Difference between revisions of "Special events"
From NGO Handbook
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==Program: The Speeches and Awards== | ==Program: The Speeches and Awards== | ||
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Getting to the program: Keep it short! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep it short. I do not know if anyone here was at our gala this year, but there might be some rumblings about how long the speeches were. Even though we try to keep our program to a thirty-minute program, some of the speeches ran on a little bit. Just remember that no matter how much time you give to a speaker, whether it is two or three minutes, they are always going to go much longer than you tell them to, which is unfortunate. | Getting to the program: Keep it short! I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to keep it short. I do not know if anyone here was at our gala this year, but there might be some rumblings about how long the speeches were. Even though we try to keep our program to a thirty-minute program, some of the speeches ran on a little bit. Just remember that no matter how much time you give to a speaker, whether it is two or three minutes, they are always going to go much longer than you tell them to, which is unfortunate. | ||
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What has worked really well for us is instead of having honorees get up on the stage, we have actually started doing sixty-second video clips, which I like to call “snapshots” of the honorees. They give a brief history of the honoree and more importantly explain to the audience why you are presenting them with this award. You can jazz it up with music and beautiful imagery and it is a great attention grabber from the audience. It is also a nice way to compliment your honorees and tell their story. | What has worked really well for us is instead of having honorees get up on the stage, we have actually started doing sixty-second video clips, which I like to call “snapshots” of the honorees. They give a brief history of the honoree and more importantly explain to the audience why you are presenting them with this award. You can jazz it up with music and beautiful imagery and it is a great attention grabber from the audience. It is also a nice way to compliment your honorees and tell their story. | ||
| − | We can find other ways to highlight the honorees as a lot of them actually do like to get up and say a few words. What worked really well for us was we started holding a workshop called “Marketing Sustainability and Certification Workshop.” We actually hold it the same day as the gala. It affords the honorees an opportunity to hold the spotlight a little bit. They have the opportunity to either give a brief presentation or participate on a panel discussion. At times our communications team will arrange for some media attention at the workshop, which is always great; honorees love that. But the workshop also adds a little bit of value to the companies that are coming in to attend the gala. A lot of them are traveling from around the world and by adding the workshop component, it gives them an additional opportunity to meet with Rainforest Alliance staff, other colleagues in the industry, and to talk about business practices within the industry. It is just another opportunity to mingle, which adds value to their experience at the gala. | + | We can find other ways to highlight the honorees as a lot of them actually do like to get up and say a few words. What worked really well for us was we started holding a workshop called “Marketing Sustainability and Certification Workshop.” We actually hold it the same day as the gala. It affords the honorees an opportunity to hold the spotlight a little bit. They have the opportunity to either give a brief presentation or participate on a panel discussion. At times our communications team will arrange for some media attention at the workshop, which is always great; honorees love that. But the workshop also adds a little bit of value to the companies that are coming in to attend the gala. A lot of them are traveling from around the world and by adding the workshop component, it gives them an additional opportunity to meet with Rainforest Alliance staff, other colleagues in the industry, and to talk about business practices within the industry. It is just another opportunity to mingle, which adds value to their experience at the gala. |
==Celebrities== | ==Celebrities== | ||
Revision as of 06:34, 16 October 2011
This presentation by Staci Pierson, Manager of Special Events for the Rainforest Alliance, primarily focuses on the gala held by the Rainforest Alliance every year. This event encompasses a large number of special event components. The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests. It was founded in 1987 to conserve biodiversity by transforming land use practices, businesses practices, and consumer behavior. The first annual gala was held in the spring of 1990, with the goal of raising unrestricted funds, create awareness, further its mission, and attract new members and donors. This first gala was successful event, attracting approximately two hundred guests and raising about $20,000. By 2010, the gala drew about 600 guests and raised more than $1.5 million for the organization, with the costs about $250,000.
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