Quote:
Originally posted by PnguinTrax:
DZRose -
Could you send me the details of the event? I'm the new Prez of our Alumnae Panhellenic and I'm always looking for new fundraising ideas.
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Hi Barbara,
I wanted to e-mail you, but my e-mail isn't working at the moment. Here are the basics of BABE: 19 sorority alumnae chapters in the Atlanta area got together to plan the function. We had 3 goals: 1)give our sisters an opportunity to meet available bachelors in a safe environment, 2)give us the opportunity to meet sisters in the area and recruit them for alumnae chapters, and 3) donate all proceeds to a charitable organization.
We had about 25 women on our planning committee and we were responsible for everything from finding the location and getting a DJ to providing clipboards, pens, and nametags at the door. We held 5 meetings to prepare for the event and everyone signed up for a different job.
We voted on which charity to support. Make A Wish seemed the best because we all were interested in helping children. We had to coordinate with Make A Wish since they have their own rules about charity events. For example, we had to sign a contract saying that we would donate a minimum amount of X dollars, regardless of how well the event did. So, basically, if it had flopped, we would have had to take $$$ out of our own pockets to cover our minimum donation. Luckily, that wasn't a problem at all. Also, Make A Wish was good for us because they provided volunteers to work the door, taking up money and filling out nametags.
We found the location, the Atlanta Brewing Company, and they gave us the space really cheap. They also gave us deals on beer and wine (that's all we served - no hard liquor) and provided water and soft drinks for non-drinkers. ABC also set up a table of food (mini pizzas, meatballs in sauce, etc.) for people to munch on. One of the committee members had a friend who had a DJ business, and they offered to play for only $300. For 4 hours, that was a great deal.
Another sorority alum, who is a lawyer, drew up our disclaimer which was posted at the entrance and basically said that if anything happened to an attendee at the party, then the person could not sue the planning committee, the Make A Wish Foundation or the Atlanta Brewing Company. This disclaimer is VERY important! Nothing happened, but when alcohol is being served there is always the possibility that something might. We also had 500 wristbands at the door, and no one was allowed in without one. All attendees had to be over 21 and all sorority women had to be alumnae of their groups - no collegiates because of risk management issues.
Each planning committee member was responsible for letting her sorority sisters know about BABE. E-mails were sent out to every Greek alumna that we knew and we also advertised on a local radio station 2 days before the event. Because we could only allow 500 people in our location, we didn't advertise too strongly through media because we didn't want to attract more people than we could let in.
We charged $25 per person until 2 weeks before BABE, and then upped the price to $30. All sorority alumnae were allowed to attend, regardless of whether or not they brought a bachelor. However, men were not allowed to come unless they had a Panhellenic alumna escorting them. This was to prevent too many men from showing up. We didn't want to have a really skewed ratio of girls and guys because we felt that it may keep guys from attending in the future. And this is an annual event.
At the door, we had each alumna fill out a sorority information form. This was an opportunity for us to collect contact information on women who are alums of our organizations but who are not members of an alumnae chapter. We asked for their full name, sorority affiliation, college attended, address, phone, and e-mail. At the end of the event, we each took the forms that pertained to our organizations so that we could contact these women at a later date.
Sorry that this is so long. If I left out anything, please feel free to ask questions!
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