Photo Courtesy of Mayors Gala Ball for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul
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Mayors' Ball
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Potential Revenues: |
$$$$ |
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Revenue Source: |
Attendance fees, silent and live auctions |
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Advertising: |
Social media, press releases to local newspapers and TV/radio stations, website, all communications |
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Equipment/Supplies: |
Event planning at an elegant hotel will be primary supplier, table centerpieces, decorations, event tables |
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Partners: |
Area hotels, businesses, restaurants, corporations, event brochure printer |
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Volunteers Needed: |
Extensive committee structure to handle all aspects of the event
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This is the plural of a Mayor’s Ball. In this event, you invite the mayors from several surrounding cities to take part in a gala occasion that support’s your organization’s work in their mutual communities. You get them all to come, by first inviting a mayor that you or your board knows personally. Once that mayor is on board, you then get the rest to come by asking your mayor if he’d like to invite them personally, or if it would be okay to mention to them that he or she is coming. Make sure that you secure one of the area’s finest hotels, such as a Four Seasons, as a fitting environment for such a grand social event.
Why multiple mayors? When they come, everyone that works with or for their city becomes a potential invitee. Not only are they invitees, they also feel an unspoken obligation to show up and support the mayor that influences their salaries or city contracts. Can you think of a more favorable environment in which to gather event sponsorships or anything else you need? “If the Mayor is there, it must be important to him or her. Therefore, it’s important to me.”
And not coincidentally, there will be a lot of press eager to attend in order to record the mayors’ words of wisdom, as well as photograph the invitees and participants in this grand social event. It’s a very unique newsworthy opportunity for all parties involved.
From this point on, this event will be like any other gala dinner or ball event – a lot of hard work. Lay out a well thought out plan for securing the facility, locking in the mayors’ schedules, printing and sending out the invitations, arranging decorations and catering, securing auction items, printing the event flyer, soliciting sponsorships, valet parking, and the endless amount of work it will take to do your version of this event. And wouldn’t it be great if this became your annual signature event?Ideas to Consider:
If you can arrange for your auctioneer or emcee to do a live auction while the mayors are seated at the head table, that would be the best time to draw a lot of high bids from the audience. People want to be remembered for their generosity in front of such an important gathering. You can also notify silent auction winners while dinner is being served, and you can use the event’s seating chart to identify where they are seated. That’s also a good time to collect!
In addition to overall event sponsors, consider selling table sponsorships for the 40 plus tables that will be available to seat 10 people each. Incorporate the cost of the 10 invitations into the table sponsorships, as that bulk price will ensure that the table is filled by the sponsor – more than likely, from their mutual companies.
Some vendors might even want to sponsor a gift for every attendee as a way to show their appreciation, as well as get their name in front of this elite gathering. These gift items can be spread out into three sponsorships – a door gift, a table gift, and a seat gift. Think big and you can probably get it sponsored at this type of event.
Source of Idea: This idea was first suggested to the author by Ivan Amondel and Colleen Durston of Eclipse Printing and Design in Simi Valley, CA.
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