How To Create Your Own Fun Philanthropic Event

Seeing the tangible success for Joy Adventure Club‘s events like “Hula for Moola” and “Bellydancing for Bucks” got us wondering how we could create our own philanthropic events using JAC as a model. Founder, Wendy Mitchell was kind enough to let us in on their secrets to success.

1. Pick A Theme – Joy Adventure Club has kept with their “movement” theme, pairing movements with synonyms for money tacked to it. Pick your own. It could literally be anything. “Just make sure you make it fun and fast. Keep it simple,” Wendy tells us.
2. Commit To An Agency – Whether you want to keep it local or take it to a national charity is completely up to you, but try to keep some consistency to build relationships. This year JAC has stuck to food service agencies (all local), but you could even pick just one in particular to benefit from all your events if that suits you better. “We’re just 5 ladies who come together, make quick decisions and put on a simple event to serve an agency that helps the under-served,” says Wendy.
3. Find A Place – Try to seek out a venue that has specific or relevant ties to your theme, and make sure they’re willing to donate the space!
4. Invite Away!! - JAC uses Evite to send out hundreds of personal invitations to their esteemed guests. Not only is their method eco-friendly, but it’s super simple to generate guest lists and have a visual representation of how many people to expect. Have someone in your group come up with a creative design for the invite and make sure to give as much detail as concisely as possible so that all the information is very clear. For example: For “Bellydancing For Bucks” the invite simply states to bring your check donation for $25, champagne or an appetizer for 6, and your positive attitude. Straightforward, to-the-point, yet fun and exciting. Be sure to add your own spice to the invite!
5. Get Everyone You Know Involved – For your first event, don’t be afraid to invite business as well as personal contacts. Get all of your friends and family with their hands on deck to help with the nitty gritty details on the day of the event. The more people you have there to support you, the more fun the event is!
6. Media Frenzy – Have someone who has some writing experience in your group write up press releases for the event and send the information to as many outlets as humanly possible. Chances are that someone will pick up on the story. Don’t forget to use all of your resources and seek out groups and individuals who would be personally interested in your goals and events.
7. Pick A Schedule - Having a definitive schedule keeps everyone organized and eliminates the need for unnecessary details.
8. Add Some Extras – “Bellydancing for Bucks” will have dancers, jewelry artists selling their goods, a henna tattooer and a to-die-for donated sound-system to blast the tunes on.  Have each committee member throw in no more than $20/each for decorations (tablecloths etc.) and get creative. Try getting things like flowers donated and showcase the generous florist. Remember this is as much for networking as it is for the agency’s benefit.
9. Have fun! - This is the most important of all. If you’re not having fun with it, then why do it at all? Make the event as simple as possible. The stress level will fall in line with the amount of details. Hence, less details=less stress.

We can all really learn from what Joy Adventure Club has set forth as their philanthropic event model. They’ve shown that having a simple, yet beneficial philanthropic event can be as easy as it is fun for the participants!

To learn more about Wendy and the Joy Adventure Club, check out our exclusive sit-down with her here.

[Photo from SheltieBoy via Flickr]