Corporate Sponsorship Meeting Re-cap
Kelly Hughes-Gorman
Hi All,
First, I want to thank all of you who participated in our Corporate Sponsorship Meeting this past Tuesday, October 6th. It was a very positive, productive meeting and I think the consensus is that we accomplished quite a bit! I appreciate everyone’s ideas, hard work and dedication!
It’s been a busy week for me personally, so I apologize in the delay in getting these meeting minutes out to you.
I have included as attachments, the sponsorship literature and the leadership meeting re-cap for your review.
Re-Cap:
1. We talked about various local industries and how certain companies, in particular, have a connection to ASNV and/or autism. Don Shipley mentioned that Don Beyer (one of our ASNV Walk Sponsor’s) had an autistic sister who I believe passed away this year. Don offered to approach him regarding the Gala. Don Shipley also talked about how it might be beneficial to try and incorporate our donors into all of our events so that their brand is across the board in supporting ASNV. Different events appeal to different types of audiences and our donors need to be made aware of the value in targeting the Gala supporters and attendees. Thanks Don, I know I am forgetting some of your wonderful ideas, so if you would like to append to these notes, please feel free!
2. We went over the leadership meeting notes which I have attached. Meeting took place 9.27.15.
3. The website will be changing and under new management/control. We are at the point in our growth where we need a more professional and sophisticated platform. Elizabeth is working with Crowdrise, which is a company that I am familiar with. She will be letting Sarah and I know the details as negotiations progress. Hopefully this will be a good fit for our organization.
4. Our top sponsors should have company branding at several locations at the Gala and at pre-parties: we talked about runway banners and the fact that there will be three bars at the Gala with room for company banners at each bar. I would like to include them in our larger pre-parties as well.
5. Paola talked about approaching Civent and Ty Neal who owns Matchbox for corporate sponsorship opportunities. Paola also mentioned Michael Saylor and I mentioned Nick Cibel (owner of Nick’s Riverside Washington Harbor). Michael and Nick are friends.
6. I will be approaching the banking sector for sponsorship opportunities. One of my friend’s has Preston Burke (Burke & Herbert Bank) as one of their clients and she will be making an introduction for me. Burke & Herbert Bank is an Alexandria based bank which was established in Old Town in 1852. The fact that we are having the Gala at the Westin Hotel in Old Town should be a nice selling point.
7. Don Shipley talked about the Booz Allen Cares website and how we can post our events and gather information and resources from Booz Allen. Very cool!
8. We discussed how similar charities operate and execute similar fundraisers. Elizabeth mentioned the ARC Gala – Association for Retarded Citizens and what she has learned from their Gala. Extremely valuable information – so insightful of Elizabeth!
9. Ticket prices – this is an important point for everyone. This is the 6th year of the Arts For Autism Gala and the consensus is that the ticket prices need to be raised at this point. There will be two tiers – an Early Bird price and a Hey You Waited Too Long To Make Up Your Mind Price (just kidding – not really).
10. Anyway we decided for First Tier that for a Table of Ten the price would be $1500 ($150 per person), Individual Dinner Tickets would be $175.00 and Runway tickets would be $100.00 per person. Second Tier: (probably starting from October 1, 2016 – October 31, 2016) Table of Ten the price would be $1750 ($200 per person), Individual Dinner Tickets would be $200.00 per person and Runway Tickets would remain the same at $100.00 per person. We will confirm dates of ticket pricing shortly. We understand that raising the price of the tickets is an issue for some, but feel that an increase after 5 years is reasonable. Please feel free to talk to us about any concerns or questions. We have an AMAZING venue for 2016 and feel that the small increase in ticket prices is a bargain for what we will be receiving.
11. We are in the process of welcoming new Executive Committee Members who will be helping us with the Gala – stay tuned!
In closing, I would urge each of you to brainstorm and think of a Corporate Sponsor that you could target. If you would like to just suggest a name or company, that’s fine – we would be happy to do the legwork for you! If you would like one of us to accompany you on a meeting or even just coach you on your approach, that’s great too. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I am a big believer in teams and WE ARE A TEAM.
Good teams make good things happen…
I want to say that I am so privileged and so happy to be working with each and every one of you – what a wonderful, talented group of people!!!
Thank you!
Kelly Hughes-Gorman
Chairwoman - Arts for Autism Gala 2016
Autism Society of Northern Virginia
703-593-0218 (cell)