How to Throw a Charity Ball

An elegant alternative to a traditional fund raiser is a charity ball. With lots of glamor and maybe even a few celebrities, your evening dinner and dancing event can help raise money for your favorite charity while giving people a good excuse to put on the ritz! Read on to learn more.

Things You'll Need

• Seating chart
• Caterer
• Event planner
• Entertainment
• Invitations
• Volunteers

Instructions

Have a Ball for Your Charity

1. Choose a theme for the evening's festivities. You may be hosting an event to support a recent acquisition at an art museum or it may be an annual fund raiser that could be more seasonally themed. The invitations, decorations, entertainment and even the food should reflect the theme chosen for your event.

2. Determine how formal you wish your charity ball to be. If you throw a very formal ball, include appropriate dress notations in the invitation for the event such as "white tie" or "formal attire requested" so that your guests will arrive appropriately dressed.

3. Hire an event planner. These party professionals can be of particular assistance when dealing with large events as their staff is trained to work with other vendors and handle inconveniences such as party crashers.

4. Work out a seating arrangement ahead of time when you throw a formal sit-down dinner and dance charity event. Within a week or two of the event, you can arrange the names of those who have RSVP'd into groupings according to similar interests or the declaration that they wish to be seated together.

5. Throw a pre-ball party to work on any last details, especially if you are hosting your event without the assistance of a party planner. You can enlist volunteers to create place cards and centerpieces as well as put together goody bags for your generous attendees to take home with them.

6. Arrange for a suitable band or orchestra to play for your charity ball. Since a ball centers around the dance floor, it is essential that your guests have something good to dance to, such as a string quartet for a smaller formal event or a full-blown big band setup for a larger, more contemporary event.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are working with a large non-profit charity, it is important that you work closely with the organization's in-house development staff in developing and maintaining a budget for your event. If you are planning an event without the support of a development officer, you should still draw up a budget to keep tabs on expenses and keep your event in the black.