Funding...

[Greg Chrise]

Here's another one!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=bMUogbMHGE4

[GothycDesigns]

Thanks for some of the advice. I printed out that article from AOLhometown. Good read so far. But as for funding..well its definitely not gonna be for this year. Mainly I would be using it to secure either rental space or property and storage and basic building supplies. I'm not looking to go buy the big animated props and such, because we can always make them.

There are some good ideas. We are planning on contacting people/groups and such. There is local womens shelter that has a nice warehouse that use to belong to a Lumber supply store that I worked for. We thought about if they let us use the space, x amount of proceeds go to them and their causes for helping.
Great location, plently parking, on a main hwy so it has the potential.

We'll see, thanks again.

[Haunting Copy]

We are planning on contacting people/groups and such. There is local womens shelter that has a nice warehouse that use to belong to a Lumber supply store that I worked for. We thought about if they let us use the space, x amount of proceeds go to them and their causes for helping.
Great location, plently parking, on a main hwy so it has the potential.

We'll see, thanks again.

Gothyc,

The animal shelter in my town hosts a haunted house each year. For their location, they have an agreement with the local chamber of commerce to use their building, which is an old jail.

In 2007, the chamber required *half* of the proceeds. This year, though, they're not asking for anything. Maybe they caught some flak for asking for *any* of the proceeds. Dunno.

Anyway, I wanted to tell you this so you'd feel encouraged. Arrangements like that can work to everyone's benefit.

Best wishes,
Sarah

[GothycDesigns]

Thanks Sarah, I hope, if we take it on correctly that it would work all around. Even if we didn't get to be there, we would still donate to a local charity. We're gonna also look into the Chamber for ideas from them, any past history info on previous haunts and what worked and what didn't. So I know we can expect in doing a lot of research. If planning right we hope to put the county on the map with a good haunt. Then we'll plan for bigger show and more permanant facilty to make a spot
in the NW haunt scene.

Thanks again. You'll have to keep me posted in how it goes with the haunt you mentioned. Have a great season.

[JamBam]

Funding

I owned a tanning salon a few years ago. I bought it with three beds, expanded it to five. Wanting to expand it to nine, I went to the bank on the corner. The tanning salon had been in business three years before I bought it and I had had it for one.

After following all the process that I read about in the business magazine articles, including a business plan with conservative numbers, getting the banker to inspect the business, providing everything the bank asked for, it came down to one thing. The banker turned me down because I had no money. If I had had money or equity, he would have loaned me money. I was upset because if i had the money, I would NOT have asked for a loan. But now I realize that it takes money to make moey. And if you have money they will loan you their money,so you don't even have to use your own money.

I even had letters from a wholesaler that guaranteed a price for the tanning bed equipment incase of default. But thebank only wanted real estate, bonds, or cds as collateral. And in todays financial crisis occurring because of derivatives and greedy uncollatoralized loans, the world is sinking fast and it is so ironic.

In this business, there are so many variables that the old way of building up an event from scratch like nearly everybody here has done is the way to do it. Look at our heros like Larry K, Ben A, Rich S, who have all done it that way.

Good Luck!

[GothycDesigns]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Yeah I totally want to build everything when I can from the ground up. But sometimes it does help to have a little backing money. I'll do some research and go from there.

[Haunting Copy]

Gothyc,

Here is a press release about a haunt in Canada that received a grant from the city's tourism department.

http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archiv.../10/c5429.html


Anyway, I was thinking about your situation as I was reading it. In your first post, you said some people thought it was a "waste" and that funding was limited, so I'm guessing you're in a quite small town.

Even in small towns there are tourism/business/historical groups who will open their ears to new ideas - especially if they see something in it for *them*. What I have found in talking to people is they don't realize the revenue potential for haunted attractions. They may be imagining their neighbor's haunted garage from back when they were kids, and since they probably haven't been to a haunt since they were like 12, they can't envision how far the industry has grown.

And that's what you'd have to prove to them.

If it's worth the effort to you, you can make a presentation. It wouldn't have to be fancy, just convincing. Once you got a few of the town's business leaders on board, start-up may move along more smoothly.

Sarah

[Greg Chrise]

That isn't a "grant" from the city. It is Fort Henry coming up with additional re enacment events to make up for falling tourism. Fort Henry is one of Canada's national historical sites.

I can't imagine Americas Park Dept allowing a gypsy haunt into any national park or landmark. Some parks have been operated by private companies but such an occurance would mean the end of their contract.

American cities do not give Grants, they might let a charity use a city owned facitity?

A grant is awarding money that provides some service to the community or population at large.

Once you already own an attraction that has all the bells and whistles it is very easy to place it somewhere and find and existing organization that needs a boost raising funds. However, the haunt items have generally been built up over years with private funds. Funds that came from working somewhere or from many peple who have worked and become part of the investment.

Plus if you read the papers or watch TV right now in the present economy, students in america will not be even able to get college loans in the coming season, grants are being diminished due to the operational cash flow problems.

In America building a haunt comes from getting personal loans that must be paid back with intrest or by doing with out some luxuries to accomplish this goal. It can be done from having smaller events and reinvesting all the funds that were obtained from ticket sales over the course of many years.

For example If you have props, you join forces with a party rental place and get paid to decorate a corporate halloween party that is spending $20,000 on a company picnic that happens to be held in October. Or you find a haunt group that has had lack luster results because their show is lame, put props and masks in the event and get a percentage of the revenue. With increased inventory and more locations served equals more revenue return on your investment. It s work not magic or money from the government you don't every have to pay back.

Eventually you have sufficient resources and experience to start your own haunt. If you were unfortunate enough to have to begin at this level, it can still be done.

You can get credit if you already have money in assets and proven balance sheets of operation. By that time you don't want anyone getting a percentage in most cases. Private investors will forego intrest payments if the revenue percentage equals or exceeds what they would get in intrest. In many cases that 20% or 30% you are going to pa out IS the total profits on your event that could have been reinvested. Do you want to grow or be a moocher that at some point loses an event and still owes money to other parties?

Everything must be paid for and that takes work. Then it is a resource or if it isn't active, it is something taking up space that might cost something. If things are sitting around they are also rotting away.

You have to think more like a merchandiser, the haunt or party is your product. Even some really big attractions still owe mask makers money years down the line. How dd this happen? The mask or prop makers partook of the ticket sales as an investor of sorts with a resource already fashioned. None of it has been a gift from God or the Government. The money comes from ticket sales. Why would someone give you free money so you can sell tickets?

All you need is a piece of dumpster cardboard and a borrowed magic marker to do that. Where does the you need money part come into this?

[Haunting Copy]

Greg makes excellent points. My post, though, was not so much intended to show a specific route to follow, but rather a way to start thinking about various ways to approach a grant proposal.

For example, if you happen to be a minority, you can go to www.cfda.gov to seek out programs that might benefit you.

It's just a place to start.

For your needs, Gothyc, I don't think I'd recommend a grant, anyway, simply because of the enormous amount of time it takes in researching, writing, securing, and reporting. By the time you finish all of that, you could have raised your own funds by way of added services, like parties, as Greg and the others have suggested.

And, by doing those other services, you are also getting your name out there in the community. The best advertising of all!

Aside from those two options, you may want to consider micro-loans. Your local chamber of commerce should be able to point you to local sources.

[GothycDesigns]

Yes there are some valid points indeed. Well in generally the ideas was of curiousity. I know that grants to any degree will take time. I figured while researching and applying for siaid grants, we would build our props and wall panelsa and such when we could. Then when if any grant does, hypothetically is approved, the this would be to help secure a place to hold the event, as say like a deposit.

I have thought of a similar idea of having/making props and putting them for rent, but got to think about any liability issues and such, unless we were onsite running them. you know those people around christmas time will go and put up your christmas stuff you so you don't have to. Well I thought about a similar company, but for halloween yard decor and such....lol.

So in a sense. I am just researching all possible ways to find finding and grants popped into my mind. If setup right, it can serve the community by getting some of the high school kids involved. they volunteer time, and you write of a volunteer waiver for their school they have give a sort of community service and to still participate in the huantings. I don't have time to write any more now but will add more when I can.

7pm At home now, can write more. I was at work earlier. We plan on doing a lot or what we can to get the community involved. The area we are in, or would like to put it at is a small town. But it would bring some minor economy during the season if townies have to come out to see us. We were/are planning on speaking to someone at the local Chamber of Commerce, but figured it would be best to get some idea of a plan/proposal for them to look at. We had also thought about the local county fairgrounds, we asked for pricing of rental space and told them what we were wanting to do. The lady we were speaking with said she would contact us. A Month goes by and she says " I've mentioned it too the board but they would like more info from you." I told her that if we knew what a going rate was, we would be able to better plan a floor plan which would give final sq.ft. of the area we need. There are plenty of exhibit barns/halls that would be great. Even thought if we knew other haunters, then we could have a bigger show to promote for the area. But they dropped the ball and didn't seem to serious. We explained what it would do for the area and for them because of other vendors we would try to setup for outside of the haunts i.e. food, souveneir stuff and whatever would be a good sellers.

So money wise, what it would mean for us is to secure a spot in advance for a future venue there or whereever we are trying to go for. I would never look at grants as a quick fix and hope for a $100,000 grant, thats less than likely to happen unless our propsal is GREAT. So in researching this and what others say. It gives us things and suggestions to work on. To have a pretty good propsal to hand out. So I am hoping this makes sense.

I'm all for making it work for everyone involved whether is exposure for a local artist, product supplier and etc. Just need to find a good starting point or direction.

Thanks for reading.