In the world of nonprofit marketing and development, one of the strongest tools in your arsenal is the development event. They bring together your most activated donors, biggest advocates and are yet another value add to sponsors supporting you year-round, as well as an opportunity to gain new ones. Some organizations have galas with dinners, a big band and an open bar. Others take place on a shoe-string budget with the idea of showing how a donors’ dollar makes a difference in the lives of those affected by  your organization.

By now you’re probably asking how your organization can put on a smashing event everyone will remember for years to come. The key is to take a fun concept and tie it all together with a new twist.

As with any creative process, see what others are doing that works and then build on it.  One of our clients and organizational partners-in-crime, Literacy Advance of Houston, implemented this exact strategy with amazing success this past July (2011).

For a number of years, the organization benefitted from Scrabble tournaments held in southeast Houston. And when I say tournaments, I mean people who play best four out of five nightly attend these things — they’re serious. Eventually, the organizer fizzled out and in early 2011, Literacy Advance decided it was time to not only bring back Scrabble, but make it hip.

To make Scrabble accessible to the masses, there was only one rule for these Scrabble boards: for cash, anything goes. Then they paired it with dancing, great music and beer from a local brewery. The public loved it. So much, in fact, that between individual donors, a raffle and corporate sponsors, the event generated more than $40,000 in revenue with another $11,000 in in-kind donations. How’s that for a seven-letter-triple-word bonus?

So next time you’re planning an event, whether it’s for profit or nonprofit development, make sure you bring all the details together with a little twist of new to make it perfect.