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Looking for a way to get involved in a charity? – Attend an Event!
Looking for a way to get involved in a charity? – To attend a charity event is a great way to do so!
A glimpse into the world of charity events with Shelley Lopez-Salzedo, Fundraiser & Events
People are always looking for ways to get involved in a charity – an excellent introduction is by way of attending an event. Supporting a charity is not just about making a direct donation, it’s about making those face-to-face connections, bringing you own valuable expertise and viewpoint to others and making a difference.
Having worked in the city in corporate sales for most of my life, I have a strong desire to look for those opportunities that can make a difference and encourage further awareness about Jewish Child’s Day. Putting on events is a great platform to achieve just this and we are always happy to see familiar faces from our current loyal donors in addition to as many new faces attend as possible.
Encouraging your network of friends/family members to attend an event is incredibly worthwhile to a charity and can make a huge impact towards building long-term donor relationships. Ultimately, a charity is only as good as those who support it. Like every other charity, we cannot just rely on our existing donor base, we have to draw in new interest/prospects.
“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together” – Vincent Van Gogh
I love this quote as it best exemplifies that not everything, has to be organised on a large scale. At Jewish Child’s Day, we have been successful in hosting a number of smaller events across the calendar year from comedy and bingo nights through to whisky tasting and film screenings to name but a few. These events all have their place in our busy diary and allow us to target a specific profile of donor as well as encouraging a wider audience with the support of our marketing and social media presence. Whilst these events do not always raise the most money, as a combined effort do make a substantial difference allowing us to continue our vital work in supporting so many Jewish children in need.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done” – Nelson Mandela
To organise an event sometimes seems to be an impossible mission especially when you are working in such a small charity with limited resources, which is the case for us at JCD. So how do we do it? –
1. Collaborative Working – The Event/Fundraising and Marketing Team work effectively to understand the objective of a specific event, who are the target audience and how to support “raising awareness”. We celebrated our 75th anniversary last year, but there are still lots people who have not heard of us. Raising awareness is instrumental to our success, there are many events and unique initiatives throughout the year to do just this.
2. The value add – we spend a lot of time thinking about our guests and what will provide real value, interest and the ongoing desire to continue supporting us. New and worthwhile partnerships are a great way to do just this. We are very excited to be hosting a bespoke event on International Women’s Day with Lisa Kay, an award winning shoe designer.
3. Never be afraid to try something new – In 2023, we decided to hold our first ever match-giving campaign as our major fundraising event, which was a great success! It’s been 5 years since our last dinner, we are excited to announce the date of our next Fundraising Gala Dinner in 2024!
4. Being Lucky – we are lucky to have such a loyal and devoted donor base who choose to support our work, helping us to raise funds by spreading the word about our events and initiatives amongst their network.
2023 – 2024 is already looking very busy from the events perspective at JCD. Our events are always engaging and popular ranging from the educational & informative through to the fun and collaborative in association with partners. Our events are another way to support us and to ensure that we can continue to transform the lives of more Jewish children in need each year.
As a team, we are always looking for further support with our events. If you are interested in speaking to us about being part of an Events Committee, please contact shelley.lopez-salzedo@jcd.uk.com or call 020 8446 8804.
We look forward to welcoming you to one of JCD’s events very soon, to get involved and to be part of the Jewish Child’s Day Family:
Wednesday 8 March 2023 – Shoes & Schmooze with Lisa Kay, Founder and CEO of Sole bliss – SOLD OUT
Sunday 21st May – Israeli Film Festival – A Charity film screening + Q&A with the Israeli actor, Michael Moshonov
Tuesday 6 June – Business Breakfast with high profile guest and leading journalist
15-20 October 2023 – The Jerusalem Hills Trek
October/November – Whisky Tasting Event (tbc)
Tuesday 12 March 2024 – Jewish Child’s Day Gala Dinner
