For those organizations that have followed the first steps of the Benevon Model, the question will eventually arise: should we consider putting on the Free One-Hour Ask Event™? Perhaps you have heard of other groups in your community who have been successful with the Ask Event. You may have heard of the money they raised from donors who made multiple-year pledges at significant levels. Or, perhaps even more importantly, you heard about the great job the event did of inspiring and educating people about their mission.
Before you commit to putting on this special type of event, here are some issues and suggestions to consider:
How many people have attended your Point of Entry® Events?
This should be your number-one concern. The success of the Ask Event will depend on having a minimum of 20% of the guests attend prior Point of Entry Events. Of course, the higher the percentage of guests at your Ask Event who have been cultivated through the first two steps of the model, the better. Many groups we work with already know that 50%–80% of their Ask Event guests have been cultivated sufficiently so that they arrive predisposed to giving. We call this the "20% critical mass" rule, and it is not hard to achieve.
How many people do you already know would be happy to serve as Table Captains at the event and would be reliable to fill a table with ten people?
Note that there are two parts to this question. First, how many people would be happy to serve as Table Captains? That number may be significantly larger than those who could reliably fill a table of ten people. The best determinant of a good Table Captain is passion. For most groups, it is tempting to choose Table Captains who have the most money or the best contacts. We have found repeatedly that the Table Captains most likely to bring people to the event who are ready to get involved for the right reasons (their interest in your mission) are the Table Captains who truly believe in your work. Of course some of these people will be the people with the best contacts and the most money, but some will not.
How can you increase the number of people who attend Point of Entry Events before the Ask Event?
Determine the number of Table Captains you will need and work backwards. Involve these Table Captains in inviting people to Point of Entry Events.
If you are seriously considering putting on the Ask Event, start getting specific. How much money would you like to raise at the event?
Figure that 5%–10% will give at your lowest multiple-year level, which is usually $1,000 a year for each of the next five years. These rules of thumb will help you estimate how many people you will need to attend your Ask Event in order to generate the bottom-line revenue you are after.
For example, if you want to raise $10,000 a year for each of the next five years, you would need to have ten donors pledge $1,000 a year (or one pledge of $10,000 a year). If those 10 donors make up only 5% of your audience, you would need to have 200 people in attendance.
In order to have 200 people in attendance, you will need to start with 27 Table Captains. This allows for the inevitable attrition in both the number of Table Captains who will actually come through and the number of their guests who will actually attend on the day of the event.
Make your list of potential Table Captains. Your initial list should have at least 50% more names than the ultimate number of Table Captains you will need.
Choose your date, or at least choose the month you would like to have the event. The best times of the year are spring and late fall. We generally recommend May and November. Choose a month about six to nine months from now and work backwards from that date.
Plan at least one Point of Entry for each month between now and the event. If you have had very few people attend Point of Entry Events to date, you may need to plan to have Point of Entry Events twice a month or even more frequently in order to assure that at least 20% of the guests attend. For a 200-person event, you would need a minimum of 40 people to have attended a Point of Entry—80 to 100 would be even better.
Ask potential Table Captains to invite people to the Point of Entry Events you have scheduled prior to the Ask Event. This is a good way to see if the Table Captains are serious about helping you by introducing their friends to your organization. They do not need to host the Point of Entry or fill this introductory event with their guests alone.
Consider starting smaller.
If all of this is sounding too overwhelming, scale back the size of your event. Starting with an event with 100 guests and 10 Table Captains may sound much more manageable. It will allow you to introduce this special type of event to your board, volunteers and donors. Starting small lets you work out the kinks in the program and format before putting on a larger event. Many organizations put on two Ask Events the first year. Their initial success with a smaller event gives them the confidence and the buy-in to move forward quickly.
Lastly, is there any other major resistance within the organization to trying this new type of event? Resistance is natural. The Free One-Hour Ask Event is unlike any other event your organization has done and people will tend to either confuse it with another event or not understand it at all.
It is well worth talking with these people and addressing their concerns head-on. If there is someone else in your community who has put on a successful Ask Event, ask if they would speak to your board or the individuals who may be questioning the process. Also, I highly recommend showing your board or team our free online video, Seventeen Minutes to Sustainable Funding.
