For community theaters, schools, churches and nonprofit organizations
Guides
Practical notes for anyone planning a fundraiser or staging a show, whether or not it is one of ours. These come from doing the work.
Fundraising Event Ideas for Nonprofits
What each kind of event actually asks of your volunteers, where the money really comes from, and the three questions that decide which one fits your organization.
Fire Department Fundraiser Ideas
The dependable earners for a volunteer department, what departments usually get wrong, and how to turn a town’s goodwill into more than another chicken dinner.
Event Sponsorship Packages
What a local sponsor is actually buying, a tier structure that sells, what to charge, when to ask, and why category exclusivity is worth more than any logo.
Christmas Fundraiser Ideas for Nonprofits
Holiday fundraisers sorted by lead time, with what each one nets and what it costs in volunteers, plus the December calendar weekend by weekend.
Church Fundraiser Ideas
Why the usual church fundraiser moves money around inside the congregation, what a church already owns that other organizations rent, and the events that reach the rest of the town.
How to Choose a Christmas Play for Your Community Theater
A practical guide to picking a Christmas play for a community theater: cast size, music licensing, rehearsal time, royalties and the questions to ask before you commit.
How to Produce a Play When Nobody Involved Has Done It Before
A first-time producer’s guide: what the job actually is, which roles you must fill, the order things happen in, and the mistakes that cost the most.
Turning a Christmas Show Into a Real Fundraiser
How a holiday production actually makes money: sponsorship tiers, ticket pricing, program advertising and the break-even math nonprofits need before they commit.
What It Actually Costs to License and Stage a Play
A plain breakdown of play licensing costs: script fees, per-performance royalties, music and backing track licensing, and the expenses first-time producers miss.
Staging a Musical Without an Orchestra
How community theaters stage shows with music using professionally produced backing tracks: what it costs, what it sounds like, and what it demands of your sound setup.
Running Auditions for a Community Production
How to run auditions for a community theater production: announcing them, what to have people prepare, casting fairly, and telling people no without losing them.
