of the cost) and it was organised by a mix of school governors and PTA members. The tickets were £50 to cover a champagne reception, three course meal, auction, live band and disco. The auction was fairly low key ie just a few items but that was where we made the most money rather than on the tickets.

As it was a specific fundraiser it was easier to get a mix of people who weren't necessarily parents at the school. The people who had been the most vocal about wanting a ball didn't actually buy tickets and are now insisting that we do it again so that they can come this time .

It is really difficult to make money at a Ball. Upfront costs such as venue, music food etc are considerable and you need to be sure you will get at least that back with ticket sales which as you say can be a tall order. Auctions only raise money if a) your items are sufficiently desirable - which depends on the contacts the parents at your school have and b) the depth of the parents' pockets.

Many venues will not give you a cut of the bar or will charge corkage if you do not buy their overpriced wine.

The only way I have been able to secure profits for the events I have been involved with is to get sponsorship to cover all or most of the fixed costs so that ticket sales and any other income is pure profit. HOwever you have to bear in mind that if you get a local compnay to sponsor they will expect a table for free which is one less table of paying guests and wine etc which is a cost. In today's climate sponsorship of an event may be a luxury that many companies cannot afford right now.

ALso factor in costs such as printing, and the value of people's time (it is nearly a full time job organisisng a large event!) and you may consider it really isn't worth it!

A cheaper alternative might be a summer picnic or BBQ which has less upfront costs?

Hope that helps.

Personally I like the summer picnic/bbq idea, though I think that would prob end up being families rather than just adults. We have the opportunity of a great venue, but I can't see people paying more than £25/30. Guess it's probably no go, and you're right about the organising. There's certainly no point doing all that work for little or no profit. Mmmm,

I have helped with lots of balls / Burns Nights / Skool Discos and the like.

Ticket price more or less covers fixed costs.

Profit tends to come from raffles and auctions.

Many people who will not / cannot buy a ball ticket will buy raffle tickets for the draw taking place there, but to sell in advance you need to have tickets printed at a cost of about £80, and obtain a lottery licence (about £40.)

To use 'cloakroom tickets' (the coloured, numbered, pre-printed tear-off tickets you buy in books) a school does not need a lottery licence but cannot sell in advance of the occasion, only on the day.

Many local businesses will donate something as a prize though - meal for two, grocery basket, blow-dry, etc.

To do a cheap and cheerful ball, try the 'Glyndbourne' option: use the school hall/church hall, supply tables, cutlery, and decorations; hire a disco. Guests bring a picnic basket (can be as elaborate as they like) and their own wine/booze. You will nee a Temporary Events Notice for unlicenced premises. Can be done for between £7.50 an £15 a ticket depending on numbers and how elaborate you want to be with tablecloths, candles, balloons, etc.

I forgot about the raffle - we did an honesty one with tickets on each table and people just put in what they wanted to in an envelope. This made a lot more money than if we'd set a ticket price and it also meant we didn't have to have people physically selling tickets. I agree about the level of organisation, ours was like a military operation and I had spreadsheets galore to keep track of who had paid, who was having the vegetarian option, who had pre-ordered wine etc etc

Mumsnut, I can see freat possibilities for that in our school. Thanks - lots of ideas to take to tonight's meeting.