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GETTING STARTED

Charity Event 101 – Personal funds
ARE YOU WILLING TO CONTRIBUTE PERSONAL FUNDS When hosting an event (at least for us rookies), not everything will be sponsored.  There may be expenses that are not covered.  Will you be willing to open your wallet to make this happen? I found when doing the Back to School Social that things like plates, napkins and bowls were not covered.  Banners, posters and raffle tickets were also things I covered out of my own personal funds. Set an amount that you are willing to spend if needed and stick to it.  Continue to search out sponsors if needed or adjust your plans to keep yourself in check. ©2009

Charity Event 101 – Date and Time
SELECT A DATE AND TIME I list this step below finding a location simply because once you find a location, you can typically work with them to see what dates they have available.  I would recommend going into this with a few dates in mind and know that you are probably going to need to be flexible on days and times. This step should be considered carefully.  If you are hosting a back to school event, make sure that you do it close enough to the start of school that people can get in on good deals, but not so close that the families you are trying to help may have gone out and already acquired these items. If you are wanting to host an event in June,

Charity Event 101 – Needs / Supplies
WILL THERE BE FOOD AND DRINKS This step needs to be in the forefront of your thoughts as not all locations will be accepting of drinks or food in certain rooms. If you decide that you would like to incorporate food and drinks into the equation, make sure that you also start a list of needs for this.  Plates, bowls, cups, utensils, etc may be needed and now is the time to note this. This will also add to your list of sponsors that you are going to try and find.  Getting the cost of food and drinks covered is big.  I believe that supplying food and drinks will help draw people as well. DECIDE WHAT TOOLS YOU WILL NEED T

Charity Event 101 – Select a Location
SELECT A LOCATION This step can be tricky.  Many places charge a fee for the use of their facilities.  We are not professional fund raisers and don’t need to worry about covering the cost of a hall if we can find a way to steer clear of this added expense. Churches will typically allow for the use of their facilities for free (or close to).  I can’t imagine a church charging for an event that is helping those in the community. When I started thinking about churches for the Christmas Crusade, I wanted to find one that offered enough room (we hope) and one that was, for the most part, centrally located.  My church is on the extreme sout

Charity Event 101 – Choosing a Charity
CHOOSING A CHARITY Choosing a charity seems like it is almost silly to list as the first step, but without knowing who will benefit, it’s hard to move forward.  You may know that you want to help charities that deal with feeding the hungry.  Great!  The problem?  Have you noticed just how many organizations are out there that do this? Look into smaller organizations.  While the big dogs in the charity world are easy to think of, many times the smaller organizations are left behind and not thought of.  Consider these places as well when making your decision! Do your homework.  Call, talk and learn about each organization.  It’s aft