So what can you do to obviate these issues? Set policy before it becomes personal.

Before any conflict spins out of control, when possible, put a policy in place so that it’s in writing and clear to everyone involved. Yes, it will take some time on the front end, but once in place, you have a blueprint to refer to that will serve you, and your committee members, over and over again. It keeps the discussion from becoming personal. Now isn’t that a goal worth working towards?

The next time your committee gets bogged down, or you get bogged down with conflicting viewpoints – pull out a Q-Tip! It’s not to clean your ears – it’s to remind everyone “Quit Taking It Personally“! Now get the non-emotional heads in your group to set policy to address the issue and move on! That’s why we need all different personality types on our boards and committees. The visionaries can’t function without the detail, task oriented types and if it weren’t for the visionaries, there wouldn’t be any goals! Together they can make magic!

But how to go about it? I’ve found the easiest and most effective way to nail down a television anchor (or local radio DJ, winning coach, etc.) is to go where they are! Just like fishing – you want to cast your line in an area where there’s fish. Local celebrities are really busy, usually swamped and running a million miles an hour. So, if you can find them at an event they are supporting, they may have a few minutes to listen to your short, concise pitch. Bring a Save the Date Card or visual flyer too!

Of course, be sure to do your homework to find the right person to fit your cause! Here’s a sample dialog –

Hi Bill, I’m Patty Smith with the local Animal Rescue League. We’re doing a fabulous fundraiser called Tails and Tuxes that we’d really like to get you involved in. You’re the perfect MC for us because I happen to know that you have 2 dogs! It’s Saturday night – (a date should be 3 to 6 months out) at the Hilton and we’ve got about 15 minutes slated for some announcements. Might you be available to attend?

Give him your business card, flyer or contact info and be sure to get his business card so you can e-mail him with all the details. Remember they are busy so don’t bug them with umpteen e-mails/calls. One to give him the details, perhaps one more to request a head shot if you want to put his face on invitations or posters, and one more to remind him a week ahead of time. That’s it! Always remember you are sowing seeds for the future and if you want him to have “buy-in” to your event – you’ll want to be EASY to do business with.

Once on location, you’ll want to have a designated person making sure the celebrity has a seat, has a script and is ferried around for photo opportunities. If they have fun while helping out a great cause – Everyone wins!!

In my travels I’ve found that most women, no matter their circumstance, want to reach out to help other women or children. In fact more times than not, I have to remind them to give from their abundance, not from their core! Whether it’s a single mom just launching a new business as well as raising a family, a retired school teacher learning to live on a fixed income while helping her own children get through these rough times, a young business professional working her way up the corporate ladder and tackling a Master’s program, I see such a similar focus time and again.Talk about full plates! Their hands and minds may be busy, yet their hearts still have a space in it that wants to be valued, wants to be helpful, and wants to give back. I’m usually always left in awe of their generous spirits, and so glad to be a part of the sisterhood.

There are several national women’s organizations that answer this need. Soroptomist and Zonta International have chapters in most cities. These are Service Organizations first and foremost, but networking is certainly a bi-product. I am aware that many Zonta clubs have created their own non-profit foundations as they try to raise the status of women locally and globally. Then we have EWomen Network, with national chapters, that is a business networking organization with a foundation attached. Having just returned from their International Conference, I can safely say I have been blown away by their content, speakers and FUN factor. It’s a world-class conference for women (over 3,000 attendees) and whether you’re a member or not – think about attending next July.  NAWBO is another great women’s business organization with more of a focus on political business advocacy than the others. Then there is the PEO and NAFE who also help women with education and advocacy.

This is just a smattering of the available groups you can join and of course every chapter and every city has it’s own personality and dynamics. We’ve all heard the horror stories about women working together but here’s my bottom line: yes, sometimes a group can become dysfunctional but that can happen in any office, in any club, in any church and its not limited to just women. But at their best, when women are high functioning and respectful of the power of utilizing differing skill sets, when they work together toward a common goal – they create magic and they are unstoppable. Behold the Power of Women!

Currently I’m producing The Glass Slipper Ball Featuring the Best of the Chefs in 4 cities with different chapters of Zonta.  The synergy and exchange of Best Practices between these clubs has been mind-blowing! I’m just the conductor, standing in the center and making sure this orchestra benefits from the talents of everyone in their different region. We have no time to re-invent the wheel. Everyone wants to be their best and do their best while learning from each other. High performing, high functioning, highly skilled women – making a difference, it’s something to behold. I feel honored to be of service.

Know of a national organization making a difference in your neck of the woods?  - Let me hear from you!

As I meet with various women’s groups across the Unites States, I find so many commonalities.  The struggle to grow membership, transition leadership and the documentation/retention of important procedures seem to be repeated themes resulting in a colossal waste of time and energy as we recreate the wheel – yet again!

Volunteer groups and Boards often miss the memo about the importance, and necessity, of constantly cultivating new blood. Memberships age themselves (and their ideas) out, Boards have difficulty segwaying in effective ways and volunteers may do a fabulous job but forget that best practices will die on the vine if not documented and effectively transitioned.

The most important long-term gift anyone can offer an organization is to not only do an outstanding job, but to replace yourself along the way. Just like in any business, cross training personnel and volunteers is critically important to your sustainability. Your long-term goal for your organization involvement should be replacing yourself on a yearly basis. This isn’t to suggest that you move yourself OUT of the organization but to move yourself ON while assuring the place you left is filled. This is the only way to offset the natural attrition that takes place with any organization and it goes a long way toward percolating fresh ideas and preventing burnout, not to mention an opportunity for you to hone a few new skills.  This practice applies to ALL members of your organization from the Board to the members at large!

(Least I should digress but isn’t it fun when new words like sustainable and vetting come onto the horizon? Did we ever use these 5 years ago???)

Boards and leadership need to constantly be grooming their replacements as well, but NEVER change out a board by 100%. Keep newcomers in the pipeline at the top as well as at the committee level and you’ll see fresh ideas and energy carry you forward! Keep the wisdom of the elders available, but step back and make space for the new girls on the block. And for heavens sake, remember that just because an idea failed in the past doesn’t mean it can’t work in the future!

Whether you’re doing hands-on service work or producing a fundraiser, as soon as the project is finished you need to glean the good and the bad and document your procedures while it’s fresh in your mind. Not doing so only results in that wheel reinvention mentioned earlier and who wants to do that? If you have no appetite for spreadsheets then find the right person that loves to assign numbers or put order to your systems. Thankfully everyone has different gifts to share and isn’t it awesome when we give someone else space to shine? Remember how ecstatic you were taking over the Widget Committee to have the previous Chair hand you her 3 ring binder! Help subsequent committee members hit the ground running, paving the way to success with new ideas and contacts.

Professional Women’s groups are generally demographically the same: women in their 20’s and 30’s focus on career, the 40’s focus may be on children and then the 50’s and 60’s hit and women are finally ready, willing and able to give back.  But you need a mix of all these groups and their talents to continue to grow in numbers and in community recognition. Say your group is knitting caps for kids in the winter, a good cause for sure but are there bigger needs you can be addressing, like a coat or blanket drive for the homeless shelter? Is knitting caps enough to attract the professional young women or wise retired women whose expertise and circle of contacts can take you that extra mile? Groups can certainly focus on whatever resonates with their membership but if you want to create a legacy or a tradition and assure your organizations longevity, you best come up with an idea either with service or fundraising that attracts and retains younger women.  I always tell groups they should try to recruit 20 years down. A 30 year old will hang with a 50 year old but not so much with a 70 year old!  Attracting a broad range demographic is the best way for women to truly mentor each other.

Visual – 3 glasses of water. The first glass of muddy water represents your past. The other two glasses of fresh clean water represent your present and future. Would you ever carry the dirty water forward to contaminate your glasses? NEVER!  Not in life, not in business and not in your volunteer world! It’s a new day – START NOW!

No matter what type of event you’re planning – it’s success or failure all boils down to creating a realistic, workable budget. This dynamic document is the blueprint for your event but doesn’t occur without a lot of thought and the coordination of a lot of details. It’s dynamic because you can start off with a pretty basic, barebones budget, but as those details become apparent, and you start putting in actual numbers, it will continue to evolve until you finally have a document that can be relied upon as a useful guide.

A good chairperson or treasurer can (and should!) keep committees updated monthly or bi-weekly with where you stand financially against the budget. This not only keeps everyone on track, but can motivate them to pick up the pace in areas that need focus i.e.   program ads, sponsorships etc.

So where to start? Let’s take a class reunion as an example since we all get sucked into those at some point! (actually, no one should ever miss a class reunion – I think they are FABULOUS) You have no idea how many classmates or spouses are going to respond, you have no idea what things will cost and so, you have no idea how to set up a ticket price for attendees.  This is where you should find an event planner in your class and pay them for their expertise! But, let’s assume you don’t have that luxury and simply have a group of 5 people that have jumped in to make this happen.

History – See if you have any records from the previous event no matter how long ago. How many people attended? How many spouses? At what price? Any seed money left over for the next reunion?

Vision – Decide what you’d like to make happen. Maybe there is already a community function in your hometown that might be fun to tie into! Recently I helped my father attend his 65th High School reunion. His school has the longest running Alumnae association in the United States. (Stevens High School Alumnae, Claremont NH – 1871)
They have a banquet for all alumnae, a parade, floats, bands, horses – it was fabulous!
Maybe your hometown has a special community day that would add to your weekend! Check that out before you pick a date.

Gathering the Facts – Now that you have a vision and a date, the work begins to put together a budget. Many hands make light work as you gather information from bands, venues, caterers, etc. to find out what things cost. Recruit as many volunteers as you can!

Creating the Budget – At this point you should be able to plug in a few actual numbers and make an educated guess on others. Along with the usual suspects, i.e. venue, food, band, etc. Don’t forget the costs of designing a brochure or program, and/or invitations and the cost for printing and mailing. A lot can be done via e-mail these days so you might not need printed materials.

Ticket Pricing – So now you know what it’s going to cost, but you still have no idea about attendance. I’d take the most conservative attendance number you can muster and spread the cost out to find out how much you need per head. If you have money left over you can bequeath that to the next lucky committee for the next reunion!  And if you’ve miscalculated by thousands of dollars you can give everyone free drink coupons! They’ll love you for it! What they won’t love is coming up short and having to pass the hat for more revenue on location!

So plan, plan, plan! Look for inexpensive events already happening that you might be able to tag along with for at least a portion of your reunion weekend. A few ideas:

• Happy Hours at a local bar – maybe a tent can be set up outside with a cash bar – the house is already giving away some free appetizers. Or maybe they have a private room you can use.
• Yearly BBQ day put on by the Rotary, Elks or Moose where you could join in with a tent and BYOB.
• Sidewalk Sale or Community Day where food vendors are already on location. Snap up the town hall for alumnae and you’ve got a party!

Celebrating your 10th?  See what class is celebrating their 15th or 20th in the same year and join forces!

Big or small, old or young, classmates love to hook up and given just a little guidance on where to meet – they create a party just by being there! Checkout www.Classmates.com to find those that have disappeared on you!

Look for ways you can nominate and celebrate your local volunteers for the tireless work they do. It may take a little time to fill out an application, and it make take keeping your radar up seeking awards in your town or city that would be a good fit for an individual. And if there isn’t any – maybe you can create one! Lot’s of organizations and events, take a few minutes to thank and honor several individuals that have made a difference.  This is a great place for sponsors to lend a hand and they love it! Everyone wants to be associated with good things!

Years ago when I was producing a large International Paintball Tournament (AKA -  IAO) , I created the Search for Excellence Awards. We took nominations for individuals that had overcome a personal challenge and teams that had performed outstanding community service. We never lacked for nominations and each year, as I handed plaques to the deserving winners, the thousand people under that tent got the same great  feelings of  doing good, just by being in the vicinity of good deeds! Yep – what goes around comes around and when you reach out to honor deserving people, it takes nothing from you, but rather elevates your spirit.  To say nothing of giving someone a gift for a lifetime!

Recently our local Zonta Club www.ZontaThreeRiversNorth.com nominated a woman who over the years had been a driving force for the organization. It was her vision that got everyone thinking bigger in terms of fundraising. She is currently wrestling with cancer, but the night she got her award, she looked fabulous and was so very greatful. It was the least we could do. The very least. She was owed the world.

So what can you do? Send me a note and let me know! We can share great ideas about awards as well as foodie fundraisers!

If you’ve attended fundraising events for any cause, you know one of the most common mistakes made is the over use of the microphone.

We all know we have to thank the very important sponsors, we have to announce anyone we are honoring, we have to let people know why they are there but just keep it brief. Fifteen minutes is a long time when you want to be chatting, eating, drinking or doing something other than listening! And, of course be sure you have a good microphone and speakers so your audience can hear you!

Depending on how you’re going to raise money beyond ticket sales and sponsorship – you need to be creative about staying off the microphone.

Silent Auction vs. Chinese Auction – I’ve explained the differences in earlier blogs but here’s the 101: if you are selling tickets for people to drop into containers in front of an item they could win – it’s a Chinese auction. When bid sheets are available for each item – for the purpose of one attendee out bidding another – it’s a Silent Auction.

If you have a special few items that previously or potentially will result in big bucks and you want to give them special attention, by all means – make an announcement! But, make it short, sweet and to the point!

Use your program to give visibility, use a slide show on a big screen, use a flyer or tent card on the table but always think of creative ways to GET OFF THE MIKE!

Now you have to deal with letting your guests know who’s won. Here’s where the pain level for your “customers” can set in if you’re not careful. No one wants to listen to you read number after number of lucky winners.

Here are a few ways to keep the chatter down and the fun up:

1. If everyone isn’t checking out at the same time, you have a little more latitude. You might be able to write all the winning numbers on a big bid board so they can see if they’ve won – and then have someone retrieve the winning item for them.
2. You could have a form with the auction items on them and then write down the winning numbers either by hand or on a laptop. Make copies and hand them out to each table. This only works if guests are seated, as in a luncheon or dinner, and of course if the schedule of events allows.
3. Read the numbers over a microphone. If you only have 20 to 30 items it’s not so bad – but you can’t hold guests attention for 20 or 30 minutes with this method.

Bottom line: They’ve paid to attend, they’ve bought extra raffle tickets – treat them as the guests they are. Think about everything you do, as if you were a paying attendee. If it would be fun and enjoyable for you, chances are it will be for your guests too! ]]> http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/get-off-the-microphone/feed/ 7 http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/getting-your-toolbox-ready/ http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/getting-your-toolbox-ready/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:42:06 +0000 admin http://www.foodiefundraising.com/test/?p=95

If you or your group is really thinking about doing an event as a way to fundraise, the first thing you need to do is to start getting the right tools in your toolbox.

Database – If you don’t already have a database of supporters, attendees from previous events, committee connections, etc. start building one today! Make no mistake; your list of contacts will be invaluable when it’s time to send out a Save the Date Card, or invitations.

Homework – Have you looked into what else is being offered in your community on the date you are planning? Small towns won’t have as much clutter but major cities have events daily. Just make sure you aren’t up against the Super Bowl if you’re in a sports town or the local rodeo day if the whole town shows up for that!

Muscle – Can you attract a handful of volunteers to serve on a planning committee? You don’t want to exhaust them before the event, but be sure they will be there for the long haul.  They need to commit to monthly meetings for 6 or 7 months before the big day, with the possibility of bi-weekly meetings as the event draws near.

Then you need to think about the volunteers that will be needed to actually staff the event. Here you want to think about shifts so that everyone has equal time to work, eat and enjoy! Think about how your attendees will arrive and the flow of registration. Don’t switch out volunteers during a crunch! Make a shift change after the crunch! Whether that’s parking, registration, silent auction close-out – whatever the job, it will have a timecrunch so look at those as you make up a schedule.

Here’s a great article on planning a wine tasting from Eric Orange of  LocalWineEvents.com It’s got some great tools but certainly reinforces why you need to have some expert help! It’s a long list! Overwhelming if it’s your first go at it, manageable with a professional at the helm. This is also a great place to post any local fundraisers that meet the criteria! ]]> http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/getting-your-toolbox-ready/feed/ 11 http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/branding-your-uniqueness/ http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/branding-your-uniqueness/#comments Thu, 08 Apr 2010 12:41:37 +0000 admin http://www.foodiefundraising.com/test/?p=93

Having just attended a fabulous workshop with Dick Bruso – “Being Heard Above the Noise” – I just have to pass on a really good exercise he shared.  This one really got me thinking and I hope it will do the same for you!

“What would you say if you had 45 minutes in front of 1 million people?”

This little exercise forces you to distill your efforts, thoughts, purpose for living, work, energy, etc. down to one message. Take a minute right now before I tell you how I responded. I’ll wait………

For me – it came easily because it seems like everything I do or am involved with centers around one core message: It’s imperative that women living in freedom and abundance, assist those women locally and globally  who are not. Oppression has many faces.  It can be living behind a veil, or living in fear of  a partner or parent getting home. It lives in the office, the school, and the church. It comes in lots of forms,  in every corner of the world.

Madelaine Albright has a wonderful quote that was just repeated in the movie entitled “A Powerful Noise”,  a not to be missed movie about what some amazing women are doing worldwide to help other women in Bosnia, Africa and Asia. She says, “ There’s a special place in Hell for women who don’t help other women.”  This doesn’t mean this has to be your purpose for living, as it is mine,  but it does mean you have to do what you can, where you can, how you can  – for women less fortunate than yourself, and for women with causes you care about. When you impact a single mother for the better, you impact the entire family.

Nola Theiss, a former mayor of Sannibel island, and member of Zonta is now running a non-profit to help educate and inform communities about Human Trafficking and what that might look like in your community.  She’s a sought after expert and speaker on the subject and was really just a woman who couldn’t stand by and do nothing.  Awareness and Action are the Keys to eradicating this hidden crime.  She needs funding and support to continue the important work that has to be done,  so check her out at HumanTraffickingAwareness.org.

Whatever your mission, whatever your purpose, whatever speaks to your heart, think about your message and what you would say to engage others in your cause and passion.  I love the saying, “ We are all born angels with only one wing, but by locking arms we can fly! “ Here’s to your flight!

According to President Barack Obama, “What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility — a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly.” – Jan. 20, 2009.

As the needs in our cities expand and the services provided by non-profit organizations is greater than ever, corporate and personal budgets are being cut and sponsorships are drying up. How do we step up to the President’s charge and our own community needs in these challenging times? Well, we can either withdraw into a puddle or rise to the occasion.  We can choose to live in circumstance or choose to live in vision – I choose vision! So that’s what we’re going to focus on for the next couple months. It’s imperative that those of us that can step up – Do!

What can you do to make a difference for a cause you’re passionate about? Is there a way your organization can join forces with another service club to share muscle, dollars and passion to make a difference in your area? Do you have a great idea/theme/event you want to create but you’re not sure where to start? Just check out my blogs to get ideas from all over the country then make them your own!  The time to be creative is NOW!

Here’s a great idea to get those creative juices flowing:

How about a ladies night out? A party with a purpose!

Pajamas and Pearls

• Friday night at Susie Smith’s House
• Date: (what works for you?)
• Time: 6 to 11 PM
• Dress: Your favorite PJS and PEARLS of course!
• Donation: $25.00, $50 or $100 (depending on your friend’s budgets?)

Please join me for this grazing event of yummy appetizers, cocktails and games as we raise some money for the Domestic Violence Agency.  (Or whatever cause you’re passionate about)

You can do all the cooking yourself or get some friends to help you or hire a caterer! Any way you can afford to do it – just do it!  And after women have eaten and talked it’s time to play games. Everyone moans about games but everyone LOVES them!  Charades is a timeless crowd pleaser but a couple of my favorites that allow people to keep their seats are OUTBURST and SMARTASS.

Wanna think bigger? Have a group that wants to do some work? Turn this into a stay-over night at a hotel with a complete agenda of pampering, speakers, vendors etc. You can get some pretty good deals out there right now, too.  Speakers/Venues with open time from unexpected cancelations. Masseuses, nail techs needing to promote their, slower than usual, businesses.  Again, be creative and ALWAYS ask, “can you do better for us?”  If you decide to make this a really WOW offering however, I encourage you to pull in a professional meeting planner.  The potential is limitless!

Visit my blog often and “seize gladly” the opportunities that abound! ]]> http://foodiefundraising.com/2010/04/08/pajamas-pearls-ladies-night-out/feed/ 73