As a member of the fundraising team, a big achievement of the ours was the success of our book sales. In the lead up to the ‘And Scene’ festival, two different book sales were held with each earning upwards of $400. These artefacts not only showcase the different aspects of the book sales themselves, but also the further behind-the-scenes work that went into making them possible.
When brainstorming ideas for fundraisers, a book sale immediately stood out to the team as it seemed both realistically doable and appealing to a wide audience even outside of the media cohort. This would not only work in our favour financially, but also in the sense of the outreach and audience we could potentially obtain for our festival. With the help of Amira, Ryan and the RMIT Job Shop, we were able to organise a book donation system as well as confirm a space the event could take place – in front of the Job Shop. In the days leading up to the sales, an abundance of donations poured in with contributions from members of the team ourselves, people we knew, and complete strangers. Based on the quality and length of the book, price tags were then allocated ranging from $3 – $10. In the case of book collections/series, discounts were offered if a customer was willing to buy the whole set. Additionally, small ways we made the book stand look more interesting included the mystery wrapped books for the first sale and our amazingly designed tote bags by the design team for the second sale.
On the days of our book sales, members of the fundraising team who were able to be present were in charge of setting up the tables, stocking the books, and taking care of sales. Whilst a table full of books may indicate that a sale was taking place, I made sure to design a poster beforehand that also included our festival name and the exclusivity of the event that could be hung on the tables and surrounding wall space. In regards to transactions, we offered the options of both cash and card so that all possible customers were accounted for. The experience of running the book sales gave me an insight into what it may have been like during our opening night in terms of dealing with crowds and being able to give out information on the spot such as what our festival is about. Having the opportunity to gain publicity and establish our presence as a festival was a major help in the overall grand scheme of things.