Thinking of ways to impress at your next charity event?

Charity galas and dinners usually have one of two purposes – to raise funds for a cause, or to raise awareness about an issue. Often, they serve both purposes, and can be the highlight of many supporters’ calendars – but how do you make sure that your events remain hot tickets?

It’s not a question that there’s any one answer to; only you know the demographics of your supporters, what they will appreciate and what your budget and resources will stretch to – but we’ve got a few ideas that should work across the board.

Keep reading to see some of our top tips for adding extra value to a charity event and keeping your guests coming back time and time again.

Theme your event

If your charity dinner is just that, a dinner, then those buying tickets might feel that they would rather visit their favourite restaurant. Add in the twist of a theme and suddenly your event could become very desirable!

A casino theme or auction could help to raise extra funds for the charity you’re supporting, but if it’s just a fun twist you’re after then a fancy dress code might help to encourage attendance. Lots of us love the opportunity to dress up, but they don’t come along all too often.

A great gatsby theme is a sophisticated choice and can be executed without too much work; just choose art-deco lettering for place names, signage and promotional materials and add some jazz standards to the playlist.

A masquerade ball is another fun theme that still allows invitees to get dolled up in their glad rags – make sure waiters and waitresses are wearing masks too to really go all out on the theme.

For a theme that’s less refined, you could just choose to have a fancy dress contest and allow guests to let their imaginations run wild. You’re sure to attract some cheap, tacky costumes, but you’ll find others go all out and relish the opportunity to turn up in spectacular homemade creations.

Let me entertain you…

Entertainment is another great way to add value to a charity event; if you hire a celebrity that guests would have paid to see anyway, they could even feel more generous about opening their purses and wallets, because they feel your evening has been such good value.

Celebrity speakers are incredibly diverse and many are already vocal supporters of charity causes, so there’s a decent chance that you could even bag an after dinner speaker with experience fundraising for your cause.

Think hard about the demographic of people likely to attend your event and choose a speaker carefully – for a sports charity, a sports star is a no-brainer, but equally we have celebrities on our books who have battled cancer or campaigned against homelessness; ideal choices for events benefiting those causes.

Charitable giving

One way to add tangible value to a charity gala or event is with a goodie bag for each attendee. This can serve several purposes, but primarily it serves to make people feel special, valued and like your event was well worth attending.

Plenty of local and national businesses will jump at the chance to get their products into a goodie bag that will be going home with the type of affluent consumer likely to attend a charity event, so it doesn’t have to cost your charity a penny.

What’s more, you can also stuff a few items of promotional literature into the bags, ensuring that it goes home with your guests and perhaps nudges them to further support your cause, or attend another event.

Speakers for hire

If you think that a speaker could be the perfect way to add a little extra value to your next charity event, whether it’s a dinner, a garden party, a ball or an auction, then you’re certainly in the right place.

At MN2S we’ve got lots of celebrity speakers on our books, from athletes to comedians and everything else in between – and that means that there’s sure to be someone who’s a great fit for your event.

Contact us today to talk about hiring a speaker; our celebrity agents will be happy to talk you through your options and advise on who might work best for you.