Several years ago, we hosted a large fundraiser for a well established and professional charity in our backyard that should have been lovely, successful and perfect.
It wasn’t.
Because I met the “caterer” in advance (who had a giant attitude, which in hindsight, maybe I should have been concerned about), I assumed that everything was 100% under control relative to food and drink. Besides, I was only responsible for providing the space for the event — the charity took care of everything else.
There was a large number of guests coming, and they had paid at least $150/person to attend. The morning of the event, a giant circular bar made of light-up white acrylic arrived on the scene, along with some folding tables and high-tops. It all seemed fine, until about 30 minutes into the event, when it became clear that they had forgotten something a tad important. Food.
Yes, there were some pieces of bread and crudites, but that’s about it. On the other hand, the booze was in abundance, and although there was a display of artwork for sale, the bar was a decidedly central element of the event. My husband and I, as guests at the event, kept waiting for the waiters to bring the trays of hors d’oeuvres (which one would likely expect at an event with that ticket price), but they never came. Instead, people drank and drank, and eventually, I was asked by several guests (as I was the owner of the home) if I knew a good pizza place that would deliver.
Needless to say, we told the organization the next day that this was irresponsible and unprofessional, and, because most of the guests drove to the event, likely unsafe.
Evidently, issues around proper food and beverage at events (and meetings) are not unusual, and I’m not sure why. In the case of the event at my home, was it because the staff just didn’t look at the caterer’s “menu” carefully enough? Or because they were skimping on food to put more of their limited budget into the drinks? Were they so understaffed prior to the event that they just didn’t think about it? Or, maybe, it was because they thought that people would spend/donate more money at the event if they were a bit inebriated?
It’s interesting how food and drink is a fraught issue with non-profits — especially when it seems like it should be pretty simple, in the scheme of things.
At most of the (fundraising or “friend-raising”) events I host or attend, usually the kind with about 20-35 people in attendance in the early evening, we have a variety of finger food. Typically we include cheeses and crackers, crudites, 1 or 2 hot appetizers, and some type of easy-to-pick-up dessert (usually cookies). For drinks, we offer coffee, tea, water, soft drinks and sometimes wine. Guests are very appreciative, and nobody runs out early because they just got there from work and they’re starving.
If I’m involved in planning a meeting, I typically opt for the same as above, but without the hot appetizer.
I’ve read some articles from nonprofits suggesting that providing food is inappropriate, because the money raised for the cause shouldn’t be used to feed volunteers and/or board members. Surprisingly, I’ve even read posts from nonprofit leaders who are adamant that they will not provide water or coffee to their board members, suggesting that they “bring their own”. I think this is ridiculous, and I’m pretty certain that making someone suffer does nothing to help retain or encourage volunteers.
That’s not to say that you should spend a ton of money on the refreshments. It should be fairly easy to provide some simple food and drink that won’t break your budget. If this sounds like a strain on your finances, then it’s completely fine to assign different items for different committee members to bring on a rotating basis. I find that typically volunteers are happy to help in this way.
As Susan Howlett says in her article “Sharing Food at Board Meetings”: I think it’s essential to have food at board meetings. Offering leaders refreshments signifies you value their volunteer commitment to the organization – it’s a gesture of reciprocity. Breaking bread together also evokes a visceral response that makes people feel more connected, more unified as a body. And when people connect more deeply with one another, they are more likely to feel accountable to one another, and by extension, more willing to follow through on commitments.
Another reason to provide food and drink of some kind is that the longer the meeting, the more likely it is that participants will nod off. A bit of food and drink will help keep everyone awake and functional.
The “secret weapon”, though, which is used often by one of the boards I sit on, is chocolate. For our multiple-hour board sessions, staff scans the room after the first hour or two, and just at the moment when many of us begin to drift off, a bag of chocolates is distributed. TV producers have done this for years for audiences, passing around some type of pick-me-up (often chocolate, sometimes pizza) to keep everyone “on the program”.
Bon apetit!
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- Lisa