Innovative Fund-Raising, Orlando Central Florida Chapter Initiatives to Generate Revenue
- 2. The “CPK Connection”
A community-minded local California Pizza Kitchen gives us a 20% rebate on our tab when
we hold events such as this mentoring kick-off meeting and our monthly Administrative
Council meeting there. We raised $233 in the second half of 2014 via our “CPK Connection.”
- 3. A Self-Perpetuating Memorial Scholarship
We eliminated a $1,000 annual budget line by transferring the Melissa Pellegrin Memorial
Scholarship Fund to the University of Central Florida Foundation. Now self-perpetuating,
the endowment spins off ~$1,000 a year, making our annual scholarships self-sustaining.
- 4. STC is Eligible for United Way Contributions
As a 503(c)(3) non-profit, STC is eligible for United Way payroll contributions
in some companies. The OCF STC Chapter realized $378 in revenue in 2014
from a number of its members who designated STC for all or part of their
payroll United Way contributions.
- 5. Sweet Tomatoes … Salad with a “Rebate”
A one-time “fun-raiser” at one of Orlando’s popular Sweet Tomatoes
restaurants in 2014 netted OCF more than lettuce … $20 in “found” revenue.
- 6. An Amazing Click-Thru Pays Off …
In 2014, the Amazon click-thru on our chapter’s website yielded us $195 in
rebates, plus a $20 carryover into 2015.
- 7. CafePress: Merchandising our Logo …
We did not include this initiative in our 2014 Pacesetter application because we
did not pursue this revenue builder last year, but we’ve been successful with it
in the past; and we will be reviving it as we enter the 2015-2016 chapter year.
Balancing the budget is a challenging imperative communities must meet.
- 8. Rising Stars … Seeking Sponsorships
Over the past 12 years, we have raised thousands of dollars from company and
individual sponsors in our Rising Stars educational outreach program. Most went into
our now-mature Pellegrin Scholarship Fund, the rest into our successful high school
writing competition, which, regrettably, ended in 2013 due to dwindling participation.
We did not pursue Rising Stars fund-raising in 2014, but we plan to revive it in the 2015-
2016 chapter year to support chapter educational initiatives in general, not just the
scholarship fund. It will also support a new initiative leveraging the principles of
technical communication to help teach writing at the high school level.