"Special Events Planning for Non-Profits" is the must have guide to creating, designing, organizing, implementing and evaluating special events for non-profits. Special events are often the financial heart of many non-profits so it is imperative to learn how to make them financially successful and positively memorable. "Special Events Planning for Non-Profits" helps the experienced as well as the novice events planner and it offers a realistic but through examination of the career of an events planner. Educational choices are also discussed as well as how to start an events planning business for the entrepreneur. Most aspects of events planning are explored including: Conferences, galas, dinners, luncheons, breakfasts, golf tournaments, fashion shows, sports & theater outings, ribbon cuttings. For each specific event, the varied components are reviewed such as selecting a venue, choosing the most cost effective & appropriate entertainment, the many, many menu decisions that need to be made, decorations, using Masters of Ceremonies, opening an event to the public and much more. This is a companion book to the earlier "Guide to Grants Writing for Non-Profits" and provides a complete book package of the various aspects of running a successful non-profit.

As the philosopher Martin Buber wrote, "All real living is meeting." People like to get together. That?s why special events can often work so much better for nonprofit organizations than other, less social types of fundraising programs. From red-carpet galas to Saturday afternoon street fairs, special events offer nonprofits an unparalleled opportunity to both raise money and make friends. Yet for all the benefits—and they are great—inexperience and bad planning can make these events more trouble—and a greater financial drain—than they are worth. Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fundraising, Second Edition is the complete guide to making your next nonprofit event the rousing success it can be. Packed with author and development professional Alan Wendroff's realistic insights and pointers, this text provides a logical and comprehensive outline of event planning, with a special emphasis on fitting these events into the larger framework of the nonprofit?s organizational goals. Inside you?ll find such helpful tools as: Seven goals for a successful event The Master Event Timetable (METT), a proven organizational tool that provides step-by-step guidance through the entire event process A case study explaining in understandable detail how to implement the advice and methods outlined An accompanying CD that includes sample timelines, worksheets, checklists, budgets, writing examples, decision tables, and contracts From choosing the right event to the best way of expressing thanks afterwards, Special Events covers all aspects of producing a winning fundraiser for your organization. In addition to the brass tacks of managing logistics, the coverage includes thoughtful discussions on how to take full advantage of the networking, volunteer recruitment, public relations, and motivational opportunities your special event can provide. This updated Second Edition features new information in these areas, plus an entirely new chapter on using the Internet for event planning. With the needs of nonprofit organizations only growing as donations shrink, special events become more and more vital in sustaining the life of these organizations. Nonprofit lay leaders, professionals, and staff, as well as marketing professionals and event planners who work with nonprofits, will all find in Special Events, Second Edition a clearly drawn road map leading to fundraising success.

Special events can be the backbone of a nonprofit fund-raising program; they're also very hard work. A successful and cost-effective event t akes a great deal of planning, coordination, and effort. Successful Sp ecial Events: Planning, Hosting and Evaluating provides the guidance n ecessary to efficiently plan, implement, and evaluate such an event. Y ou'll discover how to establish your primary goal, the importance of m arket identification, special event opportunity ratings, setting goals, and the barriers to planning a successful special event.

This textbook presents marketing concepts which are then supported with real-world examples. Key features include: treatment of the most important marketing activities, marketing fundamentals, separate chapters on 'social marketing' and cause marketing, and numerous international examples.

Providing a concrete outline on event planning within the larger framework for achieving the organizational goals, this book introduces the building blocks for a successful special event (or any fund-raising programme), including raising money, marketing and public relations, building and expanding the non-profit donor base, building and motivating the volunteer pool, training and motivating your board to solicit funds, and educating the public about your organization and its mission.