Let's All Go to the Movies!
A collection of your go-to fundraising moments in non-fundraising movies
Thank you to all the beautiful people who read and commented on last week’s post about fundraising moments in non-fundraising movies.
I’ll recap what we heard in the Comments last week and hand out out some high school yearbook “Most Likely To” awards while I’m at it.
Get ready for your closeup everyone!
1. Most Likely To Go with a Classic:
Deb (It’s a Wonderful Life); Wes (A Christmas Carol); and Walker (The Chocolate War)
Deb gave us a concise, superb fundraising warning about It’s a Wonderful Life:
So true, Deb. Which jibes with Wes’s observation about the two fundraisers in Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. In the Muppet version, Beaker and Busen ask the one rich guy in town for money, get thrown on their asses, and privately hope Michael Caine changes a lifetime of miserly habits overnight and coughs up a donation. That’s not exactly what Deb said, but you see the connection. Deb and Wes both highlight the time it takes to (realistically) raise money.
(Also, A+ callback, Wes, to an early post about my first job at Ponderosa Steakhouse)
Walker recommended The Chocolate War, which I’ve never heard of. But Walker did introduce to me to Repo Man and that’s all the recommendation I need.
2. Most Likely to Be Closer to their Teenage Years Than You or Me
Danielle (Dodgeball and House Bunny); Wes (Happy Gilmore); and Kaitlyn (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)
Each of these movies features teenagers (or adults behaving like teenagers) raising money for themselves—not charity. Danielle referenced car-wash fundraisers in Dodgeball and House Bunny:
For the record, I love Dodgeball’s all-male car wash scene and it’s only mildly NSFW. Danielle makes a good point about authenticity: these characters raise money true to who they are. The nutty guys in Dodgeball cook up a nutty all-male carwash scheme; Adam Sandler is a man-child who behaves like a lunatic when saving his grandma’s house; quick cuts in Ferris Bueller have kids putting quarters in a Pepsi can or drawing “Save Ferris” on their Trapper Keepers. In short, people raising money in ways that’s true to who they are.
3. Most Likely to Hang Out on Movie Night & Then Start a Small Business Together
Kitty (The Money Pit); Amritha (Harry Potter); and Julie (Little House on the Prairie)
Kitty and Amritha both reference movie scenes about raising start-up capital as a form of fundraising. The entrepreneurial Weasleys in Harry Potter raise money to start a joke shop. Kitty hit us with a Tom Hanks B-side in The Money Pit and the fundraising consequences of getting drunk and sleeping with your ex. Truer words, mother. Truer words…
I envision Kitty, Amritha, and Julie (who nailed a Little House on the Prairie deep-cut in last week’s Comments) conspiring together to raise money to start their own business. Likely a home renovation start-up for the wizarding community. Or for late nineteenth-century homesteaders. Hard to tell at this early point but I suspect they’re on the hunt for investors. Make the ask ladies!
4. Most Likely to Sound Like Statler and Waldorf in the Comment Section
Renee, Cory, and Kaitlyn
Some personal favorites from the peanut gallery across a few posts:
5. Most Likely to Sit Quietly in a Movie Theater While My Friends at United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes Throw Popcorn at the Screen
The rest of you!
All the movies and shows you called out have one thing in common: fundraising is a minor plot line in stories about something else. (Fortunately/Alas, Dodgeball isn’t about an all-male carwash).
Which is to be expected, right? Fundraising isn’t the point in life either. The meaningful work/impact that the money makes possible is the point. It feels like an overly simplistic point to end on but worth emphasizing nonetheless: we need to remember that fundraising is only a part of a larger story.
Fundraising isn’t the star of the show and it shouldn’t be. But it’s hard to get a happy ending without it.
You’re a fun bunch, you guys. See you next week!
Dan, I feel like you let the rest of the class do your homework this week. Way to work smarter, not harder!
Oh, and thank you for the shout out to United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes. We have had team outings to the movies and this past weekend we enjoyed a game night together. Those that fundraise together have the most fun together!