SMASHING SUCCESSFUL TOUR/S THIS YEAR!

Click any photo to see larger. Read the story below the photos.

When the HKT team first met in December they hoped they might raise $10,000 through ticket sales and donations. They quickly got to work, creating an ambitious line up of 16 home tours, some live and some virtual.

Ticket sales opened in late February using a new online platform called Givebutter.  A two-page spread in The Leader and a booth at the Home and Garden Show sparked public interest, and impassioned phone calls to businesses and supporters netted generous donations.

By mid-March the HKT team realized this could indeed be a big year. They moved the goal posts to $15,000.

Ticket sales skyrocketed again in early April, surpassing $25,000, and the stunned HKT team wondered how to balance desire for more funds for scholarships with the need to keep the live tour challenges in check to ensure everyone would enjoy a quality experience.  In an unprecedented move, the team decided to cap ticket sales, declaring the live tour a “sellout” several days before the event. This occurred after 750 tickets were issued and we spent some time calculating how quickly people would need to be ushered through the homes to see what each home had to offer. We wanted each ticket holder to enjoy their experience rather than being rushed through. We were half-hoping that damp weather might cause some ticket holders to stay cozy at home and only participate in the virtual tour, which seemed to be the case, with approximately 145 ticket holders who did not check in for the live tour.

By Saturday April 27 the Home & Kitchen Tour had raised $28,000 in ticket sales and another $6,700 in donations/sponsorships, for a whopping combined total of $34,700.

Feedback from the (slightly soggy) live tour participants was glowing.  They called the tour “a magnificent success,” praised the team for being “well organized” and said it ran ”pretty darn smooth.. and [was] fun, too!” They raved about the beautiful homes, with each visitor having a personal favorite. They reported that the parking and traffic was well-managed, and the lines at even the Windship to be sometimes only 5 minutes long and never more than 45.

What made the tour so successful? Certainly the fabulous Windship and Starrett mansion were big draws.  There were a variety of home styles on the tour. Some homeowners participated in the tour to answer questions and provide some history of their home. But that’s only part of the story.

Tour participants loved that the homes were within walking distance, making for a pleasant day exploring Uptown on foot. The Givebsutter ticket system was easy for volunteers to use, and the participants liked the convenience of curbside check-in with volunteers coming to the drivers’ doors.  They liked the attractive maps, packed with home profiles, essential information, and a QR code to access an interactive map. Also new and popular this year were early check-in at the branch meeting and early access for AAUW members to some of the live tour homes.

Contributing to the tour success was a comprehensive publicity campaign that utilized some creative new tactics as well as traditional channels of communication. At every step of the way the AAUWPT webpage was the nexus for activity and public information.

A shout out to the generous sponsors, homeowners, Bayside Housing, Jefferson Transit, and the posse of enthusiastic volunteers who powered this event, including over 70 well-trained docents, 20 parking and traffic wranglers, 14 Welcome Center ambassadors, and  our membership who bought tickets and talked it up with their friends and neighbors. We also received feedback and input from docents about their experiences and what could be improved in the next live tour, with well thought out input that will be invaluable for the next HKT team.

The event boosted AAUW’s reputation as a positive and impactful force in the community.  We are proud to be part of such a passionate and engaged organization.

We excelled at this together.  Thank you all!

The HKT Team

Teri Nomura, Home and Kitchen Tour Chair and Virtual Tour Chair
Eileen Baratuci, Live Tour Chair
Katherine DeForest Evans, AAUW Publicity and HKT Publicity Chair
Laura Guth and Leslie Roubal: All things technical including ticket sales, creating virtual tour website, videotaping for presenters and many other roles!
Donna Hengeveld, Welcome Center Chair
Lynn Meyer, UWF Development VP – sold most of the SPONSOR ads
Bill Myer, Parking and Event Planning
Ruth O’Meara, writer of home summaries
Debbi Steele, Jean Stastny and Marilyn Sandau along with Eileen Baratuci, Home selection Committee
Debbi Steele and Jean Stastny, Docent Coordinators