Archive for the ‘Event Recaps’ Category

Human Rights Convening

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

June 14-17, 2010

Public Interest Projects’ Convening of the U.S. Human Rights Fund brought together 15 funders and 80 advocates working on three inter-related human rights campaigns to develop new campaign strategies and advocacy skills, and explore collaborations. Travel arrangements were made for the guests to attend the welcome reception:

USHRF10 Welcome Reception

2 ½ days of meetings:

USHRF10 Meeting

three site visits:

USHRF10 Site Visit

and two off-site dinners:

USHRF10 Dinner

Working with Ginger Donnan is an experience unlike any other.  Convenings and special events are by nature a stressful experience for the hosts.  So many people’s needs to be addressed, so many details to consider. Ginger’s organizational skills expertly bring order to chaos.  She identifies a problem and is able to nip it before it has a chance to derail the process.  Ginger is a systems person.  She has event planning down to a science and navigates you through each bump and curve with grace and calm.  It has been more than a pleasure to have Ginger at the helm of our special events–she is magic.  – Sue Simon, Director, Human Rights, U.S. Human Rights Fund, June 2010

Photo credit: Hiroshi Landazuri

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Poll: Should Fundraisers Be Focused on the Mission or the Guests?

Friday, May 14th, 2010

Last week, we attended an organization’s first-time fundraiser to evaluate the potential for a much larger event next year. The event was a hybrid, combining a year-end celebration for 50 of the high-school girls participating in the organization’s program and an opportunity to share with the general public the program’s benefits. The event was described in the invitation as a dance concert and tickets for the general public cost $250.

The room in the high school where the event took place was draped with black cloth in order to transform the environment. Wine and hors d’oeuvres were served throughout the 3-hour event and in between dance songs, during which the girls sat on risers and the adults mingled, presentations were made by experts in the health and wellness industry along with a final presentation by a famous newscaster to an Oscar-winning movie producer and generous donor of the organization.

We found the event to be firmly in line with the organization’s mission and culture but we did hear compliants about the less-than-typical nature of the fundraiser, with an audience made up of 50% donors and 50% high-school girls, and the dance-party theme.

Do you think the guests got enough for their $250 ticket?

View Results

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Newmark Schools – Art Show Round-Up

Friday, April 30th, 2010

Once again, we joined nearly 400 people at the Newmark Schools’ Annual Art Show on Friday, April 23. Our involvement this year included general event planning advising, writing sponsorship, committee, program and acknowledgement letters and program management.

The Art Show saw the Newmark School transformed into an art gallery with each piece of artwork displayed and lit, from sculptures to paintings to computer-generated works, by students from both the Newmark School and Newmark High School.

Art Show

Throughout the evening, students served hors d’oeuvres as attendees indulged in wine and cheese. Attendees had the opportunity to show off their own creativity by contributing to a large piece of community art and children were welcome to an area to make their own art projects. The evening also included a raffle of gift baskets and a live auction, the highlight of which was a week’s stay at a 3-bedroom condo at the downtown Vail Plaza Hotel & Club in Colorado. Artwork reproductions on items such as note cards, mugs and mouse pads were available for purchase.

This sixth annual event raised over $41,000 from more than 50 sponsors with individual donations ranging from $100 to $2,500.

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One Unbelievable Night at the Met

Monday, April 19th, 2010

On Wednesday, April 14, over 400 generous donors joined current and former NBA and WNBA players to raise more than $1.3 million for Autism Speaks and The Gillen Brewer School at the “Tip-Off for a Cure” gala dinner. The setting at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was magnificent with cocktails and press photos in the Great Hall and the Temple of Dendur lit up for dinner.

Ginger Donnan Events was honored to be involved in this year’s fundraiser, organizing the guest list and volunteer responsibilities. This was our first opportunity to work with BidPal, which the engaged crowd used to bid on one-of-a-kind silent auction items. Each device was pre-set with guest information, including table numbers. Since guests were lined up outside the museum until the doors opened at 6:30 p.m., this helped to speed the check-in process.

Once dinner was underway, honorees from Alcoa, Allen & Company, FedEx and Morgan Stanley accepted awards and special guest Taylor Crowe spoke about his experiences living with autism.

Stairs Vertical Corrected

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Partner Retreating

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

It was a cold, cold week in Florida as we helped a client with the on-site management of their 3-day partner retreat. Over 200 law firm partners came together for the first time in three years to collaborate and get to know each other better.

The destination was selected due to the ample indoor space for meetings, as well as the outdoor courtyards and beachfront, perfect for warm-weather receptions and dinners. Yet day after day, we were forced to move meals inside as the cold wind continued to whip.

How do you make the same ballroom look different for the fourth time?

Partner Retreat

Kudos goes to our client’s event manager who took the reigns away from hotel and destination management services alike to draw up a diagram that resulted in this scene. By moving the stage to an alternate wall, guests felt the difference immediately upon entering the room. In addition, lighting provided an evening-appropriate ambiance, as well as multiple lounge areas set with low couches and tables (not shown).

What are your ideas for transforming an everyday ballroom into something special?

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