Use a showcase exhibit at your next event to spotlight your club’s service and fellowship opportunities.

By Julie Saetre

Is your club planning to host or attend a community event soon? Make the most of it with a showcase exhibit. Whether you’re staffing a fundraising booth, hosting a 5K or holding a club open house, a display is an ideal vehicle to get more people interested in your club. Use these showcase ideas as inspiration: 

• Picture the possibilities. Select 10 to 15 photos (depending on the size of your space and the expected crowd level). Include shots of service projects, fundraising events and fellowship activities. Enlarge the photos for more impact and consider adding captions or brief descriptions. Choose your images carefully: Focus on children being helped or having fun (and make sure you have photo releases signed by parents or guardians), members working together and other action shots. Find more tips for getting great shots on page 7 of the Kiwanis Tips & Tools guide. 
• Show and tell. Include items from past and present projects, gatherings and accomplishments. Examples: a T-shirt from a recent walk-a-thon or race your club sponsored, an invitation to an upcoming fundraiser, a letter of appreciation from a local official or a beneficiary of a service project. 
• Power up. Prepare a PowerPoint or similar presentation of your club’s greatest hits. Keep each slide simple and easy to read, with one key highlight or statistic per slide. Intersperse your text slides with colorful photos (similar to the ones suggested in the first bullet point) and contact information for your club. Be sure to include slides that invite new members to join your club! 

Suggest taking time at a club meeting to brainstorm on how to best highlight your club. Your showcase exhibit should serve as a conversation starter with future members — so make sure current members are ready to share their own Kiwanis stories! 

Need a fresh fundraising idea? In recent years, one Kiwanis club has partnered up for an annual competition.

By Julie Saetre

A sports-related fundraiser is no stranger to the Kiwanis family. But when the Kiwanis Club of Methuen in Massachusetts, U.S., initiated a new event two years ago, they didn’t go with a golf, basketball, baseball, soccer or even a hockey tournament. The Methuen club rolled in a different direction: a bocce tournament.  

In part, the fundraiser is a good example of a Kiwanis club knowing its community — and taking advantage of the potential partners and resources around them.  

“We’re blessed to have a Sons of Italy Bocce Center in our town,” says Eileen Giordano, club secretary. “Many cities and towns have community bocce courts outdoors.”  

So, in 2022, the club launched its bocce tournament, in which teams of four compete for the Gold Cup Award. All skill levels are welcome, Giordano says.  

“This game is easy enough to learn, so no experience is needed to have a good time,” she adds. “The tournament director gives a brief tutorial at the beginning of play.” 

Fees and partners
To raise funds, the club charges each player an entry fee to compete. That fee also entitles competitors to breakfast pastries and coffee, as well as lunch donated by a local restaurant. Prior to competition day, club members send letters to business and community partners asking for support through goods or services — or by sponsoring a bocce lane, the “pallino” (the small target ball during play) or the event itself.

The Methuen Sons of Italy Lodge provides the tournament director and two referees. The top four teams receive trophies.

The 2024 tournament included players from Kiwanis clubs representing six communities, including Methuen.  

“Methuen Kiwanis made almost US$6,000,” Giordano says. “[The members] built relationships with other club members who, hopefully, will return next year.” 

Are your fundraisers getting stale?
If your members are losing their enthusiasm or the public’s interest is waning, a new approach could be just the refresher your club needs. Take time to brainstorm with your club members. What resources in your community could be an inspiration — and a partner — for a new fundraiser?  

To see what works for other clubs, scroll through the fundraising category on the Kiwanis International blog.