When we started our first ever marching band fundraiser in the fall of 2022, we set a goal of raising $5k for local marching bands. This was a lofty goal!
I had only created a handful of ornaments by September 2022, and didn't know then what to expect. Would people like the instrument ornaments?
But I went all-in every night drawing instruments like a maniac.
Fueled by a passion for representing every instrument and including everyone (band nerd for life!)... hopped up on caffeine... Netflix marathons... helped by my husband, and surrounded by our 4 dogs (my trusty side-kicks who mostly napped on me), I ended up creating over 140 ornaments.
Phew...
Thanks to everyone's support, we blew away our 2022 goal of $5,000 and raised $12,370 for 6 schools!!
So now we're going to up our game for 2023...
There are a TON more bands that need help fundraising in 2023. Our goal this year is to help 30 bands!
We need your help to suggest which schools we should work with. They can be located anywhere in the US.
We know band parents are busy with your job, kids, and life in general. Most fundraising requires a lot of effort on your part.
We purposely made working with us super easy with this in mind.
There are no order forms, no chasing people for checks/cash, and no distribution by you.
We handle everything. We set up the website, and we ship directly to customers.
All you need to do is promote it! :)
We keep it simple:
That's it.
Oh... and I forgot to mention as an added bonus, I will create custom ornaments for your school, which are always great sellers.
Like those old infomercials... I've always wanted to say "but wait there's more! ...act now and get Mini Ginsu knives free!" Lol.
Here are a couple of examples I created for Dalton High School:
Dalton High School Hat Ornament
Dalton High School logo Ornament
I know it's very early in the year, but we're expecting the remaining spots for the 30 bands to fill up by early spring. Don't miss out!
If you would like to learn more about how we can help you fundraise, simply contact us and tell us about your band! We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Sadie Young
Owner/Artist
The Inspired Dragonfly
#BandNerd4Life
]]>We almost didn’t make it in time before Winter Break! So how did this happen so fast?
Just prior to Thanksgiving week in 2022, we were referred to Tony Carlson (Band Booster President) at Dalton High School by our good friend, Alan Armstrong, to help raise funds for the band. Alan is the current band director at Northgate High School in Newnan, Georgia. He graduated from Dalton High School and wanted a way to help give back to his “original” hometown school.
This was such a cool opportunity! We were excited to work with Dalton and wanted to find out how we could help them. For context, Dalton is in northern Georgia near the Tennessee border.
After a good conversation with Tony, he helped us understand more about how the band program has grown over the years and the challenges faced with fundraising. The more I learned about Dalton High School Band, the more I wanted to help them.
Also, as a female entrepreneur, I’m inspired by so many other women in leadership and want to help support them wherever I can as well. I found out that Janna Pye, Dalton High School’s band director, is not only a lifelong Daltonian and alumna of the high school, but the first female band director in the high school’s history.
I LOVED what Janna mentioned in this interview with the Dalton Daily Citizen in 2020 when she started.
“band changed my life, and saying those words — ‘band changed my life’ — doesn’t even encompass everything it did for me. It opened so many doors for me, and I thought ‘If I could just do that for even one student, it’ll be wonderful.'”
- Janna Pye
This!! What Janna mentioned above resonates with me so much! She has done a fantastic job with the band program, and I’m so grateful for an opportunity to help in some small way.
Would we be able to make any real impact with only a few weeks, though? By that time of year, parents and especially the band boosters, were busy with year-end activities and didn’t have time to invest in traditional fundraising (i.e. order forms, chasing family/friends to pay by check/cash, tallying up the totals, getting the products, distributing the products).
Tony was happy to work with us but didn’t know what would be possible with less than a month before Winter Break.
If we moved the “traditional” order form model online, would that work? …nope, not going to work.
Tony spoke with the band boosters. Not enough time and too much work needed from parents to fit it into the schedule. We needed to figure out something better.
We were determined to find a way to help the Dalton band. So my husband stayed up late for a couple of nights to create a fully ready e-commerce website for Dalton to accept payments directly from customers via credit card, debit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, etc,, and I created 2 custom ornaments specific to their band.
Dalton High School Hat Ornament
Dalton High School logo Ornament
We knew there wasn’t much time left, but what did anyone have to lose?
…we got a “yes” from Tony and the other band booster parents!
Tony thanked us for setting up the website so fast for them and mentioned that given the fact that the band boosters don’t actually have to do anything (no order forms, no collecting payments or distributing products, etc.), it was super easy… a no-brainer.
On November 29, the Dalton band fundraiser website went live and Tony helped spread the word! He did a great job sharing via the Dalton Band Facebook group and also sent emails about the fundraiser.
Within two weeks, we had raised $350! Most of this came from the alumni, which was a nice bonus for everyone since that is not normally the main source of this type of product-based fundraising for Dalton. The Dalton hat ornaments were a huge hit with the alumni!
They appreciated we could customize and put any name, year, etc. on the ornaments. The wooden engraved Tuba ornament was also big among Dalton’s alumni. The $350 amount was not bad, but we were determined to do better.
At the time, Dalton’s Christmas Concert was coming up the following week on December 13, 2022. So we asked Tony if we could make the drive and help fundraise in person. We know this normally results in hundreds of dollars raised within a matter of hours. Tony probably thought we were crazy since Dalton is 125 miles from where we live. Lol. But he graciously invited us to set up our table outside the auditorium.
Yes, we drove 125 miles (2.5 hours one way). Yep, we’re a little crazy, but it was so worth it.
During intermission, the band director simply mentioned our fundraiser table set up with marching band themed Christmas ornaments. We got to meet so many great kids and their families. The band sounded amazing during the concert! Everyone was so supportive, and once again the Dalton hat ornaments were a huge hit! 🙂
After the concert we had raised an additional $500 that night for a total of $850! So glad we were able to help bump up their total by joining the concert.
We got a chance to talk with Tony and his wife (who is also into laser engraving!) and several of the band booster parents after the event as well. Lots of great ideas for fundraising after Christmas 🙂
Huge thanks to Tony and the Dalton High School band booster families. We’re looking forward to working with you for a long time to come! You can find out more about Dalton High School band by following them on Facebook.
If you’re not familiar with The Inspired Dragonfly, we create unique, instrument/music themed ornaments, key chains, journals, and other promotional products. I was in marching band in high school (band nerd for life!), and it’s very close to my heart. I want every kid who is interested in band to have the same opportunities I had. We have dedicated our business to fundraising, specifically for marching bands, to help make that happen!
We have decided to expand to 30 schools across the country in 2023. We expect the spots to fill up quickly. So if you're interested in working with us. This is a great time to contact us if you're interested in our help with fundraising for your school!
Sincerely,
Sadie Young
Owner/Artist
The Inspired Dragonfly
#BandNerd4Life
]]>So many great conversations with friends and family of band members. Loved interacting with our community and raising funds for such a great cause. Looking forward to our next event!
]]>I can't tell you how excited I was to go to the Valhalla marching band competition at Northgate High School in Newnan, GA on October 1st!
First of all, it was the first band competition I had been to since 199-something-or-other, but it was special for two other reasons. It was this little business' first-time selling instrument ornaments in person.
Second, the host band we were raising money for that day is directed by one of my very own band directors from my time as an East Coweta Marching Indian, in 199-slightly-earlier-something-or-other.
I am sure to write more on this at some point, but Alan Armstrong came to East Coweta's band during what could only be described as it's darkest hour, after the death of beloved director, Tam Easterwood, to brain cancer the previous year. His presence in our band that year, as someone new to us but who knew Mr. Easterwood well, helped us heal in ways that I feel deeply to this day.
Not to mention, his arrangement of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone" created the most emotionally impactful musical moment of my life (and I've seen Paul McCartney in concert 7 times). Let's just say, this is someone I really want to raise money for.
The day of the competition was filled with lots of wonderful conversations with band students and parents.
It was exciting to introduce my husband and my niece to the marching band life, and I got to reunite with one of my very best friends from high school, whose son performed trumpet solos beautifully in the host band.
People were surprised and delighted to see that we sell some of the less common instruments, so we quickly sold out of the few bass clarinets and bassoons I made, as well as concert euphoniums. I got lots of requests for a bass guitar, so I have since drawn one and added it to the shop.
At the end of a very fun and busy day, we had raised $1,000 for Northgate's band! Not bad for our very first show, I'd say, and it was worth every bit of lobster-y sunburn I stupidly acquired that day.
We have one more show coming up in October. The LaFayette Marching Classic will take place on October 29 at Fayette County High School. Then, November 5, we will be at Old South Southeastern Invitational at Newnan High School in (you guessed it) Newnan, GA. I have been working closely with Newnan's AMAZING band boosters, so I am extra excited about this one! |
October 29 November 5 |
In the meantime, if you'd like to help The Inspired Dragonfly raise money for bands, here are a few ways to help:
If you have made it this far, thank you! I have never been known for brevity. ;-)
Sincerely,
Sadie Young
Owner/Artist
The Inspired Dragonfly
#BandNerd4Life
#WhatsUpWithMyHair