Pink Ribbon Ball

Hey guys,


It's been pretty crazy at the moment with uni, as I am sure you can all agree. Things at Momentum have been crazy too.

Last night we had the Pink Ribbon Ball, which raises awareness and funds in support of breast cancer. Although I am focusing on Perth Pet Expo, I helped out with the massive event last night.

The ball was held at the Hyatt and my main responsibilities were to set up the raffle boxes for the tables, help with the door prize entries, be a spotter for the live auction, and get the model ready who was wearing a Betty Tran dress which was one of the auction prizes, and a few more responsibilities as the night progressed.

It was a fantastic night and with an event such as this and the amount of people attending, there are always issues that arise that needed to be sorted,  these however could always be resolved.  You don't realise how much goes into an event of this size until your working at it, so I am really loving the fact I can witness it from the creation to it's completion and It really is a rewarding experience to see the event at its final stage.  The main thing i learned from last night however  is that it is  all in the details!

 I started my internship after the Pink Ribbon Ball organisation had started, so I'm very much looking forward to seeing The Perth Pet Expo from start to it's finish and seeing the hard work pay off.

In the end no matter how chaotic it all gets, the experience I am gaining is all worth it!

Talk soon,

Kieran

Momentum's 10th Anniversary Pink Ribbon Ball

After weeks of planning and organising Momentum's Pink Ribbon Ball has finally arrived. The Pink Ribbon Ball attracted over 400 guests and featured a banquet dinner, live auction, testimonial speaker, raffle prize, live entertainment, Belle of the Ball competition and Prince Charming award. The events mission is to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research. The night turned out to be a huge success and one of the best Pink Ribbon Ball's thrown so far. I found it a very rewarding experience to see all the hard work pay off and produce a memorable night for a worthy cause. It also showed the importance of public relations in creating these events.

Some of the public relations activities used to produce the Pink Ribbon Ball included:

• Media Releases
• Newletters
• Sponsorship Proposals
• Advetorials
• Flyers
• Banners
• Speeches

These activities were inexpensive and critical in producing publicity and increasing ticket sales leading up to the ball.

On the night of the Pink Ribbon Ball I was in charge of the volunteers to ensure all tasks were completed on the checklist. This involved placing the corporate signs, name place cards, auction catalogues, menus, raffle tickets and ballot bidding on the tables. However, there were a few mistakes with the name place cards so I had to print more by going to the Hyatt's Business Centre. Therefore I tried to take initiative and solve most of the problems on the night to ensure Barbara wasn't continually bothered by easily fixed mistakes. I also took charge and briefed a journalist from The Sunday Times STM about the night's special guests, performers, speakers, awards and auction items.

After the room was set up I was in charge of the guest list where I helped guests find their seats and made sure all special requirements was met. Overall the guest list was successful as the only problems were a couple wanting to sit with their friends on another table. I was pleased with this as I had been updating and following up on the guest list leading up to the event. After all guests were seated the volunteers were instructed to circle the room in case anyone had any questions or problems. Barbara told all the volunteers not to stress if they didn't know the answer but to be polite and find someone who could help them.

The other task the volunteers had were to inform guests about the raffle where guests could win two business class tickets to any Singaporean Airlines destination and to collect the raffle tickets. The raffle had a few issues as people weren't aware they cost $50 as it wasn't written on the tickets. Therefore next year we've taken to note to make sure the price is clearly stated on the raffle tickets. After the raffle tickets were collected we assisted with the live auction by taking the winner's details and handing out the item vouchers. Every item was sold in the live auction raising substantial funds for breast cancer research.

Overall the evening went relatively smoothly and all guests enjoyed their night based on the congratulations Momentum received after the event. I improved a lot of my public relations skills organising this event and look forward to perfecting my skills in my last few weeks at Momentum.

Stay tuned to hear about Momentum's next event the Melbourne Cup Luncheon!

Thanks,

Ashleigh Mills
14843011

Negotiating Sponsorship

Leading up to Momentum's two annual events the Pink Ribbon Ball and Melbourne Cup Luncheon we've dedicated a large amount of time into securing and promoting sponsorships. Some times it seems as if we send out hundreds of sponsorship proposals only to receive little or no response. While this can be disheartening when you spend hours researching sponsors and personalising sponsorship proposals it's the reality for a charity organisation.  Although this has given me the opportunity to improve my writing skills and learn how to write a good sponsorship proposal that will attract potential sponsors.

The tips I have learned are:

• Don't use the words charity or sponsorship first in an email else it will be deleted.
• Personalise every sponsorship proposal directly to each potential sponsor.
• Always start with who the organisation is and what they are doing before flattering the potential sponsor.
• Always make sure sponsorship proposal conditions are correct else sponsors may be confused about what they should receive in return and demand more benefits.
• Never email all sponsors together without BCC all their addresses as you reveal your contact list and invade their privacy.
• Follow up on all sponsorship proposals to keep them aware of who you are and what you do.

But even if you write a good sponsorship proposal it doesn't guarantee anyone will sponsor you because there are numerous charities all vying for sponsors attention and companies only want to sponsor events or causes that will be beneficial to them. Momentum's CEO Barbara McNaught understands this as everyone is a business first and foremost so nothing is for free. This fact surprised me as I believed sponsors would donate items for free to the auction at the Pink Ribbon Ball but actually sponsors receive the reserve price back and the rest goes to the charity. But without these sponsorships Momentum would be unable to run these events to raise funds for any of their worthy causes. Therefore sponsorship contracts need to be mutually beneficial to ensure Momentum can support their cause and the sponsor can receive their moneys worth back in publicity. This involves actively promoting their association in all marketing materials and promoting their services to Momentum's members.

I conclude that sponsorship requires strategic negotiation but is extremely valuable when the right organisations come together.

The reality of PR in a not-for-profit organisation

I have learnt that PR isn't a simple role and this is especially true for not-for-profit organisations who have to build relationships and media coverage on minimal funding. Therefore the most important skills a PR practitioner can have is multi-tasking and organisation as you constantly have to be juggling numerous tasks to achieve success.

This week I started my internship at Momentum Forum Events who raises awareness and funds for causes through social and business networking. The organisation is run solely by Barbara McNaught who is passionate about helping worthy causes and dedicated to creating stand out events. The annual events the organisation hosts are:

• International Women's Day
• Men in Black Ball
• Pink Ribbon Ball
• Melbourne Cup Luncheon

From the first day I was thrown into the deep end and given the task to write media releases, sponsorship proposals and brainstorm ideas for Momentum's 10th Anniversary Pink Ribbon Ball. But I wouldn't have wanted it any other way as working for a not-for-profit organisation has given me the opportunity to have hands on experience in a variety of PR techniques. For example I had half an hour to write a media release in comparison to university where I was usually given a few weeks to perfect communication materials. Although the basic template of a media release remained the same and had to be simple, newsworthy and with a catchy headline. Therefore you need to complete tasks quickly as there are numerous tasks ongoing at all times. This is because Momentum Forum Events is constantly receiving emails and phone calls all day providing new tasks that need to be completed urgently at the same time other jobs are being done. Not only is the organisation planning the Pink Ribbon Ball but also the Melbourne Cup Luncheon, Hello Darlink! TV show and managing the Momentum For Australia charity at the same time. Also all profits from these events go to charity so Momentum relies on work experience students to help bring together the events as the organisation can't afford full-time employees.

I am definitely enjoying the internship as Barbara encourages all of us to contribute with ideas and gives out individual tasks. This gives invaluable experience into what a being a real PR practitioner entails and the satisfaction of seeing your work being used. I am looking forward continuing my internship at Momentum as I believe it will give me the confidence and experience to work in the public relations industry.