One aspect of meeting planning that we’ve seen affected by these concerns is whether or not to invite significant others to off-site meetings. Law firm partner retreats are back on the calendar but guests are staying home. The problem is that partners are then anxious to leave as soon as the meeting ends, skipping essential opportunities to strengthen bonds during activities and dinners. We’re encouraging clients to carefully consider this as well as these findings from the research conducted for the ”Face Time” campaign:

• Face-to-face meetings build trust and relationships;
• Both education and training are more effective in a live setting;
• Live meetings actually save time and money;
• Live meetings facilitate problem solving through a more effective exchange of ideas;
• Face-to-face meetings provide the human connection that powers business;
• Face-to-face meetings create jobs and powers the economy.

Event fundraising requires a system and just a few tweaks takes a sponsor solicitation strategy to an approach for in-kind donations:

• Create a wish list of contacts.
• Research the best way to contact them.
• Write compelling correspondence that includes:
- reasons to get involved
- ways to contribute
- benefits for in-kind donations, just as you would a cash sponsor, such as seats at the dinner or an ad in the journal
• Call to follow-up.
• Take notes during every conversation.
• Consider their input and adjust your outreach based upon those conversations.
• If they offer something that you didn’t ask for but that costs you nothing, say yes!

And remember, this kind of outreach raises awareness and opens doors for further communications and donor development!

Microlending and microfunding have led to microvolunteering and The Extraordinaires are leading the way with a website that makes it easy to ask for help and even easier to provide assistance. They’ve even created a free iPhone application for those on-the-go to contribute. Did we mention how easy it is?

Non-profit organizations can post missions such as:

• Identifying people, places or things on a map
• Taking, uploading and organizing photos
• Researching a topic, issue or question
• Creating a custom mission asking for feedback or a personal story

We’re recommending our non-profit clients use it to collect photos that attendees have taken at their events. How will you “Be Extraordinary”?

For a leading international law firm, we advised on the U.S. events program, including: assessing the current program; creating a template for tracking event information; drafting position descriptions that clearly outline event staff priorities; creating procedures and guidelines for event processes; compiling cost-cutting recommendations; and sharing best practices for conflict resolution.

The consulting services our firm received from Ginger Donnan were top notch. She demonstrated a thorough understanding of the challenges associated with creating a centralized events function in a multi-office law firm. She worked in a very efficient manner. Ginger gave us sound advice for establishing processes and protocols, as well as her guidance in personnel matters. Overall, it was an enjoyable and valuable experience. – Law Firm Director of Marketing, December 2009