It was the same nightmare…night after night…

She woke up with a fright. Again. She knew the stress of the impending Gala was wearing her thin, both figuratively and physically. But the recurring nightmare of a totally empty ballroom while a laughing man stood on stage spinning a giant raffle drum was too scary to rest peacefully.

She had no idea how wrong that dream would be.

Charitable events don’t get much more prestigious, especially in this Midwestern town of a few million. Our femme fatale, Tammy, had put in her time moving up the rungs of the Gala volunteer ladder, first as a committee member for a couple of years, then on the Executive Committee – running the Corporate Sponsorship subcommittee, and finally anointed as Chair-Elect. Waiting patiently for her year as Chair to start she had already identified exactly who she wanted on her Executive Committee, most of whom were trusted friends who would totally come through for her.

The year-long effort got into full swing and Tammy’s face was plastered across the social pages and she often laughed that she’d attend the opening of an envelope if it built awareness for her event.

Revenue started pouring in from Corporate Sponsors, Benefactors, and through Program advertising. The Live and Silent Auctions were shaping up nicely. The only committee having a struggle was Raffle, chaired by Tammy’s good friend, Pepper. For the past several years a generous car dealer, in cooperation with the auto manufacturer, had donated a luxury sedan, generated one of the highest revenue streams. Only 1,000 tickets were available for sale at $50 each and they always sold out.

As the holidays approached Tammy’s plans to fly home to see her family for Christmas were set. Yet with no car for the raffle confirmed, she pushed her flight out so she could personally appeal to the dealership.

The car donation was secured!

Tammy made it home before Santa, but her bank account had taken a hit by a few extra hundred bucks for the last-minute flight. A bit more dramatic was her investment account which was depleted to the tune of a few dozen thousand dollars for the shiny new sports car she justified to herself as a deserved Christmas present. That 10 year old stick shift was on its way to the dealer’s used lot and her Gala had a signed contract for the auto donation.

Tammy gave Pepper the good news accompanied by a sense of urgency. The event was only a few months away and raffle tickets needed to be printed asap with the dealership logo. Then the Raffle committee needed to pound the pavement to move the thousand tickets. Pepper promised her that she was on it!

Those final weeks whizzed by and the day of the sold-out event arrived. Everything was perfect. Tammy’s Executive Committee had proved their friendship and dedication to be a real asset.

That was until her Finance Chair asked to meet with her privately.

Seems no Car Raffle tickets had been sold. Not one. Tammy protested – she had been assured by Pepper she’d already turned over 800. The Finance Chair shook her head; Pepper very well may have sent out the tickets but they never made it into the hands of any buyers.

Her nightmares had it backwards. Whereas the event was sold-out the smiling Dealership Manager was going to be spinning a giant empty wheel. Besides it being a huge embarrassment she’d bought a stupid car to secure the damn donation!

Pulling her team together that morning, Tammy gave each one the dictate to sell 5 tickets whichever way they could: hawking them to their family, coercing their friends, buying the tickets themselves or selling them to guests who would be arriving in a few short hours for the cocktail reception.

The event came and went and the Gala was a great success. What happened to the Car Raffle? Tammy had instructed the Finance Chair that every donor would get their name on 10 cards which would be bent in the middle to take up more space. All the tickets were thrown into the wheel – the odds stayed the same and despite selling only 85 tickets in the end the drum was filled to the brim. The dealership Manager was impressed with the popularity of their car and no one at the Gala was the wiser. Where did Tammy make up for the loss in revenue? The creative Live Auction committee was one highlight and the other was in instituting a new Fund-In-Need which raised $50,000, the same as the Car Raffle goal.

VivaMoral to the story:

1. Require revenue-generating subcommittee Chairs to provide on-going detailed reporting of actual donations rather than just projections.

2. As a Chair, surround yourself with the most capable people not just those friends you like.

3. Be prepared for the inevitable screw-up. Something ALWAYS goes wrong.

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Photo of Raffle Drum courtesy of Raffle Drums

Feature photo by Simonds, Flickr.com

All Socialites Without Borders stories are based on fact with a bit of embellishment here and there, especially when it comes to names and locations – don’t want to embarrass anyone! If you’ve got a tale to tell, please share. We cross our heart that we’ll never tell who submitted it or the real names of the characters. Just email swb@vivanista.com.