October 7, 1999 | Read Time: 1 minute
Special Events: Proven Strategies for Nonprofit Fund Raising
By Alan L. Wendroff
A fund-raising event is the only time when potential donors actually pay to learn what a non-profit group is doing, writes the author.
“Do not let this opportunity disappear for lack of planning,” warns Mr. Wendroff, a consultant in San Francisco. He begins by offering what he calls the “Master Event Timetable” to guide charities in raising money through events such as auctions, dinners, and sporting or theatrical activities.
The timetable takes event planners through 27 weeks of tasks, from setting up a governing board for the event to mailing invitations to sending thank-you letters.
Mr. Wendroff provides chapters on choosing what type of event to host; establishing budgets; recruiting volunteers; garnering support from other kinds of organizations, such as businesses; promoting the event; and dealing with contracts, caterers, and other administrative concerns.
He reprints invitations from successful events run by such San Francisco charities as the Goldman Institute on Aging.
The book includes an I.B.M.-compatible disk that contains many spreadsheets and checklists from the text. Software capable of reading Microsoft Excel Version 97 files and Microsoft Word for Windows Version 7.0 files is required.
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, One Wiley Drive, Somerset, N.J. 08875; (800) 225-5945; fax (908) 302-2300 or (800) 597-3299; http://www.wiley.com; 214 pages; $39.95; I.S.B.N. 0-471-24991-2.
