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I don't know how far you want to go but you could register as a 501(c) non profit. That doesn't mean you can't pay yourself, it's just a different set of rules for operating. It can get a little tricky and time consuming but would put you in a better position for soliciting donations from businesses, corporations, etc plus you wouldn't have to pay taxes. You could donate profits to charity (after you set your salary) and that would definitely help with the number of donations you'd get.
If you want to go more of a standard route the best way to raise money is through advertising. Sell banner space outside the haunt- $xxx for a 2x4' space, $xxx for 4x8', etc. Or have a business "sponsor" a room. Ways to get free promotion are having a radio station do a live broadcast from your haunt, trading banner space for ads on the radio or local cable channels, or even publicity stunts- you could do something slightly controversial to get media attention: a particularly gory scene or doing a press release about how the place really is haunted. Small town papers and media are always looking for stuff like that, especially around halloween. You could even get a local ghost hunting team out to investigate for free. Once you have the haunt set up and they stay for a night i can almost guarantee someone's going to find "something" in there. It seems like most towns have a group of locals who investigate ghosts, i found three in the Cleveland area on myspace.
Good luck, and have fun! Sounds like a neat project.
If you want to go more of a standard route the best way to raise money is through advertising. Sell banner space outside the haunt- $xxx for a 2x4' space, $xxx for 4x8', etc. Or have a business "sponsor" a room. Ways to get free promotion are having a radio station do a live broadcast from your haunt, trading banner space for ads on the radio or local cable channels, or even publicity stunts- you could do something slightly controversial to get media attention: a particularly gory scene or doing a press release about how the place really is haunted. Small town papers and media are always looking for stuff like that, especially around halloween. You could even get a local ghost hunting team out to investigate for free. Once you have the haunt set up and they stay for a night i can almost guarantee someone's going to find "something" in there. It seems like most towns have a group of locals who investigate ghosts, i found three in the Cleveland area on myspace.
Good luck, and have fun! Sounds like a neat project.
