PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS

PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS
TEA PARTY
Afternoon tea may only have been invented in 1840 but people
have been hosting tea parties for thousands of years. Tried and
tested, tea parties offer people an excellent opportunity to
take some time out of their day, relax, socialise and enjoy a
sweet treat. Keep it simple, or go all out, a tea party offers all
sorts of options.
YOU WILL NEED:
Tea, Coffee, Milk, Sugar
Biscuits and Cake (ask friends and family to bring these with them)
You may need some volunteers to help out
Cups, Saucers, Teaspoons and Plates
Invitations or Posters
Raffle tickets
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
• Sell tickets or charge an entry fee
• Donation buckets dotted around the venue.
• Organise a raffle – Ask local shops for donated prizes
• A market stall – not just for arts and crafts, but baked
goods, jams etc. as well. You could even turn it into a bring
and buy sale. Encourage everyone to bring something with
them.
• Games – charge the guests a small fee to participate in
games - guess the weight (cakes)/ number of sweets in a
jar, host a quiz, fancy dress competition.
TEA PARTY
WHEN AND WHERE
Your venue will probably depend on the type of tea party you want to
hold, but locations in the community may be the best thing.
• Think about a church hall, or community centre.
• You may even be able to hold it at a national trust location.
• If the weather is better, why not hold it in your local park.
• Be aware of issues like access and licenses re food, alcohol and
entertainment.
HINTS AND TIPS:
Think about a theme – it doesn’t have to be anything too fancy, but you could pick a decade and encourage people to dress up, or you could go
for a formal affair, with crusts cut off the sandwiches.
Why not get in touch with your local newspaper or other media outlets?
If you let us know, we can provide you with a press release. It is a great
way to publicise the event in the local community and boost your
fundraising efforts
PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS
KIDS PARTY
YOU WILL NEED:
• Face paints
• Cakes or biscuits as well as decorating
materials
• Drinks
• Puppet making materials
• Plain t-shirts and pens. Making t-shirts
to sell!
• Volunteers – parents would be perfect
to help set up and supervise some of the
activities.
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
Tickets or entry fee
You may think about charging a small small fee for activities –
face painting, decorating biscuits and cakes, puppet making.
Encourage the kids to make t-shirts, or cards and then sell
them.
Games – guess the name of the bear, egg and spoon races, pin
the tail on the donkey.
KIDS PARTY
WHEN AND WHERE
Your venue will probably depend on the type of party you want to
hold, but locations in the community may be the best thing.
• A school hall, church hall, community centre would be ideal in
these circumstances. You will need room for activities as well as
for parents and kids to sit down.
• A weekend is the most
obvious choice, but
also consider the
school holidays.
• How long would the
party last? A few hours
in the afternoon, or
throughout the day
with kids and parents
coming and going?
HINTS AND TIPS:
1. Remember some tea and coffee for parents. You need to cater to
them as well and they are the ones with the money!!
2. Hold a treasure hunt. Play guessing games. Make party crafts.
There's no limit on the activities your child's party can have without
costing you much, if anything. You don’t need to hire anyone, put your creativity to the test. If this feels a little overwhelming, you
could ask a childrens party planning experts to donate their time.
3. Be careful what you charge for. Fundraising is important, make sure
that you pitch the price appropriately. The activities are
predominately for kids, but the money will come from the parents.
PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS
INTERNATIONAL EVENING
International evenings can be great family events, open to
the whole community. By asking people to bring a plate,
bowl, or dish of their favourite food from around the
world, you could assemble a wide range of cuisine. Partner
this with entertainment in the form of singing and dancing,
and you’ll be on course for a whale of a time.!
YOU WILL NEED:
• Tables to serve food
• Cups, Saucers, Teaspoons and Plates
• Decorations! You may be able to find a friend with a sewing machine
to make some flag bunting. Finding cheap colourful fabric is
definitely a possibility. Balloons could also be found for a reasonable
price.
• Entertainment - think local! Ask within your community for dancers,
choirs and musicians. You’ll probably need more than one. • Drinks
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
Ticket sales – think about selling family tickets as well as
individual ones.
If you can encourage guests to bring food to keep costs down
and to widen the variety of the food, that would be ideal. You
could even ask local restaurants to donate in return for
advertising. That way you’re aware in advance of the variety available.
Drink sales – Drinks may be an area that you can raise money,
but be careful, make sure you are aware of licensing
regulations.
Raffle
Craft sale
INTERNATIONAL EVENING
WHEN AND WHERE
This can be a great family event, so think about school or church halls. If
it’s in a venue that local families are familiar with, they’re more likely to attend.
Whilst securing a venue can often be easier on a week night, consider
your audience, if you want to invite families the weekend might be your
best bet
HINTS AND TIPS:
1. Encourage people to bring homemade food, but let them know it
doesn’t have to be. They key to hosting an event like this is to make sure that you have plenty, so make sure people are aware that
whatever they bring will be appreciated and enjoyed.
2.
The evening will need some entertainment. Local dance groups,
orchestras and choirs are worth considering. If you hold it in a
school, students may perform.
3.
4.
Why not encourage guests to wear their national dress?
Be aware that if people bring food, there needs to be label on it, and
a list of ingredients available! You need to be aware of allergic
reactions.
PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS
STREET MEET
Street parties are a great way to meet your neighbours
and build community spirit, but they can also be
excellent fundraisers. Street meets don’t require permission from the council, as it is held on a driveway,
parking area, front garden or end of a cul-de-sac.
YOU WILL NEED:
Tables, chairs, cups,
plates and cutlery
Decorations
Music
Food
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
Donation buckets
Street Games/Competitions
Have a barbeque and charge for food.
A bring and buy sale.
A promise auction – neighbours’ auction of their time and skills
for each other. It doesn’t have to be big, things such as ‘2 hours of babysitting’ or ‘an hour of gardening’ are perfect!
STREET MEET
WHEN AND WHERE
The venue speaks for itself, although be aware about the difference
between a meet and a party.
Any concerns, have a look on here http://www.streetparty.org.uk/.
It’s really up to you when to do it, but a bank holiday could be perfect.
HINTS AND TIPS:
1. You need to gauge interest before the planning gets too far
underway. A street meet targets quite a specific group, so it is
important to find out who would be interested.
2.
A street meet shouldn’t need a license provided its only publicised
to local residents, but it is always worth checking with your local
authority. If you do decide that you want the road closed off, you
need to check with your council several weeks in advance.
3.
To keep costs down, why not ask people to bring food, or local
businesses may be willing to donate food, invitations etc. Why not
think about your local estate agents, they may be willing to sponsor
the event.
PARTY… IN A BOX IDEAS
GALA
Perhaps the most daunting of the party ideas laid out
here, but arguably the most rewarding in terms of
funds raised.
YOU WILL NEED:
Hall/ Ballroom
Dinner
Drinks
Prizes/Sale items
Invitations and Place
Cards
Entertainment
Volunteers
HOW TO RAISE MONEY
Tickets – whilst ticket sales are always likely to be an important
component of any fundraiser, when throwing a gala, they need
to include more than just entry. Food, drinks (up to a point) and
entertainment need to be covered, and if you’re going up market, your ticket price should reflect this.
A silent auction! Who do you know who might be able to
donate a ‘money can’t buy’ prize? The name of a character in a box? Afternoon tea with a famous individual?
Sponsorship in return for advertising.
STREET MEET
WHEN AND WHERE
Venue is a particularly important starting point here. It sets the tone for
the type of evening you’re planning and will provide a base from which to establish the entertainment etc. It will also help determine cost, from
which you can think about ticket price.
HINTS AND TIPS:
1. Once a venue has been decided on, save the date cards or
invitations need to be sent rather rapidly.
2. When it comes to entertainment, think about local bands, singers,
dancers, drama groups, etc. If you’re hiring a band, remember to leave room for a dance floor!
3. To keep costs down when organising a gala, using your network and
requesting donations becomes particularly important.
4. Think about trying to find a formal sponsor or sponsors and offer a
range of packages at different prices. A sponsor could pay in the
region of £500 in exchange for VIP tickets, recognition at the event,
and their logo on invites or the menu.
5. Remember to send thanks you letters to all those who contributed
to the night.
PARTY… IN A BOX
Organising a party for more than twenty people can seem a little daunting, so here is all
you need to get moving towards that £500 target!
IDEAS
First things first, what are you going to do? Whilst it should appeal to
you, you do need to think about those you’re planning to invite. Here are just a few ideas:
Garden Party
Afternoon Tea
Kids Party
World Cup Party
Cocktail Party
Dinner Party
Gala
International Evening
Street Meet
Karaoke
Murder Mystery
Ceilidh or Barn Dance
Themed Disco: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
FOR A SUCCESSFUL PARTY
In order to make your party a successful fundraising event, you should
consider the following…
1. The Venue
2. The People
3. Fundraising
4. Advertising and Marketing
THE VENUE
This really depends on what type of party you’re planning on holding. For example, a gala is going to require a far more
upmarket venue than a karaoke. You may not even need to
book somewhere. Street meets or tea parties could be ideal for
outside venues, but beware of that famous British weather!
Some venues are likely to require a deposit. It may help to hold your quiz on
a quieter night of the week. Given this, and that it’s for charity, you may be able to negotiate a minimum spend at the bar rather than a deposit.
THE PEOPLE
Some of the ideas listed above are targeted towards a clear
audience - a kids party for instance, but others can be
adaptable. An international evening has the potential to be a
great family event, with dinner, drinks and entertainment.
If the event is of general interest, begin by targeting your existing contacts
to see if they would be likely to support it. If your friends don’t want to come, why should strangers?
FUNDRAISING
The fundraising target is £500, so think outside the box.
Are you going to sell tickets, charge an entry fee, or ask
for donations? Tickets alone may not reach that target,
but they should make a significant contribution.
Selling tickets can be pretty difficult, particularly if you haven’t identified your target audience. There is little point securing high value prizes for
an auction if you’ve charged too high a price for entry. IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES BY:
• Presenting an attractive event. By all means pick a theme, but don’t overdo it, or it may become too niche and you narrow your audience.
• Contact an identifiable and reachable target audience – start with
friends and family, and go from there.
• Pitching your price appropriately – if it’s a family event, consider offering a merged ticket price, such as two adults, two children for £10
etc.
• Recruiting plenty of ticket sellers.
OTHER WAYS TO RAISE MONEY
You may decide that ticket sales aren’t the way forward, so you may want to consider alternatives. Options here can include leaving
donation buckets around the venue for people to pay what they
consider fair.
To make lots of money, try diversifying what you offer your target group,
as this will create more channels for generating income. Inside this pack,
we’ve outline five possible parties that you could organise and in each
we give you an idea of the ways in which you can maximise fundraising
potential.
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING
Once you’ve got a when and where sorted, you need to ensure you get people through the door! All of your hard
work will be for nothing if nobody turns up!
Think bigger than your network! Posters, flyers, local papers and radio
together with good old-fashioned word of mouth are all avenues to go
down. In the modern world the use of technology and such sites as
Twitter and Facebook are sure-fire ways of increasing your prospective
audience.
A week or two before the event, send a reminder to everyone that has
expressed an interest in attending.
IN THE LEAD UP TO YOUR EVENT…
AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (1 MONTH – 6 WEEKS IN
ADVANCE)
Choose and book a venue (check capacity, equipment and
licenses)
Estimate initial expenses and expected net profit
Choose entry method (Buy in advance, or on the door)
Decide on an entry fee /ticket price
Find volunteers to help on the night
Start taking note of those interested
Begin promoting the party outside of your network
Make a draft of your program
(raffle/auction/entertainment)
Begin to solicit donations and look for sponsors (this
includes food and entertainment)
Send out invites (if necessary)
Secure any permits or licenses (if necessary)
2 WEEKS BEFORE
Send a reminder to everyone who has expressed interest
Contact local press
Confirm that all entertainment etc. are aware of the event
and planning to attend.
1 WEEK BEFORE
Make a "to take" and a “to do" list Brief everyone involved
Send a reminder to everyone who has expressed interest
Make arrangements for collecting donations
Print all the materials you need
LAST MINUTE LIST
On the night
Set up and decorations
A 'running sheet' / 'schedule'
Sound check
Another quick briefing for volunteers
Have a plan to keep money secure
Set up food and drink (make sure you have a list of
ingredients for allergies)
Prizes for games, raffle and auction
Raffle tickets
Take lots of photos!
After the event
Collect all the money raised, and send it back to
Street Child.
Send a thank you to those who made your event
happen – guests/volunteers/sponsors
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW CAN I RETURN MY MONEY TO STREET
CHILD
You have done a great job to support Street Child’s valuable work in Sierra Leone and Liberia, and we are very grateful for all of your effort.
To send Street Child the funds you raised, just get in touch with your one
of us at [email protected]. We will be able to instruct you on the
best, most effective and safe st way to get the money back to us.
CAN I USE THE STREET CHILD LOGO?
We’d love you to use the Street Child logo at your events and on
Facebook, but please ensure that you clearly state the fact that you are
fundraising on behalf of Street Child. It is important that there is no
confusion between those that are raising money for us and official
representatives of the charity itself