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Get your friends
and family together to raise awareness about LGBTQ youth issues,
and the incredible work that Kaleidoscope Youth Center is doing
to improve the lives of LGBTQ youth!
Contents
An
Introduction
Dear Friend,
Thank you for volunteering to host a house party for Kaleidoscope
Youth Center. Parties are a crucial element of our effort to raise
awareness about the programs and services the Center provides,
along with information about LGBT youth. Each party also produces
significant contributions and new adult allies, including some
who will become donors, volunteer their time or agree to host
house parties of their own.
For planning purposes, it's important to establish fundraising
and attendance goals for your event. Your goals can depend on
how many people your home can accommodate, how much your guests
can afford to contribute, and other factors. As an example, and
for the purposes of this guide, let's say that your goals are
to raise $1,000 and get 40 people to your home to learn about
Kaleidoscope Youth Center.
By submitting the House party Registration Form, we will provide
you with a House Party Kit which will include Kaleidoscope Youth
Center promotional materials, and information about volunteer
opportunities. Envelopes for your guests' donations will also
be provided in the kit. Once you submit your registration form,
we can then arrange for a Center representative to be present
at your party. To ensure that Kaleidoscope can get your kit to
you in a timely way and/or make arrangements for a guest speaker,
please submit the registration at least five weeks in advance
of the event.
We very much appreciate your fundraising efforts. We look forward
to working with you, and helping with your party planning process.
Enclosed you will find some helpful hints about hosting a house
party for the Center. Please let us know if we can be of any other
assistance to you.
Sincerely,
Angie Wellman
Executive Director
Kaleidoscope Youth Center
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Sample
Event Program
House parties are most successful when scheduled for a two-hour
time slot. Commonly chosen times include weekday nights from 6
to 8, or from 8 to 10 - or Sunday afternoons from 12 to 2, 2 to
4, or 4 to 6.
The first hour is for the arrival of guests and conversation.
As guests arrive, ask them to sign in. This way, you'll be sure
to have their name and current address, so they can be added to
the Kaleidoscope Youth Center mailing list. This is also a great
time to distribute "donor envelopes," as found in your
House Party Kit, for guests to enclose their gifts. Should anyone
need to leave the event early, they will already have a donation
envelope.
At the beginning of the second hour, the program begins. The key
components of the program are an explanation of what Kaleidoscope
Youth Center is and does, as well as "a pitch." If available,
you may also wish to ask to feature a youth speaker or parent.
Here's a sample program:
1. Introduction of Kaleidoscope Youth Center. 3-5 minutes long,
usually done by the host.
2. Optional Program. This can be a Kaleidoscope youth, or remarks
by a Kaleidoscope Youth Center representative (10 minutes).
3. The Pitch. 5 minutes, given by the host or a guest - the "pitch"
asks people to get involved and tells them how they can help.
For best results, the person making the pitch should personalize
it by describing why the Center is important to him or her. Here's
a sample: "(Explain why Kaleidoscope is meaningful to you.)
I want you join me in supporting an organization that provides
a safe space for LGBT kids; an organization that's teaching students,
teachers, parents, and school administrators that it is NOT okay
to hate. I hope you all received a donation envelope when you
came in. If not, I have more here. You can support this work by
enclosing a check payable to Kaleidoscope Youth Center, or write
your pledge and hand it back to me before you leave. Credit card
gifts are also accepted. And . . . I have pens! If you have already
given, thank you, but you can feel free to give more."
Collecting donations is, of course, of great importance. After
the pitch, you should pass out pens (and distribute donor envelopes
if that has not yet been done). The envelope should be filled
out completely by the guest so that Kaleidoscope Youth Center
can properly acknowledge him or her. This is especially important
if their checks have incomplete contact information or guests
choose to pay by cash or credit card (Visa, Mastercard, and American
Express accepted). Please make sure that everyone is asked for
a contribution before they leave.
After the pitch, the formal program is over and guests go back
to mingling.
Here's a sample agenda for a house party where the invitation
requests that people arrive at 6 p.m.:
6:00 - 7:00PM Guests arrive, sign in, mingle and have refreshments
7:00 Explanation of the Center by the host(s) - 5 minutes
7:05 - 7:15 Kaleidoscope Youth Center speaker - 10 minutes
7:15 - 7:20 The "pitch" is made - 5 minutes
7:20 Guests write checks, fill out donor envelopes, go back to
mingling
By 8:00 Most guests are leaving
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Timetable
and Checklist
Five Weeks Before the Event
Submit the House Party Registration Form to Kaleidoscope Youth
Center
Four Weeks
Before the Event
1. Draw up your invitation list (see enclosed sample for ideas)
- The general rule is to half of the people invited to actually
attend.
2. Draft your invitation and make copies
Three Weeks
Before
1. Mail out invitations
2. Ask a friend to serve as a "door person" - they'll
help buzz people in, answer the door, take coats, sign people
in, collect checks, help with last-minute details
Two Weeks
Before
1. Call everyone who has not RSVP'd; ask if they're coming
2. Call people who have RSVP'd; thank them in advance; ask them
to bring a friend!
3. Keep a list of who's coming
One Week Before
If not the host, choose a person to do the pitch; the pitch person
should strongly believe in the work that Kaleidoscope Youth Center
does, be articulate and persuasive.
The Week of
the Event
1. Remind your door person of the time you need them
2. Purchase any necessary cups and paper goods
3. Ready your refreshments
The Day After
the Event
1. Send all donations and attendance sheets to Kaleidoscope
2. Pat yourself on the back for a good deed done!
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Your
Invitation List
How can you make sure your house party will be well attended?
In our experience, it's not complicated - all you have to do is:
a) send out about twice as many invitations as you want people
to attend, and b) ten days later, follow up with phone calls.
The first question, then, is who to, invite? Here are some ideas
that have helped other house party hosts pull their invitation
lists together:
Family & Friends: Consider inviting your parents, kids, aunts,
uncles and cousins. And don't forget about your partner/spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend
and their friends
Social Acquaintances: Old friends you only see occasionally. Friends
from college/school. Your old professors or teachers. Friends
from your old job. Or from the group where you used to volunteer.
Neighbors: Next door, upstairs, downstairs, down the hall. The
whole building. People on the block who you always run into when
you go jogging, or with whom you walk the dog, or who you run
into at the grocery. Your co-op board. Your tenant's association.
Your landlord. Your tenants. Your super. Your baby-sitter. Your
child care collective. Your carpool. The parents of your children's
friends.
From Work : Your co-workers. People who do the same work you do.
Other people in the office. Your partner. Your clients. Your supervisor.
Old partners. Old clients. Co-workers from your old job. Your
old supervisor. People who used to work in the office but recently
left. Colleagues from community work or from charity work. Other
like-minded do-gooders!
Members of: Your block association, your political club, your
community group. Your food co-op. Your local peace or environmental
group. The PTA. Your local school board. Your community board.
People You've Met While Recreating: Members of your bowling league,
volleyball team, cooking group, pick-up basketball folks. The
bridge club. Your poker buddies. Night classes. Lamaze class.
Aerobics class. At the gym. Your housemates from ski weekends.
From beach trips, camping trips. From traveling together. People
you sing with. Choir. Jamming. Go caroling with. People you shop
with. Garden with, vacation with.
Professionals You Know Personally: Your lawyer, dentist, doctor,
pharmacist, broker, butcher, dry cleaner, baker.
Pull Out Lists You've Made in the Past: The invitation list to
your last party. Your Christmas card list. The program from your
last reunion. Your rolodex, at work and at home. Your personal
phone book.
Finally, think about interesting people you've met, but may not
know well, who are active in their communities-
After all this, if you still don't have enough people to invite,
what do you do? Ask a friend to co-host the party with you - they
invite half the people, you invite half the people, and together
you'll have a good invitation list.
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Sample
Invitation and Reply Card
Dear {Name Here},
I am writing to invite you to join {me/us/names) for a fundraising
party at my home on {date}.
We would love for you to learn more about Kaleidoscope Youth Center,
and meet one of their representatives.
For more than a decade, the Kaleidoscope Youth Center has provided
vital services and advocacy to hundreds of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, and questioning young people and their families in
the Columbus area. Kaleidoscope Youth Center has been the place
where coming out and being out is shared, instead of isolating;
celebrated, instead of condemned; and safe, instead of dangerous.
You can help support the Center’s work and in turn the many
youth who are coming out and dealing with other issues. The tax-deductible
donation you make at our party can help make all the difference
in the world to a young person in need!
I know you receive many requests from many worthwhile causes.
I also suspect that you never dreamt of having a place like Kaleidoscope
Youth Center when you were a teenager. Please help us in changing
lives each day.
There is no minimum contribution to attend, but please bring your
checkbook with you. We think you will be as moved as we are.
Please use the enclosed card and envelope to RSVP.
Sincerely,
{Your Name(s)}
Reply Card
_____ I will attend the event for Kaleidoscope Youth Center..
_____ I cannot attend, but please forward my donation.
___ $25 ___ $50 ___ $100 ___ $250 ___ $500 ___Other $ __________
__ Check enclosed. Checks can be made out to KALEIDOSCOPE YOUTH
CENTER.
__ Charge my: ___ VISA ___ MasterCard Card Number: ________________________________
Name on Card ________________________________
Card Number _______________________ Exp. Date ___
Name ________________________________
Address ________________________________
City, State and Zip ________________________________
Telephone and Email _______________________
KALEIDOSCOPE YOUTH CENTER is a 501(c)(3) organization. Your
donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
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Follow-Up
Phone Calls
Two weeks before your house party, please call everyone on your
invitation, list who has not RSVP'd, to confirm their attendance
or to secure a contribution. Only a small number of the people
you invite will RSVP before they get a phone call; many more will
come if you give them a call.
We can guarantee from long experience: If you mail 120 invitations,
and follow up with calls to everyone, you will have about 40 people
in your living room to learn about Kaleidoscope Youth Center.
The following is a suggested script for the call:
"Hi, this is (your name). I mailed you an invitation to learn
about Kaleidoscope Youth Center at a small fundraiser I'm having
at my home on (date of event). I hope you can join us - will you
be able to come?"
If They're Coming
"Great, I'll see you then."
If They're Not Sure
"I hope you can come – Kaleidoscope Youth Center is
a great organization, and I think you'd enjoy learning about it.
Kaleidoscope is a safe space for LGBT youth, and advocates in
schools on their behalf. You should check out their website at
www.Kaleidoscope.org. It would be great to have you there."
If They Can't Come
"I'm sorry you can't come-Kaleidoscope Youth Center is a
great organization, and is a safe space for LGBT youth, and works
to advocate in schools on their behalf. You should check out their
website at www.Kaleidoscope.org. I hope you'll write a check to
"KALEIDOSCOPE YOUTH CENTER"- if you send it to me, I'll
forward it to them. Would you like to do that?"
However you handle the invitations and RSVP’s, know that
you are doing a great service in supporting the LGBT youth in
our community! Your house party is an integral part of Kaleidoscope’s
ability to keep services free and accessible to all youth.
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Refreshments
Refreshments at your house party can be plain or fancy, as you
wish.
Easy and inexpensive refreshments
There are many types of food and drink that are easy to provide,
easy on your budget, and just right for a house party. Remember,
people don't come for the food - they come because they respect
you and want to learn more about the organizations you think are
valuable. Other hosts have had successful house parties and served
one of the following menus:
1. Cheese and crackers, and wine and soda
2. Coffee and cake
3. Vegetables and dip, guacamole and chips, fresh fruit, and soda
and beer
4. Sweet rolls, tea, milk and coffee
5. Tea and cookies
If you prepare the refreshments yourself, you can budget $1 per
person and offer any of the above menus. Coffee and cake can cost
just fifty cents a person.
The bottom line is: you don't have to spend a lot of money on
refreshments to have a house party that will really help the Center.
Serve whatever refreshments you like, and they'll be fine.
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When
the Party Is Over
At the end of the event, guests should walk away with Kaleidoscope
Youth Center information. A good idea is to have a volunteer hand
out literature at the door, or else create a display table from
which guests can take information as they please.
Be sure to thank everyone for attending and supporting the Center.
Now that the event is done, Thank You So Much! You've done great
work and helped us take another step forward in our work to create
a safe space for LGBT youth and to advocate on their behalf.
The only thing left to do is send the donor envelopes, contributions
and attendance sheet to the Center. Our mailing address is KALEIDOSCOPE
YOUTH CENTER, PO Box 8104 Columbus, OH 43201.
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