10 Ways to Build Poverty Awareness in Your Events - Blog Action Day

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Back in June, I interviewed Tamara Kennedy-Hill, the Executive Director of the Green Meeting Industry Council, and something she said has stuck with me:

“Profit is good—but it’s also about the environment and your impact on the community. Have you left the community you were in better off or worse off?”

When I decided to do a post for Blog Action Day, this idea of leaving a place better off really jumped out. As event planners, we often breeze in and out of luxurious venues without thinking about the social problems, like poverty, that surround the high-rise hotels we occupy.

So I started a list of things we can do to leave cities just a little better off. Some of the actions are small and some are big, but I think they all remind us to think a little more about the community that we make our home for the duration of the event.

1. Donate uneaten food to a nearby shelter. Note: There is an urban legend in the events industry that this is illegal due to food safety concerns. I can't account for all locations, but I have yet to see proof of this (and we just did it at an event in Denver). You can always ask your venue in advance if it allows this.

2. Build a service opportunity into the event, like a group project at a shelter. If you've ever volunteered as a group, you'll know this is also a great networking opportunity for attendees.

3. Organize a golf tournament to raise money for a local cause. If they're going to be golfing anyway, make it meaningful.

4. Offer a daily attendee fitness class (yoga, boot camp, hike, run, etc.) for an extra fee and put a portion of the fee toward a local cause. Why run on an old treadmill in the hotel basement when you can work it out with fellow attendees and help the city out?

5. Work with a local playhouse or entertainment group to organize a fun night out with a portion of the ticket price to go to a local cause. If everyone is going out on the town, anyway, right?

6. Host a reception and make the "price of entry" an old suit or other professional clothing to donate to a local group that provides people with the clothes they need to start a career. Bonus: Your attendees will have a little extra space in their suitcases to take home all those event materials.

7. Auction or raffle off a dinner with the event's VIP or keynote presenter with proceeds directed to a local cause. A little extra time with the big name on the agenda is worth a lot.

8. Organize the donation of industry-specific goods. Does your group design software? Offer it to local non-profits or to inner-city schools.

9. If the topic is right, coordinate to have the keynote presenter speak to a local, under-privileged school while he or she is in town. The right keynote might even see the benefit of doing this at no extra charge to you.

10. Offer a number of free tickets to a local organization that works to find people better employment opportunities. Register local, low-income people who are trying to build a career in the industry your event targets.

If none of these ideas will fit in with the character of your event, you can always simply commit to give a percentage of each conference registration.

What do you think? I know there are many more great ideas out there.

Comments

[Betsy Alles]

I hope this blog is blasted far and wide -- what a wonderful impact this could have on our nation's cities. I look forward to ideas from others...

[Eric Hamm]

These are some great ideas! I'm not an event planner, but I think these tips can be translated into many forms. Well done, Eric.

[John Wilker]

I meant to talk to you about this at the happy hour. Before we had any profit, we decided we'd give 20% back to the community. 10% to our specific developer community; free passes, sponsorships, etc. and 10% to something that makes the world a better place. Our last event we hosted a code jam, where developers donated time to build an application for a local food back, and at our Wednesday keynote, we gave $7,000 directly to the food bank. It felt awesome!

We tried at one show to give our leftovers away. The caterer said sure, and the next day the staffers said they had thrown it out.

[Alli Gerkman]

BA: Thanks! I hope it does, too!

Eric: I often mention that people who see something in my blog that they like should start requesting it from people who plan the events they attend. They'll listen. Thanks for your thoughts.

John: Your operation continues to impress me. Your events are really at the cutting-edge of the events industry in so many ways.