Although a fundraising event will be planned under the leadership of ministry staff, this is a volunteer-driven event. The champions you recruit are the energy behind this dinner model. Selecting, training and encouraging your volunteer team is your most important job when hosting a great fundraising dinner.

Volunteering gives your champions a concrete way to get involved, invest in your vision and build relationships in your community. Many people even find that working together to pull off an event can be deeply meaningful and transformational.

People long to be a part of something bigger than themselves, make a difference in their community, and work toward a common goal with like-minded people who are also inspired by your organization’s vision.

Your fundraising dinner is as much an opportunity to nourish your volunteers and help them grow in your cause through service as it is to raise funds. But this can only be accomplished by bringing the right people onto the team. Through this model, you will recruit volunteer champions to fill large and small roles that make the entire event possible, including champions who become table hosts and invite people from their networks to attend your event.