The air is crisp, and the foliage is brilliant. This autumnal shift isn’t only a tempting time to snuggle up with cozy cardigans. It’s also an excellent time for a fall festival fundraiser.

Fall festivals are a fun way to celebrate a new season and fundraise for an important cause.

But they require careful planning, including setting a budget, managing finances, and collecting donations. Where do you begin?

Start a Braid Money Pool.

Braid is an intelligent solution that simplifies money management, collection, and spending.

Whether you’re planning a fundraiser for your school, church, rock climbing gym, or local fire station, you and your committee will like Braid. So will your festival attendees.

Keep reading to learn more about Braid, set up your free money pools, and plan a successful fall festival that raises lots of money for your chosen organization or nonprofit.

How to manage fall festival finances with Braid

When you imagine your fall festival, it’s fantastic. Apple cider stands. Face painting for kids. Raffles for homemade chutneys.

But you need money to bring this fall festival to life. Here’s how to use Braid Money Pools to prepare for your event financially.

Start your pool and invite committee members to join

Once you download Braid and create pools, you can invite other committee members to join. As soon as they download Braid and accept your invitation, they can manage the pool with you.

Pool admin members can:

Spend pool funds with the Braid debit card
View pool transactions and the pool balance
Get real-time notifications every time someone contributes to the pool
Transfer pool funds to a bank account

Set a budget that everyone can track

How much do you have to spend on the upcoming fall festival?

Once you decide on your budget, add funds to your spiffy new money pool. It’s your dedicated place for fall festival money.

Festival money never mixes with personal bank accounts. It’s in one pool where everyone can see it. Braid Money Pools aren’t just transparent. They’re crystal clear.

Pay for festival expenses from the pool with the Braid card

Admin members can buy festival supplies directly from the pool using the Braid virtual card. You can order a physical debit card, too.

With the Braid card, you can spend 100% of your pool funds wherever Mastercard is accepted. There are no fees.

To keep everyone within budget, you can set spending permissions and limits. This way, no one accidentally overspends.

Pool members can view the balance and transaction history at any time. This way, everyone stays on the same financial page in the lead-up to the event.

Start managing your Fall Festivals finances today! Learn how to start a free Braid Money Pool here.

What are Braid Money Pools?

Braid Pools are a modern money solution for everyone

Braid is a new way to collect, manage, and spend money with others. You can use money pools to collect money during one-time events, like fall festivals, or for ongoing needs, like membership dues, etc.

Braid is innovative

Unlike other peer-to-peer money-transferring apps, Braid is designed for multiple people. You can share your pool with as many organizers or fellow volunteers as you like. We’ll show you how that works below, so keep reading!

Braid is quick

You can set up money pools in minutes.

Braid is free to use

Create as many pools as you need and keep 100% of the money that gets contributed. Raise as much as possible and spend or disburse funds as you see fit.

Braid makes money collection simple

Pool Links make collecting money at your fall festival fundraiser incredibly easy. More on Pool Links below!

How to conveniently raise money with Braid Pool Links

Collecting money for your fall fundraiser is as easy as pumpkin pie with Braid. Here’s what you do:

1. Customize your Pool Link

Every pool comes with a customizable Pool Link. It can say precisely what you want, so people know what they’re tapping on and where it’s taking them. For example, your Pool Link can say “braid.co/p/Fire-Station-Fall-Festival" or "braid.co/p/Fall-Fundraiser-Climbing-Gym."

You can also give your pool a personal touch. Choose a color palette, upload an image, and provide a brief description explaining your fundraising goals and how you plan to invest donation dollars.

Pool Links can go anywhere:

On your organization’s website
In email newsletters
In social media posts
In text messages
As a QR code that attendees scan with their phones

Use your Pool Link to collect admission fees or payments for raffle tickets, baked goods, activities, etc.

3. Collect donations via debit or credit card contributions

Anyone with a debit or credit card can contribute to your pool. Contributors can donate for free by debit card or credit card for a 3% fee.

Donations never mix with anyone’s bank account. They stay in the pool as long as necessary.

With your Pool Link, festival money goes straight to the pool and never mixes with bank accounts. You don’t need to use a cash box and worry about exact change, money envelopes, etc.

Learn how to start a free Braid Money Pool for your Fall Festival here!

How do you plan a successful fall festival?

Now that you know all about Braid, Pool Links and managing festival finances, here’s a closer look at how to plan a smashing (pumpkin) event.

1. Organize your committee

Fall festivals have lots of moving parts. To pull everything off, put together a committee of effective leaders who can organize and delegate.

You might need to fill the following committee “openings:”

Food and drink
Volunteer recruitment
Sponsors
Decoration and set up
Activities
Advertising and marketing

When you use Braid, everyone on your committee can check the balance, view transactions, and stay within budget.

2. Choose a theme, date, and location for your fall fundraiser

When choosing a festival theme, pick something that matches your organization and attendees. The more they enjoy themselves, the easier it will be to collect donations.

You can keep it simple and stick to a fall theme or have a pie, homecoming, Halloween, or Oktoberfest theme.

In addition to choosing an appropriate theme, the following criteria help you decide on the best date and venue:

How many people would you like to attend?
Is the location easy to access?
Is your venue weatherproof? Do you have a plan B?
Do you have/need bathroom facilities?
Does your date coincide with other local or national events that could reduce or bolster attendance?
Is there enough time to prepare?

3. Choose games and activities

There are many fun ways for people to enjoy themselves at a fall festival. Take a look and pick the ones that feel like a great match.

Puppet shows
Face painting
Wet sponge throws
Bobbing for apples
Ring toss
Horseshoe toss
Pumpkin carving
Square dancing
Popcorn machines
Cotton candy machines
Location-specific activities. For example, a rock climbing gym might let beginners try an easy challenge; a firehouse might do a hose demonstration; a dance studio might teach 10-minute dance classes, etc.
Pie offerings and baking competition. Remember to find judges for competitions!
Scarecrow building competition
Chili cook-off
An 80s or a 90s-themed dance party
A tailgating festival is a fun option if your attendees are football fans
Oktoberfest. You can invite local breweries to get involved
No-shave November. Invite people to participate online by sharing their progress and spreading the word. At the end of the month, invite participants to attend an in-person event with food, drink, raffles, etc.

Simplify fall festival finances with a Braid Money Pool. Start yours today!

4. Set your prices

Decide how you will collect money:

Charge one admission fee
Free entry and collect donations for festival offerings and activities
Charge for each offering or activity
Offer different admission tiers. For example, 1 entry + 1 pie slice + 1 child activity

5. Organize food

What’s a fall festival without food? Decide what your budget allows and give your attendees something yummy to munch on.

If your food budget is low, don’t hesitate to ask volunteers to bring something delicious, like caramel-covered apples, buttery popcorn, homemade cookies, etc.

You can offer all-time favorites, like hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, potato salad, and corn on the cob.

6. Plan your setup

A little preliminary planning goes a long way in having a smooth festival. Based on your location and estimated attendance:

How many tables and chairs do you need?
Where will you place signage, food booths, activity centers, etc.?

How do you advertise a fall festival?

It’s easier than ever to create a buzz for your event.

Place flyers around town and advertise on social media. Invite friends and family to spread the word, too. Remember to share festival highlights and fundraising goals in your marketing materials to attract more people.

And remember to use Braid! Braid Money Pools simplify budget and spending and give attendees an effortless, cash-free way to attend.

Fall Festival Fundraisers | How to Manage and Collect Money with Braid Pools

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How to manage fall festival finances with Braid