It was quite a rush- 2 weeks, $50 budget, target of 30 people, venue, decorations, invitations...1 brunch to plan. This was our kick-off event in New York City. I recently asked two friends of mine from work, Jess and Janice, to join me in helping to better leverage our New York social circles, to expand and broaden our networks... to truly make the most of being in one of the most dynamic and multifaceted cities in the world.
They had always been curious about my involvement with Givology, especially since it is a topic that I regularly speak about. Given the slowdown in the economy and thusly, in our finance jobs, they had more free time than they expected. I think Givology's warmth and spirit embraced them and introduced a performance-driven sense of reward that had been lacking in their daily routines. They have said to me that they felt productive and were eagerly anticipating the culmination of their efforts. Planning this brunch had been extremely time-sensitive and in many ways, a bit stressful and last-minute. We really wanted to follow through and pull it off before the holidays. Countless phone calls, "market research and pricing" (of the NYC restaurant venues), rounds of negotiations, a hundred invitations, and two shopping trips later, it was finally the morning of the 13th. We had set up two laptops to show our presentation and picture slideshow, table placemats that were color printouts of our brochures, centerpieces made of Godiva chocolates in tinseled martini glasses, profiles of children and profiles propped up on the brunch tables, and other various aesthetic representations of our overall "Givology Holiday spirit" around the Primotivo restaurant.
As the restaurant staff and our friends arrived, they remarked how tastefully our brunch was set up, hardly imagining that we had the time and money to be resourceful. But I think the real surprise for them came later. Our presentation was woven into the animated discussions our guests were having about the brightly colored objects on our brunch tables. It lasted ten minutes and sparked enough interest in them for them to remain attentive (while still gnawing on the remains of their scrumptious brunch and sipping Primotivo's bottomless mimosas) to the subsequent photo slideshow.
Many people asked us later on about volunteering opportunities. However, they also mentioned the lack of "free time" they felt they had given the nature of their jobs. Because this kick-off NYC event was a way for Jess, Janice, Jen, and I to reach out to our friends and let them know about Givology, our purpose was not to make high margins. Rather, it was to spark initial interest, which will hopefully generate traffic to our website and word-of-mouth marketing amongst the wider young professional networks in the city. With more than thirty (near the restaurant's capacity of 40 for our event) satisfied attendees, many of whom have already signed up and donated on our site, the Givology Holiday Brunch left us with a savory sense of accomplishment and gratification.
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