Small business owners and school chaplaincy advocates, Barry and Sharon Weber, are the sort of contacts that any local chaplaincy committee would welcome with open arms. Generous, creative, enthusiastic and passionate about the positive impact chaplaincy can have on Queensland children.
At the Moreton Bay Regional Council Chaplaincy Dinner in August 2015, Barry and Sharon announced a fundraising plan that has the potential to share tens of thousands of dollars across multiple committees in just 12 months – and all from a small business.
“At the dinner last year, we pledged that we would support 10 school chaplaincy services by giving them their own ‘Chappy Weeks’… There were 24 school chaplaincy committees represented in the room and we would have loved to take on all 24 but ultimately we are a small business, and so we pledged to take on 10,” says Sharon.
“And we pledged that we would donate 10% of total sales from our business during that week to the school chaplaincy service, to the selected school for that week.”
Owners of the small automotive repair business, Weber Automotive, Sharon and Barry have had a close connection with their local school chaplaincy committees for many years.
“I’ve been involved in school chaplaincy now for about 8 and a half years. I’ve predominantly been a part of the Albany Creek chaplaincy committee, but I’ve stretched out recently to Pine Rivers Special School with Chappy Tania,” Sharon says.
Incredibly, even after committing to support 10 different chaplains, Barry and Sharon’s generosity seems to know no limits.
“One thing we mentioned, following the night, was that for those remaining 14 committees in the Moreton Bay Regions that didn’t get a Chappy Week, we said that if they referred anyone to our business – and this was ongoing – that we would donate 10% of that sale back to their chaplaincy committee. So I think we’re up to about $700 total donated for that and that’s just since December [2015].”
And the financial benefit to all of the chaplaincy services involved is clear, with everyone getting a share of the blessing.
“…We’re up to about $3500 in ‘Chappy Weeks’ since December and about $700 for the other separate ones. The little ones are really good because we’ve been able to help other schools outside of the ‘Chappy Weeks’, like Bald Hills State School, Pine Rivers State High, Redcliffe State High and Bracken Ridge State High, which we love because we’re connecting to that wider community.”
In case you weren’t convinced just how committed Sharon and Barry were in their support of chaplaincy, for each ‘Chappy Week’ they deliver, they spend $50 out of their own funds on Facebook advertising to promote that event throughout their – and the chaplain’s – social networks.
“With each and every week, I’ll pay for an ad. It’s normally about a $50 ad, depending on how much exposure I think I’m going to get for the chaplain. But every time, we’ll pay for a weeklong ad to coincide with the Chappy Week to build some momentum for it,” Sharon explains.
“So we try and do what we can to build it up before the week starts so we get the bookings in for next week, and then we just see how that particular week goes.
“I share my business page onto my personal one and I’m ‘friends’ with most of the chaplains on Facebook, so then I’ll tag them in my post and that will access all of their friends list and get the ball rolling from there.”
And Sharon has found that the benefits of her ‘Chappy Weeks’ to local school chaplaincy have not just been limited to financial growth.
“It’s been great because chaplaincy has this stigma that it’s all about evangelism and religious education, and it’s not about that at all. It’s been an opportunity for us to tell people really what school chaplaincy is about and clear up some of those misconceptions. It’s just been a talking point with many people.”
Tips
- Consider approaching supportive small businesses with a similar fundraising model
- Upcoming Chappy Week 2016 is a great opportunity to initially approach local businesses, as a part of a bigger event.
- Consider the way you can adapt this percentage fundraising model to the individual businesses that you approach
- Utilise Facebook advertising, boosted and sponsored posts
- Best used when trying to attract ‘friends of friends’ – new people who may be indirectly linked to your cause however normally have no direct connection
- Local small business owners can be incredibly generous, but make sure you approach them for their support with a tangible cause for them to be involved in.
- Try and connect them with a specific project or person with whom they could have direct contact.
- This will result in a stronger connection and it will be easier for the business owner to see how their support is having a practical impact.
- Provide your consistent small business supporters with ongoing updates about how their funds are changing lives.
- Can be a short phone call, or quick email, of thanks.
- This is crucial to developing long lasting relationships between chaplaincy service and supporter.