Category Archives: Nonprofit

F&B Fun

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Rather than championing hors d’oeuvres and filled drinks on a buffet ready for pick up, we thought we’d highlight some fabulous food and beverage presentations that make a much larger impression on guests.

Dressed to Impress

These mobile human tables can be fantastic ways to (literally) carry your theme throughout your event, while adding entertainment pizzazz.

Obviously these are great food trays for themed parties and fundraisers, but these could also be great vehicles for silent auction or party favor displays as well.

Just remember to provide ample space for these tables to move around the room and between guests while maintaining good flow. Found here and here.

 

Hors Wall

As highlighted by fellow blogger, Satin & Snowflakes, a catering company called Tulips & Maple has begun to perfect the art of entertaining through catering. They’ve coined it ‘catertaining’. Check out the wall o’ hors d’oeuvres they had on display at one of their recent events. Such a unique, nearly Willy Wonka type of playful presentation.

This could be a great presentation option for kids, with the removable wooden (or could be colored plastic) spoons and the ability to have these line the walls in whatever shape or pattern you’d like.

Beverage Beauties

And how about these exquisite additions to a client event, Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain recently held?

Champagne poured into and served right from her skirt. Genius (and still wildly elegant).

These could be wonderful additions to formal cocktail hours or galas. These could also easily become more futuristic (with a change of ensemble or addition of uplit glasses).

For that matter, these could also be used for more casual affairs (by pouring coke floats, filling ice cream cones, or making flavored sodas with pre-poured syrups- that would also be very colorful).

So many options!

Wow factor worthy.

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Looking to add some live ‘pop’ to your party entertainment? Check these out:

Bubble Entrance

Hello, Smash Party Entertainment. How cool would this be for a surprise guest entrance, sweet sixteen, or any performance opening? Amy Gottesman and her talent at Smash are just genius. In fact, if you choose to go with them, be sure to speak with Amy, directly. She’s absolutely outstanding, has a great way of listening to what you’re really looking to achieve and finding the creative entertainment to help you create the wow factor for your event. Love, love, love. (If you remember the stilt dancers or contortionist from the Minds Matter Soiree 2012 event – seen here, those were connected to Smash as well.) Check out a few additional acts they have done in past here or on their website: www.smashpartyentertainment.com.

Champagne Chandeliers (or aerial bartenders)

Gaining more and more global popularity, these lovely ladies are sure to make your crowd bubble with intrigue. These aerial bartenders hang from inside the chandelier, and while performing pour glasses of bubbly for your guests. How’s that for making an impression? Looking to wow some senior executives? Launching a new product? Hoping to make your cocktail party or fundraiser unforgettable?

Check out these beauties here, here, or here (for Amsterdam!).

Ice Sculpting Performers

Rather than hiring an entertainment act as well as additionally dazzling products to make your hour happier (such as an ice sculpture to enhance your bar), go ahead and contract this team to come and sculpt ice as your entertainment AND your showpiece. These crazy carving guys have been around for quite a while (mostly competing in ice carving competitions), but it’s because their work is consistently spectacular and could definitely add punch to your party. Great for launches, corporate entertainment, employee appreciation events, or those dazzling, over-the-top, mitzvahs & sweet sixteens. And you’ve gotta love the name: Fear No Ice. Can be found here.

Speed Painters

I’m sorry. I’m pretty sure that if I even tried to create paintings the way these gentlemen do, we’d end up with something resembling a three-year-old’s first painting. Watching these made in action is astounding. As you can see from the video, essentially what you have is a man who can see his creation from every angle before it’s made. They spin the canvas, often paint with their hands or two brushes at once, and still have the full painting finished in record time (try, like, 4 minutes flat!). OUTstanding option for any fundraiser. Period. Here are a few sites for these pricey but amazing speed painting options: this one, this one, or this one.

Taking flight.

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On the heels of Earth Day, we felt it may be appropriate to give you a couple of the cooler and greener event-enhancing options we’ve seen: flogos & sky lanterns.

Flogos - It might look like a bird, a plane, or superman, but it’s really just bubbles forming a F(lying)LOGO. Launching a new product? Sponsoring a local shindig? Hosting a bar-b-que or open house? These are an uber cool way to get the word out about your event. The mixture is 100% environmentally safe and merely fills foam-like bubbles with helium rather than air, so the entire form floats. From what I’ve seen, these images can be up to four feet wide as well! Available here.

Sky Lanterns - Mimicking the known and annual “Yi Peng” Thai festival, these sky lanterns can be great ways to wish couples well at a wedding reception, send hopes into the sky for the futures of recent graduates, or as a memorial for loved ones. These beautiful and biodegradable glows can be seen for miles and create an absolutely beautifully lit sky to end any celebration. Can be purchased here or here!

And a Soirée it was…

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I’m so excited to bring you our first guest blogger: the fabulously sparkling millennial, Kate Hayes. Kate is already a powerhouse in NYC and has a passion for helping teens and women by day and by night. She writes for SocialForward.org and StraightUpNewYork.com, while still dedicating herself full time to an organization benefiting NYC students, Minds Matter, Inc.  

As you may have read in previous post: “Budget: not the most important element for nonprofit events“, we recently came together to execute another annual fundraising event for Minds Matter and the day has finally come for us to tell you all about it and reveal the photos! Take it away, Kate! 

The Minds Matter Spring Soirée is the largest fundraising effort for Minds Matter of NYC. Each year, a significant portion of our operating budget relies on the revenue from this event. 2012 marked the eleventh annual Soirée. Playing host to over 1,100 guests and raising over $240,000, this year’s Soirée was a huge success for the organization.

As the event evolves each year, there is a continual need to bring it to the next level; this includes raising additional funds for our direct programming, increasing awareness of our organization, and of course, throwing a great party for our guests! This year we surpassed our previous successes in each of these three areas.

Raising over $240,000 was a huge accomplishment for Minds Matter. This year we diversified our event revenue, including an enormously successful silent auction, ticket specials (such as 1 day “2for” special), and our first ever sponsorship tiers. The team (led by Laura) worked very hard to negotiate rates with all vendors, resulting in completely donated space, alcohol sponsorships, and reduced prices on other services.

Organizationally, we are working hard to build the Minds Matter brand. In a competitive market, it is important that our external audience knows who we are, what we do, and why they should get involved. For this year’s Spring Soirée we greatly improved our marketing and promotion of the event. By having consistent and engaging communications, an enhanced ticket sales website, and night-of marketing (including a step & repeat banner, intelligent lighting shining the organization’s logo and an engaging video), we were able to further the organization’s profile and increase our brand recognition.

Lastly, as you can see from the pictures, it was of course important for us to throw a great party. With four floors of guests, entertainment including stilt walkers, a contortionist, and a magician, live and silent auctions, catering by DavidEllis, and a hosted bar, our supporters had a great time. I cannot wait until next year’s event!

Kate Hayes
Minds Matter of NYC, Inc.  

Kate Hayes writes for SocialForward.org and StraightUpNewYork.com.

Entertainment provided by Smash Party Entertainment.  All photos courtesy of A De Vos Photo, Inc. 

Budget: not the most important element for nonprofit events.

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It’s true. The all-important, ever-dictating budget still comes second to one very important factor for nonprofit events of any kind (volunteer recruitment, fundraisers, donor appreciation, celebrations). So what’s #1?

Branding.

Branding your organization through your interactions with people on every level is wildly important. Branding allows you to keep your organization in attendees’ minds, consciously and subconsciously. It allows your organization’s personality to shine through your brand to the forefront of your attendees’ experience. (Yes, your organization has a personality all on its own whether you see it from the inside or not.) And it allows your stakeholders to have more personal conversations with, connections with & affects on your potential donors/volunteers/etc as they can afford to soften the hard sell. These strengthened personal connections are what will perpetuate gifts to your organization. People want to feel connected to the organization they give time and/or money towards.

We recently planned an event for the NYC chapter of a national nonprofit and kept the importance of this in mind. Consistently branding the organization & its event from the ‘save the date’ through social media posts to the post-event thank you cards, allows space for the organization’s & event’s uniqueness. The event itself is tomorrow night and we’ll be back to show you photos of the evening, soon following. Can’t wait to share!