Makes No Sense to Me ???

I am all for competition.  I am all for lots of fun filled pagan events.

And You want to start a New "Ball" event? Locally, where one is already held? OhhhhhKay.

What I DON'T understand is this:

A group has asked for the Pagan Community to donate to help with raising funds to cover the start up costs for this event.  One they plan to hold at Yule. Which is 3 months away.  Then you are still going to CHARGE an admission/ticket fee for this Ball, even to those who donated?

As an event planner, who has put on this type of event three years running: not exactly the way to handle this kind of thing.  If you want a successful event, you must put more than 3 months work into it. Even for our 1st Ball, back in 2011, we spent nearly a year working out the details, Getting the best costs, Working on finding sponsors, etc.  And we still only had 40 people in attendance.  We now have over 100 people attend our event and the number grows every year.

And in an economy where a lot of people don't have the money to attend numerous events of this kind (especially during the winter holiday season) ... I would have suggested instead of trying to throw something together, with no idea of the costs: this group should have extended their hand to the established event. Ask for assistance in planning or worked WITH them to make the next event even better.

Which makes more sense to you?