1. Julie Robins – Operation Smile Vietnam

2. Preliminary Steps Identify your proposed participants so that your event targets the right audience Select the type of event you wish to hold Select a date which is most suited to your target audience Select a venue which has the capacity to support your target audience numbers

3. Be Aware! Make sure your event is compatible with your target audience! If you want to attract young people, don’t hold a ballroom dancing marathon! If you want to attract established older members of the community, don’t organise a sports day…. There are many charities holding fund-raising events in Vietnam – make sure your proposed date does not clash with another big event. Once you select the venue, your priority is to book it! Many venues are booked out months in advance.

4. Deciding your Budget At the end of the event, you want to have raised funds for your charity, so you need to set a target amount in advance of your program Once you have a target (and be reasonable – don’t over-reach), work out your basic known costs. Don’t overlook small items – the cost of flowers, printing, PR material, gifts, backdrops, entertainment, transport etc. can add up very quickly You then have a known target of funds to be raised which will cover costs and provide a surplus to support your charity

5. Sponsorship If you have a major expense associated with your event – e.g. food and drinks during an evening – try to ensure that any uncommitted sponsorship you receive will cover that cost. E.g. Your food bill is anticipated at US$40 pp x 200 guests = US$8000. Drinks estimated at a further US$2,000. Total bill: US$10,000 Sponsorship can be divided up into categories, eg Gold Silver, Bronze etc. But you need to apportion it to cover the total cost, e.g. Gold US$4,000; Silver US$3,000, Silver US$2,000; Bronze US$1,000.

6. Sponsorship cont. Once you are sure that your major expense item can be covered with the cash sponsorship, you can then move on to raising funds for the charity. Avenues for this are: ticket sales, raffle ticket sales, souvenir sales (t-shirts, key-rings etc.), product sales etc. depending on the type of event you are holding If you factor in your expenses against your expected income from basic sales, you can more or less guarantee that your event will not cost you money

7. How to Increase your potential income Apart from cash sponsorship, there are always other avenues of sponsorship to be found: Ask your venue to drop facility charges (e.g. cost of ballroom, sports venue etc.) Get your product items sponsored in return for PR at your event – eg soft drinks, beer, wine Try to find a media sponsor so that you get free PR and assistance with PR material design/production Ask your printer to give you either free or reduced rates for items such as tickets, fliers, leaflets, raffle tickets etc. If you are holding a raffle, get the prizes through sponsorship As a general rule, never pay for anything that can be sponsored !

8. How to increase your potential income (con’t.) Depending on your event, sell sponsors the right to have their name appear at the event, e.g. sponsor a golf hole, sponsor a t-shirt, sponsor equipment used Remember that people come to your event with an expectation that they will spend money to support you. Make sure there is something they can buy if they have not contributed in other ways at the event, e.g. sell momentos, handicraft items, pens, etc. Make sure you give sponsors a feeling of having received as well as given – putting up a slide show with your sponsors logos on it costs nothing but gets you lots of positive feedback. ALWAYS send a thank you letter and if possible put an advertisement in the press acknowledging your sponsors contributions

9. Pay Attention to Detail! The most tedious details which you might overlook are the ones that people will remember if things go wrong. You might have 200 guests, but if only 1 of them tells others that the event was “no good” because you forgot to provide toilets or there was no-one to show people to their seats, your event will suffer! Use volunteers who are well briefed and familiar with your charity to help you on the day. Give them a sense of belonging – t-shirts to wear, PR material to distribute; chores to perform. They need to be a part of the team and it should be fun for them as well as providing a service for the event. BRIEF YOUR VOLUNTEERS! Keep notes for the following year….you might be gone by then!

10. Summary Identify your target audience Be aware of other charity events when you select your date Book your venue asap Work out your basic fixed costs and cover them with cash sponsorship Find other avenues to save costs such as product sponsorship, media sponsorship etc. Don’t pay for anything that can be sponsored. Your fund-raising will come from the sale of event tickets, raffle tickets, product sales and most likely not from your cash sponsorship Use your volunteers wisely and treat them well! If you want your sponsors to come back next year, remember to give them something back for their support (e.g. PR exposure, press acknowledgement, etc.). Always send thank you letters! Learn by your mistakes – keep notes which can be referred to by those who follow in your footsteps