10 Tips for a Lucrative Parlor Meeting

You may think you know how to run a parlor meeting (also known as a house meeting, house party, and round up) because you've thrown birthday parties, anniversaries, bar mitzvahs, etc. But running a parlor meeting is quite a bit different.

Parlor meetings have been used successfully by thousands of nonprofits as an intimate way to educate potential donors about the nonprofit. . .and to raise dollars. Last fall, one of my clients in the Jewish community raised over $1 million from a parlor meeting of fewer than 25 people by inviting a famous corporate leader. A major hospital I know well conducts parlor meetings all around the country. A public radio station we work with raised $30,000 from a group of about 50 donors at the apartment of a political candidate.

There are many strategies organizations use to raise dollars from parlor meetings. We'd like to share a few of these with you.

1. Co-chairs are key . It's important to have two parlor meeting chairs that have a good network of people to recruit to the meeting.
2. Select a date at least two months in advance. It's important to leave plenty of time to develop the invitations, organize the food and logistics, and to make follow-up phone calls to make sure enough people will be attending.
3. Select a great house. People love to see special homes, so if one of your supporters, donors, board members or stakeholders has an exceptionally beautiful home, have the event at this location. Some people will actually attend the event just to see the inside of a really nice home!
4. Keep the meeting to 90 minutes. Start on time and don't let the evening drag on.
5. Invite a key speaker. Well-known authors, local professional athletes, entertainers, and even the mayor will always draw a bigger crowd.
6. Ask someone other than the host to ask for the money. It might be uncomfortable for the host who invited many of the people to ask them for money. Get a very credible person who is widely respected in your group to ask for the money - and make sure they make the first pledge !
7. Always ask for matching dollars. This is a general rule in direct mail campaigns and is also true in parlor meetings. When you give the pitch for money, get a few people who have already committed to agree to put up a match so the new dollars are leveraged.
8. Organize the "pitch" carefully. This is where strategic orchestration comes into play. Keep the presentation of the organization and its needs to perhaps 10-15 minutes, and then have a few people give some testimonials to the value of the organization. The next step is to have some donors announce their gifts, after which you give a strong "pitch" for the money. This should all take no more than 30 minutes.
9. Urgency without crisis. When asking for the money, make sure the solicitor expresses a keen sense of urgency for why the dollars are needed NOW and for what purpose, without crying wolf and talking about the crisis the organization will face without the money. Remember that people give to fulfill needs and dreams not to save organizations from going under.
10. Follow-up activities are important. After the event, make sure you send thank-you notes to attendees as well as the hosts and volunteers who helped make the party successful.