Discos are a great way to raise funds for your project whether it is for a school, pre-school, voluntary organisation or charity. They can be held for all different age groups from tots to OAP’s and you can also hold a disco for all age groups so everyone can enjoy a boogie!
We have listed below some tips for organising a successful disco that runs smoothly and raises as much funds as possible.
Timing
First things first – discos can be organised fairly quickly as there is not too much organising involved. However, its best to allow around 6 weeks for preparation to ensure nothing is left to the last minute. You should also make sure that you have enough volunteers from the first point of planning to avoid any volunteers being overloaded with too much responsibility.
Decide why, when and who for
Before you start making arrangements for your disco, you will need to decide why you are having the disco, when it will be and who will be the audience.
Deciding on a particular reason to have your disco is a great way to encourage guests to attend more as they can see that you are raising the money for something specific and they will like to see the finished result of the project that they donated towards. Remember to tell everyone what you’re raising the funds for and add it to all flyers, posters, advertisements and tickets so everyone knows.
You also have to decide when the disco will be, this is important because you need to make sure your volunteers will be available around the planned dates. Also, if the dates are near a holiday i.e. Halloween, valentines etc. you can base your disco around that and introduce incentives such as fancy dress and a competition for best dressed. This can help to attract many more guests.
Planning the type of audience you wish to attract is also important in the first stages of planning. This will help you advertise in the correct places to ensure maximum tickets are sold.
Beverages & Snacks
Decide if you will be supplying beverages and snacks free of charge as part of the ticket price, selling beverages and snacks and also if you will be selling alcohol. Selling alcohol will mean that you will require a licence so be sure that you check this out before hand.
If you will be selling drinks and snacks at a children’s disco, be sure to make parents aware that spending money may be required.
Advertising
Advertising your disco is important. If it’s a school disco, you can simply hand out flyers, stick posters around the school and mention it in the school newsletters. However if you are a voluntary organisation or charity you may need to advertise your event in the local shops, newspaper & radio.
Ask your pupils or community to design the posters as this attracts attention and can also make the event feel more welcoming.
Shop around for printers, see if they offer discounts to charities and voluntary organisations as this will help keep the profits high and the out goings low.
