One of the greatest ways to raise some money for any cause is to host a car show fundraiser. This is a great opportunity to bring a community together, and also bring other small businesses together with potential clients like festivals tend to do. There are certain things that go into making a successful car show, however, and if you’ve never gone through this on your own, you may not know what all you need and what to prepare for. Below are the things to know when determining how to plan a car show fundraiser!
Parking
While you’ll need parking for the vehicles that are being entered in the show, you’ll also need parking for the spectators who are coming to be a part of the event and walk through the area. Parking should be available and roped off for the vehicles, and they should be told how they are backing in or parking for show. They should probably arrive before the show starts, and have a separate entrance so that they are able to get their vehicles set up without causing too much issue.
Parking for the visitors should be away from the show cars and even the junk cars that may be brought out on the property. These outdoor parking areas need to provide them with enough space to park and get in and out of the parking lot. Depending on where you’re hosting the event outdoors and if you want, you can take this opportunity to charge a small fee for parking and add it to the overall fundraising amount that you get from the event.
Essential Services
Wondering how to plan a car show fundraiser? If you’re going to host an event where there will be contestants and spectators for several hours, you must offer the essentials, such as a porta john or access to public restrooms in the area. If you don’t have public restroom access, you can rent out local porta potties to offer these locations for people to use. Make sure they’re cleaned before they come and take advantage of the local portable toilet rental.
You will also need to have some mobile sink areas where folks can wash their hands during this process. Some companies that offer these services, will need a water line hookup but will have sinks, soap, sanitizer, and paper towels available where you can use your foot to pump the water and wash your hands after using the restroom. All the bathrooms need to be stocked with supplies, and this also applies to any public restrooms that you may be using to get folks out there. If you don’t have public restrooms available, you’ll find out that guests will tell others, and that can have a big impact on how many people show up to your event.
Food Vendors
When people are going to be in an area for a while, it’s critical that you have some food nearby, especially if the event is outdoors and in a rural location. Depending on the crowd that you’re expecting to turn out for the event, you may want to have a couple of different vendors offering different food items. If the weather’s warm outside, this is a great spot for ice cream and dessert trucks to be set up. Being outdoors, food trucks are a great option, as they can pull in and pull out when they need, and require minimal maintenance.
You could also have alcohol vendors at the event if you’re catering to an audience above 21. You may need to have special licenses for this, so check on all these requirements before you move forward with that. It may be that you can offer beer and wine, just not liquor and spirits at the event. Either way, also have these vendors offer water and other regular drinks to purchase, as a way to keep guests hydrated and not getting sick from the weather and the crowds that are happening.
Non-Food Vendors
If you’re wondering how to plan a car show fundraiser, know that other vendors are great to have at these events when you have a lot of folks in one space. A local car insurance company or vendors that offer vehicle wrap on different model cars can gain a lot of traction and have a lot of information for folks who are looking to see about services. Because there will be car enthusiasts all over the area, this is also a great opportunity to make sure that you have other car vendors who sell aftermarket parts, services like window tint, or detailing out in the area where they can work with those who entered the car show and those who are just there to watch.
Because many of those car shows will have couples, you can also have small business vendors in the area, offering a variety of boutique products, firearm sales, and hunting equipment, depending on the location. These events are usually centered around the community, and to truly pull the community up and make them a part of this event, having a table for them with the other vendors is a great way to show your support. You can use their booth rent as a way to contribute to the overall fundraiser, and if they would like, offer them an opportunity to donate a portion of their products to the proceeds and the cause of the event.
If you’re going to advertise these vendors to the community, make sure those who sign up first are on the flyers and ads that go out for the car show. They should offer both cash and credit options for people to pay. You’ll have guests out there who might be more comfortable with one over the other, so having multiple ways to pay is a great way to keep it going and encourage a better business outcome. Cash-only or credit-only events can cause some to be deterred and not want to come out to the event.
Security
Because there will be a lot of people in the area, it’s a good idea to hire a security team to walk around the event and make sure tempers aren’t flaring. Car shows can sometimes be a place where there are lots of attitudes and with alcohol mixed in, you don’t want any situation to turn violent. Checking folks before they enter the event for weapons, and having a team onsite will discourage a lot of poor behavior that you could get from the guests and even those who might be in the car short event. If you’re near a building, make sure there is a possible commercial fire alarm that you can pull if you need to make a loud noise and get a lot of folks out of the way, fast. You need to be able to manage a situation if you need emergency services, or if something drastic happens and you need to get people out quickly.
When it comes to how to plan a car show fundraiser, one of the security features you need is an access control system. You can use this due to a lockdown if necessary, or make sure to alert and get everyone out like you would with the fire alarm. These systems also have intercoms that you can use to get a message out loud and clear to the public who is at your event and other patrons who may not be at the event but might be nearby.
Dumpsters
Because you’re expecting a lot of folks and vendors in a small space, you’ll need to make sure you get both a mobile storage container and a dumpster rental. Both of these will help you pick up the trash that’s accumulated during the event. Even if you have a team going around and picking up trash as the event is happening, there is going to be more trash left behind once the guests are gone. You can use the dumpsters for trash from food and drink services. The mobile storage container is a great option for any materials you brought out the to area to put up and need to store away for the next event.
Tents
When you host an outdoor car show fundraiser, you’re going to need a lot of tents and shelter for your spectators. Even if the weather is good, the sun will be bright and you need to give folks a place to get out of the sun. Also, the weather can turn quickly and you might get some precipitation. While this isn’t ideal weather for a car show of any kind, it can happen sometimes unexpectedly, and having tents out is a great way to keep your guests covered until they pass.
The most important folks who need these tents for shelter though, are vendors because they will be out in the direct sunlight at all times without it. They will not be moving around like the spectators or the guests who are coming to see the cars. Folks who come out there with their families may have small children or babies who need shelter right away and tents will give them that temporary coverage until they can get out of the weather.
Commercial Fans
If you’re planning on considering how to plan a car show fundraiser when it’s very warm outside, it may be a good idea to bring out some commercial-size fans to at least blow around the air where everyone will be walking and offer them some type of relief. You’ll want to keep them out of the way of the vendors somewhat in case they have papers or items on their tables that they need to sell/give away. You should also be mindful of the sounds that the commercial fans make. They can be very loud, which makes it hard to hear with them going at all times.
Ropes
Once you’ve gone through the outline of the outdoor car show fundraiser and decided where you want the showing cars to be, and the guests and vendors to park, you’ll need to rope it off. If you have attendees getting there early to set up, you can use ropes to open and close the entrance to their areas, so that spectators don’t accidentally park where you’re having the show cars park. Ropes will let them know to stop, and can even keep people out from walking if you have super special vehicles that you don’t want to be touched while out on display.
Music
Once the car show starts, it’s a good idea to have some music going to get the crowd vibing and feel inviting. If this is a big fundraiser event, you may be able to get local DJs and radio stations to come out and sponsor your show. They can play their playlist that fits the crowd’s vibe, and make it one less thing you need to worry about during the event. Make sure to touch base with them first to see if there’s any equipment or accommodations that they need for their area once they get there and start setting up.
Donations
Once you’ve gone through the details of a car show and learned how to build one, make sure the last thing you do is offer a location for anyone who’s visiting to leave donations. The purpose of the car show is to contribute to a cause in the community, and some folks will want to come and show additional financial support. Have a place where they can go and make that happen, but allow them to be discrete and not make a show of it.
As long as you follow all these different tips, you’ll know how to plan a car show fundraiser successfully!