“Race For Reilly” Fundraiser

Welcome Race Fans!

I’m excited to share with you some fun details from a recent Kentucky Derby Themed fundraiser in which I was the Chairwoman for, for my daughter’s elementary school. This event was actaully supposed to take place in March of 2020 but we had to cancel one week prior due to school closures & events not being allowed due to Covid. It was originally a different event all together with a different theme & location but once things started to open back up we had to come up with a new plan to adjust & meet all event restrictions. Fundraising during Covid times has proven to be extremely difficult with our yearly contributions from families & local businesses dropping a staggering $40,000 in one year. Which meant we had to cut out so many important activites for the kids during the school year but it also meant we had to have a really successful fundraiser.  I am so proud to say that the community pulled together and we were able to raise $12,000 to benefit our kids!

I want to take a moment to thank all the vendors & volunteers that helped make this fundraiser happen like Pub Thirty Two for opening up their space & allowing us to completely take over their restaurant for the evening! If you’re local to Mission Viejo please stop by and support them.  I highly recommend the pork belly scallops & caramelized brussels. It was the best meal of my life!

I also teamed up with Jennifer from Hostess With The Mostess to showcase her fun Garden Party Collection which you’ll see on all the printable designs. I highly recommend joining as a member & getting one of her All Access Design Passes to utilize all of her customizable printables. Now, onto the pretty!
Fun fact about this event was it was actually held on Derby Day so the Pub had the races on all day for people to watch. I set up a Winner’s Circle Photo Booth outside using this hedgewood backdrop rental from C & D Balloons & Crafts. 
To encourage guests to particpate in the theme we asked them to come dressed in their derby best. Using some of the gift cards donated by local busineses we offered prizes for Best Hat, Bow Tie & Couple Ensemble. By adding the QR Code guests were able to snap a photo on their phone and then scan the code to upload their photo to a google doc so we were able to use the photos for voting purposes afterwards.
Our wonderful principal snapping her selfie for her best hat entry.
I made all the flower arrangements & purchased all the gorgeous blooms from our local Mission Viejo Trader Joes. They were so generous in their donations to us for this event I wanted to support them as much as possible. Thank you Trader Joes!
Pub Thirty Two created for us an exclusive menu to coordinate with our theme which included 3 entree options, an oyster appetizer, salad & a delicious Mint Julep Torte for dessert. As part of the fundraiser we were able to accomodate take out orders as well with a 20% giveback to the school. I wanted to make sure the take out guests were able to get some yummy treats for dessert so I worked with Baked By Bri to offer a variety of “Signature Sweets” the take out guests could choose from.
The bar worked with us to offer up some “Signature Drinks” as well.
The silent auction was a huge part of the fundraiser. All of these items were donated from local businesses & we asked for donations from family, friends & the school community. All the baskets were themed, photographed and put online in an Ebay style auction format. Once bidding started guests would scan the QR code which would take them directly to that listing so they could bid. We also emailed the link out to the entire school so they would have access to bid on items from home.
Quick shout out to Re-Play Recycled who is one of my biggest supporters for donating a complete collection!
Disneyland coming in hot donating 16 park hopper passes. WOW!
Fun in the Sun Bucket
Raising Canes Corporate gave us an awesome cooler full of goods.
A Wine Grab is a great activity to incorporate into your fundraiser for some quick funds. All the bottles of wine were donated so it cost us nothing. The guests would pay & then pick whichever bottle they wanted not knowing what they were getting. I also set up a “Horse Bets” using some giftcards donations. Guests would scan the QR code and pay a $10 donation then pick from a selection of horses I had laid out. Half of the horses had gift cards taped to the back, the other half were empty. All of the horses sold & it was so fun to see the winners & losers reactions!
I’m sad to say I didn’t get a picture of the Best Hat winner but here is the winner of the Best Bow Tie.
Winners of the Best Couple Ensemble.
Big Dot Of Happiness worked with us to customize their Derby Line to match our theme colors for some fun photo props.  Wasn’t that fun? Thank you again to all the vendors, volunteers and for you for sticking around till the end! Happy Fundraising!