We followed the advice of the Grad Night Ticket Sales information
sheets with these changes:
Tickets were run off on a home printer using Avery or Word to format the labels which were purchased at OfficeMax: size 2" x 4"
We managed every session with two adults (Norine & myself) selling tickets. We also were there when the students checked in for Grad Night
Tickets were sold on Thursdays during lunch throughout February, March
and April, on Tuesdays & Thursdays the last week of April and during
May and daily during the last week of school.
Tickets were also sold at the graduation rehearsal and on grad night
itself but only because space was still available on the buses.
The tickets were priced at $50 throughout. The incentive to buy early was a chance to win Prom related prizes for all tickets paid in full by April 29th. This proved very popular and there were three adults selling on the 29th. The drawing took place in Ms Gernreich's office immediately after lunch.
A payment plan was offered to encourage students to plan ahead if finances were tight. This attracted some custom and those students who used this system appreciated it being offered. This was the reasoning behind selling in February. A lot of students were keen to buy early.
Sales were very slow in May, leading up to Prom but picked up afterwards.
Scholarships caused a few problems, mainly in not being able to identify
those in need soon enough. Think about setting up some kind of simple form,
which van be signed by a VP or outreach staff member to identify the student
and the amount of scholarship needed. Students came up to us saying that
a scholarship had been OK'd but it was very difficult to ask at the table
how much they were willing to contribute and in the majority of cases the
volunteers were not given this information beforehand. We tried to be very
tactful and not embarrass the students. Not easy when others are paying
full price at the same table.
Scholarship students have to complete all information and be issued
with a ticket. One student turned up at Grad Night expecting to go just
because a VP had said it was OK.
Number of tickets sold @ $50 195
Full scholarships
25
Partial scholarships
19