Alright my friends, thanks so much to those of you who took the time to give us feedback! We can only get better with your help! Random.org gave me #13 as our winner this week so Margaret you get $20 off the upcoming Scrap4aCause! As a thanks to the rest of you who commented, you get $5 off your crop fee! Registration will open tomorrow so watch for the paypal link on the website or come see us in the shop and get on the list! The first 20 people to sign up for all three days will get a surprise so don't delay!
I wanted to tell you a little bit about what goes into planning a crop and that might help you understand a little bit about where we come up with related costs, how we plan the things we do and what makes it all come together.
Prizes and goody bags (grand prizes included) are all donated. There is never any cost involved with prizes. My vendors are great about donations and that is why we are lucky enough to give away as much as we do at each of our events. I will admit that some crops are better than others...it's all dependent on who is feeling generous!
Classes and make n takes are a recent addition that seem to be well received. We try and offer a wide variety of classes of all costs...usually ranging from $12-$40 depending on materials, length and skill level. Teachers have to consider their cost for materials when they plan a class and then factor in their time to plan and teach the class. We are pleased to be able to offer as many free make n takes as we do and we will continue to do that at all of our crops.
Food is a tricky thing. Our first few large crops were catered (to a point) by local restaurants but we quickly learned that the food wasn't always what we hoped and some restaurants weren't as worried about holding up their end of the deal in regards to delivery and quality. In light of these facts we began cooking our own meals. Although this is very time consuming (thanks, Mom!) you seem to like the home cooked meals much better. We have had a few glitches in that respect but overall I think the response has been positive. Therefore, we will continue to cook your crop meals for you. We have wrestled with how many meals to cook and what to cook and when to serve, etc and for this next crop we will make some changes based on feedback that you have given!
There are many other costs involved with hosting a crop and those are all the things that go into determining the daily rate. Employees, tables, room, drinks, name tags, advertising, credit card fees, etc. are all things that have to be paid for. The charity that we are donating to always gets a healthy portion of your registration fee and on occasion there are miscellaneous costs that we don't plan for. These are all things that are considered when deciding on a crop fee. When we offered the no-frills Friday, our cost may be more than the $15 charged but the costs are offset in the next two days.
So, there you have it, everything you ever wanted to know (or maybe not) about what goes into hosting a crop. We have a great time doing it and hope that you will keep coming, keep giving us valuable feedback and keep scrapping! Stay tuned for tomorrow's email about Scrap4aCause!
