Campaign Donation Processing

Putting on Events Like a Pro takes practice, but hopefully this helps out: Organizing an event, whether big or small, can feel overwhelming, but with careful planning and attention to detail, you can execute it like a pro. Whether you're organizing a wedding, corporate event, or fundraiser, here’s a streamlined guide to ensure your event goes off without a hitch. 1. Set Clear Goals and Objectives. Start by defining the purpose of your event. Ask yourself: --What’s the event’s primary goal? (Networking, celebration, fundraising) --Who is your target audience? --What kind of experience do you want to offer? Clear objectives will guide your decisions on venue, entertainment, and more, ensuring your event stays focused. 2. Create a Detailed Budget A well-planned budget is key to managing your event’s costs. Break it down into categories: --Venue: Costs, insurance, and fees. --Food & Beverage: Catering and drinks. --Entertainment: DJs, speakers, or performers. --Staffing: Event coordinators and waitstaff. --Marketing: Advertising and promotions. Include a contingency fund (10-15%) to cover unexpected expenses. 3. Choose the Right Venue The venue sets the atmosphere for your event. When choosing a venue, consider: --Capacity: Can it accommodate your guest list? --Location: Is it accessible to guests? --Amenities: Does it have necessary equipment (AV systems, catering kitchens)? --Availability: Ensure it’s available on your event date. --Visiting the venue beforehand is essential to confirm all details. 4. Create a Timeline A timeline keeps everything organized. Here's a simple breakdown: --3-6 Months Before: Finalize the venue, hire vendors, and start marketing. --1-2 Months Before: Confirm RSVPs, finalize schedules, and order décor. --1 Week Before: Reconfirm with vendors and do a venue walkthrough. --Day of: Arrive early to supervise setup and ensure everything runs smoothly. 5. Focus on Guest Experience A memorable event depends on how guests experience it. Prioritize: --Communication: Send clear invitations and reminders. --Flow: Ensure the event space is organized and easy to navigate. --Comfort: Provide seating, food stations, and temperature control. 6. Manage Vendors Vendors are essential to your event’s success. Ensure smooth coordination by: --Communicating expectations and timelines clearly. --Using contracts to formalize agreements. --Having backup vendors in case of issues. 7. Promote Your Event Use multiple channels to market your event: --Social Media: Engage with your audience. --Email: Send out invitations, reminders, and follow-ups. --Event Website: Create a dedicated site for larger events. Conclusion: By setting clear goals, managing your budget, and focusing on the guest experience, you’ll organize a successful, memorable event. Start early, stay organized, and adapt as needed for a flawless execution.

After 10 years planning corporate events, retreats, and large-scale experiences…there are 3 things every novice planner still misses. And they’re the things that cost the most money, stress, and last-minute chaos. 1. Bad Contract Negotiation Most people negotiate price. Professionals negotiate terms. What actually matters: flexible cancellation windows, reduced F&B minimums, waived resort fees, AV flexibility, complimentary meeting space, and room block protections. A cheap rate with bad terms is still a bad deal. 2. Hidden Fees (the real budget killers) This is where six-figure events quietly become seven-figure events. Service charge alone can add over 25%. Taxes push it up another 8–10%. In-house AV can cost double or triple an external vendor. Shipping and receiving fees apply to every single box. Power and internet fees can run tens of thousands of dollars at large venues. Setup/strike labor often appears only after signing. This is how an $800,000 event becomes a $1.1M event with no changes to the scope. Teams don’t see it coming until its too late. 3. Attrition The most misunderstood and most expensive clause in every corporate event contract. Attrition is the minimum number of hotel rooms you are financially responsible for, whether your team uses them or not. If you contract 300 rooms with 80% attrition, you are guaranteeing payment for 240 rooms. If only 220 people show up, you’re still paying for 20 empty rooms. If only 180 show up, you’re paying for 60 empty rooms. On the flip side, if you under-negotiate your room block, you end up scrambling for last-minute hotels across the city at inflated prices and destroying your guest experience. Either direction costs you. This is the number one silent budget killer for corporate retreats. --------- If you’re new to planning retreats or corporate events, ask a question in the comments. If you’re an experienced event planner, share the one lesson you wish you learned earlier. Follow me along Dylan Barahona for daily posts on large-scale event planning.

Large events don’t fail on ideas. They fail on integration. The pitch wins the room. The structure wins the show. Working on some pitches recently, it struck me how often delivery is still treated as a later problem. Everyone talks about creative. Everyone talks about the deck. But when large-scale events move from idea → reality, there’s a layer that’s often underrepresented in the room: The people who understand how it will actually be built. ⸻ A strong Production Director doesn’t just deliver the show. They help shape it before it exists. → Stress-testing ideas against reality → Translating ambition into systems, budgets and sequencing → Identifying risk early → Giving clients confidence that the idea is genuinely deliverable Because the challenge isn’t usually creativity. It’s connection. ⸻ And that’s where the relationship with the Executive Producer becomes important. The Executive Producer sets the vision, leads the client, and balances ambition with commercial reality. The Production Director sits alongside that: Closer to the build. Closer to the detail. Closer to the point where decisions become real. The best projects don’t blur these roles. They align them. 🔹 The Executive Producer asks: “Should we do this?” 🔹 The Production Director answers: “Here’s how it happens.” ⸻ But no event is delivered by two roles alone. Behind every large-scale show is a delivery structure — alongside a myriad of other roles — but at its core: – Technical Director → defines how the show works technically – Operations Director → ensures the event functions safely and at scale – Site Manager → delivers the physical build in real time Each role is critical. Each brings deep expertise. The Production Director’s role isn’t to replace them. It’s to connect them. To ensure: – Technical supports the creative – Operations supports the audience – The build supports the schedule – And everything works as one coherent system ⸻ Where projects become more challenging is rarely down to effort or intent. It’s when these elements are considered too late or in isolation. And that’s often where additional pressure — on time, budget and teams — starts to appear. ⸻ The best events feel effortless. Because underneath them is alignment: Between vision and delivery. Between creative and reality. Between teams working towards the same plan. ⸻ Production isn’t just a delivery function. It’s a strategic one. And the earlier it’s part of the conversation — alongside technical, operations and site thinking — the stronger the pitch, and the better the outcome. Not just in how the event is delivered. But in how confidently it’s conceived in the first place.

Most Hedge Fund managers are hosting roadshows that bring in zero capital. Frankly, it’s embarrassing. They mistake production for distribution. They think a five-star venue, premium catering, and a polished deck will move the needle. It won't. I know, because I’ve spent years in the trenches of every major financial hub. From London and Zurich to NYC, Dubai, and Singapore. I’ve seen the "embarrassing failures" firsthand: rooms full of "capital rats" looking for leads, or rooms that simply stayed empty. But that friction created a system. My clients have now raised billions in combined capital because we stopped hosting "events" and started building engines. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀: 𝟭. 𝗙𝗶𝘅 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿 (𝗧𝗵𝗲 "𝗕𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗼𝗺" 𝗧𝗮𝘅) Nobody cares about your 100-slide deck in a grey-carpeted hotel room. That is a high-friction request. If you want billionaires to show up, you have to make a better offer. A yacht trip with an exclusive art expo? Now you have their attention. Stop taxing their patience and start offering an experience they actually want to attend. 𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿 We spend hundreds of hours on research before a single invite is sent. We target real allocators, not fancy titles. We reach out personally, build the bridge, and then weaponize their network by persuading them to bring their largest whale connections. 𝟯. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗠𝗶𝘅 The most effective rooms are cross-pollinated. We pair fund managers with wealth managers, luxury real estate with concierge services, or art dealers with tax advisors. When you mix industries, you aren't just pitching; you’re facilitating a high-value network. You become the source of their next deal. 𝟰. 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 The biggest mistake you can make at the event is trying to close a $50M check over hors d'oeuvres. It’s desperate. The goal of the event is 100% focused on one thing: Booking the consultation. 𝟱. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁 Don’t let capital walk out the door. Most people are too polite to "bother" guests. I’m not. I deploy agents to walk the floor with a single objective: qualify the guest and book the follow-up. I pay a huge bounty for every meeting scheduled on the spot. In 2026 it’s time to step up the game, because there are sharks like me out there, and we’re stealing your clients, your capital, and your market-share—while you may be playing it safe.

OK, fundraisers. Tired of galas and golf outings? I have written extensively on how events can be a waste of time and talent just to raise a tiny amount once you count all of the staff time involved in planning/executing it - seriously, your ROI is probably not the number you've been calculating. BUT events are here to stay. So what's the next big event? 🎪 Have you been to one or have an idea for one? Some ideas for consideration: Instead of a golf outing... ⛳ Pickleball Tournament: Pickleball leagues are all the rage. 🥒 Everyone I know over 50 is getting into it - a great demographic to engage. This is a sport/game that can be both fun/low stakes as well as very competitive, so you'll have a mix of serious athletes and people goofing off with their friends. Like a golf outing...but cooler. Instead of a gala... 🎉 A Weekend of Luxury & Learning: Attendees gather at a resort destination or local high end hotel where they will stay overnight and have two days of experiences - putting with a top golf pro, a well known baker walking you through their favorite cookie 🍪 recipe, an art class with a trending painter, an expert on your cause reporting the latest data and news. Instead of a Charity Auction with Jewelry & Wine... 💍 Experiences Only Auction: Instead of auctioning off items, auction exclusive experiences like dinner with a celebrity, stargazing with an astronaut, 👩🚀 lunch with the mayor of your town, behind-the-scenes tours of interesting locations, or even a day of mentoring from industry leaders. Last experience of the night to build excitement? A "Leave Right Now" Getaway Raffle. 🏖 Instead of a 5K Race... 🏃♀️ Dancing With the (Your City) Stars: 💃 Pair participants (local celebrities & leaders) with professional dance partners in a DWS-esque competition. It can be a casual daytime event with a focus on hip hop and swing with a DJ or a higher end dinner event (ballroom & salsa dancing with a live band). Now, a few important reminders about events: We WILL count staff time toward the expenses of all events so we know the true ROI of our events and can really understand the value of them. ⏱ When considering a new type of event, we WILL consider what kind of event reflects our mission and what elements we can incorporate to highlight it. We will also avoid elements that could distract from it - think "serving foie gras at a Stop Animal Cruelty event." 😬 As we map out our event's run of show, special guests, speakers, programs, slide shows and all that is communicated during an event, we WILL remember to choose a few strategic key messaging points and ensure that these are shared and emphasized throughout the event. 💬 Planning takes time, so it's a great moment to begin thinking about your 2025 lineup, how you can swap out and replace a dated, stale event with something new, unexpected and intriguing, or enhance one that needs a refresh. 😎 #nonprofits #nonprofitevents #events #2025ideas #fundraising

Coordinating events as an EA isn’t just about logistics — it’s about creating an experience that reflects leadership and drives impact. I built this EA Event Coordination Checklist to keep myself sane during high-stakes events. From budget to vendor contracts, travel plans to thank-you notes — every detail matters. Curious: what’s the one thing YOU never forget when planning an event? Checklist: (Because flawless events don’t just happen — they’re planned.) 1. Pre-Event Planning - Define the objective: What does success look like for leadership? - Secure budget approval and track expenses. - Select venue (with backup options). - Confirm date/time with all key stakeholders. - Draft initial agenda and timeline. 2. Logistics & Vendors - Book catering (confirm dietary restrictions). - Arrange audio/visual needs + run tech checks. - Secure hotel blocks/transportation for guests. - Review contracts (hidden fees, cancellation terms). - Build contingency plans (weather, tech, travel delays). 3. Communication & Guests - Send invitations and track RSVPs. - Provide travel info, hotel details, and contact numbers. - Prepare executive briefing: attendees, bios, talking points. - Assign roles/responsibilities for on-site support. 4. On-Site Execution - Arrive early for setup and final walkthrough. - Test microphones, projectors, video conferencing. - Ensure signage, seating, and registration are ready. - Keep copies of agenda, attendee list, and emergency contacts. - Handle last-minute changes calmly and invisibly. 5. Post-Event Follow-Up - Send thank-you notes and/or post-event surveys. - Share key takeaways and next steps with leadership. - Reconcile budget and vendor payments. - Document lessons learned for next time. ✨ Pro Tip: Always plan for what could go wrong — if nothing does, you’ve just earned peace of mind. #ExecutiveAssistant #EventPlanning #LeadershipSupport

One Event. Three Audiences. Three Different Journeys. One of the most common mistakes in event planning? Designing a single experience and expecting it to work for everyone in the room. But great events aren’t one-dimensional. They’re multi-layered experiences — built for three distinct audiences: 1. The Host Organization (CEOs, Comms Directors, Internal Teams) This group funds the vision and puts their brand on the line. They’re focused on: ↪Brand positioning ↪Strategic visibility ↪High-impact partnerships ↪Narrative control Success looks like: media coverage, reputation lift, and long-tail industry impact. 📊 Example: Internal teams using post-event surveys and stakeholder interviews are 2.7x more likely to report higher ROI and audience satisfaction. It’s not just about what happened on stage — it’s about how well it served the brand's strategic goals. 2. Sponsors & Exhibitors They’re not passive supporters — they’re investors looking for a return. They care about: ↪High-value foot traffic ↪Lead generation ↪Brand activation ↪Measurable visibility Success looks like: new business, expanded reach, and reason to renew. 📈 Example: Coca‑Cola invested €20M to sponsor the Paris 2024 Olympic Torch Relay — with mobile villages, branded concerts, and 15M+ touchpoints. They weren’t just showing up. They were calculating brand lift, audience reach, and conversion potential. 3. Attendees They are the heart of the room — and they come for a personal experience. They want to: ↪Learn ↪Connect ↪Be inspired ↪Feel part of something bigger Success looks like: new relationships, valuable insights, and a sense of meaning. 💬 Example: Top-tier event planners use detailed post-event surveys to measure NPS, content relevance, and emotional resonance — because that’s what drives return attendance and word-of-mouth. ✅ The mistake? Trying to give all three audiences the same experience. ✅ The opportunity? Designing tailored, parallel journeys — each aligned to what those groups value most — under one cohesive brand story. If you're only designing for attendees, you're missing two-thirds of the strategy. If you're only focused on logistics, you're missing the why that makes it all matter. I work with CEOs and comms leads to turn events into growth engines — aligning stakeholders, sponsors, and story around a clear vision of success. If you have an event on the horizon, let’s talk about how to map your stakeholders, define the right KPIs, and build an experience that actually moves the needle. This is how events stop being forgettable — and start being unstoppable.

My journey in event planning revealed 10 essentials that can make or break your contingency strategy. 1. Real-time communication systems Set up redundant channels - primary, backup, and emergency. When 10,000 attendees need updates, your WhatsApp group won't cut it. 2. Weather response protocols I've seen sandstorms shut down festivals in Riyadh. Your plan needs hour-by-hour decision triggers for every weather scenario. 3. Transportation failsafes Your VIP shuttle breaks down? Have backup vehicles ready. During Diriyah Season, we kept 20% extra fleet capacity, which saved us countless times. 4. Medical emergency procedures Not just first aid stations. You need helicopter landing zones, ambulance routes, and direct lines to nearby hospitals. 5. Power backup solutions Triple redundancy is the minimum. Main power, generators, and battery banks. Learned this the hard way during a major stadium event. 6. Security escalation matrix Clear chains of command. Who makes the call to evacuate? Who contacts the authorities? No time for committee meetings during a crisis. 7. Vendor backup contracts If your catering company ghosts you, have three backups ready to deploy within hours. The same is true for every critical service provider. 8. Staff reallocation plans Cross-train your team. When half your security staff calls in sick (happened to me), others need to step up immediately. 9. Financial buffers Keep 15-20% of the budget in reserve. Emergency solutions cost premium prices. 10. Documentation system Record everything. When things go wrong, you need proof of what happened and why decisions were made. Here's the truth: Most event planners think they have contingency plans. What they actually have are wishful thinking documents. The difference between success and failure isn't in having a plan - it's in having a plan that works when everything else doesn't. Remember: You're not planning for what might go wrong. You're planning for what will go wrong. #EventManagement #ContingencyPlanning #OperationsExcellence #RiskManagement

If you want to burn through your budget and get poor results, just do things the way everyone else does. (This applies to every industry, every category, and every vertical.) Here’s a perfect example: Most people planning an event: 🏨 Book a hotel 🎤 Hire a celebrity headliner 👥 Form a committee What happens next? 💸 The hotel charges $10k for WiFi. 🍱 Boxed lunches cost $100 per head. 💰 The headliner takes $200k off the top. ⏳ Your committee bombards you with questions, requests, and conflicting opinions, eating up your team’s time. At the end, you don’t even want to look at the margins—because all you have left is the “validation” of pulling off another event. Now, let’s compare this to the Catholic Creatives summit my team threw in 2018. 🙌 We used volunteers (they got jobs and free tickets, not opinions). 🏛️ We hosted the event at a local church and rented a nearby retreat center for $5,000. 🍽️ A Filipino family catered the banquet—finger food, served on banana leaves, $30 per plate, no rentals for silverware or centerpieces. 🚫 No celebrity speakers. Literally the best speaker of the event David Kang called in on a phone. Instead, we spent our money on experiences we knew would surprise and delight every attendee. For example: ☎️ We placed an old phone in the event space. When picked up, it rang up a volunteer who arrived in a top hat and tuxedo to serve the attendee's favorite popsicle flavor. 🎶 We hired the best musicians, lighting, and decor money could buy. 💃 We even paid dancers to choreograph and perform a dance based on the event’s theme. And more. The result? We kept ticket prices low, sold out, delighted every attendee, and met or revenue goals while doing it. The lesson? Do things differently. It’s how you win. 👊 Photo: One of the most moving performances I've ever witnessed, choreographed by Kate Caputo. Photo cred: Bradley Santos. #catholiccreatives #eventplanning #creativity #thinkdifferent

Each year, since I started my business in 2012, I have hosted one big event to ellevate the women in my community. Today I’m going to show you how I put on a large scale event in New York City. It comes very second nature to me, but as someone said to me after I managed 30 people getting across the Atlantic for a yacht charter, "How do you do what you do?" If you have ever had a desire to host your own big event and don't know where to start, here are my key steps: Step 1: Venue I start with the venue first. It's foundational. Everything else anchors to this decision. As you can imagine, renting an entire theater in New York City is EXPENSIVE!!!!!! I have a few websites I use to source event spaces: Peerspace Splacer Cocoon Flex Spaces Step 2: Production Company Then I hired the team that is going to film the TEDx Style talks professionally. They have teams all over the country, but feature one producer who remains my contact all year as the production evolved. It's going to be a 3-camera shoot. One camera trained on the wide shot. Two cameras trained close, that move with the speaker. Step 3: Team The bigger the dream, the bigger the team. I made the mistake in the early days of being the only point person. Every 5 minutes, someone was coming to me to ask me a question about something. On event day, I will have my hands full, with speaker intros, executive producing the entire production. Today, I clone myself. I hired an able bodied #2, who is capable of making executive decisions. I have a team that has minded the front of house for me for years. Guest check in, Here's the bathroom, etc. They are on board. I've never been sorry by having more hands than less event day. Step 4: Training the Speakers The members of the Mastermind have been building a personal brand all year around one key word, and harvested stories related to them at the May retreat in Tuscany. In Q3, the ladies entered into an 8 week storytelling intensive with me. Each week, they present their talks at a workshop space at Ripley Grier Studios, get feedback from their peers, feedback from myself and a guest judge. They go away and revise, iterate, present again next class. Step 5: The Audience In order to communicate externally, i.e guests, I use Eventbrite for folks to buy tickets. It's also how my front of house team does guest check-in. In order to communicate internally, I create a landing page that is central holding for all of the questions the members of the Mastermind ask. Conclusion: You don't have to be an “expert” to create a big event in New York City, but it does require 👉🏽being super organized. 👉🏽constant communication about what is expected of each stakeholder 👉🏽leverage third party platforms and technology to make life easier. In this newsletter: →I also share how you can apply to my Mastermind in 2024 →How to stay focused →A key way to be more impactful when doing public speaking