Throw a party for a great cause

Being a very social person, and often the host of spontaneous and planned gatherings, throwing a party to fundraise for VIN was a perfect match for me.  Before I decided to do this, I had received information from VIN about fundraising and felt that I wanted to do more than simply post information on my social network. I knew that my program needed at least $300 to be raised in order for it to run, but I was sure I could raise more than that. I thought about signing up for a fun run which I could choose the charity, or promoting this through my workplace. A friend who works in professional fundraising dismissed this. His suggestion was simple. If you give people something fun to do, which also supports a cause, you’ll see a better result.
 
After this suggestion, I didn’t hesitate with my planning. I still think that he may have just wanted me to throw a party that he could attend, however it didn’t matter.  Hosting something like this would be fun!  I put together an invite which outlined the cause and what the night would entail.  The planned event was marketed as “An Evening of Frivolity and Fun – In support of Volunteers Initiative Nepal.”  It was to be a cocktail party on the first Saturday night in December prior to volunteering in January.
 
The day after I shared the invite, I received an email from VIN informing me that a particularly generous friend had donated the entire cost of my program.  When I thanked him for this, his response was “if you’re going to the effort of putting on a cocktail party, and volunteering your time there- the least I can do is cover the costs to ensure everything you make is in addition to this.” I was delighted that the fundraising had been given such a great start.  Following this, acceptance emails rolled in and alongside them, friends were donating to VIN the $50 we were charging for their ticket. As the party was at a particularly busy time of year, we weren’t surprised that many of our friends also couldn’t make it. However, many of these people still donated very generously anyway.
 
The night was great fun. My parents, mother in law, husband and I had busily put together a range of canapés and bigger dishes and throughout the night, we shared around the task of offering these to our guests. I had prepared jugs of cocktails, so mixing these was easy to do while entertaining.  Everyone who came enjoyed themselves and several left generous donations then also. In the end, we raised close to $2000.  My husband and I donated the drinks and food as our contribution- but we could have easily included this in the price instead.
 
If you are thinking about a way to fundraise for VIN, I encourage you to consider this kind of event. The scale would be entirely up to you, ranging from throwing a dinner party to hiring a venue. I think the real benefit though is that when people see the effort you have made to fundraise, they are more likely to donate themselves.  And, if your friends are anything like mine, they’ll do anything in support of a good party!
 
Happy fundraising!
Rachel Lam 2014