Q: Should our program be the same as the first year, since some of the same people will be attending?

A: We generally recommend that your event have a theme each year. For example, at our school where we first designed the model, the Ask Event is still—some 10 years later—called the Sponsor-a-Student Breakfast. The theme changes each year. One year we used a back-to-school theme. Another year we focused on the dreams of our students. Another year we focused on alumni stories, and yet another year on the supportive family members. One year our theme was about the teachers. You get the idea.

This way, though the generic program elements remain the same (Visionary Leader Talk, Video, Testimonial Speaker, etc.), the program content is very different each year.

For example, the year our theme was about the families, the Visionary Leader talk was about the support of the families that is so essential to each child's success at the school. The testimonial speaker was a grandmother who spoke about the impact of the school on her grandson. The video included three stories of traditional and non-traditional families whose children were attending the school.