The best party in town!
I presented one of my favorite topics at our NC Philanthropy Conference yesterday: “Parties With a Purpose: Turn Your Fundraising Event into the Best Party in Town.”
Boy did my friend, media maven Claire Meyerhoff, and I have some fun in this topic! And the room was packed. Clearly there were people in need here.
Events can be huge pain points for fundraisers. Yet they are a vital component of most annual fundraising programs. How do you set up the event to accomplish multiple objectives?
- Enlist new suppporters
- Expand your visibility in the community
- Involve and engage your volunteers in the cause
- Present your mission in a compelling light to new and old supporters
- Entertain your guests
- Make sure your guest have fun (yes, please!)
- And certainly not the least, raise the money you need to support your cause
This is a tall order. Most presentations you attend on “event planning” focus on details and logistics. For our presentation, we focused on the branding, marketing, PR and fundraising aspects of an event. I think that is why it was so well attended.
I’m going to enter a series of blog posts on the “Best Party in Town” topic. For now, I want to talk about the difference between a “party” and an “event.”
An “event” is when you throw a bunch of pepole into a room, give them a drink, and hope they survive. Ever been to one of those?
A “party” is when you throw a bunch of people into a room, give them a drink, and work to make sure they are having a nice time. This is really social hostessing 101 but it’s amazing how few people really understand this.
Frankly, I’ve been to “events” that were social occasions at private homes. If I didn’t know anyone, I felt lost or worse, wanted to run for the door!
And I’ve been to “parties” staged by nonprofits that made me feel so very welcome. I had the best time at those parties. And you can imagine that I still have a nice feeling in my heart for the nonprofit cause. Not only that, but I will be looking forward to the next party that nonprofit throws!
Always remember, the smart fundraiser’s motto: “When in doubt, throw a party!” Make every thing in you do into a party and people will flock to your cause.
Nobody ever said that charity work should be dreary or boring!
