An easy way to show your Optimist Club is accountable

Does your Optimist Club brag about the great projects that you do throughout the year to make you community a better place to live? It's okay to do so. Really it is.

When we speak to others about the accomplishments of our Optimist Clubs, we recharge our enthusiasm and excite those with whom we are speaking with the promise of potential projects yet to come. Demonstrating that we have led successfully in the past makes it possible for potential volunteers and sponsors to envision more success. People want to associate with winners and that is okay too. It's human nature to want to be among the best - the in-crowd - the movers and shakers. After all, those who get things done are just more fun than others who merely talk about doing something; not to mention, that when I make a donation, I like to know that it is being used appropriately.

One of the age-old ways that corporations tell us about their accomplishments is through the use of an annual report. If you own stock or have invested in a mutual fund, you have probably received an annual report loaded with numbers and fine print too small to read. Not to fret! That is not the way your Optimist Club annual report should look.  Your Optimist Club Annual Report should touch on the highlights of the year, the goals for the coming year, discuss who is involved and give a brief look at how your money is spent. And the reader should be able to finish it in the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee.

Serving as the Governor of the Pacific Northwest District last year, I decided to create an annual report for our district. It is an example of what your club can do at home using Publisher.

The accompanying presentation was given to those who attended our second quarter meeting when all recognition for the previous year was distributed. Take a look and see just how easy it is to share the state of the organization with your constituents.

Annual Report 2009-10 - PNW District - Optimist International

I know your stakeholders will appreciate learning and they will thank you for not being bored.

How do you spell fun?

Is there a reason that fundraising begins with FUN? I think so, but maybe we should ask the Mid Day Optimist of Marshall, Missouri for their opinion. After all, they are the originators of the annual Adult Team Spelling Bee Contest - where all persons with good vocabularies and their friends go to enjoy an evening of entertainment in support of youth projects in their community.

I am always in search of new ideas to share on the Experience Optimism blog about activities that your group might do to raise awareness and money at home. When I came across the announcement in the Marshall Democrat-News for the 12th Annual Spelling Bee, I knew I had to find out more and share the project with you.

After two emails, I had the whole story from Michelle Pointer, Secretary, Mid Day Optimist Club, of how to put on a Spelling Bee fundraiser.

It is so well written, clear and concise, that I'm not going to attempt to rewrite it. Please read the project outline here: Adult Team Spelling Bee.

Of course there is more to the activity than a spelling bee. The evening includes a silent and live auction, food and adult beverages; but probably the most crucial element is recruiting teams to participate and their sponsors. The more teams in the event, the more money the group will make from their entry fees, not to mention from their bids on the auction items. And I think we all realize that we have more fun when we attend these types of events with our friends. Creating a reason to bring a group of friends together, to give them a team activity to participate in, sets a positive tone for the evening.

So yes, there is a reason that fundraising begins with FUN, even if the origin of the word doesn't support my theory.

Thanks so much to Michelle Pointer and the Mid Day Optimist Club of Marshall, Missouri for sharing their project with us.