Triangle Foundation House Party Guide

INTRODUCTION
One of the easiest special events, and sometimes one of the most lucrative, is a house party for the Triangle Foundation. This is an incredible way to support a great organization while introducing new people to our issues and encouraging them to become members.

In some ways, it seems funny to describe how to do a house party. Anyone who has ever had a birthday party, school picnic, anniversary celebration, or a small commitment ceremony already possesses the knowledge and experience necessary to organize and host a house party. However, because sometimes the seemingly easy events are fraught with pitfalls, some obvious and not-soobvious tips on hosting a house party are described below.

WHAT IS A TRIANGLE FOUNDATION HOUSE PARTY?
A house party is a social event organized by you to invite your friends to a party at your house, in your backyard, at a church or anywhere people can gather as a means of educating guests about the Triangle Foundation and to generate financial support for Triangle’s programs.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT
A house party provides a social setting to meet people, see old friends and have good food and drink. When organized correctly, it sets up a cordial atmosphere for someone not familiar with Triangle Foundation to hear about our work and ask questions. No matter what else you ask people to do, ask them to give money. It is the only thing they can do right on the spot and, because it is usually the most passive action, it requires the least amount of work.

EXPAND DONOR BASE
The final use of a house party, which underlies all the other uses, is to expand the organization’s donor base. At the end of the house party, the organization has a fresh list of people it can add to its donor base to target for future financial solicitations.

ORGANIZING A HOUSE PARTY
There are five easy steps to organizing and hosting a house party:
1. Find someone who is willing to host and organize the event – preferably you.
2. Prepare a list of the people to be invited.
3. Design the invitation.
4. Choreograph the event including what to serve and “the pitch.”
5. Follow up and evaluate.