A Whale Hunt for Charity

Yesterday in Indianapolis I attended the Book and Author luncheon, a big annual benefit hosted by the Christamore House, which was founded in 1905 as a settlement house and is still serving families and helping kids get a education.

This event is a perfect example of the philanthropic whale hunt that women do so often and so well. Here's why I call it a whale hunt:

• Their "whale" is a big fundraising goal, focused on one event with multiple streams of revenue.
• They have very specific, measurable objectives—including a strict timeline and numbers—of contacts, of attendees, of ticket sales, of sponsor contributions.
• The staff and volunteers work all year in preparation.
• The Indiana Roof Ballroom will seat 950 people at tables of 10, so they launched a boat of 75 table captains to ensure a sell-out event. In fact, 250 wannabes will have to wait until next year.
• They use Subject Matter Experts in their unique areas of expertise--seeking sponsors, doing PR, overseeing the program, reviewing books and inviting authors, coordinating event logistics, and more and more.
• They mentor the volunteers who will lead next year’s hunt, and they keep track of what works and how to do things to ensure efficiency and success.

Some charitable whale hunts are hugely successful, like this one, but others fall short of the mark. The key difference is design and management of a rigorous whle hunting process.

What charitable whale hunts have you helped to orchestrate? What are the process ideas that work best for you?