1 House Party Checklist A house party is a social ... - Project Inform

House Party Checklist
A house party is a social event organized by volunteers, staff or board members of
Project Inform whereby they invite their friends to a gathering at their house as a means
of educating, establishing name recognition and generating financial support for Project
Inform.
Five simple steps to putting on a house party;
Decide host, location and theme
Prepare guest list
Design and send invitations
Choreograph the event and practice the “ask”
Evaluate and follow up
The Role of Host:
Provide house or location
Invite anyone you think might be interested in Project Inform
Give an appropriate description of Project Inform, our work and why we are a
good organization to support
Introduce the guest speaker (Executive Director, Board Chair or Deputy Executive
Director for Development)
Make an ask for donations to support Project Inform
Components of a Successful House Party
Guest List:
20-25 people who you think might be interested in Project Inform including:
‣ Former colleagues, friends, family etc…
‣ Guests at past Project Inform Events
Invitation:
Design should be simple
Message should be clear, including very clear direction to house – a map, phone
number, etc
Remind guests to “Bring your questions and Checkbook” or that “Of course,
you’ll be asked for money. Come anyway! The worst thing that will happen is
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you’ll have to take 5 minutes out of your fun to listen to information about an
important cause – but you’ll still get free food!”
Send reply envelope with paper invitations just in case folks can’t attend but still
want to donate
Sample Program and Ask (request for donations):
Gather guests when “critical mass” has arrived at the party
Welcome guests and thank them for coming
Explain why you support Project Inform
Introduce Project Inform Staff Member, who gives a 5 minute talk
Make the Ask – “I hope that you will join me in supporting this important cause!”
Hand out donation envelopes for guests to place their checks in or submit credit
card information
Evaluation and Follow-up:
Please submit your materials to:
House Party Project
Project Inform
1375 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
After event, regroup to evaluate what went well and what could have been done
better
Send thank you cards to guests for attending
Staff sends thank you letters for donation with tax deduction language
For help, e-mail dalicie@projectinform.org or call Dwayne at (415) 558-8669, ext. 227. We are
here to help you have a good time while raising much needed funds to support Project Inform’s
lifesaving work!
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