Your church group might need a bus, but that doesn’t mean you can just rush over to the nearest bus sales center and pick one up. If it was that easy, you would have done so the last time that your entire church packed itself into just 11 cars in order to get to that conference. Hopefully, finding a good bus will be easier than that exercise in human tetris was, but it will still require some hard work on your part. Here are some tips to prepare for your bus purchase.
Convincing the Committee
Your first step to purchasing a church bus is convincing the leaders in the church that you need one. You can do this by citing every instance of a failed, unsafe, or highly inconvenient transportation event in the past year. If the leaders remain unconvinced, you could have a few bus sales groups already identified, with quotes on prices for church buses for sale. If you show the leadership that purchasing a bus is feasible, they will be more likely to accept your proposal. However, don’t neglect to show them the other side of the coin. Ongoing maintenance, for instance, is not a fact to be brushed under the carpet. You should discuss the challenges in owning a bus, as well as the benefits.
Getting Your Members Excited
What good is a bus if your members don’t want to use it? Once your committee has agreed to purchase a bus, you can let church members know that, depending on the capacity of the bus that is chosen, it could replace the need for carpooling for church events ever again. There are also safety and environmental benefits to the bus. Also, if there’s room in the budget, then you can also try to sell them on the potential for luxurious seating, or WiFi.
Raising the Funds
Before you begin fundraising, it will be important to set clear goals. For example, how much money do you need to raise? You don’t want a bunch of people showing up with bus parts to donate, thinking that they are helping the cause. If possible, when you hold a fundraising event, have pictures of some of the buses for sale that your group is considering. Also, if your church will be footing most of the bill, be sure to communicate that to potential donors so that they know that they’re not being solely relied upon.
You are now three steps closer to finding the perfect bus for sale at the nearest bus sales group. Your biggest hurdles will be convincing church leadership that a bus is needed, getting your members willing to use the bus, and raising the funds to support the purchase. Follow these tips and each of those tasks should be a little bit easier.
