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Introduction
The event management activity has grown in scale and this has led to the formation of the event management industry. This fast-growing industry that operates in the service sector is highly in demand by many firms who wish to hold private happenings or public affairs in a grand manner. The management of an event seems like a fun activity but it requires certain organizational skills that would help it to succeed like deciding a suitable target audience, planning a budget, creating a master plan, synchronizing with people, establishing sponsorships, creating a solid publicity strategy, etc while taking into consideration various risk elements.
The focus is on different planning aspects that were considered while managing a special charity event that was organized by Pegasus. It highlights the latent factors including management of risk that are vital while planning an event and have a significant bearing on its success. Since Pegasus is considered to be among the premier event management firms that offer excellent event management options for corporate, one such event that was organized by it has been the focal point here (Charity and non-profit Event Planning, 2017).
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Event Concept, Venue and Theme
A family happy day fundraiser was organized by Pegasus for a reputed client – National Museum whose objective was to facilitate people to celebrate each moment with their loved ones on world family day. Since in the current times, as per Hallak et al, people prefer to visit museums less frequently, this specific event’s underlying concept was to help people to establish a strong bond among their family members. This would be possible only if they spent some quality time with close ones (Hallak et al., 2016).
The concept of the event was kept simple but its strong message had an impact on a wide section of the regional community. Pegasus made sure that the event venue – the museum was effectively utilized so that the audience could enjoy the magnificent collection of artefacts, paintings, manuscripts, Pre-Columbian and Western art, etc. According to Jones, a special theme was designed keeping in mind the specific event day i.e. world family day and the kids that visited the museum were given a chance to dress up from different time frames and act out historic occurrences (Jones, 2014). Pegasus used its social networking skills to spread this message about the event so a large number of people had turned up along with their entire families to have a fun time at the museum.
Aim of fundraising event
Since the basic aim of organizing the event was to help the museum raise funds so that it could adopt innovative and modern tools to expand its collection for its audience, Pegasus incorporated the idea to involve families so that they could have a fun time while learning about the heritage of the country.
Since the focus was primarily on families and not on corporate, the budget was not an issue for the event. The press was also made aware of this event since it was effectively advertised by the event manager on various social networking sites (Nationalmuseumindia, 2017). The aim was to help National Museum to continue offering crucial knowledge on national heritage to people and help them strengthen their family bonding. The strong online presence of Pegasus helped the fundraising event to be a success for the museum and for the visitors.
Event focus
This special fundraising event was used as a vital tool that would strengthen the community as a whole. Since Pegasus sent a strong message and involved efficient people in the planning process, the audience from different sections of the community had come to enjoy the event. The event management process was efficiently devised since it acted as a platform that gave visitors an opportunity to build relationships with one another and strengthen the overall community (Nationalmuseumindia, 2017). Pegasus assessed various internal and external aspects before organizing the family event which expanded the visitor count, their satisfaction level and the overall heritage of the National Museum.
Pegasus made sure that the fundraising goal of the event was not sidelined and incorporated unique features and involved local celebrities that would highlight the significance of the national culture and the need to keep it intact in the hearts of the new generation. The focus of the marketing plan of the event helped in sending the message too far and wide locations and hence helped the final purpose of organizing the event since a large number of people came forward to provide financial help to the National Museum.
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Vital tools while planning an event
The planning model for the fundraiser event used by Pegasus was unique since it focused on various vital aspects. The planning tools used by the event manager while organizing the fundraiser event helped the entire happening and made it a success. The major planning tools of the event manager have been highlighted:
Effective allocation of the budget – The proper utilization of the available budget helped the overall event planning. The host committee of the museum which was composed of business leaders, wealthy donors, etc provided adequate financial capital that was needed to conduct the event (Thefundraisingauthority, 2017). The available budget was used by the team to conduct important functions that were vital while planning the fundraising event like risk assessment, marketing activities, competent technical support, etc.
Itinerary of the event – The master plan basically involved all the functions that Pegasus had to do to organize the National museum and make it a success for the organization and the community at large. Since the target audience was families, the planning aspect was devised keeping them in mind (Social Tables, 2017). A solid itinerary was made that would suit all the visitors. Some of the key areas that were incorporated with the plan were historic performance by kids, virtual tours for visitors, video tours, availability of oral interpreters for special visitors and a few popular local artists were invited so that the audience could have a fun time while engaging with them. An auction was held during the end which offered beautiful artefacts by local artists to visitors which could help the museum to improve its financial state.
Event Sponsors – Pegasus used an innovative technique to attract sponsors who could further support the cause of the event. The national museum’s old heritage played a significant role to attract a few sponsors that provided financial support and helped in making this fundraising event a success. Since funds from donations were not sufficient to meet the financial requirements of the event, the unique proposal that included the auction process that was supposed to be held in the museum was highlighted. Its solid legacy helped to get sufficient event sponsorship.
Marketing – The marketing of the fundraising event was one of the key planning tools which were effectively utilized by Pegasus. Since the event management firm has a strong online and offline presence, it used it to its advantage so that the message relating to the fundraising event at the National museum reached different parts of the community. The appropriate marketing tool helped to promote the cause of the museum. A number of inbound as well as outbound marketing tools helped the event to be a success and collect substantial financial help.
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Practice – Another important planning tool that helped the event to succeed was the fact that Pegasus conducted a practice session prior to the actual event. This session was useful for the overall event since the team working backstage were able to identify a few areas that could create some kind of minor issue on the main event day (Thefundraisingauthority, 2017). Even though actual visitors were not a part of this occasion but this practice helped the involved staff to understand their exact responsibilities.
Risk Management Aspects
Pegasus paid special attention to various risk management aspects while planning the family-based fundraiser event. It conducted an initial risk assessment which took into consideration the existing risk associated with the museum site, it also thoroughly assessed the risk that could arise due to conducting the event. It further studied the external risk factors that would have an impact on the particular event. The thorough assessment of these aspects revealed that even though the museum was old but the site’s construct was solid and it would support hundreds of visitors at a time (Jones, 2014). After assessing the needs and risk aspects, the event was held on world family day so that people would get a chance to spend quality time with their entire families at the museum. The event itinerary was planned in such a manner that it would cause minimum inconvenience to its events and the organization.
After the initial assessment was conducted, a risk control strategy and emergency management mechanism were devised so that any contingent occurrence could be efficiently handled by the professional team. Since kids and the elder audience were a significant part of the planned event, special attention was given to their health aspects and the layout of the event was kept open so that there would be no crowding in the area. A number of extra site safety precautions were followed by Pegasus since the location was quite old. A number of trained personnel were available on-site to assist the visitors. Special risk evaluation was conducted for minors taking their safety needs into consideration.
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Pegasus had considered all activities that would be part of the event while efficiently reviewing the risk criteria. Since the visitors were from different age groups, it made sure that the risk plan identified potential issues that could play a spoilsport during the event. It had adopted a very basic yet effective risk management tool to handle uncertainty which focused on avoiding the threat, mitigating the risk, accepting it and devising a plan to minimize its severity. Since it had identified major sources of risk including cost, technical aspects, visitors, weather, schedule, people, etc, its risk management mechanism was solid and the event took place without any kind of risk. Their thorough risk management technique included a number of crucial suggestions which eliminated any kind of risk from the overall event planning process.
Event outcome
The focus on all planning aspects is crucial to make any event a success. The successful event management organized by Pegasus for National museum was highly successful not just for the museum but also for the audience since they got to spend quality time with their family in a knowledgeable manner. The museum also successfully financial support from a large section of the audience since they did not want that the coming generation should be deprived of this rich cultural heritage (Hallak et al., 2016).
The particular event also helped in fostering a steady relationship between local artists and the museum which is a crucial element for the success of both parties. Visitors had come in large numbers on the event day and the involvement of museum patrons helped the overall auction process. Finally, written feedback was collected from visitors that stated that the event was a great occasion when they were actually able to spend quality time in a knowledgeable manner.
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Conclusion
The event management process involves the effective coordination of a wide range of activities that make the particular happening a success. A good event can help the concerned party in many ways and help it to achieve its desired objective. A particular fundraising event has been the highlighting point of the paper and it focuses on the underlying concept of the event which enables Pegasus – the event management firm to devise a suitable strategy for the museum so that it is able to raise financial support from the public to introduce innovative techniques to introduce new and better monumental pieces that will add value to its heritage.
The focus on the vital planning instruments helps to understand the key areas that an event manager must consider while organizing a happening so that it is a success for all the involved stakeholders. Since risk is an uncertainty that can ruin any planned happening, the proper assessment of the risk aspects is crucial so that an effective mechanism can be put into place for avoiding or reducing the risk. The smart analysis of the uncertainty aspect shows that even though this aspect might increase the cost of the event but it makes sure that all the participants are safe and secured and thus helps in planning a successful event.
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References:
Charity and non-profit Event Planning. (2017). Corporate Event Planning Event Management Wedding Planning. Retrieved from http://www.allisonsargent.com/charity-event-planner/
Hallak, R., McCABE, V. S., Brown, G., & Assaker, G. (2016). Segmenting Meeting and Event Management Organizations Based on Business Performance. Event Management, 20(3), 383-393.
Jones, M. (2014). Sustainable event management: A practical guide. Routledge.
La Provence – Small Biz Stories, Episode 9 | Constant Contact Blogs. (2017). Constant Contact Blogs. Retrieved from https://blogs.constantcontact.com/nonprofit-fundraising-event-part-1/l
Nationalmuseumindia.gov.in. (2017). National Museum, New Delhi. Retrieved from http://www.nationalmuseumindia.gov.in/about-education.asp?lk=ab4
Social Tables. (2017). 6 Innovative Ways to Attract Sponsors to Your Event. Retrieved from https://www.socialtables.com/blog/event-planning/6-innovative-ways-to-attract-sponsors-to-your-event/
Thefundraisingauthority.com (2017). The 10 Steps to a Successful Fundraising Event.. Retrieved from http://www.thefundraisingauthority.com/fundraising-basics/fundraising-event/
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