A Practical Way That One Non-Profit Raises Funds Through Special Events

"Charity Makes Money From Renting Ballroom"
http://philanthropy.com/premium/articles/v22/i03/03001501.htm

I love this story from the Chronicle of Philanthropy about how a non-profit that provides affordable housing to low-income people with AIDS purchased a dilapidated old hotel, fixed it up to it's former glory to provide housing for it's constituents and raise funds from renting out it's ballroom. You can have your event at the Prince George Hotel while helping this nonprofit - Common Grounds - support itself. What a great way to raise funds and be self-sufficient! It's my two favorite worlds meeting - special events and a social service organization.

Special Events in a Recession

New York Times had a great special section on giving yesterday. It can be accessed here: http://www.nytimes.com/pages/giving/index.html
There was an article that was especially interesting, "Galas Dispense With Some of the Froth": http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/12/giving/12BENEFIT.html?ref=giving
It highlighted how the Special Events industry has been reacting to the "Great Recession". As one event planner put it, it's forcing planners to become more creative because charities do not want it to look like they are spending all the money that they raised on the gala. Some interesting ways they are making events more economical include toning down the formality of the events to make them more casual, offering chicken instead of beef, and changing centerpieces to short stemmed flowers (which are cheaper) with more candles. The article goes into more specific examples.