Category: Financing & Loans

To be a successful fundraiser, you must know not only how your organization raises money, but also how it is spent. You must know and understand your organization’s budget so that you can explain to others the costs of operation and how the money to cover those costs is to be generated.

Nearly all non-profits are, by their nature, limited in their capacity to increase earned income, and many are unable to produce any fees-for-service because they serve groups that cannot afford to pay. Those limitations are why non-profit organizations must be fundraisers.

Understanding your organization’s capacity to produce earned income, knowing where such income does or could come from, and maximizing it, are essential to developing a successful fundraising campaign. If your prospective donors believe you could be producing more earned income, they will be far less likely to give of their limited philanthropic resources.

No matter what your role in a fundraising campaign—be it organization director, development director, campaign chairperson, or volunteer solicitor—to operate at optimum effectiveness you need to be convinced your organization is maximizing its potential to produce earned income—within the confines of its mission. That last part is very important. There are things non-profit organizations simply cannot do which are second nature to businesses seeking to improve their bottom line.

At the Cleveland Orchestra, when we were subjected to questions regarding our profit-making capabilities, we responded half-jokingly that we could not increase our productivity even if we played a Beethoven symphony faster than it was played 200 years ago. We could not speed up our assembly line, nor could we reduce the number of violinists required through automation. If the “widget” we produced was symphonic music, we could not cut costs by turning ourselves into a chamber orchestra and still produce symphonic-music.

On the other hand, we did need to demonstrate constantly improving efficiency in other areas of our operations. For a non-profit, being perceived as a lean, mean fighting machine is critical to optimizing the results of a fund-raising campaign. But budget cuts must not come at the expense of maintaining and improving service to the community and program quality. A non-profit that cuts back on the quality of its services will diminish its fund-raising appeal.

Before You Ask For Money, Know Your Organization
To summarize: There is no faster way to lose prospective donors than by being unable to answer questions and, thereby, remove objections to giving. You need to know the organization’s reason for being, its goals and objectives, its beneficiaries, and its operational and financial efficiencies.

Know those things, and you know the organization. That knowledge will do more than prepare you to answer questions. It will give you the confidence and composure to pick up the telephone or knock on a door, and ultimately to sit in someone’s office or living room and ask for money.

Knowing the organization is crucial to fund-raising, but without commitment, knowledge is worthless. There is a terribly hollow ring to words spoken in support of a cause if belief and understanding do not accompany the words.

Knowledge and commitment are the two strongest tools a fund-raiser can have. Without knowledge, you cannot present your case to prospective donors. Without true commitment, you will not maximize the results of your efforts. If you are to raise money for an organization, know that organization, understand its needs, and be committed to its cause.
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If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at Tony@raise-funds.com. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website: Raise-Funds.com
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

And that’s a good thing !!

Special events have evolved. Gone (for the most part) are the rubber chicken dinners — with a dais or a two-or-three-tier head table on stage, featuring the board or the event-committee-and-lead-sponsors sitting and eating dinner while the rest of the guests stare up at them.

That model was fairly universal, in city after city across the country.

It took an enormous amount of time and cajoling to get everyone lined up backstage for the grand entrance; it asked a lot of the event’s emcee, who had to introduce each person as they walked on stage; it took a lighting crew to man the spotlights that followed each honored guest to their appointed place; and it “required” that the audience stand up and applaud for each person being introduced.

Imagine doing that for 30 to 40 people, and having to prep the emcee with the correct pronunciation of each name. No wonder so many events ran for hours and hours with fewer and fewer attendees left at the bitter end. Trying to do too many things in one evening is a sure way to send people home early.

Thank goodness the lesson has been learned, and the dais is gone (or should be) and events are timed to last no more than 2 hours (the sitting/attention span of most adults at the end of the day).

Events have grown up along with their focus. They don’t include every favorite activity of every board and staff member, but now take the needs of the paying guests into consideration.

Honoring too many people (more than 2 or 3 is too many), with too many talking heads, can be deadly. A fast paced program with videos about the honorees is far more engaging than hearing presenter after presenter go on and on about the person who has yet to get near the stage to be recognized.

The special event three-course plated-dinner is no longer the model. A two-hour reception in an exciting location with great food and networking is fast becoming the way to go.

When the invitation comes for next year’s event, will people remember being talked-at all evening or will they remember a program that was short and sweet … and fun?

Before planning that special event, think about your potential audience and what they want. Isn’t it time to shake it up and have everyone talking about your organization and your event? Make it happen … be creative, and make your event “special.”
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Have a comment or a question about creating or expanding your special event?
Ask Natalie. With over 30 years in conference and event planning, she can help you turn your vision into reality.
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Have you seen Natalie’s ebook on Special Events ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

The question was asked, “Can anyone tell me what characteristics make a publication a good development tool? What can I do to begin to pull together the various publications so that they help garner parent, student and donor support and further the continued growth of the school?”

First must come the understanding of what development is all about !!

By definition, it’s the building/enhancing of relationships that, eventually, lead to fundraising. But, what many people in the n-p sector forget is that development is also (much more) about the needs of the (prospective) donor than it is about the needs of the institution.

People give because something about their relationship with an institution makes them feel good; and, just as important, because the actual giving makes them feel good. If you think about it, if it made them feel bad, they wouldn’t give !!

So, the role, then, of publications is to market the “good feelings.” Tell the world how Mr. X and/or Ms. Y felt good about being part of a program, about volunteering, about giving.

Sure publications must provide information, but to support development and public relations activities, they must do so in the context of “how people benefit.”

The emphasis being on “people.” Write about how students benefit from giving programs and how parents feel good about seeing their kids benefit.

Don’t write about how the school needs this or that. Write about how “your support will allow/permit/enable student to get this wonderful benefit” — don’t ever phrase it as: “without your support the kids won’t/can’t have this wonderful benefit.”

A poster above your desk would help to stay focused — i.e., “It’s about the Needs of the Donor!!”

Another mistake that many NPOs make is the need to produce/include a brochure for every need/circumstance. No one reads them; they take up space and detract from your message about people. Brochures, full of dry information, might be good to have on hand as supplements — for when they are requested.

Finally, the most important document a NPO can have is their Case Statement — an internal (narrative) document that discusses the institution’s history, accomplishments, current and planned/desired activities — with rationale, and what will be needed (in the way of funding) to make that future stuff happen.

Once you have that (sometimes cumbersome) document, and update it periodically, you never have to reinvent the wheel. Anytime you want/need to write another publication/solicitation, you already have a clear statement of who, what, when, etc. etc.

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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Strong proposals depend on good data, and using good graphics in your grant proposals is an effective way to get your data to stand out and be remembered by reviewers.

Make your Data Stand Out
According to Mike Parkinson and Colleen Jolly (referenced in my last posting), there are five steps you should take to make your data more memorable:

Step 1: Provide real numbers.
One of the most convincing ways to sway reviewers is to provide clear, accurate data to support your themes and major points. Because reviewers are busy and easily distracted, you want to turn data into numbers that they can remember without much effort.

Step 2: Turn data into quantitative graphics.
Consolidate your data into bit-size chunks that can be read and understood easily. Examples would be bar charts, area charts, line charts, and pie charts. To see examples of quantitative charts, visit http://www.billiondollargraphics.com

Step 3: Use visual embellishments.
You do not want your bar and pie charts to look like a generic chart rendered in Excel. Use visual embellishments – such as striking colors and pictures – to make your points. For example, if you were using a bar chart to illustrate how your technical solution will save money, you might use stacks of dollars for your bars.

Step 4: Tie the graphics to the text.
Too often proposal graphics have no action captions and are not explicitly tied to the proposal narrative. Your text should reference graphics (“See Step 5 below”) and each graphic should have an action caption that makes a point and ties the graphic to the proposal narrative (i.e., “Our solution will save you 14 percent in year one of the contract”). Your table of contents should list all graphics, and they should be numbered for ease of identification.

Step 5: Use Action Captions
First write the action caption and then develop the graphic based on it. Every graphic should have an action caption that makes a major point. Starting with the action caption will help you create a graphic that communicates something essential to the reviewer.

Use Good Informational Design
When you design your graphics, follow Parkinson and Jolly in using these principles of good informational design:
  • Simplify your graphics so that there is one clear message.
  • Use the colors and imagery your customer prefers. Visit their Web site for
    information.
  • Develop a style template for your graphics so that they are consistent
    and have a professional look.
  • Use white space to break up or highlight information.
  • Integrate your graphics with your text so that they convey the same
    message and reinforce each other.
  • Design your graphics to tell a great story about your organization. Keep in
    mind that your reviewers may be visual learners. Your graphics
    may be more important to them than your text.

Good graphics promote understanding and persuasion. Develop effective graphics to visualize your data, and your grant proposals will become more competitive.
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Dr. Jayme Sokolow, founder and president of The Development Source, Inc.,
helps nonprofit organizations develop successful proposals to government agencies.
Contact Jayme Sokolow.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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In anticipation of THANKSGIVING,
we will not be publishing next week.
The Fundraising Blog returns on Nov 27.
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

Every nonprofit must have its own set of policies that cover all areas of service and operation; and, those policies must be written based on the circumstances and needs of that organization.

First, you need to have policies in place to “regulate” what your organization will do with all gifts – cash, stock, in-kind, bequests, etc. — whether all or only certain (types or percentages of) gifts will go into endowment, capital needs and/or operating expenses.

Then, for naming opportunities, you need policies for what you would be willing to name, and what you wouldn’t – and whether the namings would be permanent and/or if some/all would have terms of a specific number of years.

Organizations should also have in place policies specifying from whom the organization will/will not accept support; who you would (not) honor or memorialize; and, a statement as to how you’d decline gifts that include elements or restrictions that would conflict with your other policies.

Once the policies are in place, and there is a list of naming opportunities approved by the board, they shouldn’t need to be involved in approving each naming. Typically, the Development Committee of the Board, in conjunction with the Chief Development Officer, make the decisions as to who will be offered which “opportunity” … at what “price.”

“Namings” for support of operating expenses tend to be of the names-on-a-list or on-a-plaque variety. “Opportunities” for endowment, depending on the size of the gift, can be names-on-a-list, names-on-a-plaque, or the naming of a (part of a) program that the gift endows.

Those for capital projects range from names-on-lists, names-on-a-plaque, names on equipment to names on (parts of) buildings.

For bequests, since an NPO doesn’t receive the gift until the donor has died, namings must be discussed/negotiated with the donor while they’re still with us !!

Those discussions/negotiations tend to be very business-like, and focus on what’s important to the donor. After all, s/he is not going to name you in his/her will unless:

  1. S/he already feels strongly about your organization (or one of it’s programs);

  2. Through the process leading to naming you in his/her will, s/he develops
      that strong feeling for your organization (or one of it’s programs); and/or,

  3. Your organization can offer him/her the (kind of) naming opportunity
      that will satisfy his/her needs.

If you’re going to “sell” a naming, just be sure that the price is commensurate with the value of the “opportunity.” Remember, the “price” of a “naming” is based on the market value of that naming – a price that has little-or-no relation to the cost of creating, building or purchasing whatever is being named.
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting.

I’d like to share with you why, from my perspective, the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) is the most donor friendly means for a Federal public servant to contribute to the charities they care about. Most of us play multiple roles, and this applies to our charitable donation world as well.

In a CFC campaign, each Federal employee gets a pledge card with space for five charities on it, and many designate more than one charity. Most of the donations are by designation, and the vast majorities are made through payroll deduction. CFC campaigns are conducted each fall; payroll deductions begin in January; and at the end of the year, the Federal employee’s year-end payroll statement lists how much he or she has donated to charity.

The Federal public servant donor, with one pledge card and one transaction:

● Can donate to multiple charities with just one pledge.
● Gives money to the non-profit before it ever hits their checkbook.
● Accrues no interest charges from credit card donations.
● Feels secure—their personal information is never on the Web, and government payroll
systems are secure.
● May remain anonymous if they wish. Anonymous donors are some of a non-profit’s
best supporters, because they already know what the non-profit is doing and do not
want the charity to waste money telling them what they already know.

So those are some of the benefits to Federal donors, for using the CFC as the mechanism to fund their favorite non-profits. What are some of the benefits for non-profits to become one of their revenue generation vehicles? Here’s one:

What’s the True Value of an Unrestricted Dollar? — Three Dollars!
Another fact about CFC funds (and workplace giving in general) is that the funds are unrestricted. When I talk to non-profit leaders, I’ll ask them how much more valuable is an unrestricted dollar than a restricted dollar, and the answer I get most often is “Three times as valuable.”

Using that multiplier, one could make the case that the impact that the CFC gifts generate is more than $800,000,000 million dollars annually; but I think it’s better to stick with the reportable numbers.

As interesting as these numbers are, the question that all non-profits in the CFC want to know is “How much can we generate through the CFC?” and while the honest answer is anywhere from zero to $5.5 million, that’s not usually what they want to hear.

When I ask executive directors who do participate in the CFC, “What’s the biggest benefit they get from being in the CFC?”, the answer I often get is “It keeps our doors open.” For non-profits that have done the work to develop a significant CFC revenue stream, it is reliable and the fact that the monies are unrestricted is a huge benefit.

Campaign Application Periods Coming Up Fast
For non-profits that want to enroll in the CFC, the CFC application periods come up quickly after the end of the calendar year. National and International charities have a January deadline, as do some of the larger regional CFCs. Most of the regional CFC applications are due between February and March. If you’re not sure which regional CFC office is the one that your non-profit would apply to, please send me an e-mail at Bill Huddleston @ Verizon.net and I’ll be glad to help you out.
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During his 25-year career in the Federal sector, Bill Huddleston, The CFC Coach, served in many CFC roles. If you want to participate in the Combined Federal Campaign, maximize your nonprofit’s CFC revenues, or just ask a few questions, contact … Bill Huddleston
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

The other day I came across yet another instance of a non-profit’s leadership huffing and puffing about a potential funder’s request for the names of their top ten individual donors to support the organization’s contribution request proposal. “Our policy,” the non-profit said, “is that we do not share such information.”

It seems to me that attitude is an invitation for the potential grantor to respond, “Okay, if that’s how you feel, we won’t “share” our money with you.”

It is not clear to me how any non-profit organization could have an intractable policy against releasing names of individual donors in situations such as this. It seems to me that more often than not, such an attitude is reflective less of guarding the privacy of donors, than it is of poorly thought-out policy. Basically, the organization is saying potential grant makers cannot be told what is usually treated as public information.

Surely, the organization must have published an Annual Report. If so, such donor listings are printed there. Even if the donors are grouped in contribution ranges (e.g. $10,000 to $14,999), you can see who the top ten are likely to be. (If no annual report is produced, the organization is missing a good donor relations and communications opportunity.)

But let’s work from the assumption that donors and amounts are listed in the annual report. The only instance in which a non-profit may be unable to supply the name of a particular donor is when that donor has requested anonymity.

My experience, however, has been that even then, most are talking about the avoidance of public recognition through press releases, wall plaques, listing in annual reports, etc. With those relative few exceptions, it’s easy enough to ask for permission to include their names in contribution request proposals when the funding entity requests such evidence of existing support.

I did so for 20 years at one organization with no problem at all—ever. But even if the donor still says no, you can still cite their gifts as coming from “anonymous” if you choose. Most grantors will accept this.

Come to think of it, often when I called and asked anonymous donors if we could provide their names in the guarded atmosphere of a contribution request proposal, they were more than willing. They felt that their good example could very well influence additional support. And they were right.
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If you have a question or comment for Tony, he can be reached at Tony@raise-funds.com. There is also a lot of good fundraising information on his website:
Raise-Funds.com
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

In my October 4th post, I introduced the second step in the four-step grantsmanship process: Grant Cultivation. I also outlined two methods I that have found to be effective in cultivating grants from foundations and corporations: including your Board Members and the Letter of Inquiry/Intent (LOI).

This month’s post will continue with three additional methods I that have found to be effective in cultivating grants from foundations and corporations:

1. Call the Foundation Manager/Trustee. I typically call the foundation manager or trustee two weeks after mailing the LOI, and they usually answer or call back when I leave a message. These phone calls are a very important way to learn more about these potential grantors, and for them learn more about your NPO. Most important, you can learn if the foundation is a good match for funding your NPO. Although it could be disappointing to learn that this potential funder is not a good fit, it is much better finding out before you spend any more time cultivating or submitting a proposal.

   If they think they are a good fit, ask them what they would like to fund.
   As I wrote in my post, “Donor Centric Grantsmanship”, it really is about
   their funding priorities, and not about what program you would like to
   fund. If the conversation is going well, you can find out other useful
   information: an appropriate ask amount, grant deadlines and guidelines
   if they are not published, AND…

2. Set Up a Meeting. The single best cultivation method is to meet personally with a foundation manager or trustee. So, if the phone conversation is going well, ask if they would like to meet with your Executive Director and the Board Member they know. The ideal meeting is at your NPO where you deliver services to your clients. At your school, your health center, your animal shelter, etc…

   If that is not possible, or does not fit the foundation manager or trustees
   schedule, then suggest a meeting at their office. As the Grant Manager,
   it is appropriate for you to attend a meeting at your NPO, and sometimes
   OK at the foundation manager or trustee’s office. Confer with your
   Executive Director, and use your best judgment.

   The most important goal of this meeting is to learn what this potential
   grantor wants to fund at your NPO. This requires a lot of listening on
   the part of your NPO representatives. If you do not attend the meeting,
   do a quick debrief with your Executive Director (ideally w/in 24 hours),
   take notes, and add this info to your donor database and grant files.

3. Send Invitations to Group Events, General E-mails and Mailings … But don’t overdo it. The contacts you have at the foundations and corporations that are a good fit for funding your organization need to be treated as the important potential donors they are: i.e. individually.

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Lynn deLearie Consulting, LLC, helps nonprofit organizations develop, enhance and expand grants programs, and helps them secure funding from foundations and corporations. Contact Lynn deLearie.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

“Give, Get or Get Off” has long been a part of the lexicon of fundraising. It was and is still used most often and most appropriately with boards of NonProfit Organizations that were designed with that concept in mind. If that sounds circular, it is….

There are certain types of NPOs whose boards are specifically designed to be giving and getting boards — institutions of higher education and medical centers are prime examples, as all planning, benchmarking and evaluation are the responsibilities of professional staff.

Governance, in the context of those organizations takes on a somewhat different meaning. Of course those boards are still legally responsible (and liable) for decisions/actions of the institution, and most of them do approach their responsibilities with due diligence, but fundraising is a major responsibility.

One consultant (rhetorically) asked, “Why else, when comprehensive campaigns are conducted, do we do (planning) studies and expect that a major portion of the funding will come from board members?”

The answer is that, for specific kinds of institutions (higher education, cultural, hospital/medical center) most board members have been selected on the basis of the 3-Gs; BUT, for the vast majority of NPOs, there has been (hopefully) a process to determine what is needed from board members to be able to “govern” appropriately and effectively.

Some boards are more involved in governance than others; and, often, that level of involvement depends on the NPO’s current stage in its life cycle.

For the vast majority of NPOs, policy making, fiduciary oversight, long-range and strategic planning, etc. are (should be) their ongoing focus.

Ideally, board members should make (at least) an annual gift to their NPO — but that’s the ideal. Realistically, if we can get board members to take their governance role seriously, and get them to do an effective job in that context, we’d be way ahead of the game — even if they never gave a cent.

And the idea that others espouse, that board members must give or get a specific dollar amount each year … sometimes that works, sometimes not.

We can only hope that fundraising consultants know when to lay that GGG line on a NPO board, and when not. For some boards, it has good shock value, and can have desired results — like the resignation of “dead wood,” or the commitment to setting an example in a major campaign.

But not every NPO gets into major campaigns, not everyone defines “dead wood” the same way, and not every board must be of the 3-Gs type.

It’s like any other concept in development — that may or may not have application in all circumstances.

To provide the NPOs we counsel with the best advice/direction, we must be able to “think outside of the box,” and recognize that all of the old expressions “aren’t chiseled in stone.”

And even if you accept/insist that giving and/or getting is a role of the board, they can exercise that role by authorizing the creation of a separate fundraising “board” – with whatever name you’d care to give it.

NPOs in the early stages of life have “working boards” that do it all — except, very often, giving and getting. And, if you insisted that they restructure for that purpose, you stand a chance of destroying what’s best in that NPO.

As NPOs “mature,” boards are less involved in the “day-to-day” and more concerned with policy making, governance and (yes) fundraising. But don’t insist that all boards must be alike.

For any consultant who’s been in the field for more than a couple of years, flexibility (not rigidity) is one of the qualities with which we (best) serve our clients. We need to be committed to the needs of the people served by our clients — to an end result, not to any specific process of getting there.

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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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Have a comment or a question about starting, evaluating or expanding your fundraising program? With over 30 years of counseling in major gifts, capital campaigns, bequest programs and the planning studies to precede these three, I’ll be pleased to answer your questions. Contact me at AskHank@Major-Capital-Giving.com
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If you’re reading this on-line and you would like to comment/expand on the above, or would just like to offer your thoughts on the subject of this posting, we encourage you to “Leave a Reply” at the bottom of this page, click on the feedback link at the top of the page, or send an email to the author of this posting. If you’ve received this posting as an email, click on the email link (above) to communicate with the author.

An event without the right vendors can be anywhere from “ho-hum” to a total disaster! Be it a one night gala or a three-day conference with gala and other related special events, you want vendors that you know and have worked with in the past.

The “look” of the event begins when people receive their invitations. On arrival at the venue, the “look” continues and sets the tone for the evening. Those “OHs” and “AHs” you hear when the doors open are the hard work of a great team … you, the planner, and your vendors — the lighting team, the audio-visual team, the production team and the printers.

Together you can create anything, from a stand-out invitation to twinkling stars as the stage backdrop, to a panorama of photographs of your honorees and special guests. You can use large screens, gobos, pipe and drape, and banners. And don’t forget trees and plants/flowers – they can help you make many different kinds of statements.

Whether it is the organization’s logo as the centerpiece or a full screen with a dynamite photograph, you can turn a simple stage into an exciting backdrop for your program or entertainment.

Ask the experts for their advice. They frequently have new ideas just waiting for the right opportunity to show them off. One audio-visual company that we work with, and in which I have full faith and confidence, told me about using “pillow lights” as a backdrop. But, even after they showed me a few photos, I couldn’t seem to “see” it. I was glad they convinced me to try it, ‘cause when I walked into the ballroom, I was the one “OHing” and “AHing” over how fabulous it looked.

When we were unable to get a red carpet for our VIP guests, this same company created a “red carpet” walkway using lights that amazed and delighted the audience.

Not every idea is expensive. We have created some interesting “environments” on a shoestring; again, thanks to some of our clever vendors. Don’t hesitate to ask. The right vendors will have more answers than you think, and it is to their advantage to make your event shine.

Having the right vendors ensures the creation of the right event for your organization.
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To read about Natalie, check out her website: Natalie Shear Associates, and take a look at Natalie’s ebook on Special Events
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