Host Your Own Event

The following information is designed to help those people who host “Drink for a Cure” Events to make their event successful, and easy to manage. The original “Drink for a Cure” organizers have real-world experience in hosting these events, and the collective knowledge that has been acquired can be located on this page. In the event that you have questions about hosting an event, and the answers do not appear here, please e-mail your question to steven.banke@gmail.com. We will respond within 48 hours.

This page is organized into three main sections:

1. Planning your Event
2. Raising Funds
3. Hosting your Event

The following hyperlinks will take you directly to the associated information

Planning your "Drink for a Cure" Event

Overview

The planning stages of your "Drink for a Cure" Fundraiser will in many ways determine the success of the event. Deciding how much work you want to do, and what your goals are, will be the first steps you must take. Once you determine the size of the event, and the goals of the event, organizing your message, and effectively communicating it to the people that you will enlist to assist you, will be next task you must tackle.

These events are not difficult to host if you can find a few motivated and organized people who have time to donate and that are willing to take up the cause with you. The operative phrase is "Many Hands Make Light Work". However, you will NOT need dozens of organizers, in fact we have found that too many organizers can actually make the effort more difficult. Having said that, there are many ways people can contribute to the event, without being an organizer. We call these additional people volunteers. They will be the people that you enlist to do the following things:

1. Get the event message out to their friends and families
2. Obtain donations from people and businesses
3. Assist you during the event

Once you have your team together, its time to take the first steps in getting the event rolling. You will need to select the date of the event, and the venue (i.e. Pub, Restaurant, Home etc). You will also need to set the event pricing, negotiate with vendors, raise money, identify participants, market the event and prepare for the activities that you will engage in during the event (i.e. drawings, silent auctions etc).

Before you know it, the date will be upon you, and the event will begin. During the event you will need to collect money, run the activities, ensure that the participants are having a great time, and at the end of the evening you will need to settle your affairs with the venue, and the participants that may have won prizes.

Once the event has passed, it is critical to get back to the people who participated and let them know the results. This will ensure their continued interest in the cause. The following sections will provide you with extensive details on each of the areas, and if you do not find the information you are looking for on this page, please e-mail steven.banke@gmail.com. We will get back to you within 48 hours.

Selecting a Mission

When we say "Selecting a Mission", we mean there are several questions you need to answer for yourself, before you actually do anything. The questions that are critical to answer are:

Question 1 - How much money do I want to raise?

Why is this the most important question to answer first? You may say to yourself, I just want to raise as much money as possible, so why do I need to set a goal. The reason a goal is critical to the success of your event is because those who will donate their time and their money to the cause need to know what they are shooting for, and the amount you raise is an objective measure that you can use to rally people around. This question in many ways will also determine the amount of effort that you and others will put into the event. If you plan to raise $1,000, you may only need 25 attendees, and a $3 a ticket drawing. You may also be able to host this size of an event at someone’s home. However, if you plan to raise $5,000, you will likely need more than 100 attendees, corporate donors, a silent auction and a public venue such as a pub or restaurant to host the event. Starting small, and growing the event year-over-year may also be an approach you want to take, so that you can gain some experience before you try to tackle a much larger event. In the end, the number of attendees and donors will greatly effect your results, so use the following guide to determine how much you want to tackle.

$1,000 - $2,500 Goal

• Large home or small pub / restaurant venue
• 25 – 50 attendees at $50 per ticket
• 5 – 10 non-attending donors averaging $50 per donation
• Tickets sales for a drawing with prizes (we found 3 tickets for $5 and 15 tickets for $20 works extremely well to motivate people to buy $20 in drawing tickets)

$2,500 - $5,000 Goal

• Mid-sized pub / restaurant venue
• 50 to 100 attendees at $50 per ticket
• 10 – 20 non attending donors averaging $50 per donation
• 1 – 2 Corporate donors averaging $500 per donation
• Tickets sales for a drawing with prizes (we found 3 tickets for $5 and 15 tickets for $20 works extremely well to motivate people to buy $20 in drawing tickets)
• Silent auction with 6 – 10 items consisting of gift baskets, sports tickets or memorabilia
• T-Shirts for all participants

$5,000 - $10,000 Goal

• 150 to 250 attendees
• 25 – 50 non attending donors averaging $50 per donation
• 5 – 10 Corporate donors averaging $1,000 per donation
• Tickets sales for a drawing with prizes (we found 3 tickets for $5 and 15 tickets for $20 works extremely well to motivate people to buy $20 in drawing tickets)
• Silent auction with 15 – 20 items consisting of gift baskets, sports tickets or memorabilia
• T-Shirts for all participants

Question 2 – Where do you want these funds to go once they have been raised?

People who support philanthropic causes can be skeptical of the organizations that are receiving the money if they do not know what the money will be used for. Getting in front of this objection early will eliminate any concerns that your constituents may have. Every chapter of the National Marfan Foundation has different needs based on the local landscape of services available to those who need assistance. Some chapters need clinics opened, others need to educate pediatricians / nurses and school administrators, and still others are engaging in research. Before you decide what you want the money to be used for, please contact your local chapter and find out what they think the best use of the proceeds will be. You do have a choice, and the NMF will gladly share the challenges they face with you. By coordinating the use of the funds, with the needs of your local area, you will be making the largest impact possible, with the fewest dollars.

Question 3 – How am I going to connect the participants to the event on an emotional level?

People are always willing to support a good cause, but when the cause becomes personal, their willingness turns into commitment. It has been our experience that bringing the memories of those who have not survived the Marfan Syndrome, back into the minds of our friends and relatives, has been the most successful way to achieve this commitment. As such, we determined early on whose life the event would be held in memory of, and we do specific things to bring these memories back to the people who might organize and participate in the event. One of the ways we achieve this is with our promotional communications. As we begin to promote the event, we make it clear that the event is in honor of a fallen friend. We also use a sign-in memory board at the event. This is a large poster board with a picture of our person whom the event is in memory of, and we have all the attendees sign the board, and leave messages of love and caring. These memory boards are brought to each subsequent event as well, showing people that those who we have lost to the Marfan Syndrome are not lost to us. During our 3rd annual event, the memory boards were widely viewed, and the life of the individual we have lost was shared and celebrated. We believe that this, more than anything, keeps our constituents connected to the event year-after-year.

Gathering Support from Friends and Family

Hosting a “Drink for a Cure” fundraising event will require you to communicate effectively and appropriately with a wide range of people. Starting early and sending communications to your prospective organizers, volunteers, attendees and donors on a regular basis, and building the message throughout the months leading up to the event, will help to ensure a strong turnout. In addition to promoting the attendance at the event, you should also use this opportunity to ask people for donations of money and gifts. You may be surprised to find out how many people have something of value to donate.

There are several key messages that you will want to get across to your organizers and volunteers very early in the process. These include:

1. What work needs to be done, and why it needs to be done
2. When the work needs to be completed
3. Who is doing what

Separating duties and providing regular feedback to a core group of prospective organizers and volunteers will enable everyone involved to participate, but not be overwhelmed. You will find that certain people have interests in doing specific things. For instance, some people are good a creating brochures, others are good at obtaining corporate donations and still others are good and creating gift baskets out of donated goods. Listing the roles that need to be filled, and getting the organizers and volunteers to select the ones they feel most comfortable with, can greatly enhance the enjoyment these people will feel while providing the assistance needed. The following roles are regularly needed for events that plan to raise over $2,500.

Event Coordinator – This is the lead person, responsible for making sure that all of the activities that need to happen have been covered, and are being completed in a timely manner.

Fundraiser(s) – This is a role for someone who has access to people who can make donations of money or goods. On most teams there will be several people who take on this role. Both organizers and volunteers have the ability to obtain donations fairly easily as long as they have the tools they need to communicate the goals of the event to a prospective donor.

Brochure and Flyer Publisher – The best way to communicate the message of the event and the needs of the National Marfan Foundation is to create written materials that can be given to your fundraising team. It is infinitely easier to give a prospective donor an 8 ½ x 11 inch tri-fold brochure that explains what your are trying to do, than to try and convince a person by merely talking to them. The brochure will also enable just about anyone to help you obtain donations since it will include the details of the “Drink for a Cure” Event on paper and in front of them and the prospective donor. The person who takes this role should be capable of using a work processor or publishing software that will make the job of creating the brochure or flyer quite simple. People will generally let you know when they have this skill and this type of software.

Communication Manager – Sending periodic information to the prospective donors and attendees requires someone who is comfortable with e-mail, and has the ability to write a clear communiqué. The person who has this role will prepare and send regular communications to everyone that is identified as a potential donor or attendee, and will ask them for their commitment to attend or donate several times during the months and weeks leading up to the event. We have found that sending reminder e-mails each month leading up to the event, and then sending e-mails each week during the last month before the event, motivates more people to attend, or donate if they can not attend.

Money Manager – In order to put on a “Drink for a Cure” Event, you may need to have some money out of your pocket, and you may need to commit that money to those vendors you need, but who will not donate their goods or services. People with a strong background in managing money and in handling numbers are best to take this role. This person will also be responsible for obtaining all of the funds that come in for the event, reimbursing people who are out-of-pocket on expenses for the event, and forwarding the remaining funds to the National Marfan Foundation. Also, at the end of the evening, the money manager should collect all of the money from the various organizers and volunteers, so they can forward those funds onto the Nation Marfan Foundation

Drawing Manager – a Drawing is an activity at an event where you sell tickets for a chance to win prizes during the event. Prizes must be identified and obtained, tickets must be sold, their stubs collected and the winners must be picked. One person may be able to handle the entire activity if the drawing is small enough, but if you have more the 50 attendees, you will probably need one extra person for each 50 attendees.

Silent Auction Manager - a Silent Auction is an activity at an event where people bid against each other to win prizes during the event. Prizes must be identified and obtained, the auction paperwork must be prepared and the winners must be notified once the auction closes. One person may be able to handle the entire activity if the silent auction is small enough; but if you have more the 50 attendees, you will probably need one extra person for each 50 attendees.

Door Manager – The night of the event, you will need to perform a few activities with each attendee. The best place to do this is at the front door, so you can ensure you get everyone who attends, organized and accounted for. The door duties include collecting tickets or money and providing wristbands to those people who attend. Generally the wristband is the best way to communicate to the food and beverage servers that an attendee has paid their entrance fee. You may also provide giveaways and literature at the door to ensure everyone gets one.

Security Manager– While no one wants to think that people will cause problems at a fundraiser, the fact is preparing for any problem is the best way to avoid one. Identifying one person as the Security Manager is a good idea if you are going to have more than 100 attendees at your event. This person should be familiar with basic observation skills, and they should check in with each of the other roles during the evening just to make sure everything is going smoothly. Many times the security manager’s role is simply to give attendees information on where the restrooms are, what food and beverage is available and how they participate in the drawing or the silent auction. At the end of the evening, the Security Manager should team-up with the Money Manager to make sure that the funds collected at the event are secured, and the Money Manager is safely on their way. We have never experience a problem, but we have heard that other fundraiser have, so a little coordination will go a long way.

Other Roles – As you plan your event you may find the need for additional people, and they may have roles that expand upon the ones listed above. If you do, please forward them to steven.banke@gmail.com so we can add them to the website.

Selecting an Event Date

The event date selection process will be affected by several variables. These include:

• Time of year
• Day of the week
• Venue availability
• Attendee, Organizer, and Volunteer availability

For this reason it is a good idea to get a date selected at least 6 to 8 months in advance. By doing so you will provide yourself with the best chance of getting things to go the way you want.

Depending on where you are geographically located, certain dates may not be practical for the event. For instance, in Chicago, the “Drink For a Cure” attendees requested that we hold the event outdoors, on a Saturday night, in the middle of September. This is the time of year where Chicagoans are most comfortable outside, the day of the week they most enjoy participating in a party-type atmosphere, and when there is the least likelihood of a conflict with other events such as weddings, graduations, vacations and holidays. It is also a time when pubs and restaurants are most likely to accommodate this outdoor event without conflicts. Talking with your organizers and volunteers about their planed dates is also critical to ensuring that those people can make the date.

Selecting a Venue

The main decision to contemplate when choosing a venue is how appropriate is the venue to the goals of your “Drink For a Cure” Event. You will find that many pubs and restaurants have special back rooms for events of this type, and they are looking for the opportunity to use that space. You can also hold these events at people’s homes, or other cultural locations such as Art Galleries, High-End lighting stores, and other businesses that provide food and beverage service. When making the venue selection, you should consider all of the following:

1. Venue Size - Will the location have the right amount of space? The last thing you want is to cram 100 people into a space built for 25, or for 2,500. The owners of the venue should have a good idea of what group size will work best, so have those discussions with them before you make your selection.
2. Costs – What you spend on the event will generally come out of the funds you collect from the event donors and attendees. The higher the cost, the more funds you need to raise to meet your goal. Many businesses will donate food, liquor, space, staff and equipment to make you event a success if they feel that the donation will turn into good-will and future business. Many times a pub or restaurant will go to their distributors and ask for the food and beverages to be donated if you request that they do so. This may limit what is served at your “Drink for a Cure” Event, but if its FREE, the goal is that much easier to attain. However, don’t let them skimp on the quality of the products they serve if you want to create an event that people will attend year-after-year.
3. Physical Location – Holding an event call “Drink for a Cure” immediately bring the responsibility of ensuring the safety of your attendees. Selecting a location that is safe, has ample parking, is well lit, is up to speed with the building codes, and has access to public transportation should all play into your decision making process.
4. Relationships – If you know people who own facilities that can host a “Drink for a Cure” Event, you may find that they will take on much of the management related to the night of the event. Personal relationships can go a long way when you are fundraising, and people who are in the business of food service know a lot about hosting fundraising events. If you can benefit from one of these relationships, it might be in your best interest to consider it.
5. Entertainment – You should provide some sort of entertainment during your “Drink For a Cure” Event. Small events may only have music piped in over the locations house speakers, while larger events might employ local musicians to perform or host gaming tables so attendees can try their luck while supporting the cause. If you plan on providing entertainment, you should discuss it in detail with the owner or manager of the venue and you may need to make special arrangements or obtain permits.
6. Drawings and Silent Auctions – These activities require space, and equipment, including tables, whiteboards and sometimes electricity. When you scout out a location, and you plan to engage in a drawing and / or a silent auction, make sure you know where you will be able to setup the space for it, and that the venue can provide you with the resources you need to make it work.
7. Appropriateness – Not everyone will support or go to any venue just because a fundraiser is being held there. Understanding what venues are acceptable to your target audience is a nice thing to do, and it will ensure that people want to attend and support your efforts. Here are few rules of thumb:
• If its cold outside, or could rain, hold the event with an indoor option
• Don’t hold the event at a venue where attendees may feel morally challenged, such as Gentleman’s Clubs or Gaming facilities
• Some people have special food, or access needs, so if your audience does, make sure these are considered
• Homes without ample parking, or space should be avoided, and if the neighbors don’t approve, think twice before hosting it there

Negotiating Prices for Food and Beverages

When hosting a “Drink for a Cure” Event, everything can be donated or negotiated to a very low price. Once again, knowing the owner of the establishment, and being a regular patron of that establishment, always seems to be the best way to get a great deal on the food and beverages, as well as the service.

The food and beverages will likely be the largest expense of the event, if you do not get them donated. Most pubs and restaurants offer “Per Head” pricing for different packages of food and liquor. While many of the establishments will donate all the food (or allow you to bring donated food in), most will not donate all the beverages unless their distributors donate that liquor to them, so be sure to ask the owner or manager if he would ask his distributor to donate for the event.

If you do have to pay per head pricing, most establishments have three packages that offer different options for the types of beverages they will serve. Each level of service has an associated price. The common terms for these levels of beverage service, and their associated beverages are:

Tab Service – This service works well for smaller parties when the establishment can just keep a “Tab” for the event. When the evening is over, whatever is on the Tab is what you pay. You can always ask for percentage discounts on the Tab when you negotiate the rates, or you can have the establishment cover an initial amount (i.e. The first $500) or an amount over a certain limit (i.e. Anything over $500).

Well Service – This is generally the cheapest “Per-Head” price, narrowest selection of beverages and lowest quality of beverages. It will generally include all forms of soft drinks, all mass-produced domestic beers / wines and the least expensive vodkas, gins and whiskeys. In our experience, this level of service should cost you no more than $15 per head, in major metro areas. Prices should be less in suburban and rural areas.

Call Service – This is a middle of the road service that enhances the Well Service to include most mass-produced imported beers, some middle priced wines and lower-end, name-brand vodka, gins and whiskeys. In our experience, this level of service should cost you no more than $25 per head in major metro areas. Prices should be less in suburban and rural areas.

Top Shelf Service – This is the high-end of the beverage services and includes most liquor available at the establishment accept those super-high-end liquors that cost over $15 a shot. In our experience, this level of service should cost you no more than $35 per head in major metro areas. Prices should be less in suburban and rural areas.

If you are hosting an “In-Home” event, you should go to the local liquor store and try to negotiate a significantly discounted amount for your beverages. Many liquor stores will provide deep discounts for the opportunity to advertise at the event, especially since it is attracting people who will use their products. Of course, you should also see if they would donate all or some of the beverages to keep the cost of the event to a minimum. These establishments also use distributors, and they have the ability to ask those distributors for donations as well, so be sure to walk in with a donation from the distributor in mind first, and then drop-down to a discount, if the establishment can’t provide donated products.

The key to a successful “Drink for a Cure” Event will be matching the needs of your attendees to the food and beverages offered. In our experience, asking your target audience what they want will help narrow down the needs quickly. Also, after you host your first event, solicit feedback from the attendees on what they liked, and what they would like to see done differently. You may be surprised at how many people will give you quality feedback. If you can cater to the needs of the people you attract to the event, you will begin to develop a recurring and loyal base of attendees; and these people will help you draw larger groups of people to future events.

Setting your Event Pricing

Setting the event pricing can be a tricky thing. As your ticket price goes up, you need fewer people at the event to achieve your donation goal. However, as your ticket price goes up, you will attract fewer and fewer people to the event since not everyone can afford high-ticket prices. We found that setting our ticket prices $15 - $25 over our expected “Per-Head” attendee cost was the best way to ensure that we balanced the costs of the event to the ticket prices. Generally speaking, if your ticket prices are between $25 and $60 “Per-Head”, the majority of people you target will see this price as a value since a night out on the town would cost this much as well. Understanding what your target audience would spend on an average Saturday night is also a great way to set the ticket price as long as you know that the money you raise will cover the costs and enable you to reach your donation goal.

Identifying your Participants

Once you have identified your organizers and your volunteers, you should sit down with them and discuss who should attend the event. You may want to invite anyone and everyone, or you may want to target a specific group of people that are common to the event stakeholders. In either case, the process is simple. Ask everyone to make a list of all the people they would like to see at the event, and then obtain the contact information for these people.

Targeting the people who you want to attend, and people who can bring others to the event, will provide you with a much higher success rate, and give you a better idea of the attendance before you have the event. The personal touch that goes along with knowing the event organizers and volunteers will create a greater commitment in your target attendees.

As you get into your 2nd and 3rd annual event, you will find that those people who attended in the past will bring additional attendees to the event as long as you let them know that it something you would like to see. Asking people to bring their friends and families is also a way to make the event a special time of year for them. Most attendees are more than willing to bring a few extra people, so they can have a great time with these people. As such, you should encourage their participation, and recognize those people who help you attract a larger audience.

If you want to invite everyone in the community, then advertising the event in the local newspapers, local newsletters or via flyers and brochures will become more important. It is much harder to do a general admission type event since you won’t really know how many attendees to plan for. Also, mass marketing (as apposed to target marketing), will yield fewer attendees per target. A good rule of thumb is less than 0.05% of the people who see the mass-marketed information will consider attending the event. This means that if you get the message out to an audience of 10,000 people via the newspaper or other local media, less than 5 of them will consider attending, and fewer than that will actually attend. You will also have no control over who these attendees are, so be sure to plan for security, just in case you attract someone who may not share your common set of values.

Communicating with Prospective Participants

When planning your event, the communication process can be the single most important thing you do. People want to know what to expect at your event, so be sure to tell them everything. They especially want to know the following:

• Reason for the event (i.e. to raise awareness of connective tissue disorders)
• Donation goal for the event
• How the donation money will be used (i.e. pediatric education programs)
• Cost of the event
• Location of the event
• Date of the event
• Start and end time for the event
• Food and beverages that will be served at the event
• Drawing and Silent Auction details
• Parking information
• Public transportation options
• Entertainment details

In our experience, the first two items are critical to communicate to your audience first. Getting people attached to the event begins with giving them a reason to be interested in what you are doing. We have found that most people are excited to have the opportunity to give something back to the world in the form of a donation. They are even more excited when they also get something fun out of it. Every “Drink for a Cure” Event should have “FUN” written all over it. The whole idea is to do something good while we are feeling good, and having a party to raise money for a great cause like the National Marfan Foundation provides both of these elements. Use this to your advantage when communicating to your target attendees. The more fun they think they will have, the more likely they will be to attend, and to invite the people they know.

Selecting the means of communication is always a matter of personal choice. We have found that using e-mails, with attached brochures, works best. In order to make this process simple, this website has an e-mail manager you can use, at no cost, to organize your target attendees, and to send e-mails to these people. For more information on the e-mail manager, please register as a host and see the E-mail Manager page.

Communicating the results of your event

It is just as important to communicate the results of the event, as it is to communicate the planning of the event, to your donors, organizers, volunteers and attendees. Remember, at the core of every person who donates is the desire to give something back to the world, so letting them know how they did is critical to the process of gathering long-term commitments to your event. The post-event communication should include all the following information:

• Details of how the event unfolded
• How much money was raised
• How the money will be used
• How many people attended
• How successful you felt the event was
• Comments about your next "Drink for a Cure" Event (i.e. "See you next year!!")
• A request for people to continue to help you spread the message (i.e. what is the Marfan Syndrome?)

Raising Funds

There are numerous was to raise money for your “Drink for a Cure” Event. These include:

• Selling tickets to the event
• Selling Ads in your “Event Ad Book”
• Obtaining donations from individuals and businesses
• Hosting a drawing or silent auction at the event
• Providing gaming opportunities at the event (i.e. Bingo, Poker, Black Jack etc)

Each of these activities requires their own special approach, but they are all easy to do, and the more of them you have at the event, the more involved your attendees and donors will get in the cause. The following sub-sections provide details on each.

Selling Tickets to the Event

Getting people to attend an event can be a lot easier if you pre-sell tickets. This gets the attendee committed to the date, and the ticket itself should provide them with the basic details of the event. If you plan to pre-sell tickets, the first thing you will need to do is get these tickets printed. Your local print shop can do this for you, and many times they will donate this printing for an opportunity to advertise at the event. The key to having a successful ticket is to include all the information on the ticket. These include:

• Unique number (i.e. ticket serial number)
• Name of the event
• Date of the event
• Location of the event
• Start and end time for the event
• Notice that the ticket has "No Cash Value"
• Any other promotional information that will fit on the ticket

Once you have the tickets in hand, let your target attendees know that ticket pre-sale is available, and when people say they plan on attending, try and get them to pre-buy the ticket. Being respectful of those who are not sure if they can attend is also important because you do not want to alienate people from the event, but if they are wholly committed, selling the tickets before the event is completely appropriate.

Selling Ads in your "Event Ad Book"

Creating an "Event Ad Book" is a great way to raise money, or acquire goods for your drawing or your silent auction, from local businesses. Creating an “Event Ad Book” is easy, and can be done with any word processor or publishing software program. The person who assumes the role of Brochure and Flyer Publisher may also be the right person to assemble the "Event Ad Book", since they will have the tools to do the job.

The "Event Ad Book" can be as simple as 8 ½ x 11-inch paper, printed landscape and stapled in the middle to form a small book. With this format you can sell Ads in the Full, Half and Quarter Page sizes. Each of the Ad sizes for this book will generally be no larger than the following dimensions when using the 8 ½ x 11-inch format:

• Full Page Ad = 5" w X 8" high
• Half Page Ad = 5" w X 3.75" high
• 1/4 Page Ad = 5" w X 2" high

The price for each Ad is up to you. Our pricing model is as follows:

• Full Page Ad = $250
• Half Page Ad = $150
• 1/4 Page Ad = $75

These are dollar amounts that most local businesses can easily afford to pay for advertising, and they usually have a budget set aside for exactly these kinds of events.

Important Note: If you decide to do an "Event Ad Book", be sure to have the local business create the Ad. You want to make sure they get their message across to your attendees, however, you may also encourage them to make their Ad into a coupon that the attendee can use in the future. This will allow the business to see a buy-back to their Ad investment.

Acquiring gifts from people and local businesses

If you plan to have a drawing or a silent auction at your "Drink for a Cure" Event, you will need to have prizes to give away to the winners. Obtaining these prizes from people and local businesses is actually quite easy, and will only require you to ask. The following is a list of items that have been featured in previous "Drink for a Cure" Events.

• Tickets to sporting and other entertainment events (i.e. baseball, football or movie tickets)
• Gift certificates from local businesses (i.e. restaurants, pubs, clothing or specialty stores, grocery stores, etc)
• Beer, Wine and Liquor
• Artwork
• New Clothing
• Antiques
• Sports and entertainment memorabilia
• Gift Boxes with novelty foods, fruits and candies
• Any other item that is new, packaged and could be combined with other goods to make a gift basket

Obtaining Individual Donations

Even though everyone you target may not be able attend, you can still have them donate to the cause. When you communicate to your target audience, be sure to let them know that individual donations are really appreciated. In addition, the National Marfan Foundation website has an online donation system. You can find it at the following link:

NMF Donation Website

http://www.marfan.org/jsp/donor_form.jsp

1. Select Donate Online
2. In the Drop Down Box Choose "Fund Raising Event"
3. In the "Name of the Event" box - please paste in the following - Drink for a Cure
4. In the comments box below, please paste in the following – "YOUR EVENT NAME HERE"
5. Choose your donation amount
6. Complete the e-commerce transaction using VISA, MasterCard or American Express

If your attendees follow these instructions, the National Marfan Foundation will easily be able to report the results of individual donations to you. Your local NMF Chapter can get this information to you once the event is over.

You may also receive checks and cash from individuals during the weeks and months' leading up to the event, or after the event has passed. Please be sure to forward these funds to your local chapter as soon as you receive them.

Obtaining Corporate Donations

Corporate donors represent a great way to increase your donation goals. Corporations tend to have the ability to donate larger amounts than individuals and local businesses, and you should feel confident in asking for them. Most corporations are concerned that they are giving to a reputable cause, and that the money is ear marked for doing good within their local communities, or on large-scale philanthropic effort. It has been our experience that corporate donations fall into one of three categories:

• Monetary gifts, usually in increments of $250, $500 or $1,000
• Sporting tickets
• Products

Each of these gifts is valuable to the cause. Monetary donations will allow you to host the event. For instance, a corporation may fund the cost of the venue in exchange for advertising that says, "All Food and Drinks Donated by...". They may also want to have a presence at the event, so you should welcome their participation in exchange for donations.

Many corporations maintain season tickets to local sporting events, and they are glad to provide 2 or 4 tickets to one of the events. These tickets tend to be highly prized by the attendees, and you can use them as a part of a silent auction item, or as the grand prize in a drawing. If you are fortunate enough to obtain tickets for your event, be sure to promote that fact to your target attendees. Not everyone can obtain tickets to these events; so winning the tickets is a great motivational factor in their attendance.

Corporations also have the ability to donate the goods and services they provide as a part of their ongoing business. Photographers, Product manufacturers and retail chains generally have pre-determined packages they provide for these types of events and usually all you need to do is ask.

In the end, the process of asking for corporate donations breaks down to these quick steps:

1. Prepare your brochure
2. Approach the corporation and provide them a copy of the brochure
3. Ask for a donation

Gaming Considerations

You may want to add some additional excitement to your event by providing gaming opportunities. There are too many forms of games to explain here, but generally the following are games that have produced solid results for fundraisers:

• Bingo
• Poker
• Black Jack
• Craps
• Mystery Role-Playing Games (i.e. similar to playing the game "Clue"

Providing gaming services may require a lot of effort, and may not be acceptable to all your attendees. So be sure to determine whether or not the gaming would be attractive to you target attendees, and if you can manage the work involved. If you choose to have gaming at your "Drink for a Cure" Event, then you will also need to check with the venue owners and the local government to determine the rules you must operate under. In some circumstances you may need permits, professional staff and security.

Taking Checks, Credit Cards and Cash

Throughout the planning, hosting and wrap-up phase of your "Drink for a Cure" Event, you will be handling money. These funds will be available in many forms, including Checks, Credit Cards and Cash. Each should be handled in a specific manner so that you can ensure transparency in your management of these funds, and so you can ensure that all the donations make there way to your local NMF Chapter. The following are good guidelines to follow:

Checks – All checks should be made out to the "National Marfan Foundation". Be sure to communicate this too all your target donors and attendees. If you accidently receive a check that is made out to you, or one of your fundraiser(s), be sure to have the check endorsed by the person, and then signed over to the National Marfan Foundation. You should NEVER deposit a check for your “Drink for a Cure” Event into your personal bank account. Doing so can make you liable for taxes on the money, and may put you in a compromising situation with other interested parties.

Credit Cards – Most of us will not have the ability to process credit cards on behalf of the National Marfan Foundation. As such, the NMF has created a form that can be used to obtain funds from donors and attendees without having to do the credit card processing. If you choose to use this form, you must be sure to protect this information, and to forward all of them to your local NMF Chapter for processing. A copy of this form can be found on the "Templates" page on this website.

Cash - Taking cash as a donation, or as the entrance fee, will require you to have a means in which you can secure the money until you can forward it to your local NMF Chapter. Cash can be the easiest form of currency to obtain, but it can also be the most challenging form of currency to manage, especially if your event has over 100 attendees and/or donors. Be sure to secure all cash in one place, and to keep a written record of the cash obtained. Also, if you are handling large amounts of cash (i.e. in excess of $1,000), be sure to have your Security Manager keep an eye on you and the money so there is always an awareness of the where the funds are at. We have never experienced problems managing cash, but a little prevention and awareness can ensure that you never do. Also, never deposit cash, which you raised for the NMF, into your personal bank account. Doing so could make you liable for taxes on the money. Instead, arrange to have an officer of your local NMF Chapter at the event, and supply those funds to that person at the end of the evening.

It is also a good idea to have a written document that the local NMF Officer signs when they receive the Checks, Credit Card forms or Cash from your "Drink for a Cure" Event. This will help guarantee that the donation was made with the highest integrity from all parties involved.

Hosting your Event

Designing and printing tickets, flyers, brochures, banners and T-Shirts

If you have someone who will take the role of Brochure and Flyer Publisher, this person will be creating the brochure and the flyer, and in doing so, will obtain artwork, content and other elements that can be use on the tickets, a banner or t-shirts, should you choose to use these with your "Drink for a Cure" Event. If you want to print the tickets and the banners professionally, you will need to contract with a vendor that can do this. Many vendors will donate these services, or provide discounts for fundraising events. If you know an owner of a printing company, you may have more success getting this person to donate than someone you do not know, but we have had success with both, so don’t hesitate to ask.

You will need to have a design in mind when you prepare your printed materials. We have found that creating printed materials that all have a similar look-and-feel creates a sense of professionalism, even when the materials are printed on your own color printer. If you have an organizer or volunteer with a background in graphics arts, they can be instrumental in creating amazing documents for the event.

T-Shirts are really not any more difficult to produce than other printed materials; however, you will most likely need a vendor to help get these done. T-Shirt vendors tend to have over-stock of certain low-cost shirts that they can deeply discount for you, and they can donate the printing services, or deeply discount those too. If you find you are going to spend more than $5 per printed t-shirt, talk to other vendors, search the internet for custom t-shirt printers, or contact your local NMF Chapter for access to vendors they know.

Setting up a drawing

A drawing is a competition in which people buy numbered tickets, and win prizes if their ticket is picked. At a set time, the winners are drawn from a bucket containing a copy of every numbered ticket. The copy of the ticket is then matched to a prize, and the person with the corresponding numbered ticket wins that prize.

A drawing can include several different possible prizes that can be won, and a ticket will simply be drawn from the group at random for each of the prizes. Having a drawing at your event is a simple way to raise additional funds, provide additional value to your attendees, and to help the local businesses get their names out there. The main items necessary for a drawing are:

• Roll of numbered tickets with an attached copy
• Bucket to collect the purchased tickets
• Prizes (generally tickets and gift certificates that are donated by local businesses)
• Designated person (or people) to pick the winners
• You may also want a white board to post the winners on

We have found that selling 3 tickets for $5 and 15 tickets for $20 works extremely well to motivate people to buy $20 in drawing tickets, and significantly helps achieving your "Drink for a Cure" Event goal.

It has been our experience that only a few items should be available for the raffle, and one of the items should be a significant value to the winner (i.e. the value of the prize should be much greater than the cost of the raffle ticket.)

Setting up silent auction

A silent auction is a form-based auction where contestants compete for prizes by bidding on them using a pen and paper. The Silent Auction Manager will prepare a sheet of paper for each item that is to be auctioned, and on this paper they will list the prize, list the opening bid amount (which is the minimum dollar amount that the item can go for), and place each piece of paper on a separate clip board with an attached pen. The paper will also include lines for the bidders name and their bid amount. They will then prepare a table (or many tables if you have lots of items) in a spot at the event where attendees can view the prizes and make their bids.

During your "Drink for a Cure" Event, people will begin to put bids down on paper, and others will try and out-bid them to with the prize. At a specified time, the bidding will stop, and the person with the highest bid on each sheet of paper will win the prize. It is amazing how much money can be raised when some thought goes into the organization of the prizes for the silent auction. It has been our experience that creating baskets that combine items you acquire from businesses and individuals will make a great impression on your attendees. The following are examples of baskets that you could create:

• Healthcare Basket – which may include a gift certificate to a local exercise facility, a high-end workout towel, workout clothing, a gift certificate to a local spa, and some healthy foods or drinks
• Local Dining Basket – which may include gift certificates to a number of local restaurants.
• Wine and Cheese Basket – which may include a few bottles of wine, a few wheels of cheese, a cheese cutting board, knife and wine bottle opener.
• Picnic Basket – which may include a set of outdoor cups, silverware, napkins, small cooler, and a blanket.
• Martini Basket – which may include a set of martini glasses, a bottle of olives, a bottle of high-end vodka and a shaker.
• Do-It-Yourself Basket – which may include tools, nails, screws, tape, and other home repair and improvement items.
• Gourmet Cooking Basket – which may include a special set of spices, oils, kitchen tools and an apron.
• Sports Basket – which may include tickets to a game, a ball, a glove, a hat or anything else that has a logo for a specific team.

There is no limit to the number or types of baskets you can create, and many of your ideas will come from the items that you acquire in the months and weeks leading up to the event. Also, if you have an idea for a basket, but don’t have all the items you feel you need to make it well rounded item, figure out what you need, and contact a local merchant that carries the items. Chances are they will be just as happy to donate the specific things you want, if you can let them know what they are.

Finally, you will need baskets, fill and nice quality cellophane to complete the baskets and to make them presentable. These materials can be also be donated by your local arts and crafts store. If the vendor will not donate the baskets to the event, they will likely give you deep discounts as long as they get some advertisement out of it.

In addition to doing baskets, other items that do not require baskets work well as silent auction items too. Examples of these items include:

• Sports Memorabilia - (i.e. signed pictures, balls, bats, hats, shirts etc.)
• Hollywood Memorabilia - (i.e. signed pictures, clothing, etc.)
• Musical Memorabilia (i.e. signed pictures clothing albums, CDs etc.)
• Big Ticket Items – (i.e. Expensive Tools, Kitchen Cutlery, Golf Clubs, Flat Screen TVs, PCs, etc.)

Setting you opening bids for the silent auction is somewhat of an art. You will likely have people with different interests and budgets that attend your "Drink for a Cure" Event, and providing the whole crowd with opportunities to bid will enable you to raise the most money with this activity. As such, you should try to have items that have opening bids that range from $5 for low cost baskets to $150 for high-end sports, musical and Hollywood memorabilia.

If you are having difficulty getting donations of big ticket items, and you really want them in your auction, try to contact a vendor you know, and see if they will allow you to have some of their items on consignment. Consignment is a method of getting goods into your auction, without having to pay for them unless they are purchased by an attendee. Many vendors will allow you do this, and will generally sell the item to you at a price that is close to their cost. This will allow the product to be a great value to your attendees that might be interested in it. In the event you have to do this, just set your opening bids at $5 to $10 above the vendors cost to you, and then you will be guaranteed to make money on the item. If no one bids, simply return it to the vendor.

Musical selections that motivate donations

Playing music at your "Drink for a Cure" Event can greatly improve the atmosphere for the party. Choosing musical selections that match your attendees' tastes is very important, because nothing will turn-off a crowd faster than bad music, or music that is played too loud, or too soft. The possible variations that can be used are endless, and you may use music as a part of your "Drink for a Cure" Event theme, such as Irish Music, Country and Western Music or Classical String Quartets.

It is best to advertise some sense of this during your communications to your target attendees so their expectations are set before they arrive. Once people know, they generally find a great deal of enjoyment as long as the music is at an acceptable volume, and is of an acceptable quality. There is no hard and fast rule of what to play, so what is important is to choose music that you know will make your attendees want to come back again.

Live Entertainment Considerations

Having "Live" entertainment at your event can be a way to really increase the attendance; however, not every performer will meet with the needs of your audience. It is best to know the act that will be performed, and to feel good about its appropriateness for your audience. Examples of "Live" performers that work well at fundraising events are:

• Rock & Roll Cover Bands
• Acoustic Guitar Duos
• Piano Duos
• Comedians
• Theatrical Performers

In most instances you will not want to have the performers overwhelm the audience with noise, so keeping their amplifiers turned down to a level that will allow your attendees to mingle and talk, without shouting over the performers, will be best.

Working with the staff at the venue

If you choose to have your event at a Pub, restaurant or banquet hall, you will have to coordinate the event with the staff at that location. The manager who will be on duty during your event is going to be a critical person to get to know before you set the event in motion. You should meet with this person several months before the event if possible, and discuss all of the activities and expectation that you have. In many instances, this is the same person that will negotiate prices with you, if the venue is not donating the food and/or beverages. There are many considerations to review with the manager, and they include:

• Dedicated Area – you will want to have a dedicated area for your event, so that your guests feel like the event is for them, and not just for the general public.
• Food Setup – generally your food will be served buffet style, and this requires space. You want the food in a location that the attendees can easily see it, and can easily get to it in a crowd. If an outside vendor will be donating your food, they may need access to the venues kitchen. This can be a tricky situation if your event coincides with the venue’s dinner rush. Talking it through with the manager will ensure a smooth situation for everyone involved.
• Fundraising Activities – not every venue will allow you to hold a drawing, conduct a silent auction, or provide gaming options to your attendees. Getting to know what the venue will allow in advance of planning the activity will greatly ease your workload, and will help you avoid surprises. You will also want to discuss where you can setup your drawing or silent auction with the manager, and find out if the venue can supply you with any tables and chairs you may need for these activities during the event.
• Distributor Donations – The venue manager is generally the person who works their distributors day-in and day-out. Asking the venue manager to find out if their distributors will donate all or some of the food and beverages will generally get you the best response from those distributors.
• Entertainment – the manager will have the best idea of what entertainment is allowed, and where you can setup for the entertainment. They will also know their own audio/visual systems best, and they will let you know how much you can count on from them, and what you may need to supply yourself.
• Other Staff – During the night of your “Drink for a Cure” Event, you will need additional staff to assist with the attendees needs. These will include servers, bus people, and in some instances security. The manager will be able to determine how much staff is required based on the specifics of your "Drink for a Cure" Event, so be sure to outline the expected number of attendees, the activities you will engage in, and what your service-level expectations are.

Collecting money at the event

As your "Drink for a Cure" Event begins, the very first thing your organizers and volunteers will have to do is collect the entrance fees from the attendees. As your "Drink for a Cure" event gets moving, you will also have to collect money for any drawing tickets that are sold to the attendees. Finally, if you hold a silent auction at your "Drink for a Cure" Event, you will have to collect money from the winners of the auction items. It is best to try and limit the amount of cash you take in, but this will be completely dependant upon what form of money your attendees bring.

Also, having a credit card option available will greatly enhance your attendees' ability to participate in these add-on fundraising events, so work with your local National Marfan Foundation chapter to get the credit card option for your "Drink for a Cure" Event if at all possible.

The Money Manager should periodically collect the cash, checks and credit card forms throughout the evening, and should have a locked place to store them. As the event gets rolling, it is easy to let the time slip away, and to loose control over where the funds are at. We have found that collecting excess cash, checks and credit card forms each hour works very well. You will also want to have your Security Manager paired up with your Money Manager if the event is over 100 people, so that there is a good check and balance system in place. We have not experienced any issues with the funds in the past, but planning for the security is a prudent thing to do just in case you accidentally end up with an attendee that does not share your values.

Finally, you will need to have some cash available at the event if you are accepting cash for the entrance fee, or for the other fundraising activities. This money will allow you to provide your attendees with change in the event they want to pay in cash. You should create a document that shows exactly how much cash you supply as change for your organizers and volunteers so there is no surprise when you need to get that money back at the end of your "Drink for a Cure" Event.

Getting Help from the "Drink for a Cure" website

If you have questions about the information contained on this website, or if you need answers that you can’t find on this website, please e-mail steven.banke@gmail.com, and we will get back to you within 48 hours.