Why Promotional Fund-Raising for a Chamber of Commerce?

Chamer produced Christmas ornament Treasured Scenes limited edition products began as a simple fund-raising program in 1982. The purpose of the first fund-raising program through these collectibles was to help meet the marketing and financial needs of several chambers of commerce. These chambers of commerce were looking to expand their own profile in their respective communities as well as their communities’ profile in the United States.

Our first chamber of commerce in Pennsylvania was searching for a solution to raise funds for new street decorations to make their main street in town a more attractive area to new business investors. While the local business members were already supporting this chamber of commerce financially, new sources of revenue were needed to sponsor the purchase and installation of the new street decorations in the town’s commercial district. The first limited edition fund-raiser was created using the Treasured Scenes glass ornaments, and the chamber was able to surpass the funds needed for the purchase of new street decorations while creating a series of over 25 editions to bring in additional revenue annually.

Chamber of Commerce Christmas ornament Today hundreds of chambers of commerce use the Treasured Scenes program as a highly profitable fund-raiser and strong marketing tool for their regions. The Treasured Scenes custom collectibles help market regional resources as they each feature regional resources, such as businesses, cultural events, and historic sites.

Many chamber directors have one or two volunteers from their boards who oversee the success of the Treasured Scenes program each year. Also many chambers partner with member businesses who wish to make the collectibles available in retail stores. Some businesses will purchase them as gifts to loyal customers and friends. Some business members, such as a bed & breakfast or a professional services firm, will offer the collectibles as a premium for their customers’ patronage.

The highly positive results impress each sponsoring chambers of commerce, as the general public becomes more interested in how the chamber of commerce is functioning within their business community. Each collectible generates a positive public image of the region and the business community through these valuable collectibles. Starting an effective fund-raiser for your chamber is easy with our formula for success.

To request more information, get a quote, or to purchase online, please view our fundraising products.

A Sampling of Ornaments Done by Chambers of Commerce

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Request your Treasured Scenes starter packet here.

Marketing Support:

Marketing Material Your marketing efforts for your Treasured Scenes fund-raiser will be enhanced through a digital marketing package that Keystone Specialties will provide for FREE as a convenience. This marketing package will include a sample media release, a digital flier to upload to your website, post on other websites, or print to post in locations around town, & finally a schedule to help you manage your fund-raiser from beginning to end. The road to fund-raising success is clearly marked with the Treasured Scenes program. Start yours now by filling out this short questionnaire:

Request your Treasured Scenes starter packet here.

How to Partner Treasured Scenes with Member Businesses:

Consider the benefits each business member could experience through making the Treasured Scenes product available to their customers. From client “thank you” gifts to premiums for purchases, the options are limitless. Many retail stores will experience increased foot traffic from the publicity the Treasured Scenes collectibles create alone. When approaching member businesses to help raise funds, always promote the rewards the participating member business will gain from helping. The increased publicity, foot traffic, and business transactions the collectibles will promote should be emphasized.

How to Partner Treasured Scenes with a Main Street Program:

If your city is fortunate enough to have a Main Street Program, whose sole purpose is to facilitate the aesthetic revitalization of a traditional community, then the Treasured Scenes program will offer new revenues to help meet your program’s fund-raising goals every year. Regardless of how many grants or how large grants your town has received are, the goal of the Main Street Program, sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, is to offer seed money to these traditional communities for building renovations, lighting improvements, pedestrian-friendly development, seasonal decorations, and other improvements needed to attract development. Low-interest loans as well as grants have bought many decimated urban areas back from the wrecking ball to vital and safe neighborhoods.

How does Treasured Scenes fund-raising play a part in Main Street Programs? It offers a recurring funding source through its limited edition collectibles produced to highlight historic places and events in communities each year. The funds raised from the Treasured Scenes program can be used to match a challenge grant, or repay the low-interest loans available through the Main Street Program

How to Set a Promotional Fund-Raising Goal:

Picture of Money Setting a goal is easy with the Treasured Scenes program. First of all, consider whether the fund-raiser will be held at a specific event, throughout the community for an extended period of time, or both. Also consider which member businesses your chamber will partner with to make the Treasured Scenes collectibles available to the public. Once you know where & how the promotional collectibles will be made available, it’s time to set a fund-raising goal.

If your chamber will be introducing the collectibles at a special event, look at attendance results from the previous similar events. If no historical data is available, start with your city or county’s population.(Use the population for the area where the collectibles will be made available). Once estimated population or attendance figures are available to work with, use one of the following formulas for a good estimate of how many people will purchase your Treasured Scenes collectibles. The formula below has been developed from thousands of organizations’ fund-raising results over 28 years since the first Treasured Scenes fund-raiser was designed.

Event-based fund-raising formula:

Attendance at last similar event (or number of tickets sold if first event)
Attendance divided by 4 = approximate buyer

Population-based fund-raising formula:

City or County Population (Choose according to your historical society’s identity)
Population divided by 4 = approximate number of households
Households divided by 4 = approximate buyers

Don’t short-change your fund-raiser! Purchase according to the formula and follow our FREE fund-raising guide to realize maximum profits from your Treasured Scenes program.

Selecting a Treasured Scenes Collectible for Your Chamber:

Red glass Christmas ornament After selecting a subject image to feature on your chamber’s first Treasured Scenes collectible, consider any other limited edition collectibles already available that feature your town. By adding a new collectible not currently available to your town’s promotional products, Treasured Scenes collectibles will increase the profile of both the chamber of commerce and member business community.

For example, if your town already has a collector’s mug series available to the public, then choose a different promotional product to bring fresh and exciting options to tourists and residents as they make purchases. As new items are developed for the public to purchase, your chamber will experience increased publicity and stronger fund-raising results instead of declining sales and fund-raising revenue.

Request your Treasured Scenes starter packet here.