FUNDRAISER EVENT

 

Hotel Bouganvilla, Santo Domingo, on Thursday, August 5, 2004 at 6 p.m.

 

THIS IS A WORKING DOCUMENT. COMMENTS, IDEAS, SUGGESTIONS ARE GREATLY WELCOME, ENCOURAGED AND NEEDED!

 

Strategic Plan

 

Preparation, Presentation and Networking

 

        Objectives:

 

(a)   Finalize Documents for Presentation of UWC National Committee of Costa Rica (i.e. Executive Summary, Flyer, RSVP card, Letter to Partners, Letter to Sponsors, Letter to Diplomatic Missions, Letter to Media, Press Release)

 

(b)   Divide Responsibilities

 

Focus Groups

 

PLEASE, INFORM ASAP WHO IS IN WHICH FOCUS GROUP

 

Partners

 

-          Prepare a list of organizations and institutions you wish to invite and identify names of directors, chairs, etc. by Sunday, June 20, 2004

-          Tailor your letters and send

-          Since we are not yet sure whether we will have dinner or just cocktails, we should try to insert a clause about a “complimentary fee”. I think for dinner we could charge anything up to 8,000 colones. For a simple cocktail, we may need to be happy with up to 2,000 colones. Any ideas how to do this? I would suggest we mention that there will be a small complimentary fee only and then inform them of the actual amount on July 30, when we send out reminders and RSVP cards

-          Always copy the entire UWC National Committee so that everyone knows who has and who has not been approached

 

 

 

Media

 

-          Prepare a list of media groups you wish to invite and identify names of journalists you wish to be present at the event

-          Make a phone call first if you are unsure about who to contact

-          Immediately follow up by sending your letter and request confirmation of receipt

-          Initiate conversation with the aim to obtain a promise that the reporter will indeed show up on August 5, 2004. Always try to get direct phone lines or cell numbers.

-          Prepare a Press Release, which you will send shortly before the event itself will take place. To learn about how to write a press release, visit the following websites:

http://www.stetson.edu/~rhansen/prguide.html

http://pandecta.com/write_press_release.html

http://www.pertinent.com/articles/publicity/index.asp

-          Always copy the entire UWC National Committee so that everyone knows who has and who has not been approached

 

Sponsors

 

-          Identify what sponsorship we need (i.e. hotel, catering, transportation)

-          Develop a list of potential sponsors

-          Approach each sponsor individually and make sure that your letter is tailored to the individual interests of individual company

-          Whenever you have a number of interesting facts to communicate (i.e. the Dutch ambassador confirmed his attendance and so did the regional representative of UNESCO), you should “milk” both prospective and confirmed sponsors. Just sort of inform them of our progress and let them know we really appreciate their support, because without them, we would not be able to do this.

 

Diplomatic Missions

 

-          Feel free to “walk up” to an embassy only if you know you know someone personally

-          Otherwise, send letters together with flyers and RSVP cards

-          Follow up within 2-3 days to inquire whether anyone from the embassy will attend

-          Make sure to always communicate your results to the Logistics Group. Especially with embassies, positive information is something that should be always communicated to the outside world asap.

 

Logistics

 

-          Keep track of all communications

-          This can be done by creating a simple excel file, where you register every single letter, email, fax or phone call made

-          If anyone in other focus groups has any doubts about what has been communicated to whom, the Logistics Group should always have the answer

-          Make sure that all equipment needed to carry out the event (i.e. sufficient amount of chairs/tables, sound system, LCD projector, laptop for PowerPoint presentation, VCR) is on site.

 

Timeline:

 

(a)   Friday, June 18, 2004: Presentation documents finalized. Please, e-mail final versions to the whole group

 

(b)   Monday, June 21, 2004: Letters to Partners sent out

 

(c)   Monday, June 21 – Friday, June 25, 2004: Contacts with Media and Sponsors initiated

 

(d)   Friday, July 16, 2004: Final Confirmations from Media and Sponsors due

 

(e)   Monday, July 26, 2004: Send out reminders to Partners with RSVP cards

 

(f)     Monday, August 2, 2004: RSVP cards due

 

(g)   Tuesday, August 3, 2004: Media Release sent out