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FUNDRAISING WORKSHOP
FULL-DAY WORKSHOP
Educate Your Community. Build Hives. Raise Funds.
The Bee Mindful Full-Day Fundraising Workshop gives your organization an opportunity to offer a valuable, memorable and practical educational event to your members and wider community while raising meaningful funds for your organization.
Participants spend a full day learning Honey Bee Biology, Natural and Treatment-Free Beekeeping, Integrated Pest Management and Horizontal Top-Bar Beekeeping while also seeing how a Bee Mindful Horizontal Top-Bar Hive is built from scratch.
Bee Mindful charges no speaker or workshop fee. Your organization raises funds through workshop registrations and hive-kit sales.
THE FULL-DAY WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE
One substantial day of education, practical demonstrations, discussion and hands-on learning designed for complete beginners as well as experienced beekeepers.
Honey Bee Biology & Natural Beekeeping
Understanding the colony as a living biological system and exploring Integrated Pest Management within a Natural and Treatment-Free Beekeeping framework.
Horizontal Top-Bar Beekeeping
How horizontal hive design can make keeping bees simpler, lighter, more affordable and more accessible
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Starting & Managing Colonies
Practical considerations for establishing colonies, managing space, feeding when appropriate, harvesting and seasonal management
Hive Design & Construction
Understanding the Bee Mindful Horizontal Top-Bar Hive design and how it can be built from readily available lumber using relatively simple tools.
Natural Comb
Understanding natural comb construction and practical natural-comb management.
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Live Hive-Cutting & Assembly Demonstration
Nathalie demonstrates how the hive is cut and constructed, then guides participants through the assembly process.
Reading the Hive
Learning to interpret brood, population, food stores, comb, behavior and seasonal conditions to make informed management decisions.
FLEX Hive
Langstroth colonies? Set up for horizontal Top-Bar management in just 10 minutes with the FLEX Hive adapter for the best of both worlds. During a nectar flow, the bees build Natural Top-Bar comb, unlocking Comb Honey and Top-Bar NUC production.
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Practical Q&A
Questions and discussion are encouraged throughout the day.
LEARN IT. BUILD IT. TAKE IT HOME.
Participants don't just learn how a Horizontal Top-Bar Hive works.
They learn how to build one themselves.
Nathalie demonstrates how the Bee Mindful Horizontal Top-Bar Hive is cut from readily available lumber, explains the design and construction principles, and guides participants through assembly.
DIY plans are included, so everyone leaves with the knowledge and resources to build additional hives independently.
Participants who pre-purchase a hive kit can assemble their own pre-cut hive during the workshop and take it home.
Build the first one with us. Know how to build the next one yourself
No participant is required to operate saws or cut lumber.
Nathalie performs the cutting demonstration. Hive-kit purchasers assemble their pre-cut components with guidance or may take their kits home unassembled.
CHOOSE YOUR WORKSHOP EXPERIENCE
FULL-DAY EDUCATION TICKET
$50
Attend the complete Full-Day Fundraising Workshop without purchasing a hive.
Includes:
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Full day of instruction
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Honey Bee Biology
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Natural & Treatment-Free Beekeeping
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Horizontal Top-Bar Beekeeping
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Hive-cutting and assembly demonstrations
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DIY hive plans
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FLEX Hive instructions
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Hands-on learning opportunities
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Practical Q&A
No hive purchase required.
BUILD & TAKE HOME A HIVE
Add one or more pre-cut Bee Mindful Horizontal Top-Bar Hive kits to your Education Ticket.
Assemble your hive during the workshop with guidance and take it home, or take the pre-cut kit home unassembled.
Hive kits are sold separately from Education Tickets.
Participants may purchase more than one hive, and community members who cannot attend the workshop may also purchase hive kits through the fundraiser.
HOW YOUR ORGANIZATION RAISES FUNDS
The workshop creates two built-in fundraising streams:
workshop registration revenue and hive-kit sales revenue.
1. WORKSHOP REGISTRATION REVENUE
$50 Education Ticket
Because Bee Mindful charges no speaker or workshop fee, proceeds from the $50 Education Tickets remain with your organization, apart from your own ticketing, travel and local event expenses.
2. Hive Kit-Sale Revenue
Hive-kit sales create a significant built-in fundraising opportunity.
Bee Mindful passes the bulk workshop price directly to your organization.
Current delivered cost is approximately:
$170–$195 per hive kit
The exact bulk workshop cost depends primarily upon your location and associated shipping charges.
Your organization sets the participant retail price and keeps the difference between that price and the bulk workshop cost. Bee Mindful does not retain the retail markup.
PRE-SOLD HIVES: MORE FUNDRAISING, LESS FINANCIAL RISK
Hive kits typically ship in full pallets of 20.
There is no maximum number of hive kits that may be pre-sold. Every pre-sale counts toward the minimum, whether or not the purchaser attends the workshop.
A minimum of 20 hive kits must be pre-sold at least 2 weeks before the workshop.
PRE-SALE SOURCES
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Workshop participants
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Participants purchasing multiple hives
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Club members who cannot attend
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Friends or family members
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Other beekeepers
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Members of the surrounding community
Pallet Quantities May Create Additional Day-of Inventory
Sell the Hives Before You Pay for Them
Because hive kits are ordered in full pallets of 20, additional kits may sometimes be available for purchase on the day of the workshop.
Example: 30 pre-sold kits → 40 kits ordered → up to 10 additional kits available for day-of sales.
Any unsold kits beyond the host's pre-sold commitment remain the property of Bee Mindful and will be taken back after the event, unless the host chooses to purchase them at cost for additional fundraising opportunities.
This allows the organization to benefit from additional day-of sales without being required to purchase the extra inventory created by full-pallet shipping.
The pre-sale structure is designed to minimize financial exposure for the host organization.
Participants and community members purchase their kits in advance. Once the minimum order has been reached, the host uses a portion of the funds already collected to pay the bulk cost of the committed hive kits.
The remaining retail margin stays with your organization as fundraising revenue.
The host therefore does not need to purchase thousands of dollars of speculative inventory and hope that it sells.
WHAT COULD YOUR ORGANIZATION RAISE?
Workshop registrations and hive-sale margins work together to create meaningful fundraising potential.
And because hive purchases are not limited to workshop attendees, a successful regional pre-sale can generate additional revenue beyond the capacity of the workshop itself.
Note: Illustrative examples only. Actual proceeds depend on registrations, participant hive pricing, hive sales, travel expenses and other local event expenses
Sponsorships, auctions, raffles and other fundraising activities can increase the total further.
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PROMOTION: THINK BEYOND THE WORKSHOP
A minimum three-month promotional window is required.
The strongest fundraising potential comes from promoting both the educational part of the event and the hive kit sales.
This means the audience is not limited to people who can attend on the workshop date.
Someone may be unable to attend but still want to purchase a hive kit. An attendee may want two or three. A club member may want kits for family members or friends.
The host should therefore treat the program as both:
A Regional Educational Event and a Regional Hive Pre-Sale
Because complete beginners are welcome, outreach can extend well beyond established beekeepers to:
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​​Neighboring bee clubs
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State and regional beekeeping groups
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Garden clubs and Master Gardeners
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Homesteaders
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Farmers and rural landowners
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Permaculture groups
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Community gardens
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Agricultural organizations
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Neighborhood and community groups
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Relevant online communities
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People interested in getting started with bees
Depending upon location, a good promotion radius is typically within a one- to three-hour drive.
Bee Mindful can provide some photographs and social media cards, speaker information, workshop descriptions,
and promotional content to support the campaign.
VENUE REQUIREMENTS
The ideal venue includes:
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Covered or indoor presentation space
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Chairs
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Large-screen TV or projector
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Electricity
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Space for the hive-cutting demonstration
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Space for participants assembling kits
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An adequate weather backup plan
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Ideally, a compound miter saw and a table saw for the cutting demonstration.
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Four (4) standard 2 in. × 10 in. × 8 ft. lumber boards, purchased by the host organization for the cutting demonstration.
The resulting demonstration hive belongs to the host organization after the event.
Tables are helpful but not mandatory. If sufficient tables are unavailable, participants may be asked in advance to bring a folding table or suitable work surface.
For liability reasons, participants will not cut lumber or operate saws.
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OPTIONAL WAYS TO RAISE MORE
Sponsorships
Local businesses may help underwrite travel, venue, refreshments or other expenses, allowing more of the workshop proceeds to remain with the organization.
Sponsor-a-Hive
Businesses or individuals may sponsor a hive for a veteran, school, youth program, community garden, beginning beekeeper or another recipient selected by the organization.
Demonstration-Hive Auction
Auction the completed demonstration hive at the end of the workshop
Raffle or Silent Auction
Invite local businesses and suppliers to donate products, plants, equipment, honey, gift certificates, services or other items.
These are optional fundraising opportunities, not requirements.
BEST MONTHS TO HOST
January
February
July
August
September
October
November
Fundraising Workshops are generally best scheduled outside peak beekeeping season.
Dates should be reserved as early as possible to provide ample planning and promotional time.
YOUR INSTRUCTOR
Nathalie B.
Nathalie B. is one of five Texas Master Craftsman Beekeepers, with more than 16 years of experience and a thriving operation of approximately 400 colonies maintained entirely Treatment-Free.
A respected international speaker and professional educator, she is regularly invited to present across the United States, Australia, Europe and Africa.
Nathalie is a dedicated advocate for Natural, Treatment-Free Beekeeping and Horizontal Top-Bar Hives as a simpler, lighter, more affordable and more accessible approach, especially well suited to backyard and homestead beekeepers.
She designed and standardized the quick-and-easy DIY Bee Mindful Horizontal Top-Bar Hive and developed the FLEX Hive, a rapid Langstroth-to-Top-Bar adapter enabling streamlined Comb Honey and Top-Bar NUC production.
Her innovations earned her an invitation to present at Apimondia 2025. Nathalie is also an Ohio State MBA graduate and serial entrepreneur.
INTERESTED IN HOSTING?
INTERESTED IN HOSTING A BEE MINDFUL FUNDRAISING WORKSHOP?
To explore bringing a Bee Mindful Full-Day Fundraising Workshop to your organization, please send us:
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Organization name
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Organization location
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Preferred dates or months
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Approximate expected attendance
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Venue information, if available
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Nearby clubs and communities that could participate
Bee Mindful can then determine travel requirements, estimate the delivered bulk hive-kit cost for your location and begin planning your event.
EDUCATE YOUR COMMUNITY. BUILD HIVES. RAISE FUNDS.
Build the first one with us. Know how to build the next one yourself.
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