commodores luncheon and kickoff best practices march 15, 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Commodore’s Luncheon
• Increase participation by area yacht clubs– Not meant to be a stand-alone or wraparound
fundraising event• Michigan Chapter concept• Who to invite– Created an honorary committee to serve as hosts
• Past/present commodores and sailing community leaders
• Invitations from honorary committee members, who followed up RSVPs via phone
Commodores Luncheon• The Michigan “hook” – invitation-only private lunch with Gary Jobson
– Maryland – local celebrity sailor• Luncheon Agenda
– Intro of honorary committee members– LCR overview PPT– Lunch– Jobson remarks – why host a regatta or join with an existing event in
Michigan• Benefits for the yacht club
– Info sharing from clubs currently hosting LCRs– Call to action by honorary committee members
• Fill out “interest card”
Commodores Breakfast
• Follow-up– Photos with Jobson at event – emailed to
attendees– Info packets to attendees– Emails to attendees one week later
Michigan Results
• Contact leading to LCR new market development at exclusive club
• Slip donated for raffle for major race viewing• Honorary Committee now invested into the
strategic growth of the LCR campaign• Event Replicated in Maryland• San Diego planning
The Components
• Where/When• Who To Invite• Marketing the kickoff• Following up on RSVPs, non-RSVPs• Experiences with/without Jobson• Correlation between kickoff attendance and
fundraising results• Plans to improve/tweak kickoff
Keeping Participants Engaged
• Always Cultivate!• Stewardship– Developing Personalized Fundraising Plans• 3-year results• Number of participants with personalized web pages
• Stop Light System– How to spot a rising star
• Leveraging Fantasy Sailors to spread the fundraising gospel
Kickoff Objectives
• Get sailors fired up!• Stimulate registration at the kickoff and
encourage an early start to fundraising – deter “last-minute” syndrome
When Should It Be Held?
• 2-3 months prior to Leukemia Cup Regatta date
• Be sure to check the racing calendar of ALL local groups – not just your host venue - before choosing a date. You want the entire area water community to attend.
Where Should It Be Held?
• Leukemia Cup Regatta Venue• Alternate Locations– West Marine– Marine Manufacturing Facility
• Make It Fun– Keep it casual - people want to come to a fun party. They
may not be interested in giving up a weekend evening for a formal event
• No matter what your overall format, leave a lot of time for open socializing and hanging out. This is part of the overall sailing experience.
Spreading The Word• ExactTarget
– Past participants• Snail Mail
– Sailing World List• Get to word out to EVERYONE and get it out early - best if you
send a Save the Date months before, followed by an invitation.
• Invite all past/present/future captains/fundraisers, commodores at other area YC's, media, local sponsors and local contacts for national LCR sponsors.
• Publicize in advance– Press releases– Local sailing calendars
At The Kickoff• Capture Attendee information! • Be sure to have everyone sign in and give you at least
their email and phone number. You want to be able to follow up with people who were interested but not proactive enough to call you first.
• Offer incentives at your kickoff for signing up to participate (and making a donation to themselves that night to kick it off!). Give free drawing tickets to those who sign up at kick off and then draw for a Mount Gay Rum hat or T-Shirt or other items attractive to sailors
AgendaAll Agenda items should be presented by volunteers, as feasible
• Welcome/Opening Remarks– Publicly thank
• your hosts!• Local and National sponsors
– Publicly recognize all clubs that are represented there. Sailors are proud of their club affiliations and appreciate the shout-out in front of each other. Set up a challenge for which club will have the highest funds received and give a shout-out or prize to that club at the event.
• About LLS• LCR Video• Introduce Committee• Fundraising Success Stories• Mission Moment• 2011 Results and 2012 Goal • Review of fundraising incentives and Mount Gay Rum Party Pack• Comments/Closing• Registration/Set Up Online Fundraising Pages
Jobson/Celebrity Component• Meet with Gary/celebrity before kickoff to coordinate his
remarks within overall kickoff agenda• Signed incentives for registering/starting an online fundraising
page with $100 at kickoff• Considering a ticket/fee to charge attendees for a celebrity
participant. • If no celebrity participant, consider a free admission unless
there will be costs for dinner, etc. This will keep anyone from being discouraged about coming out to learn more about the series. Then, you can still make it a fundraiser by selling door prize drawing tickets, a cup for Mount Gay Rum drinks, Jobson books, vintage LCR T-Shirts, etc.
Incorporating The Mission
• This is your first chance to really inspire people to be working hard for the following months to actually RAISE FUNDS.
• Invite your honored patients, have them speak, have them mingle, and be sure to connect the fundraising efforts of the group to the success of the organization and these families.
Supplies
• Leftover T-Shirts from prior years• Door prize drawing items and Tickets• Registration forms• Flyers/posters with Leukemia Cup Regatta dates and
information• Fundraising guides• DVD of past regatta (to play in background on loop
during social mingling)• Sign-in sheets to capture everyone's contact
information
Post-Kickoff Plan
• Follow up with attendees• Follow up with no-shows• Meet with each participant to develop a
Fundraising Plan• Focus on the Top Ten Fundraisers• Continued communication with your
participants between the Kickoff and Leukemia Cup Regatta event date
Top Ten Team
• Targeted group of ten fundraisers selected by you and your committee who, with individualized fundraising support, raise $8,500 or more.
• Provide extensive fundraising support to a small, targeted group of sailors with the hope that a small number of individuals will raise a large amount of money.
• Quality versus quantity…the goal is to have at least 5 of the 10 fundraisers raise enough to attend the Fantasy Sail, raising over $42,000.
Keys To Top Ten Success
• Work with your committee to identify and confirm members of the Top 10 Team.
• Make sure that all members of the Team attend the Kickoff.
• Meet One-on-One with each sailor to develop their “Plans for Success” document.
• Provide top quality customer service!
Home Office Deliverables• Kickoff Procedures• Kickoff PowerPoint• Sample Kickoff Agenda• Kickoff Script• Invitations
– ExactTarget– Print
• Post-Kickoff Follow-up Items– Thanks for attending– Sorry we missed you
• Fundraising Kit• Video