techsearchpartyA gentleman by the name of Tim Smith recently approached us about a fundraiser he’s organizing for an elementary school. We thought the concept was so fun and unique that we want to share it in our second installment of Fundraiser-in-a-Box, which are easy, do-it-yourself fundraisers that don’t require huge budgets or manpower.

Tim heads up the tech committee for the PTA at Alvarado Elementary School in San Francisco’s Noe Valley. Because Alvarado is a school where nearly half of the families are making less than $40K per year and don’t have computer access at home, Tim and his team made an effort to be as creative as possible in their fundraising strategy, because their tech committee basically has zero budget and the computers at Alvarado are, well, not even close to what they could and should be.

Their brilliant Silicon Valley-inspired concept?

TECH SEARCH PARTY: A cell phone scavenger hunt-meets-crossword puzzle street party

HOW IT WORKS:

At 6:00 pm sharp participants will be meet at Alvarado Elementary School’s auditorium and be given a map with some clues to decipher. Solving those clues will lead you to various locations in Noe Valley. When you arrive at the mystery location, you’ll take a photo of the answer with their phone and email it back to an address provided at the beginning of the event. The first team to solve all clues is the winner.

WHY PARTICIPATE: For fun, mostly. And for prizes. And also because all the money raised goes toward improving technology for students at Alvarado Elementary. That means ticket price is tax-deductible.

COST: The fee is $50 for a team of up to 4 and $75 for a team of up to 6. A bargain for memories that will last a lifetime. You can have participants register online.

RULES: All you need is a phone that can take a picture and send e-mail. Be on time, or you’ll be screwed behind your fellow competitors. Teams have to stick together and stay on foot. Bring a flashlight (or flashlight app). Charge up your phone batteries. Respect the neighborhood.

WHY THIS IDEA IS CUTTING EDGE: Cell phone scavenger hunts are starting to heat up a bit, but this is the first we became aware of being done for charity. (Note: Google just invested in a company called SCVNGR today.)

REVENUE:

  • Registration Fees: $50/team of 4; $75/team of 6.
  • Corporate Sponsors – local banks, etc., opportunity for corporate sponsor to match funds raised
  • Event sponsor: Cell phone carrier or manufacturer
  • Prize sponsors: Prizes to the top finishers

* In-kind sponsors:

  • Retailer/manufacturer of product (in this case, computers)
  • Food and drink underwriter

* Additional revenue opportunities:

  • Sell food and drink
  • Add family-oriented activities for finale party
  • Include a Silent Auction
  • Raffle

PROMOTION:
Build awareness of the event by promoting through traditional locally media as well as on-line through websites such as Vivanista.

IN SUMMARY:

AUDIENCE: Family-oriented, Sports teams
TYPE OF ORGANIZATION: School, Church, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, other youth-centered nonprofits
VOLUNTEERS: Minimal
ESTIMATED PROFIT: $5,000 – $10,000
MAJOR COSTS: Party elements
LEVEL OF EFFORT: Medium
PLANNING CYCLE: 3+ months

To attend Tim’s Tech Search Party on Saturday, February 6th, view event details and registration information.