mikklynn...in case you'd like to start a group in Minneapolis :-)
How to Start a Scrapbook Group/Club?
BACKGROUND: It was suggested to me to start a scrapbook group by a lady I met over the Internet. Great idea but where do I start? In 1998 gracefulbee.com had an article on "how to start a scrapbook club" and "what's a crop". I used these as outlines for what my idea of a group would be. Unfortunately, gracefulbee is gone. Our group has been together for 14 yrs. and I love spreading “crop fever”.
www.facebook.com/groups/SunshineScrappersFL/GOOD REASONS TO ORGANIZE A CLUB:
*By having a set meeting, you will be assured of a designated time to crop.
*You will make new friends.
* Share page ideas.
*You can share your tool & supplies. Perhaps you have never used an oval and are considering purchasing one--club members generally pool their supplies.
* You can ask advice of fellow scrapbooker's before progressing with a project or page.
*Keep abreast of news in the industry.
*Spread the enthusiasm.
*Fellowship. It's a great way to enjoy the craft with others who understand and share your passion.
FINDING MEMBERS: I logged on a few scrapbooking websites and looked up Florida scrappers in the central FL area. I emailed them personally introduced myself and explain what I was doing-this was 2001. We started out at my house simply because we were so small and it would keep the cost down. After a few months of getting together word spread and more people came to crops. We average 30-40 members per month.
OUTLINE & THINGS TO CONSIDER:
*How often will the group meet? I chose MONTHLY. I picked second Saturday of every month for the simple fact it didn’t fall on any major holidays and so everyone would know when the next crop would be.
*What day or night will be most convenient? I chose Saturday because it was easier for more people to attend.
*How long will the crops last? We currently meet for 12 hrs. The longer the hours the more people can attend.
*Where would the group meet? This would depend on how many members (the amount of people cropping), the cost of rent (if an issue), the space, the tables and chairs (do they have any on the property), can you have food (in the room)-lots of factors.
Our local library allowed us to use their meeting room, which held 7 6ft. tables and lots of chairs for FREE. You could rotate each other’s houses but if you grew too big this wouldn't work also- consider tables and space.
Churches are a good place to start too. Churches charge a rental fee -usually it's just a donation since it's a non-profit organization. You could try a Community Hall but they usually charge by the hour. Hotels are a good resource too. It simply depends on the above factors. Most places will ask if you carry insurance for your group.
*Will children be allowed to attend? If this is MY time out then I preferred no children under the age of 16 yrs. (Teenagers?-Mom’s use your own judgement).
*Set up? The group purchased “Crop bowls” for a $1 each at Dollar Tree that we place on the tables for trash. You can also use “brown lunch bags” and tape them to the tables. We also place our tables in a square we call "pods". We place 2 8 ft. tables together and on both ends of the 2 tables we place an 8 ft. table making it a big square. This "pod" concept is wonderful for socializing and sharing. You can get 8 people per pod while enjoying a 4 ft space. We average 30-40 scrappers per month.** We have a kitchen with microwave, 2 ovens, fridge, etc. WiFI is included. Also, electric outlets are positioned per pod. Restrooms are easily accessed off the crop room.
*How would we handle food and beverages? Since we pay a monthly rental fee to crop we have money leftover for supplies. We purchase supplies for the group -plates, napkins, hand and dish soap, toilet paper, plastic ware etc.. This way we always have what we need and this keeps the cost of rent down. Pot Luck-The food coordinator assigns the group a theme meal idea once a month. Each of us contributes an item or two to make a big meal. Each member is responsible for their own beverage for the day. Bringing your own beverage keeps the cost down (no cups needed) it also helps because many like different beverages. We used to assign an item to bring like napkins, plastic ware etc. but if you couldn’t make the crop we were left without that item(s).
*What supplies are needed for a crop? As mentioned above: our crop fee pays for trash bags, paper towels, toilet paper, hand soap, baby wipes (cleaning the tables), tablecloths (plastic disposable), raffle tickets, coffee and coffee supplies and any tools we may need such as a utensil holder, more crop bowls, etc.
*How much space will be available? We like to have the members that are coming to let us know so we can have ample space to crop. So our FB page is where the ladies sign up for crops under EVENTS. FB also allows us to communicate and read our monthly newsletter. We have a kitchen to place/keep the food.
*Will you limit membership? All are welcome. Not all members will attend every crop.
*Will you charge a crop fee? Depending on what the group wants to do will depend on a fee. Since we meet at a church which charges a $75.00 rental fee we would need to charge a crop fee. You can do so much with the overage. The money goes right to the group members on prizes; supplies for the group, and anything else to do that would make it fun. You pay the $6 for ONLY the crops you attend. The money either goes to the church we crop at or back to us-the group.
The year is January-December (December all the dues go to the church). Once the prizes, supplies for the next year, any items needed are paid. The leftover money is donated to the church. The money bag starts at $0 each year. **To keep rental cost low-we set up the room and take the room down as well as take out the trash, clean the dishes, vacuum the room and buy our own dish soap, paper towels, toilet paper, plates, etc. It helps everyone. * We set up a small table by the “front door” with a notebook and money bag. You pay on your own. This is a honor system.
**Other fun things Retreats-started 2 yrs. after forming the group, Christmas Crop, Anniversary Crop, Spring April 2 day crop & in October a 2 day -Garage sale. We theme our crops a few times a year and decorate the room. It brings fresh and fun ideas to the mix. Most crops are low key and for big crops we add door prizes and raffles. The Mom’s in the group rotate our son’s coming and helping the ladies bring their stuff to and from their cars (in the morning and the evening) for tips. The ladies loves this and so do the boys. We call the boys/helpers the Sunshine Schleppers.
*Will you have officers? We have a treasurer, a retreat coordinator, crop coordinator, website manager, food coordinator, openers and closers of crops
*Swaps? Yes, you may host and join at anytime.
*Will you allow sales at crops? I chose not to have consultants sell at crops because I didn't want the pressure to buy and favor one company. Business owners can display catalogs and business cards to help the members and the consultants. The group is a non-profit organization. This is a great way for consultants to gather up business. We help each other.
*What about prizes or gifts? We will occasionally give away prizes. Our leftover crop fee money and raffle money has bought through the yrs. the groups Anniversary crops the following with our logo on it.: neck wallets, mugs, lunch box coolers, recycle grocery bags, luggage tags, Patch, pens, lanyards, etc. Each scrapper received one.
*Group LOGO?: We had a logo designed (embroidered) so we can have the logo on shirts, tote bags, backpacks, hats, Tervis Tumbler etc. The girls can bring their item(s) to be embroidered for a small fee. Our signature color is PURPLE.
*What are the goals of the group? To enjoy the fellowship of other scrapbookers, make new friends, grow into a great group of central FL scrappers, and finish those albums/projects.
Motto: “Making Friends, while making Memories”
*What about having a website just for the group? We’ve has an MSN, Yahoo and now a FB site. I write a monthly newsletter which is posted on the website each month which keeps all informed on our monthly activities and future crops info. At our Anniversary crop we take a picture of our group dressed in our purple shirts. The photo is placed on our websites homepage each year.
*What can we do to make the crops from getting old? I thought we could have themed crops. It would help us to look forward to fun things while making each crop different. The ideas would be endless. We have a list of themes we’ve used.
*Group Garage sale? We bring some of our scrapbook items that we find we don't use that we want to sell each month. These are placed in the garage sale area of the room. We put our name on the item and a price. *Consultants can sell their discontinued products for 50% off or less. They LOVE this.
* Raffles: The ladies enjoy the 50/50 raffles. Who doesn’t like going home with some cash? $1 a ticket or 5 tickets for $3. 50% off the winning go to a scrapper once we pull a ticket. The other 50% goes to the group for door prizes or a big item for every group member. These do very well. We also had our consultants donate items that we raffled to make more $$ for the group. This is a big hit.
By: Stacey Gonzalez~ FOUNDER (Sunshine Scrappers)
