Donated flowers make the most beautiful centerpieces
Imagine a world-class juggler trying to keep a slew of balls in the air without dropping one. That's how many event planners describe the job of hosting a charity event. Sponsors are eager to provide a flawless experience for attendees: the right atmosphere, food, beverages, entertainment and the ambiance that makes patrons feel welcome and generous. Pulling this off requires organization, volunteers and staff whose feathers are difficult to ruffle plus the right confluence of theme and atmosphere. If you're ready to put on your hosting hat, follow these tips. Do the job effortlessly and your reward will be kudos plus an invitation to top your efforts next time around.
Instructions
1. Know your donor base. Some constituencies will be eager to leap at the chance to attend a day at the races while others want an opportunity to don formal ware for a glittering evening of wine and waltzing. Query your donors and contributors. Find out what types of charity events they would love to see your group stage. You might be surprised to find that your charity event is best shepherded by those who will attend.
2. Schedule a brainstorming meeting with members of your pre-selected planning committee. Analyze responses from donors and then conjure up theme ideas based on that feedback. Match the event to the season (winter balls, spring garden walks, Fourth of July barbecues and Halloween fun houses) or tie your event to an important anniversary. For example, if your charity works on behalf of kids, International Children's Day offers a great opportunity for planning an around-the-world progressive dinner.
3. Book a venue. Think outside the ballroom. Contact your Chamber of Commerce or tourism office. Ask them to recommend historic landmarks, out-of-the-ordinary reception venues and facilities. Be cautious about selecting an outdoor venue if weather in your area has been known to be iffy at certain times of the year.
4. Figure out how you will underwrite your event. Some organizations automatically put a line item in their annual budgets. If this describes your group, skip this tip. If your organization finds itself in need of money to host this charity event, round up a group of "angels" willing to donate the funds necessary to get the event off the ground.
5. Divide your charity event committee into sub-groups. Assign the jobs of overseeing invitations, flowers, logistics, set-up and clean-up plus other tasks that must be accomplished in advance, during the event and at the fundraiser's conclusion. Unless you're lucky enough to have recruited an army of worker bees, ask committee members to take on more than one role during the planning and staging of the fund raiser.
6. Call group meetings to make key decisions as the event approaches. Group the tasks that must be completed so committee members don't feel overwhelmed by having their jobs or personal lives disrupted more than necessary. For example, schedule a Saturday to knock off several items on the group's to-do list like addressing invitations, visiting the event site for a food tasting and evaluating centerpieces brought to the group by the decorations committee.
7. Publicize your event. By asking every member of your committee, the board and the friends of your charitable organization to participate equally in spreading the word about your upcoming fundraiser, you'll make life easier for members of the publicity committee. Everyone who becomes involved in charity work has their own contacts --- from the media to high rollers who are willing to make a personal or corporate donation.
8. Tightly organize loose ends the day before the event. Bring supplies and equipment you'll need to handle details of the event to a central staging area. Use a checklist to verify items necessary to complete all of the details. Hold a final committee meeting to make certain everyone understands what they are expected to do before, during and after the event closes down. Make sure someone is charged with the responsibility of recognizing the "angels" who came up with the cash to underwrite the event. In addition to announcing their names, give them a small token of appreciation, such as flowers.
9. Expect last-minute glitches, but don't let the unexpected undermine the hard work you and your committee have done to put on a world-class event. Hold a post-event meeting to evaluate what went right, what could be improved and what facets of the event are best not done again. Write everything down so next year's effort is even better than this one.
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