Event Producing
The request was to find a way to show appreciation to >900 volunteers. I was offered the support of the other directors on the staff and a budget of $10,000. At first glance that sounds like a lot of money, but I had to use that for catering for dinner and desert, decorations, entertainment, awards...as well as invitations, childcare, photography, table hosting, setup, strike, dishwashing; also what presenters and MCs would be responsible for what communication...
I took survey of all the stakeholders - directors and key leaders. I learned what worked well with similar events in the past. I assembled a team of key partners whom I could brainstorm with and develop concepts. We did research to figure out what our ideas might cost. We met again and leaned into what had good value and scrapped what didn’t. We surveyed and used statistics to determine how many we thought would actually show up; and how many might. We put it on the calendar and after figuring out a brand for the night we sent out invitations. We worked through details with the caterer and the band. We made certain sacrifices from our ideal hopes, but ended up with remarkably clever innovations to our plan. We created a signup sheet for directors to own delegated chores and presented the vision to the staff with the request for ownership… In addition to my team of co-leaders, our whole staff stepped up and helped make a really special evening. The video above shows a few of the highlights.
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