Utah
Uintah Basin Chapter Spotlight
Evolving into a Fund Raising Machine
July/August 2007
By Mike Laughter
At the 2007 National Convention, the Uintah Basin Chapter received the award for “Most Improved Chapter.” What this means is that this chapter showed the most improvement in overall net dollars and banquet efficiency (net-to-gross) between the 2005 and the 2006 banquets. After recently completing their 2007 banquet and fundraiser, we are asking ourselves if it is possible for a chapter to receive this same award two years in a row. Although there are still many banquets to be completed in 2007, the Uintah Basin chapter has made a very strong case to receive this award in back to back years. And who knows, they may be in the running to do it 3 years in a row if their upward trend continues.
History
Let’s take just a minute to examine the history of this chapter. After locating data that dates back to 2002, during the last six years the chapter has functioned as follows:
| Banquet Year | Banquet Attendees | Net Dollars Raised |
| 2002 | 34 | $1,675 |
| 2003 | 107 | $8,300 |
| 2004 | 151 | $10,600 |
| 2005 | 52 | $6,400 |
| 2006 | 175 | $17,800 |
| 2007 | 279 | $46,300 |
As you can see, this Chapter, much like many, started off slow. They started to gain some momentum and then had a little dip. In 2006, as you can plainly see, this chapter “took off.” In 2005, Mike Laughter became the Regional Director for this chapter and what follows is Mike’s accounting of what has happened since that time.
Mike Laughter Recollects on the Uintah Basin Chapter
I started my employment two and half years ago with the Mule Deer Foundation, (that’s three banquet seasons in Regional Director years). That will also be the time span in regards to chapter evolution in this particular case. My first encounter with the Uintah Basin Chapter, would have been about the fourth banquet that I had covered as an RD. I rolled into Vernal with the impression that there were going to be over 100 people in attendance and that every chapter completely understood our objective; make money for mule deer and be very efficient at it. This results in a higher return to the chapter in the form of chapter rewards. Money they can personally spend on approved projects in their own area. Needless to say, this point isn’t always that clear. However, I personally understand the thought process coming from the volunteer side of things. Young chapters, much like Uintah Basin was at the time, have a tendency to give away the ranch so to speak. They have solicited attendees from their place of employment, their churches, families and friends, and the last thing they want to have happen is to disappoint them in any way. It isn’t MDF or the Regional Director that is held accountable…..but instead, because of their closeness to these individuals, it is them personally. Their only objective is to have everyone in the room be a winner. As you well know, that is next to impossible and the end result is poor efficiency because of over-spending and minimal, if any, money for projects. That’s what is known as the “early years” - not much fruit for their labor in regard to funding projects.
Over the next few years, they start to evolve somewhat, vowing to be more careful with spending and working harder on donated items to fulfill the “free stuff” need. Due to their continued diligence they tend to have more productive banquets and they start getting a higher return on their investment in the form of chapter rewards; basically, they start to make a difference. They are now funding mule deer projects and the people in town can see that their local chapter is doing something with the money. This gets the town and surrounding community more involved.
By year five or six they evolve even further, banquet attendees are easier to come by and things start to roll. When they visit the local sporting goods store or other local vendors, donations come more easily. When they hang their banquet flyers, the phones start to ring and when they send their banquet mailer, they find themselves meeting people all over town to sell them tickets so they will be eligible for the early bird. Instead of begging people to come, they find themselves worried about having enough space to seat everyone on banquet night. At this point they are committed to the cause - ensuring the conservation of mule deer and black-tailed deer and their habitat. They watch their spending and they plan their live and silent auctions around donations not purchased items. This is when they become really efficient and the return on their investment increases immensely. They have more money to fund more local projects and they “get it.”
The first time I attended the Uintah Basin banquet there were 52 people in attendance. The committee didn’t know me and there hadn’t been a trust developed between us. They weren’t sure that what I was selling was for real. Needless to say, they didn’t make a lot of money.
The second time I traveled to the Basin they knew what to expect from me and I knew what to expect from them. There were 175 people in attendance and as you can see by the above figures, the increase was dramatic. They ended up the most improved chapter, out of 70, and received an award at our National Convention.
This year’s trip was my third to Uintah Basin. In my conversations with the committee leading up to their banquet, I simply had a feeling that it would be good. But to tell you the truth, I had no idea that this year’s banquet would have had 279 in attendance, with over $46,000 dollars raised for mule deer! Their banquet efficiency sky rocketed to a phenomenal 62.9% net-to-gross. My first call that Monday was to Bob Meulengracht, Director of Field Operations, to see if there had ever been a back-to-back recipient of the “Most Improved Chapter” award. That point remains to be seen, but I do know they will be getting an award for the “60% Net Club”. I also understand that anytime a chapter learns from one year to the next, believes in the mission, and trusts their RD, they can evolve into an efficient, money-making, project funding machine that is making a difference on the ground for mule deer, which is the real reason any of us do this anyway.
I would like to extend a special thanks to the Uintah Basin committee for the friendships we have made and the things they have taught me. I’ll see you on the stage when awards are presented!
In conclusion, chapter growth cannot be taken for granted. It requires commitment that comes from:
- The committee
- The community
- MDF as a whole
It should be noted that some chapters evolve like Uintah Basin; that being a fundraising machine. Some chapters evolve into an on the ground workforce; doing projects to benefit the species we all love. Other chapters become a mix of the two. It is important to remember that all three of these forms of chapters are helping MDF fulfill our mission; “Ensure the Conservation of Mule Deer, Black-tailed Deer and their Habitats.”