Party to End Hunger in India House Party Planning Kit House parties are a great way to educate friends and family, recruit new supporters, generate action, and raise funds for Akshaya Patra s work. This activity is perfect for people who like throwing parties anyway- whether large or small. Contact Akshaya Patra at (781) 438-3090 for help with planning, materials, or to arrange a speaker or video for your event. Inside: House Party Planning Guide: All the details you need to make your house party happen House Party Checklist: An easy-to-use timeline so you have it all covered! The presentation at Your House Party: The flow of the event, including how to make a pitch that will maximize your fundraising and support for Akshaya Patra Sample House Party Pitch: You can tailor our sample to fit your own event Sample Phone Scripts: What to say when you call for your invitation follow-up call, reminder calls, and thank you calls Sample Invitations: Including a downloadable invitation you can customize and use Materials you can use for your party Donation Form Sign-in Sheet Feedback & Evaluation Form Step by step: At a glance House Party Planning Guide 1. Decide on goals and logistics for the party a. A cocktail party for potential larger donors? b. An educational video to sign up lots of supporters? c. A dinner party with all your family friends? 2. Write your guest list and send invitations. Follow up phone alls or am email reminder before the party will help boost attendance
3. Plan the program Line up food, drinks, speakers or videos, and of course the pitch. 4. Party With good planning, this part should be fun and easy. 5. Follow up. Thank your guests and send donations, new sign-ups, and feedback to Akshaya Patra. STEP 1: Set goals and Logistics Set party goals that draw on the resources you already have! For Example: Do you know a few people that could make a large gift to Akshaya Patra? Consider a swanky cocktail party or intimate dinner party with a pitch for support. Do you have lots of friends who might care about this issue if only they knew more? Consider and informal gathering with light snacks and a video. Once people are educated and motivated, you can pass the hat (or simply ask for a small gift at the door). Once you know the kind of party you want to have, you can set the logistics. Location: Use your home, a friend s home, a church hall, community group room, or anywhere that is the right size for the number of people you hope to have. Choose a location with enough parking or access to public transportation. Date & Time: Choose a date that allows you to get your invitation out 3-4 weeks before the party. If there are any people you want to be sure can attend (important donors, etc.) be sure to schedule the party for a time and date that will work for them. Figure on your event lasting about 2 hours. Program: You may choose to show all or part of a DVD to your guests. 25 minutes or shorter is a good length. Contact Akshaya Patra for videos or DVDs available to borrow for the event. Party Tip: Consider putting a team together! Throwing a party can involve many tasks. Find one or two friends or family to share the work and bounce ideas off of. STEP 2: Write a guest list and send invitations The guest list: Consider inviting friends, neighbors, co-workers, member of your church of synagogue, professional groups, and local peace or social justice groups. You can (contact Akshaya Patra) to see if we have members in your area to invite as
well, but remember that a key goal of the party is to introduce new people to our work. The Invitations: Your invitation will be the most effective if it is personal. Use our sample invitations to get started but customize it so it feels like it is from you. Remember that a house party is also a fundraiser. Mention this in your invitation so that your guests are not surprised when you ask them to become an Akshaya Patra supporter! You can be general ( be prepared to make a gift to end the child hunger in India ) or specific (be prepared to donate $15 a month for a year or more to support one child ), or simply ask for a sliding scale door fee. Party Tip: Consider making follow-up phone calls about a week after the invite is mailed, and/or a reminder call a week before the event. A personal connection through a phone call will greatly increase attendance. See Sample Phone Scripts. STEP 3: Plan the program Food and Drinks: Hey, this is a party! Music, food, and drinks break the ice and put people in a good frame of mind. Food can be as simple or elaborate as you wish- a sit down dinner, veggies and dip, or even potluck. For extra fun you might choose a food theme like chocolate tasting, a tea party, or an Asian Delights feast. Remember, well-fed, comfortable guests make better donors! Speakers and Materials: Consider putting out a stack of Akshaya Patra pamphlets and fact sheets so people can pick them up while they are milling about. Contact us if you d like us to send you hard copies. We can also help you put together an action alert that you can pass out at the party. The party will likely begin with some mingling before you call everyone together and tell them about Akshaya Patra. See Akshaya Patra s sample presentation for ideas, but make sure you plan something that feels right and comfortable for you. There is no one way to throw a party! The Pitch: Remember, you re bringing people together to end the child hunger by supporting Akshaya Patra. Don t be afraid or embarrassed: our cause is compelling, and an investment in Akshaya Patra will make a difference! If you are having people give at the door, make sure there is someone at the door with a donation jar to collect the gifts. If you are comfortable making a pitch, it will be the most effective if a party host who will also make a donation themselves does it. Start by telling people why you care about this issue and why you are contributing. Speak from the heart! If you are also giving a gift, share that with the guests and challenge them to match or double it. See our sample pitch for more ideas.
Party Tip: Consider setting a fundraising goal and sharing that goal during your pitch. For example, if your fundraising goal is $1000, you can say that at the party, My goal is to raise $1,000 to help Akshaya Patra end child hunger, and if everyone here gives at least $50, we can meet that goal. STEP 4: Party! Make sure everything is set up: If you re showing a video, make sure that your TV/DVD/Projector works, the video is queued up to the right spot, the volume is right, and that the video is good! Make sure you have enough chairs/places for people to sit Is the house number visible or the room easy to find? Or do you need to put up a sign? Spread food and drinks around to prevent a traffic jam at one food table. Don t forget cups, plates, and utensils! With good planning the party itself should be fun and easy! BE SURE EVERYONE IS SIGNED IN and is asked to make a donation. Use or modify our sample sign-in sheet and make sure you get their email address at a minimum. Give everyone something to take away or do- for example, Akshaya Patra fact sheets. When it s over, thank everyone for coming and congratulate yourself! STEP 5: Evaluation and Follow-up After the party, take some time to evaluate what went well and what could have been done better. Share your reflections with Akshaya Patra using Feedback & Evaluation form so that we can pass on what you learned to others. Strategize with Akshaya Patra how best to follow up with the people who came to your party. Send or deliver Feedback & Evaluation form, sign-in sheet, unused campaign materials, any borrowed videos, and donation forms with credit card information, checks, and cash donations included to: Akshaya Patra USA (ADRESS) Akshaya Patra will help you prepare thank you notes to everyone who contributed. These should be co-signed by you, the host(s), since it was your party.
5-6 Weeks Before Your Party 4 Weeks Before Your Party 3 Weeks Before Your Party A Week Before Your Party The Day of the Party The Party! House Party Checklist For a great party - Decide goals, type of party, and logistics. - Create guest list. - Create Invitations. - Contact Akshaya Patra for help with planning, materials and anything else you may need! - Send Invitations. - Decide what refreshments to serve. - Ask friends to bring chairs and/ or food (if needed) - Print out signup sheet, evaluation forms, donation forms, and informational handouts. - Watch the video you are planning to show. Decide which segments you will show if not the entire video. - Set up materials, nametags, donation basket and sign-up sheet on a table accessible to guests. - Set up refreshments. - Put up House Party sign outside. Turn on your porch light, put out a balloon. - Double check presentation equipment including any videos before guests arrive. Remember to: - Welcome guests, have them sign in, give them a name-tag. - Mingle and have a good time! - Bring people together for the program To go the extra mile -Put a party team or host committee together and divide tasks. - Follow up invitations with phone calls (a week after mailing). - Meet or conference call with your team about food, program, to assign tasks, etc. - Make reminder phone calls to your guests, including guests you have not heard from. - Prepare favors or gift bags for attendees - The team arrives early to set up and review the flow of the party.
Day After the Party Week after the party (A video, a speaker, an organizational overview, and/or a pitch for donations). - Ask guests to join in the cause and local chapters. Pass sign-up sheet around again. - Thank guests for coming, wrap-up - Fill out the [Feedback & Evaluation form]. - Mail or deliver donation forms, donations, Feedback & Evaluation form, video, and extra materials to Akshaya Patra. - Work with Akshaya Patra to send thank you notes and strategize about next steps with your guests. - Follow up with guests who indicated they would send donations themselves. The Presentation at Your House Party One of the most effective ways to raise funds to support the work of Akshaya Patra is to ask face-to-face. A house party is a celebratory way for you to do that with several friends, family members, and colleagues at the same time. You don t need to give a long speech- the entire program (including video, speaker, or discussion) should be less than half an hour. Your part of the presentation should be less than 10 minutes. Speak from your heart and your experience; tell people why you care and why you give. That is the best way to convince them to join you in giving. Goal of the Presentation: To get new people involved in Akshaya Patra s campaign, to find new contributors, to get current donors to give again. Who should make the presentation? The presentation at your house party will be most effective if it comes from you: in other words a current donor, who is also a host or sponsor of the party. Loaning your home, fixing the food, and giving generously of your time is an important contribution in itself. But, in order for the guests to give money, you must also be willing to say that you give money to the project and that you want everyone who agrees with you to do the same. If you or even someone else in the room is giving a
particularly generous amount, consider sharing that with the guests, challenging them to match or double it. What to Say: (Contact Akshaya Patra for help preparing!) Allow people to mingle for about half an hour. Then call them together to start the program. 1) The Welcome (1 minute): Thank everyone for coming. Everyone is busy these days and it is a wonderful testament to you and the cause that they have taken their time to come. Appreciate their initial commitment. 2) The Issue (5 minutes): Tell people why you care about Akshaya Patra and its mission. You can also take a moment to go around the room and ask people why they chose to come. Question you can ask yourself when thinking about what to say: Why is this issue important to you? - Why do you support feeding young school children a hot meal? - How do you feel about the work of Akshaya Patra? - Why do you give to Akshaya Patra? - Why are you hosting a house party? Who is your audience? - What do your guests already know about Akshaya Patra or its work? - How do you anticipate they will react as they learn more? - What will inspire them? - What do your guests have in common? - Do they support Akshaya Patra, and its means of doing work, or do they want to learn more about how the whole operation works? - Are they active in or contributing to similar causes? What is Akshaya Patra? - What is our mission? - What are our recent victories, or accomplishments? - How do we go about our work and which states are we currently focusing on? -Why is it important to respond now? Is something specific going on? 3) Feature (up to 20 minutes): Show a video or introduce your speaker. Allow for questions or discussion. 4) The Pitch (1-2 minutes): Now that people are inspired, ask them for something concrete!
Some questions to ask yourself when thinking about what to say: What exactly do you want from your guests? - What is the minimum amount you hope each will give? - What is the total fundraising goal for the party? - Does anyone in the room work for a company that matches their employee s gifts? - Would they be interested in giving a gift of stock? Are there things besides giving money that you would like people to do? - Do they know other people who may be interested in hearing more about Akshaya Patra? - Would they be willing to throw their own house party? What benefits will you and your guets receive for giving money to Akshaya Patra? - Becoming an Akshaya Patra donor, and receiving regular updates about our work. Party Tip: Have someone go around the room collecting check and thanking people on the spot. Pass around sign up sheets for them to register for our newsletter, or host a house party. Have a person tally the total raised, so you can announce it at the end. 5) The Close (1 minute): Thank everyone for coming. Invite them to stay, mingle and ask you questions. If you don t know an answer, take down their information and question and tell them that you will get back to them. Ask everyone to visit our website, www.foodforeducation.org and encourage everyone to join you in making a firm commitment to becoming more involved in this important cause!