How to Maximize Your Non-Profit Fundraising Events By Joe Garecht

Module #2: The Complete Guide to Supercharging Your Host Committee

Because fundraising events take a lot of hard work to plan and execute, I encourage non-profit organizations to focus on the 80/20 principle… 80% of your fundraising revenue from an event will result from just 20% of the efforts you put in and strategies you use. Some things, like flowers and table linen color choices, may make for a nicer event, but will do little to increase the revenue for your event. Other things, like your guest list and your auction items, will have a more discernible effect. There are two things, though, that will have an overwhelming impact on the fundraising revenue for your events – two things that can mean the difference between comfortably beating your fundraising goal for a gala and barely making enough to cover expenses. The two things I am talking about are your host committee and your event sponsors. If you have a great host committee and get it working right, and spend the year focused on sponsorships, you’ll have a great event. In this week’s class module, we’re going to be focused on how to build and supercharge your event host committee. Next week, we’ll focus on sponsorships. What is an event “Host Committee?” There are many definitions for an event host committee. At some non-profits, this is the group that actually does the planning and implementation work for an event – dealing with vendors, setting up the event, cleaning up, etc. At other organizations, this is an honorary committee listed on invitations and signage and made up of representatives from the event’s largest sponsors, who do not do any work as part of committee membership. For the purposes of this guide, however, the host committee has one purpose and one purpose only: fundraising. I have found that the most successful fundraising events I have ever run have been successful, in large part, because we were able to gather together a group of supporters with large networks who were willing to sell sponsorships and tickets for the event. I normally call this group the “Host Committee.” If you are running an event that already has a “working host committee” that handles logistics and volunteers at the event, that’s fine – keep them doing what they are doing, and keep calling them the host committee. But start a second group that is responsible for fundraising for the event. Call it the “Leadership Committee” or “Event Committee” or whatever you can come up with – but put a fundraising group together. Every non-profit fundraising event, no matter how small or large, needs a group of supporters who take ownership for the fundraising around the event. For the purposes of this guide, we will call this group the “host committee.”

Why is a Host Committee Important? Host committees are vitally important because they allow you to scale your fundraising efforts around an event using the most effective fundraising technique available: leveraging personal networks. It’s hard to raise amazing amounts of money around a fundraising event by relying simply on your staff, board, and mailed invitations. Yet, that’s the event game plan at most non-profits: mail out invitations, have the development staff make a couple of calls to last year’s sponsors to ask them to donate again this year, and ask the board to come up with new names for sponsors and invitations. Then, the organization waits to see what shakes out. Non-profits that use this game plan are leaving a significant amount of money on the table. Putting together a host committee – a real, fundraising-focused host committee – is one of the most important ways you can exponentially raise more money at your events this year than you did last year, and keep dramatically increasing your event goals for years to come. Notice that I said it has to be a fundraising-focused host committee. If you simply put together an eventplanning host committee that talks about entertainment options and menu tastings, but only spends 10 minutes per meeting on fundraising, then you will not see this type of revenue growth. Host committees are so powerful because they leverage the fundraising networks of the committee members. Instead of your organization simply reaching out to its own donor base for the event, your host committee members are reaching into their own networks as well – contacting their friends, family, vendors, clients, colleagues, etc. to invite people to the event, find new sponsors, locate auction items, and increase your overall revenue from the event… all through connections that your non-profit would not have been able to make otherwise. Who Should Be On the Host Committee? The host committee should be comprised of people who support your mission, are willing to fundraise, and have good-sized networks that they are willing to open up to your organization. Ideally, your event committee will include a chairperson who is super-supportive of your organization and who has a massive network, as well as 5-25 (or more) of your donors and supporters who are ready to raise money for the event. Seek out people who are “connectors,” either in their business or social lives – people who know lots of people, aren’t shy about asking for money, and really feel passionate about your nonprofit’s mission and work. Building an amazing host committee takes time. It is highly unlikely that you will be able to find 25 people who fit this bill your first time holding an event. That’s ok. Find 5 people that would be a great fit, and keep your host committee relatively small. Set a goal of growing the size of your committee each year. You will find that, if you run your host committee well and offer

them proper recognition and thanks, most of your members will stay on year after year. Of course, each year a handful will likely drop out because they don’t enjoy the work or because they move, retire, or their priorities change. That’s ok. Stay alert throughout the entire year, looking for people who might be a great fit for your committee so that you can not only replace those who leave each cycle, but can grow your group each year. High-Level vs. Low-Level Host Committees When putting together fundraising-focused host committees, most non-profits face a common question: should they be putting together high-level or low-level host committees? A high-level host committee is one that is populated with decision makers: executives at companies, partners at law firms, local philanthropists, etc. Unless you are working on an event for one of the top national non-profits or one of the top five or six charities in a major metropolitan area, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to snag a Fortune 500 CEO for your host committee (and even if you do, he or she will likely be so busy professionally that they won’t be able to spend much time fundraising for you anyway). But you might be able to get a high-level VP from the same company, or the right-hand executive who “handles” charity work for a major businessperson or philanthropist. That’s ok – these folks would also be considered “high-level” for host committee purposes. A low-level host committee is comprised of associates at law firms, young professionals, middlemanagers at large companies, well-off (but not wealthy) retirees, etc. Obviously, your ultimate goal is to put together a high-level host committee. If your board is already a high-level board, you may be able to put together this type of group right from the get go by having your board work their networks to find great host committee members for the event. That being said, most non-profits hosting events have to start with a lower-level host committee and “work up” to a high-level group. That works, so long as you are constantly on the lookout for higher-level folks to join and you make sure that you are choosing lower-level folks who are “up-and-comers,” well-regarded at their companies and organizations, and who truly do have wide networks from which to fundraise. How and When to Build Your Host Committee There’s a simple rule of thumb that holds true most non-profit events – particularly major annual events and galas – that most organizations don’t hold to: staging an amazingly profitable fundraising event takes an entire year of preparation. Sure, you can order the flowers eight weeks out and send the invitations six weeks in advance and finalize the menu two weeks before the event. But the real work of the event – the fundraising work – takes an entire year. This is true for finding sponsors as well as building your host committee. Start building your host committee a full year before the event – this means that

if you’re holding an annual event, you should be getting good host committee members to renew their membership in the group for the coming year almost as soon as they receive this year’s “Thank you for being a host committee member!” letter in the mail. Here’s a simple step-by-step process that I use to put together strong host committees: 1 – Put Together a Prospect List First, gather your team together to decide which people in your orbit would make excellent prospects for your host committee this year. Remember, in order to be truly great prospects for this committee, people need to (a) have good-sized networks, (b) not be shy, and (c) have an attachment to or affinity for your organization. At the top of your list should be folks who have served on the host committee for this event before (if it is a yearly event) and who performed well in that role. You should also feel free to add in a couple of board members who are strong supporters for the event, but be sure not to fill the committee with a majority of board members. Next, add in donors who you talk with on a regular basis and who meet the committee criteria listed above. You should also include representatives from companies that strongly support your organization, such as past event sponsors and corporate donors. Volunteers with your organization that have strong networks make great candidates for committee membership, as do donor prospects who have indicated that they are ready to get more involved. Remember – asking someone to be on the host committee is an ask, and cold asks don’t really work. Thus, you shouldn’t be listing people as host committee prospects if no one from your organization has ever talked to them before, or if they are “aspirational.” So many non-profits spend time saying things like, “oh, this CEO would be great for the host committee… how do we reach her?” and “let’s make a list of local philanthropists we’d like on the host committee and then send them all a letter.” This doesn’t work. Yes, make those lists and try to figure out a way to reach those people over the coming year, but don’t count them as host committee prospects, or prospects of any kind, until you’ve made contact and started the cultivation process. It’s a long road from “we should get to know this person” to “this person is a great host committee prospect.” 2 – Develop Promotional Materials The next step in building a strong host committee is developing some promotional materials for the event and the committee which you can use as you approach the prospects. I recommend that you develop the following: (a) A flyer about the event – This can be done quickly and easily, listing the theme for this year’s event, some details on the location and date (if you have them), a blurb about how well last year’s event went (if this is an annual affair) and other tidbits, such as info on

the silent auction or raffle (if there will be one). (b) A host committee flyer – Again, this can be done simply and easily using a word processing program and your office copier. This flyer should spell out the goals and duties of the host committee, different leadership posts that are open, the free tickets or other recognition levels that will be granted to the host committee, and contact information for the person in your office who is handling the event. 3 – Approach Prospects I recommend approaching prospects for the host committee as early as you can for the event, but not more than one year out. If this is an annual event, my suggestion is that you wait at least four to eight weeks after this year’s event before you approach prospects to serve on the host committee for next year’s event. When approaching prospects, you are making an ask (“Will you serve on the host committee for our event this year?”) As with all asks, the most successful way to ask prospects to be on your host committee will be to ask them directly, either in person or over the phone. It’s much more difficult and much less effective to ask this question through e-mail or a snail mail letter. If you are pressed for time and this is an annual event, you may want to consider inviting all of your host committee members from this year’s event to a special thank you event at your office to talk about how successful the event was, present them with a small gift, and ask them to serve on the host committee for the coming year. You can then follow-up through e-mail and phone calls for those who don’t respond to your initial ask. For other prospects, assign someone from your staff or board to approach each person individually, either by having breakfast, lunch, coffee or a meeting with the person or by placing a phone call. A really good host committee member could result in $5,000 or more in new revenue for your event, so don’t be shy about allowing your staff to spend $40 taking the prospect out for a meal. Make sure the person doing the asking understands the event and the role of the host committee and has copies of the promotional materials you prepared in step #2. 4 – Find Committee Leadership Once you start to get yeses and build your committee membership, go over the list to find good candidates for committee leadership posts. At the very minimum, see if you can identify a good chairman or chairwoman (or co-chairs) for the committee. Committee chairs should be superwell connected and very passionate about your organization. They will be tasked with helping to run the committee meetings as well as motivating members through phone calls and e-mails.

If you have a large committee, you can also appoint vice-chairs or you can divide the group into sub-committees and appoint sub-committee chairs along with the overall committee chairman/woman. 5 – Hold First Meeting Now – you’re ready to hold your first committee meeting. Send out a letter or e-mail to the entire committee membership asking them to come to a kick-off meeting for the committee. Make it very social and appealing – perhaps a cocktail hour with a 30 minute committee meeting tucked in, or a short meeting followed by a dessert reception. Be sure to make follow-up calls to get as many committee members to the initial meeting as possible. The chances that committee members will drop off of the committee increase exponentially if they don’t attend this first meeting. The initial meeting should be held well in advance of the event – eight months out would be a common timeframe, after spending two months building the committee and the leadership structure. The first meeting should be light and fun. I like to use the following timetable for the initial meeting: Social Time / Networking (30 minutes) Call to Order and Introductions of Members and Staff (10 minutes) Mission and History of the Organization (5 minutes) History of the Event (if it is an annual event) and Event Fundraising Goals (5 minutes) Purpose and Activities of the Host Committee (10 minutes) Q&A (no more than 10 minutes) That’s it – short and sweet. You want to make sure everyone has fun, gets to know the other people on the committee, feels comfortable, and understands the event and that this is a fundraising committee. That’s it. Then let them go home, and you can start the “real work” of the committee at the second meeting. How to Motivate Your Host Committee Once you put together your host committee, one of your primary tasks as an organization is to keep your committee motivated and working together for the good of the event. Remember – your committee should be introducing your organization and event to their personal contacts, with the goal of getting those contacts to either sponsor the event or purchase tickets and attend the affair. There are several things you can do to motivate your committee and help them accomplish these goals:

Hold Regular Meetings Holding regular host committee meetings will provide accountability and motivation for the group. Aim to hold meetings at least every other month, if not monthly. At these meetings, you can provide social time along with updates on the event, recognition of significant member accomplishments, reports from sub-committees, pep talks, etc. Hold Non-Ask Events Because your host committee members will likely be approaching contacts that have never heard of your organization and asking them to consider sponsoring or attending the event, I recommend that your organization hold at least one, if not more “non-ask” events for your host committee members. These non-ask events are simply open houses at your facility or receptions at a board member’s office that provide an opportunity for people to learn about your mission, meet your staff and perhaps hear from someone you have helped, if appropriate. Put out hors devours and drinks, limit the events to 60-90 minutes in length, make them free to attend, and ask host committee members to each bring two or three people to the function who they think might be good prospects for your fundraising event. Provide Appropriate Materials Make sure that your host committee members have all of the materials they need to successfully raise money on your behalf, including event invitations, raffle tickets, call scripts, brochures, sponsorship letters, etc. Track Results It is important that you track the results of individual committee members so you can offer additional support and help to those who need it, recognize those who are putting in lots of effort, and know who to retain for the following year’s host committee. You should track individual progress with “light touch,” meaning you don’t want to call people out or embarrass them. Instead, call members who aren’t meeting their goals to ask if they need help, and figure out a way to let them graciously drop off of the committee if it turns out that fundraising just isn’t their thing (perhaps they can be part of the set-up and tear-down committee for the event, or work the registration table instead of being on the host committee). Set Up Mini Goals Establishing short-term mini goals for your host committee is an effective way to get everyone moving in the same direction and ensure that everything seems “doable.” Telling your committee that the goal for your annual event is $500,000 may be intimidating for them. Instead, tell them the overall goal, but also tell them that the goal for the host committee is to

help raise $100,000 through sponsorships and $50,000 through ticket sales, and that the current goal is to sell $15,000 in sponsorships before the next meeting. This is a much more seemingly “doable” goal. Committee Leadership It is important to note that even if your host committee has a leadership structure in place (chairs, sub-committee chairs, etc.) it is up to your staff members to drive the committee forward, run the meetings, track progress, gather materials, etc. Don’t rely on your volunteer members to lead the committee, no matter how committed they are. Be sure that a staff member is always available to lead and motivate. Recognizing and Thanking the Host Committee Remember that your host committee members are volunteers. They passionately support your work, but they are still volunteers who are taking time away from their families, jobs, hobbies, and work with other organizations in order to help lead the fundraising efforts for your event. It is important to recognize and thank your host committee often, both because they deserve it as well as because you will want them to agree to help in subsequent years as well. Some great ways to recognize your host committee include listing their names on your event invitations and on your website, inviting them to stand and be recognized at the actual event, printing signage with their names for the event, and of course, sending personalized thank you notes once the event is over. Dealing with Host Committee Pitfalls As with all fundraising activities and tactics, non-profits dealing with host committees can face some common pitfalls: Committee Members that Want to Work on Logistics Often times, you will update your committee members on event logistics (venue, menu, entertainment, flowers, invitation printing, etc.) and find that one or two members just want to focus on those items. No matter how much you talk about fundraising, these members call and e-mail with ideas on logistics, requests to attend menu tastings and help pick out the flowers, etc. These members have good intentions, but their activities can become problematic if they turn away from the fundraising activities that are the purpose of the group. I always suggest that you let committee members who are interested in logistics help out in some small way (e.g. participating in the menu tasting), but also have a conversation with them gently nudging them to fulfill the fundraising requirements of their membership. If they fail to do so, the following year you can suggest that they join the volunteer group that helps out with the event, instead of the fundraising-focused host committee.

Inappropriate Host Committee Ideas You want your host committee to feel “ownership” for the event. You want the members to feel like they are truly part of your team. For that reason, it is imperative that you listen to member ideas about both the fundraising and logistics of your event. If they ideas are good, you can consider implementing them. If they are not so good, well, you are under no obligation to do anything other than say, “thank you for your idea” and then move on. Of course, once in a while, you’ll come across a host committee member that has an “amazing idea” that they just can’t stop talking about, but which is inappropriate for the event at hand. This member may be so sure about their idea that they try to dominate committee meetings (and your Executive Director’s e-mail inbox) with pleas to implement their suggestion. Don’t let members like this drain time and energy from your staff or committee. Hold a private conversation with the member telling them how much you appreciate their work and their idea, but that you just don’t feel it is appropriate for this event. Promise to keep it in mind for future events. In worse case scenarios, be willing to ask the member to step off of the committee if they continue to disrupt the group after you hold a one-on-one meeting with them. Better to lose one member than to distract the entire group from its overall goals. Relying Too Much on Your Host Committee No matter how great your event committee is, never rely on them 100%. Once, I watched as a non-profit (against my advice) relied entirely on its event committee to fundraise for an event. The staff handled the event hall, catering, and invitation printing, but the event committee, led by the event chair, was supposedly handling all of the sponsorship and ticket sales. Three weeks before the event, the Executive Director of the organization finally realized his mistake, when he found out that only $1,500 in sponsorships had been sold (against a $10,000 sponsorship goal). Thankfully, the staff took over ticket sales, and by working the phones and holding a coordinated series of meetings with large corporate donors, the team was able to sell out the event and beat the ticket sales goal, which partially made up for the sponsorship debacle. You want (and need) to put together a phenomenal event committee for your next affair. You want them to set big goals and raise a lot of money. But your staff should also be working on the event by contacting your donors and selling sponsorships, as well as tracking the progress of the committee. Action Steps: Module 2 At the end of each module, we present action steps that your non-profit can take today to help you maximize your fundraising events for the coming year. Here are the action steps for this module:

1. Put together a prospect list for host committee members using the criteria listed in this class guide. 2. Develop an event flyer and a host committee flyer to use in asking prospects to join the host committee. 3. Assign staff and board members to make personalized asks to your prospects. As always, if you have any questions about this class, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. And remember to stay tuned for our podcast later this week. The podcast contains different information than what is included in this class guide, so be sure to check it out!