Booze for Books The Final Countdown

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It’s almost here, April 12 is YALSA’s Booze for Books fundraising event that is focused on raising monies for the association’s Books for Teens project. Books for Teens aims to get books into the hands of underserved adolescents. Throughout the United States supporters of the project are hosting events:

  • In Manhattan (NYC) YALSA members are meeting at a restaurant for dinner, conversation, and YALSA donating.
  • In Virginia a YALSA member is hosting a dinner at her home with book trivia and opportunities to donate to Books for Teens.
  • In Boston, a couple of days before the official Booze for Books there will be a KidLit event that includes Books for Teens fundraising.
  • In Chicago, ALA staff is also getting involved with an event at a watering hole near ALA headquarter offices.

For those hosting and participating in Booze for Books events, thanks for your work in putting the pieces together. Don’t forget that the YALSA Fundraising Guide and Toolkit includes information you may need on how to collect funds, and record donor names, for YALSA’s Books for Teens project. In the Guide you will find donation forms and donor list sheets.

Anyone hosting or attending an event should make sure to Tweet, take photos, post on Facebook, and record video in order to create a record of the event. Don’t forget to tag your photos, tweets, videos, and posts with #b4byalsa and that way all of the buzz from all of the great events people are sponsoring can be easily captured in one place.

Creating Buzz @ Your Booze for Books Event

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Over the past few weeks we’ve been posting on the YALSA Blog about the upcoming Booze for Books event on April 12. It’s a fundraising event focused on raising monies for YALSA’s Books for Teens initiative which gets books into the hands of underserved teens.

We’ve posted about planning for the event, moving beyond the booze box, and getting the word out about your event. This time around I want to throw out some ideas about getting some buzz going just before, during, and just after your event whether it be Mocktails for a Mission, Chocolate for a Cause, Booze for Books or something else.

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April 12, 2012: Get the Word Out

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Over the past few weeks the YALSA Financial Advancement Committee has been posting about Booze for Books. It’s the YALSA event scheduled for April 12 that focuses on raising funds for the Books for Teens initiative.’  If you haven’t read about Booze for Books yet, check out these two YALSABlog posts – Booze for Books: Don’t Miss It and Thinking Outside the Booze Box.

Once your Books for Teens fundraiser is planned and you have a catchy name (Mocktails for a Mission, Libations for Libraries, Tea for Teens, etc.), how do you get the word out?’  Your event involves socializing; doesn’t it make sense to use social media to get the word out. Or does it?’  Getting the word out can be challenging.’  Snail mail or email?’  Email will limit you to only those in your address book but I guess that is true for snail mail too. Do people still have a print address book? Hmmm, the question to ask yourself is how much time do I have/need to get the invites to donors, I mean your friends? If you start now snail mail will work for you.’  You will have a couple more weeks if you use email.’  Not much to think about with these choices.
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Thinking Outside the Booze Box

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What’s all the buzz?’  There has not been this much tweeting since John Corey Whaley won this year’s Printz and Morris Awards!

The initial announcement about Booze for Books, scheduled for April 12, 2012, sure stirred a heated debate.’  While the title says Booze, the event does not have to include booze, and is your opportunity to help raise funds to get books into the hands of needy teens. It’s all a part of YALSA’s Books for Teens initiative.

Options Galore ‘ After reading the initial post about Booze for Books, many YALSA blog readers posted other options for events that don’t incorporate alcohol.’  Janene suggested “Burgers for Books!”’  Beth mentioned quite a few “Pizza for Pages,” “Tea for Teens,” and “Chocolate for a Cause.” Another Beth wrote “Mocktails for a Mission.”’  YALSA’s first Booze for Books fundraiser can be adapted to meet your community’s needs.’  The core idea of this fundraiser is to raise money for Books for Teens, which connects at-risk teenagers with books.’  A novel idea!
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Booze for Books: Don’t Miss It

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Have you heard? April 12 is YALSA’s first Booze for Books event.

What? What’s Booze for Books?
It’s a fundraising event in support of Books for Teens which focuses on raising money to get books into the hands of needy young adults.

How do you get involved?
The idea is that people around the country, and maybe around the world, will sponsor a Booze for Books fundraising event on April 12. Events can come in all shapes and sizes. You might have a book discussion group that night and ask those who attend to donate an amount of their choice to Books for Teens. Read More →