Tired of the same old fund raising options? Well, here is a great Christian fund raising idea!

Operate a Christian "Comedy Club" for the evening!

 “This was our most financially successful fundraiser as well as the most fun.  Doing a fundraiser and an outreach event at the same time was great.”

Ron and Karen Covarrubias
Youth Leaders
Collinsville, IL

Stage a ticketed event and enjoy and learn from the process. Don’t wash cars, go door to door or beg. Offer people an entertaining and educational event to attend. Use a Keith Deltano comedy concert as your next Christian fund raising event. A well-attended event should keep you out of the car washing ritual for at least a year. And here’s the best part. Because all Keith’s shows deal with contemporary issues and are based on scripture, you can do ministry while raising money for your ministry.

Keith Deltano and Freedom Entertainment will do MORE than show up to perform on event day. To insure that you have a successful fund raiser, Freedom Entertainment will:

Spend time on the phone with you to help plan your event. Keith has experience with what day of the week, time, approach, or show works best for a given time of year or target audience.

Custom print 25 posters that are typeset to promote your event. These 13 by 17 coated posters scream for attention. Freedom entertainment will typeset all your event information on the bottom. No flyers from the copy machine for you.

After agreeing on ticket price, time, location, etc. Freedom Entertainment will Print up to 700 invite tickets. The tickets will be professional concert tickets. (see sample to right) They can serve as a receipt of donations (The purchase price of the ticket is eligible for tax deduction). These tickets will then be shipped to you for your youth group and congregation to sell.

Work with local media to get press releases. Newspapers tend to treat a press release as more important if it comes from out of town. Keith was a professional touring artist for five years before his hometown paper covered him at a local event! Let Freedom Entertainment try for more than just a blurb in your local papers. An article on the front page of the local or religious section increases turnout. Though the press is unpredictable, Freedom Entertainment has been successful in getting favorable pre-event coverage.

Perfect for Summer Months

A ticketed youth sponsored fund raising event is perfect for the summer months. You do not have school or sporting events to compete with. Youth are looking for something to do and parents are looking for something for their youth to do. You also do not have to contend with the possibility of snow or ice storms canceling out your event. By raising your funds in the summer you will be able to stage aggressive outreach events in the fall or school year kickoff. Also, by staging your fund raiser during the summer you will not be up against events that traditionally crowd the church calendar during fall and winter. (Thanksgiving, cantatas, plays etc)

What does the math look like for a "Comedy Club" fund raiser?

Keith’s fee – $1500.00 plus travel expenses and lodging (hotel or host home). This fee includes posters, tickets, press releases and consulting.

Ticket price $15.00 (ticket prices can be adjusted up or down)

Youth purchase themselves and sell 350 tickets to family, friends, classmates and neighbors. They just approach people that they would normally come into contact with over a three-week period.

350 x 15.00 = $5,250.00

5,250.00 – 1500.00 (fee) – 185.00 (travel/this example) = $3,565.00

So, the youth have staged an outreach event that is based on scripture, perhaps gotten people into church that haven’t been in years, and raised $3,565.00 for their up coming ministry projects. All without picking up a sponge or selling a pumpkin or pushing a trinket on some unsuspecting passerby.

This formula can only vary up. In other words, Keith does not increase his fee for different size churches. So, for a church that seats 600, the youth ministry would be left with $7315.00

If you want to adjust the formula for ticket price or number sold simply calculate the number sold and multiply by what you want to set price at and then subtract Keith’s fee and travel. The fee will remain constant. Travel will vary (drive/fly?) however, Keith’s agent works hard to procure the lowest rates.

Which Show

When using a ticketed fund raising event you want to stage something that will appeal to as many people as possible. The shows that have the broadest appeal and are appropriate for all ages are The Redneck was Right and I'm Dreaming of a Stress Free Christmas. "The Redneck was Right" is perfect for fund raisers because it is appropriate for all ages and addresses a concern that is common to many people. The Redneck Was Right has enough physical comedy to entertain children and enough cerebral comedy for adults. (Go to Performance page for full description). If you are doing your fund raiser in Oct, Nov or Dec, I'm Dreaming of a Stress Free Christmas may be perfect for you. Once again, it has broad appeal and is appropriate for the session (Go to Performance descriptions for additional detail).

Additional fund raising opportunities from the "Comedy Club"

Donation from product sales: When Keith travels he sets up a product table. All Keith's CD's and books promote strong Christian ideals and address serious topics. When present at youth fund raising events Keith will donate 15% of table sales to the youth group. The youth will be staffing the table and will calculate and withdraw 15% in cash at the end of the evening.

Valet Parking: The older youth can dress formally and park cars for guests. Tips will go to the group. Attendees will know about this because it will be mentioned in promo material. Freedom Entertainment will also provide instructions for valets.

"Limo" Service: Youth group seniors and juniors may provide pickup and drop off service for guests that desire it. Those teens that have access to a nicer vehicle (and can be trusted with it) will promote their availability to the congregation. They will negotiate a fee (usually $10.00 to $20.00) and arrange details. Students involved in this endeavor will receive instructions from Freedom Entertainment. (Clean car, arrive on time, open door and hold arm of female clients as they enter car, proper language, etc) **Note: Freedom Entertainment is not responsible for property damage.

Do a weekend run or double-header: Keith can come to town and perform two nights in a row. Saturday and Friday night are ideal for this approach. Or he can perform two shows in one evening. Using the "early show, late show" formula can create quite a vibrant atmosphere. In the case of two shows in one night, Keith halves his fee for the second show.

This should be a youth led, youth sponsored, youth run and youth driven Christian fund raising event

The less adults do the more enthusiastic the youth get. The more the youth do the more ownership they take. The more ownership they take the more leadership skills they must exhibit. The more enthusiastic they get, the more ownership they take, and the more leadership they exhibit the more successful the event will be.

Your youth group members should track ticket sales, promote, usher, collect, post promotions, announce, etc. You guide and oversee... they do. Freedom entertainment will provide an instruction packet that will take you and the group step by step through this process.

Your youth will be broken into the following committees. Each committee will be given an instruction provided with Keith's fund raising packet. Youth led and staffed committees are:

• Collections/update
• Promotion Distribution
• Ticket Distribution
• Special Sales
• Ushers
• Stage Manager/ Event Planning
• Worship Announcements
• Nursery

Advantages of this approach to Christian fund raising

• Less time intensive, Planning takes place during regularly scheduled youth sessions.
• No products to order and track
• No products to deliver
• Large financial gain in ratio to time/money invested
• Fund raiser itself is a community outreach/ministry event
• Fund raiser based on presenting scripture rather than on selling things
• Different and exciting
• Opportunity for youth to work together on a ministry project
• Showcases youth to congregation and community
• Less stress on adult youth leader, packet and approach use "team" method

Conduct a Christian fund raiser your youth will be proud of!

Think big. Don't spend a weekend washing cars or four weeks selling something to make a few hundred dollars. Dream big and allow your youth to do ministry on a large scale with a large budget. Ministry often requires operating funds. Unfortunately, fund raising has become a fact of life for church youth programs. If this is so, then why spend time sowing for a small vision. Give your youth the budget they need to do aggressive youth ministry.

"Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witness." —1 Timothy 6:12

Do not be afraid of thinking big or setting high goals for your youth fund raiser. Do not be afraid of planning to do far-reaching and broader ministry with your youth. And do not be afraid of trying to get the budget you need to do that ministry.

"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." — 2 Timothy 1:7

Check out our DVD's and Books!!