 And welcome so excited to have you back here for another episode of the nonprofit show our very own Julia Patrick is in the hot seat today. Of course she's the CEO of the American nonprofit Academy, and she's here to talk to us about how to work your nonprofit event room so this is great for all individuals board staff volunteers. So stay with us as we get started. But before, of course we want to remind you who we are. So for those of you listening, you're going to hear two different voices Julia Patrick again, CEO of the American nonprofit Academy. I'm Jared ransom your nonprofit nerd CEO of the Raven group, and we are honored so very honored and grateful to have the ongoing support from our very amazing presenting sponsors. So a huge shout out gratitude goes to our friends at blooming American nonprofit Academy fundraising Academy at National University be generous, your part time controller staffing boutique nonprofit thought leader and the nonprofit nerd. If you haven't checked out these companies, we highly encourage you to do so. They're here with us because they're here for you, and your mission so do check them out there, they really are here to help you do more good so I give them, give them a whirl and just about 28 and a half minutes I like to remind you, you know wait till the show's over, but these companies keep us going and growing on our episodes and for those of you that have been joining us. You already know we are marching towards our 700 this month this month we will hit our 700 episode, and you can find all of our episodes on many platforms which include Roku YouTube Amazon Fire TV Vimeo as well as podcast. So go ahead and queue us up wherever you stream your podcast as well. So Julia, so glad to have you here. Again, you talked to us about how to work your nonprofit event room, but I would like to hear from you. Why this is such a needed topic. So you know, Jared, I can get a little complaining about a lot of things. And one of the things that's really stuck in my craw is in over the last 120 days, a lot of in person events are really bubbling to the top, the surface which is super exciting and great. But I have noticed, as I've been attending these things, how poorly as staffs and organizations are working in relationship to what the opportunities are and missed opportunities. And so that's really why it led me to be talking about this with you and why I wanted to have this conversation. Oh, you're so right because many events have started, you know, to take place again as you were at an event where I was the MC so we know they're taking place here in our community and they're happening all over the nation truly. So you've brought to us today eight tips that we can implement immediately. So let's start off with tip number one. Tell us a little bit about this one Julia, because it is all about having business cards. So can you pull that screen up so that we can see, you know, exactly what tip number one is but I know that it's about bringing your business cards so tell us about that. You know, it's really interesting because we're in a time of, you know, the digital nature of society communications conducting business. And one of the things is there's a big confluence of leadership that's saying we're not going to use paper, we're not going to use printed cards, we're going to, you know, just use our digital communication for this. But one of the realities is, is that this is still a business pattern, and it has, it has an etiquette value still in American business, and particularly in other parts of the world as well. But especially in the US, it is a super inexpensive thing to do and to have. And my take on it is Jared, that if you don't have it, and you're in development or you're in leadership, you look like you can't navigate those relationships and you've got to try and remember, or somebody has to remember you. And so I say make these inexpensive tools available because it is still, it is, albeit it's changing, but still in American business. And I'm going to say American business. I mean, it is a business for us to communicate with our donor investors, with our stakeholders, with our funders, with government agencies. And we need to be thinking about this. And I have been appalled was at an event recently where the director of development said, Oh, yeah, I forgot my cards, my business cards this morning. And I was just like freaked out. No, no, what about digital because LinkedIn is a big one. They have this thing, you know, you can just bump one another's own kind of, you know, and so when I was at AFP icon that was a big thing that LinkedIn nonprofit was promoting. And so many other digital business cards. So, so why the hard copy versus a digital. There's still a big percentage of our donors that don't have that technology of our stakeholders that don't have that technology. When you go down to that next level of younger leaders that saying development at AFP icon. Yeah, that's where they're all moving. Yeah, I get it. But when you're in a ballroom and maybe you're looking at, you know, a confluence of people that have come to your event because of your cause, they're not all going to all be on the same page. They're not all going to be at the same level of communication and using this technology. And so my point is, yeah, we need to be marching towards the use and the full employment of this of this digital technology, but we cannot leave behind those opportunities that we are missing by not having this. And truly, it's a professional thing to you look like you look like a dope if you're missing out. I'm sorry, I'm going to call it out. Okay, well, there you go. You heard it here from Julia Patrick herself. Move us into number two because we've got quite a bit we've got eight tips to cover today. Tip number two you have is to navigate the staff towards the front of the room and you specifically say here near the podium, the podium. It's really an interesting thing. If you look at people who are on the rubber chicken circuit, let's say they're going to a lot of events from breakfast to dinners from black tie to business casual, whatever. If you start observing, you will see that the people that there are the movers and shakers generally move to that front of the room. And that is before and after. Obviously, if they're seated near the front of the room, that's great too. But if you think about the front of a room, like say maybe a stage or a podium, we don't really do head tables anymore. But if you place your leadership, not all together, but space them across the front of that room, that's where some opportunity really happens. So for example, if you have invited maybe the mayor of your community or the governor or regional leader, you will notice that they generally navigate to those places. You know, business leaders, it's like a who's who of the what's what. And so that's where you want to get your leadership to be. And we're talking board. We're talking about, you know, the leadership of your organization, because you would be amazed. If you just step back, you will see that is a pattern. It's very subtle. No one talks about it. But it really is where things are happening before and after. And that's so simple. It costs to move to that area. So I love that tip number two is so far my favorite as well. Okay, let's I'll tell you what it costs. It doesn't cost it costs self confidence. And it costs, you know, for some people, it's an uncomfortable thing to do Jared. I mean, for you and I were like, get us to the front of the room, right. But there is a cost because for some people, this is not going to be comfortable. So I'm, I'm just saying, well, and that opportunity cost that it does provide right like being there in the front in the center. So that's that's a great one. And just to number three, you had said, you know, for tip number three, and again, we're going through eight tips here on how you can work your nonprofit event room is that the staff must chat up donors and the attendees. Now, why is this tip three I'm curious because wouldn't you think this is happening. You know what's happening. It's not comfortable for staff to be chatting up one another. Sure. It's more comfortable. It's sometimes that conversation goes like, we worked so hard. This was a great event. Wow. Look at all these people. Hello. That's not for this time. You don't want to be talking with your team. You want to be spread out and that's like physically spread out. You know, you want to be like, thank you for coming. I don't believe we've met. Did you enjoy that speaker? I was so motivated. You know, that person works at our organization and I never knew that story. Wow. Is this the first time you've been, you know, we're going to have another event in the spring. We'd love to have you back. Would you like more information? Maybe you'd like a tour. There's so many things that you can say. Here's my business card. Oh, hello. Yeah. And here's my business card. Wow. You're paying attention to these tips. Of course. Well, I have to say, I see this one missed quite a bit. And what I'm seeing more and more, and I really think this is a huge miss is to have staff and employee tables. And instead of having three and four staff tables. Integrate those individuals into open seats throughout the entire organization. And I always say, and I know I'm jumping in here, Julia, but you know, I think that's a really important thing. Is to strategically place your staff amongst the room. First and foremost, and then fill in empty seats with those staff. And even board members and volunteers. You know, I love that you said that and that should have been number nine. Our executive producer came on and said, number nine should be no elbows on the table. But I think we should do that. That's you are absolutely right. I see that often. And first of all, you know, if it is a sponsor table, you don't want open seats at those sponsor. And so it does happen. We can't say that we can, you know, fail proof all of it. It does happen. But those are typically in the front of the room. And that's a great place to move your staff, your volunteers, your board into those areas. So tip number three is to, is to chat the donors and attendees and not to sit. With your peers and just chatting about, Oh, so glad we're here for this event. And the rest of the morning is wrapped up. Right. Exactly. No, it's, it's, it's absolutely. And again, none of these things for most of us are easy. Right. You have to go outside yourself and, and you have to realize that this is not going to be easy. And that's an okay conversation to have with your team. When you're going through this to say, I know for some of you it's not easy, but this is what we need to do. And you know, you start doing this, you become more confident, and then it becomes part of how you work, how you work around. So tip number four, are you ready for that? I'm ready. Tip number four is shockingly under done. And this is a cheap and easy, it's like a doing moment. Peep, get your board members stationed at the exit. Thinking people. Exit of the ballroom. It could be at valet. It could be in the Port-au-Cachère leading into the ballroom. Throughout. What you see what I'm saying, you think about the journey and the experience of your guest. They're leaving the ballroom and somebody says, thank you for coming. They don't know you, but maybe they have a bad job. Maybe they don't. That's okay. Then you walk through the pre-function space. You're heading out to the Port-au-Cachère of the ballroom or the hotel or the venue. And then somebody else says, wow, thank you for attending. We really appreciate it. We hope we see you back here in the spring or next year, whatever. And then even through the valet, where people can get cranky because they're waiting. Which is super weird. And or one of my friends who just left the heart ball and the car was brought up in the one side of smashed during valet. People get a little uptight, of course. And hello, how about having a board member out there saying, thanks for coming. Did you have fun? Again, it doesn't have to be a hard sell. It's just a connection and point of gratitude. Works magic. Now, do you tell the board members before the event that this is their responsibility? We're asking them to do this. We place them at certain doors. How do you go about kind of explaining this? You have to assign it, Jared. And thank you for asking. That's a great question. You have to assign it going in and coming out. And sometimes board members will say, oh, well, that's a tough thing because I'm hosting a table. You can do both. You know, you can say, okay, board member, you know, Jones, you're going to be there for the pre-function and we're going to have you there for 20 minutes and then somebody else will take your spot. Right? I mean, you can rotate this out, but it is just a really great way to get your guests in feeling good about the event and that they're appreciated and when they leave that they're appreciated. And we know this, Jared, donors, donor investors, funders and community partners who feel appreciated. What do they do? They come back. They come back again. Yeah. They feel connected. Yeah. So cheap and easy. Cheap and easy. And it should just be a natural way. And I've got to tell you as a board member who's done this many, many, many events, it's also good for your own personal brand. Yes. It's good for you, for a board member to be seen as a community leader out there being gracious like this. So it's a win-win for everybody. I mean, maybe people don't want to say that, but it really is one of those things that is good. And I like the valet. I really like placing someone there. So it goes beyond the ballroom and beyond, you know, that actual venue seating itself. It's like your event is not done until they are literally off-premise. Exactly. And, you know, we always have said the event's not done until they come back to the next event. Ooh, I like that even more. Yeah, that's always been one of our things is that, you know, you've got to be thinking forward, thinking forward. You need to have that date for your next event at this one event. So you can be marketing it. Well, speaking of thinking forward and that it's not done until, you know, that next event, tip five you have for us, Julia, is to keep using photography for those guest shots all the way through the end of the event. So I'm surprised by this because I would think that there is a photographer if there's a photographer and they're photographing the entire event. No, no, most photographers contract by the hour and they will come in and they'll do the pre-function. If there's a step and repeat, which I hope you do have a step and repeat. If there are images taken of the VIPs, funders, sponsors, things of that. And then they might take a few shots of, let's say a keynote speaker or something like that and then generally they're off. But this is what I'm here to say is that, you know, not that like traditional, oh, they go to every table and they take a picture of the group and everybody has to stop eating and squish in and that whole thing, which you can do, but taking candid photogeneralistic shots, making sure that there's some action and that there's a flash going off. It actually adds to the ambience of an event. And if you do a live auction event where maybe there's some swanky thing that goes off, it's cool for the guests to see, oh my gosh, they're photographing this. It's just a way to build momentum, keep momentum and kind of move through. Sometimes some of those best shots are the ones that you get at the end of the night. Interesting. Well, and typically you're on a high. You feel really good. You've been motivated. You probably gave that increases your endorphins, right? And so capturing that energy all the way through is such a great opportunity. So I like that you mentioned that. Now, how do we talk about that with our photographer? Do we simply extend the contract through the entire event time or how do we go about negotiating that? Any tips there? A lot of tips on this, number one, yeah, it's a per hour thing, but I'll tell you what the secret to this and the most successful photography that is created at events, they have a handler because you have somebody on your team that's like, oh my God, there's Mrs. Smith. She's our big donor. Let's make sure we get a picture of her with our CEO. Or here's this celebrity, or here's this whatever, right? So make sure if you can have a handler for that photographer. And just like you do at a wedding or whatever, you'll have a photography list. We need to make sure we get these people, you know, and then you check them off. So that just reminds me that I was a photography handler back in the day and absolutely. So, you know, I was staff and I think out my title was like coordinator or something like that. And so I knew the people. I knew the faces. I knew the shot list that we needed. And so I did, you know, go alongside with a photographer to make sure, but I think I erased that somehow in my memory. It had just gotten foggy, but you just recalled that memory for me. So thank you. Yeah, you know, Jared, I think you really defined it well. I mean, it's a junior situation. It's somebody who is smart enough to know who they need to know. And they want to know that. And they're brave enough to go out and say, excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, let me pull you aside for a quick photograph. Oh my God. Everybody loved it. Well, of course you can photograph. Make sure you take their cocktail from them. You never want to photograph anybody holding a cocktail or have them put, you know, behind their back gently. But, and again, we can talk about that at another day, but yeah. Yeah, we have eight tips. So we're on tip five. Moving into tip six, we have at the dinner events in particular, there should be table visits and there should be gratitude. Now who's doing these visits and sharing the gratitude? So you and I know, I mean, we've attended a lot of black tie events where we've chaired them or spoken at them. If you're chairing an event and this is my approach, I always make sure that the minute dinner is served. And we're talking more like the black tie gala kind of thing. You as the chair, you pop up and you make it to every single table and say thank you for coming. It's as simple as that. And you'll interrupt people eating and they'll be like, oh, and you'll be like, hey, everybody, I'm Julia Patrick. You just want to say, thank you so much for joining us tonight. I hope you have a great time and enjoy this fabulous dinner. And then you're on to the next table and you need to know you need to communicate to your guests, whoever with you that you're going to be up doing this. Now this is one of those dicey things. Generally etiquette and protocol deems that the most important guest at your table sits to your right. Okay. So you're going to have to say, I'm sorry, I'm going to be up greeting my guests or you're going to have to seat someone else at your table or you're going to have to navigate and think that. If you have a really large ballroom, then you might want to divide it up where you have the CEO or board chair and the, you know, the event gala chair, you know, divide them up. But I mean, for most seedings, they're going to be 30 to 40 minutes for a black tie gala. You can get through a ballroom of a thousand people. You got to go fast and you're not talking to a thousand people. You're talking to the tables. Yeah. Yeah. So you can do that. You can get that done. You really. Well, that's so good. Okay. So moving into tip seven. This is an interesting one for me and I'm going to say, I really do love it, but it's about standing out purposefully. So wearing a bright color to stand out. And I just love the photo that you have here. It's a very, you know, beautiful, teal kind of aqua color that I would think would stand out of probably a sea of black dresses. Exactly. Everybody wears a black dress. I wear black dresses. I mean, hello. But the reality is if you are chairing an event or you're the CEO or you're a speaker, board chair, go ahead and take that bold step, wear something bright and you can wear a bright colored suit. I'm not just talking about, you know, black tie events where you need to have the emerald green ball gown. Who doesn't love that? But the reality is, you know, if somebody's like, oh, yeah, it's Jared Ransom here and you're like, oh, yeah, I saw her. She's in a black dress somewhere. Okay. Hello. But if I said, oh my gosh. Yeah. Jared Ransom, look for her. She's in a bright fuchsia suit. I knew you were going to pick that color, which is on brand for me. Exactly. Yeah. And then you can see Jared Ransom, the nonprofit nerd across the ballroom. Right. And so it's again, cheap and easy. So for men, talk to us about that because it's not as easy as a whole gown. Are we talking like pocket squares? Are we talking the jacket itself? How do men stand out in this, in this situation? You know, men stand out generally because they're taller than women. And so they have that advantage, but you're right. I mean, most men and most of us won't say, oh, he's wearing a purple tie or a pocket square. Now, if you are somebody who's like, let's say you have a coloration for your, your brand, you know, messaging for your organization, you might want to consider, you know, your colors, let's say a royal blue. You have royal blue tie. I don't know, but it's not as easy. I mean, I'll tell it right like it is. It's not as easy. It's not as easy. Do we get like a strobe light and it just blinks all night for the guys? You know, that got really popular before it started the pandemic. And it was like, if you had the flashing light, you had bought like the extra VIP or donate. Yeah. And it was, I was always like, please give me an apple. Yeah. Yeah. And the purpose was every, you know, you want to, you too want to have one of these strobe lights on your, on your chest. Okay. So number eight, we're moving into the final tip of these eight tips that you see here for those of you listening, there's several goals under setting goals. So we have tip number eight is to set goals, but I'm going to read aloud for our listeners, Julia. We have meet a specific donor, arrange a tour, make an introduction, as well as connect and connect some more. So talk to us about these goals and how I almost see it as a bingo card. So like how do we go into the event with this, you know, visual bingo card of the goals we want to achieve. So a lot of these things that we've been talking about, you know, they make sense. They're not over the top, but sometimes they're hard. They're hard because you got to step outside yourself. And if you're shy or you lack confidence, or maybe this is not a group of people that you know, it can be a challenge. And so the way to circumvent that challenge is to set some goals. And you can say, I want to meet donor X, you know, I want to meet a donor. I mean, you can say I'm want to achieve these certain things and you can put that out there for your team. You can put that out there for your team to say, you know, this is what we're going to be working towards. So it's not just like, oh yeah, go stand at the front and, you know, schmooze. No, you want to be specific and intentional about your outcome. And if you do this, then you actually build accountability to your team. And that's why I like this Jared, because you can say, it's not enough about doing tips one through seven. It's about seeing those results. And if you do tips one through seven, you get these, you achieve these goals. Well, and you had said earlier in today's tips that the event is not done until the next event takes place. And that next event, Julia B, you know, meeting coffee with this donor or scheduling that tour. Is that part of the event? Are we talking about like another true sit down kind of a, you know, event? Well, Jared, I think you're right. I mean, ultimately it's about building the connection. But I think too often we have a ballroom or a venue full of people and we miss the opportunity to say, if you've had a great time, if you've been inspired, if you want to join us, guess what? We'll be back here next spring. And this is the date and this is the time. You know, go ahead and have these things planned out. I think it's important. Yeah, and I'm going to add to on here for the development team to also capture this information in your donor database. After these events, I love going in there and entering all of the notes. I tend to take like a little notebook and just kind of write them down. I know a lot of us, you know, we have electronic devices. And so if you just want to kind of discreetly, you know, add it to your notes section of your phone, something like that so you can capture it. And I asked the same of the board members, you know, who did you speak to? What connections did you make? Are there any follow-ups that I can assist you with? And I think all of that getting back to the donor database helps to steward and cultivate, obviously, you know, going forward to the, to the next event. So eight great tips, Julia. I love having you on, on in the hot seat talking about this. You've got so much wonderful experience and expertise in this arena. And you know, we joked earlier in the green room chatter about how we both went through charm school. We've both gone through like years of etiquette and if this doesn't necessarily come natural to everyone. And so, you know, I want to recommend that you share this episode with your team, especially as event season is here and also maybe wrapping up for some of you as we look to close the calendar. But again, thank you, Julia. Absolutely. Eight amazing tips. I really appreciate, Jared, any time that I get to spend time with you. We did have a question that came in and it was like curious, any reason why guests can't be photographed with their drink. A lot of reasons. In some states it actually factors back to liability. If anybody is seen leaving an event or they have an event post event because they've been drinking, it's a big issue. Also, it's really, really, I think in bad form. There are a lot of organizations and a lot of folks that feel like believe they have to liquor their guests up in order to get maximum donations. And it looks like people are having a riparour in time as opposed to being there to support something. So I could go on about that, but that's kind of a standard piece of the pie of why you don't do that. You don't make a big deal of it, but it's really, I think in poor form. Thanks Julia for answering that again. Julia Patrick, CEO at the American nonprofit Academy. So grateful to have you here in the hot seat today. We're also so grateful each and every day to have our viewers, our listeners, listeners joining us. And of course this is not taking place without the amazing support of our very generous sponsors. Thanks again to Blooming American nonprofit Academy, fundraising Academy at national university, be generous, your part-time controller, staffing boutique and the nonprofit thought leader, as well as nonprofit nerd. So thank you so very much. These companies have been with us many from day one, March of 2020 as we move toward believe it or not, March is going to be our fourth year of the nonprofit show. So it is going by so quickly. It's so grateful to you Julia. I love these conversations. I love showing up each and every day to be of service to all of you, our audience, our viewers and our listeners. We invite you to come back tomorrow. We've got another, you know, stellar lineup this week and next week. But as we end every episode, we want to remind you and invite you to please stay well so you can continue to do well. Now right now I want you to go check out the sponsors. Thank you.