Event planning is a complex enough task in any circumstance. When it is a charity event, there are so many additional challenges for us to get right. We need to promote the event, get the feel and look of it spot on. We have to know the purpose of the event and monitor the success of achieving those. No matter what we are aiming to do, making a profit or not, we need to be mindful of financial management. With the above in mind, we can concentrate on planning an enjoyable and successful charity event that works for everyone involved. For this example, let’s look at a fictional charity that provides sports kits for underprivileged kids.
There is one thing that any charity event needs to have right, and that’s making the message and the branding visible. Since our charity provides t-shirts and other sports clothing, why not use that as a promotional gimmick for the event. Hand out free t-shirts to every attendee who comes along. We always get our t-shirts from MeowPrint: Custom T-Shirt Printing Singapore who does a great range of custom shirts at fantastic prices. Everyone loves a freebie, so this is guaranteed to be a hit, and once people have the shirts, they will wear them elsewhere, providing more free promotion.
Even the most fantastic event will fall flat if nobody knows it’s happening. Thankfully, these days it’s easier than ever to announce a charity event. The traditional methods are still valid, get the word out, use local media, such as TV, radio, and local newspapers, as well as handing out flyers. But also use the great opportunities the internet offers us. We can post on social media, make great use of Facebook groups to find interested groups, such as parents and families. Be sure to emphasize that there are free t-shirt giveaways, as this is the central point of the example.
The purpose of the event here is not simply to give away free t-shirts. It is to give away free t-shirts in a way that promotes the charity. Since the charity is to do with kids’ sports teams a good idea might be to have showcase matches with the teams playing. You could also have taster sessions where kids can try out a variety of sports and activities. You could make it a condition of showcasing their sports club that participating organizations must give any holder of a free t-shirt a free session in their sport.
There are a wide variety of costs when setting up an event, and even though we at least know we are getting a good deal on the t-shirts, there is a lot more to it. Everything needs to be worked out and cost accurately from the venue to entertainment, equipment, and event staff. Be sure to include insurance if your general insurance does not cover events. Another thing to ensure is that all costs are firm quotes and not estimates, so we don’t end up with any nasty surprise bills at the end of this. You should seriously consider making money, as well as spending it at the event, even if it only partially covers the cost of the day. We know how many shoppers love a charity shop, so why not bring the shop to the event? OK, so it would be more of a charity stall than a shop, but the possibilities are still there.
Volunteers are great because they are free. This is not completely erroneous thinking; however, we do need to be careful not to over-rely on them. Any volunteer will not have the knowledge or experience a paid member of staff might have. We need to balance the numbers between the two. It might be a good idea to get two different styles of the t-shirt to differentiate between the staff and the volunteers.
The thing about events these days is that they face stiff competition from many other events and forms of entertainment. This is before we even consider the current recession that money is tight for many families. A good idea is to seek celebrity endorsement to give your event more of a draw. A good way to attract a famous name is to try and find one who has ties to the local area or the charitable cause. Once you manage to secure the services of a celebrity you might want to try and get some pics of them wearing the t-shirts.