Fete Guide Contents

Fete Guide – Contents Page

NOTE: This guide has now been superseded by our ‘Free Resources’. We have put together over a hundred ‘how-to’ guides, templates, links and downloads to make your job as easy as it possibly can be. Please click here for a downloadable copy of the Fete Convenor Resources and our 101 Fete Stall Idea Megaguide!

Organising a fete is a massive but rewarding task! We have put together this comprehensive guide to break it down and make it easier for you. It is the full extract of the chapter on organising a fete from the Practical Fundraising Handbook for School and Club Volunteers. To read this pdf online, head here. Otherwise, it’s all set out below!

In this chapter you will learn:
• how to plan what is often the most important day in your fundraising calendar
• strategies to make your fete stand out from all the others in your area
• how to put everything in place for this year and get ready for next year’s fete
• why planned communication is so important of competing messages.
• top tips from the experts for a fabulous fete
• how and where to get your message heard in a noisy world
Great fetes and festivals don’t just pop up— voila! — like magic. They result from months of hard work and rigorous planning. Mix together creative planning, astute preparation and a bit of luck with the weather, and every fete can run smoothly, be an enjoyable day out for all who attend and be financially rewarding to boot.
In Australia, primary schools dominate the fete scene but whether you are organising a community-based festival, fiesta or fair, the same principles apply.
Success rests with what happens behind the scenes. Take a deep breath.
Don’t be frightened. You can organise a fabulous fete because I’m about to share all the know-how I have that will enable you to create a GREAT fete.

Breathe!

If you look at the fete as one big fundraiser, you may well have a panic attack! And run!! Instead, as with any fundraising task, let’s break the event into bite-sized chunks.
My own fete planning goes like this (click on each heading to learn more)

Set a Fete Goal
Make a Date
Dream themes for fetes
Appoint a fete committee
Appoint a fete secretary
Appoint a fete treasurer
The first fete meeting
The Fete file: A fete convenor’s bible

1. Location
2. Entertainment (Amusement rides and On stage entertainment)
3. Insurance and risk management
4. Utilities
5. Hire a generator
6. Equipment hire
7. Money matters
8. Stalls
9. First Aid
10. Publicity
11. Photography
12. Fete program
13. Sponsors
14. Volunteers

The day before the Fete
It’s Showtime! 
Fete Clean Up and Wrap Up