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Fundraising Banquets:
How-To
Notes from a
presentation given by Michael Cloud
at Success '97 (notes taken by
Stacy Van Oast)
- Create a very special occasion
or invite a very special person to draw people
- Invite people
-
Put on a good event
- only have one
speaker
- allow speaker 40 minutes
MAX
- get people dressed up (they'll
feel good about themselves and about the LP)
- sell tix for $25-$35
each
- don't have a head
table
- sprinkle "celebrities" around
room, placing one at each table
- you can have someone else
introduce the keynote speaker, but YOU write the intro - just give the facts: a
brief bio, etc. - 5 minutes!
- begin during
dessert
- allow questions after the speech
(not during)
- fundraiser person has speaker
sit down before questions are taken (after speech) while he makes a pitch, then
keynote speaker answers questions, then fundraiser announces how much has been
collected and asks for more, then speaker can answer more
questions,etc.
- don't hand out contribution
cards until you begin actually fundraising (otherwise people will give less
than they may after they've heard your pitch)
- ask for money for specific
projects and describe the benefits
- people will want to know "what's
in it for me?" - tell them
- give awards and have other
announcements AFTER fundraising
- make sure everyone feels that
they've made a difference
- Do not use these motivations to
raise money:
- Have fun!
- tip: ask people to write checks
while they're laughing
- the fundraiser's job is to
entertain AND inform
- Rules:
- tell people specifically what
the money they're giving is for
- tell them specifically how much
money you want
- ask them if they feel
comfortable saying "no", but ask them to consider saying "yes"
- tip: ask for "hush money"; have
everyone hold up a $20 bill and promise that the fundraiser will shut
up
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