Love Wins

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By: Samantha Swaim & Kristin Steele 

Monday in Oregon was an amazing event day. No one knew it when we woke up. But by noon, the marriage ban in Oregon had been lifted and the community was ready to come together and celebrate.

With very little lead time, a generous group of event professionals joined us as we set out to throw a huge celebration for a moment that people in Oregon have waited decades for.

So many amazing vendors and event partners joined us to make the celebration happen—over 50 of them in all. Let it be said that this event could not have happened without them and their automatic responses of, “YES!” to anything we needed were pure magic.

Events are comprised of moments that all put together, tell a story.

Hundreds came together to celebrate.

There was crying and laughing and hugging everywhere.

Over 70 couples were married by volunteer celebrants.

Kids and couples burned up the dance floor to the tunes of amazing DJs donating their time on donated AV equipment.

Fantastic donated food and drink was had.

Donated desserts served as wedding cakes.

The day was documented by volunteer photographers.

Beautiful donated flowers spilled down steps and were carried as bouquets as new brides and grooms and people who have been partners for decades walked out of their ceremonies, legally married in the state they call home.

And aren’t all of these things why we hold events? To create a time and space where people come together and are changed for the better by the act of being together to champion each other and a cause?

Swaim Strategies was started ten years ago with the idea of assembling people to add to the greater good of our communities. Working for marriage equality has been an issue we have been committed to working on since the beginning. We can think of no more perfect example of our proudest work than this event held at The Melody Ballroom on May 19, 2014. 

It even ended with a volunteer marching band, leading us into a brand new day.

Thank you to absolutely everyone who made it possible. Your generosity is what defines Oregon and we are so honored to know and work with all of you.

A few of our favorite photos of the day:

Simplifying an Event Program to Give it Heart

By: Samantha Swaim

It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of planning the program for your event. The ‘must have’ speakers on stage, the recognition, the business updates.  Sometimes it’s hard to figure out what elements to keep and what elements to cut. But, when planning your event it’s important to think about how to inspire the audience.  It’s a large part of what will make them enjoy attending your event, remember you later and be compelled to support you.

Photography by Adam Bacher

Oregon Community Foundation is celebrating its 40-year anniversary this year, and wanted its state of the foundation annual luncheon to feel celebratory. So they looked to their program elements—entertainment, speakers, AV—to make this happen.

Photography by Adam Bacher

They started in fine fashion with a great performance by the Oregon 234^th Army Band to energize the room. The program then took shape around their theme of Legacy Leadership Impact. OCF has deep roots and a rich history in Oregon, serving as one of the largest funders of education, the arts and the environment in the state with an annual giving total of over $60 million. But with so much good news, how do you tell share it all?

OCF had a fantastic 2-minute animated video that quickly and in an engaging way told their history and their future, showcasing the tremendous impact they have on the state year after year.

After this great video they filled their program with passionate speakers and spirited performances that kept the momentum both engaging and heart-felt. Speakers used the word ‘we’ to bring the audience—who was filled with a large amount of OCF funders and grantees—into the work and honor their involvement in what makes the organization great. A poem written specifically about OCF by Oregon Poet Laureate, Paulann Petersen enabled everyone to both hear her amazing work and think about OCF in an artistic way.

Photography by Adam Bacher

OCF is all about making Oregon a great place to live. How do you get an audience to feel that? You have Oregon musical darling Thomas Lauderdale of Pink Martini and the Oregon 234^th Army Band play a beautiful 15-minute rendition of “Rhapsody in Blue” to end the event backed by huge screens with amazing scrolling pictures of every geographic corner of Oregon. The effect captured the spirit of the state and inspired the audience to see the diversity of Oregon and connect all those dots into one room committed to the future of the state they all call home.

Tailoring Your Event to Suit Your Audience

By: Samantha Swaim

Having an event is one thing, but crafting your event to suit your audience is one of the big keys to a successful fundraising event. Having an event that engages your crowd, pulls them into the program and excites them to give doesn’t happen if you don’t take them into account during your planning. This can become especially true with long-standing events at organizations whose donor bases may have shifted some over time.

It’s a good idea to look at your crowd and ask, “What will engage them?”

Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp asked this question and this year’s Great Gatsby events were the result. Previously, they had one nighttime event that tried to accomplish everything for a widening support base. And in doing so, they were hitting a fundraising ceiling and felt unable to take their event to the next level. 

This year they took a good look at the history of guests at their event and found that it started to filter into a couple of different camps. One group really loves a big silent auction, blackout board, lower ticket prices and to be done at a decent hour. The other group was willing to spend more on a ticket and generally moved away from the silent auction toward a more robust live auction. 

Great Gatsby Brunch

So they split their event into two. The morning champagne brunch event offered a wine toss and blackout board as activities during the larger silent auction with a variety of price points and two closures. The crowd then moved into a buffet brunch. The live auction during this program featured all of the Kiwanis Club baskets that are put together every year as a friendly competition and fundraiser. It allowed the organization to celebrate the Clubs that have been a wealth of support and volunteer resource for the camp for decades, and for those baskets to raise more than they have in a silent auction setting. Different incentives were offered at different levels of the special appeal to galvanize giving. There was even an auction of the floral centerpieces so that by the end of the brunch they were all cleared to make room for the evening’s décor.

Brunch Decor

Then, with this successful event under their belt, MHKC flipped the venue and prepared for their nighttime program. The Gala featured a smaller silent auction with specific wine featured to appeal to the interests of this different crowd. Instead of a blackout board, they sold wild card raffle tickets at a higher price point allowing the winner to pick a live auction item off the auction block. 

Gala Decor

They then moved the guests into the dining room where a seated dinner after the sun had gone down lent to a more Gala-like air. The live auction was specifically procured to be all trips and travel to match the spending interest of the crowd. There was time at the end of the program where the band played and guests were able to continue socializing into the night.

Great Gatsby Gala

They were able to achieve this onsite with the use of as many elements as they could between the two events. The theme connected the two to allow for décor elements to be in place for both. They used the same videos for each appeal, but changed the speaker. They used two different bands to create different feels. They changed linen color and centerpieces. Registration stayed the same and reset for the second event.  

By taking a look at how their audience was splitting, they were able to meet them where they wanted to be met and as a result they were able to break through the fundraising ceiling they had not been able to previously. Creating an event and hoping it works for your audience will never raise as much as if you design your event for your audience. Your donor base changes over time and if your events aren’t changing to match, you’re missing a big opportunity.