One more thought. Wait until the glasses are empty before making the pitch.

A reader writes in response to last week’s post about how to make special events really special:

Dear Joan,

Thanks for this. We’re not the size where we’re having events that fill a big room, sit down dinner style. We’re gearing up for 4-6 cocktail hours, house parties, breakfasts (some with silent auctions and live music). Any tips on how to nail the smaller event like this appreciated.

He wasn’t the only one to share this concern. For now, he can only dream of a big gala with 200 people, no less 2000.

His request was urgent as has a series of events this month (as many of you do) and the first one is THIS Thursday. So I’d best get to it.

Here are 10 things you can do to put the “special” into your next small fundraising event.

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Q: When is a special event really special?
A: When the event is bait.

When I started my gig at GLAAD, we had a $1.8 million budget. Special events represented $1.2 million of that total. But I was sure that our event franchise, The GLAAD Media Awards, if used strategically, could build other kinds of donor support and diversify our development portfolio.

I was excited. I reached out to the Development Committee. “So a month after these big events, we start asking attendees to become major donors, right?”  “We capitalize on the good will the event created to engage them in a year round basis, right?”

Nope, they told me. “We try not to fundraise for several months before and several months after the event for fear of siphoning event revenue.”

WHAT?????

It is at times like these that executive directors need to call upon their reserves of diplomacy.  And so I did.  I respectfully disagreed and I taught my board something very important.

The success of a special event is not about the money you make at it. It’s about the money that follows.

Here is my six-step plan for capitalizing on the power of special events. Try it on.

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Securing resources for the organization you love can be fun.

True story.

I’m at a major donor event.  I am a brand new executive director. There are prospects to engage and current donors to appreciate.

I am well prepped by my Development staff. I have an index card folded in my breast pocket. Handwritten notes like “Patrick O’Donnell, lawyer, $2,500 ask” and “Suzie Johnson and Bob Mellman, thank you, major donors for 10 years.”

I find Patrick, like the obedient ED I am. He is lovely and he seems very knowledgeable about the organization. But he is not looking at me. He is staring at my breast pocket.  This goes for on uncomfortably long time. Finally, I can’t take it any longer.

“Are you reading my pocket?” I ask sheepishly.  He smiles. “Sure am.”  I have figured it out without looking. I have folded the card the wrong way. I try to compose myself.  He is still smiling. I ask the obvious question. “So what does my pocket say?”  He reads clearly. “Patrick should be a major donor.”  So what did Patrick say next?

Time for you to guess the answer.

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