Planning a Fundraising Event

A planning committee meeting to brainstorm ideas, set goals, and assign tasks for an upcoming charity fundraising event, such as a gala, walkathon, or silent auction.

Dialogue

Listen and follow along with the conversation

Committee Head (Male)

Alright everyone, welcome! Let's kick off this meeting. Our main goal today is to brainstorm ideas for our upcoming annual fundraising event. What kind of event do we want to put on this year?

Event Coordinator (Female)

I've been thinking about a few options. A silent auction always does well, but perhaps we could combine it with something more interactive, like a themed dinner or a talent show?

Marketing Lead (Male)

That's a good point, Ava. An interactive element could definitely boost engagement. How about a 'Dine and Donate' concept where local restaurants contribute a percentage of their sales for a night?

Committee Head (Male)

Interesting idea, Brian. That would certainly broaden our reach. Let's also consider our target fundraising goal. Last year, we aimed for $50,000. Should we adjust that this year?

Volunteer Coordinator (Female)

Given the current economic climate, I think a target of $60,000 is ambitious but achievable if we plan effectively. We have a solid volunteer base ready to go.

Event Coordinator (Female)

I agree with Emma. A higher goal means we need a stronger marketing push and perhaps a few key sponsors. I can start drafting a sponsor outreach plan.

Committee Head (Male)

Excellent, Ava. And Brian, could you look into the feasibility of the 'Dine and Donate' concept, contacting a few local businesses to gauge their interest? Emma, perhaps you could start thinking about volunteer roles specific to these event types?

Marketing Lead (Male)

Absolutely, I'll put together a list of potential restaurant partners and start making calls by end of week.

Volunteer Coordinator (Female)

Sounds good. I'll outline the main volunteer needs for both a gala/auction combo and a 'Dine and Donate' model, including roles for setup, guest registration, and post-event cleanup.

Committee Head (Male)

Perfect. Let's touch base again in two weeks to review progress and make a final decision on the event format. Great start everyone!

Vocabulary

Essential words and phrases from the dialogue

brainstorm

To brainstorm means to have a group discussion to come up with new ideas quickly and creatively. It's useful in meetings for planning events.

fundraising

Fundraising is the activity of collecting money for a good cause, like charity. You can say 'fundraising event' to describe a party or activity for this purpose.

silent auction

A silent auction is a type of sale where people write their bids on paper instead of shouting them out. It's common at charity events to raise money quietly and competitively.

interactive

Interactive means involving people actively, not just watching. For example, an interactive event lets guests participate, which makes it more fun and engaging.

engagement

Engagement refers to how involved or interested people are in an activity. In events, high engagement means more people join and support the cause.

ambitious

Ambitious describes a goal that is bold and challenging but possible with hard work. Use it for targets like 'an ambitious fundraising goal' to show determination.

sponsor

A sponsor is a person or company that gives money or support to an event. In charity, you might say 'find sponsors' to get financial help.

feasibility

Feasibility means how practical or possible something is to do. You can 'check the feasibility' of an idea by seeing if it can work in reality.

touch base

To touch base means to meet or contact someone briefly to check on progress. It's a casual way to say 'let's follow up' in business or team settings.

Key Sentences

Important phrases to remember and practice

Let's kick off this meeting.

This sentence means to start a meeting energetically. It's useful for leading groups and uses 'kick off' as an idiom for beginning something. Great for professional starts.

Our main goal today is to brainstorm ideas.

This states the purpose of the meeting clearly. 'Main goal' highlights priority, and 'brainstorm ideas' shows group idea generation. Use it to set agendas in discussions.

That's a good point.

This agrees politely with someone's idea. It's a common phrase in meetings to show respect and encourage more talk. Simple structure for intermediate learners to build agreement skills.

How about a 'Dine and Donate' concept?

This proposes an idea using 'How about' for suggestions. The quotes around the name make it a specific event title. Useful for brainstorming when offering creative options.

I agree with Emma. A higher goal means we need a stronger marketing push.

This shows agreement and explains reasons with 'means' for cause-effect. 'Marketing push' is business talk for promotion efforts. Practice this for logical responses in teams.

Could you look into the feasibility of the idea?

This politely assigns a task using 'could you' for requests. 'Look into' means investigate. Essential for delegating in meetings, with modal verb for courteous language.

Let's touch base again in two weeks.

This plans a follow-up meeting using 'touch base' idiom. 'In two weeks' specifies time. Useful for ending discussions and scheduling, common in professional English.