How to organise a charity dinner party

Are you looking for ways to make a little money for charity but also plan a great night with your friends and family? Organising a charity event is a great way to get all your loved ones involved in an experience whilst also raising money for a cause you’re passionate about. There are so many ways you can raise money for charity, but one of the best is to organise a charity dinner party. Organising a charity dinner party can be as simple or as complicated as you like but means you can tailor the night to suit your needs.

In this article, we take a look at some of the things you need to think about before planning your party and some top tips to make sure it runs as smoothly as possible.

Why organise a charity dinner party?

Below are just some of the reasons you should plan and organise a charity dinner party:

• It’s a great excuse to spend time with family and friends.
• It can be as small, or as large, as you like, with only a few guests or plenty.
• It can take place within your own home, so no need to hire outside venues.
• It doesn’t take too much upfront costs (apart from food and any decorations you want).
• It can be easily repeated or become a regular event.

Tips for organising a great fundraising dinner party

Decide who to invite

Every dinner party needs guests, and these are up to you to pick. You can invite anyone you like, whether they’re friends and family or people who support the same charities as you. There can be as few or as many as you like, depending on the location of the event and how much planning you’re willing to do.

You can send out physical invites, a group email or text, or create an event page online, depending on the style of event you’re trying to plan. Another great way to raise a little extra money is to request everyone donates a fixed amount to attend the event, say £10 or £20 for example. This way, you know you’re definitely going to have some money in the pot before the end of the night.

Choose a theme

If you want to make your event a little more exciting, you could choose a theme for the occasion, whether this is a dress code or a theme for the table. It’s a great way to liven up the party and gives the guests a theme to work with when it comes to the dress code.

Having a theme also allows you to tailor your table decorations, the invites, and the food you are preparing. Why not choose a theme like Great Gatsby, murder mystery or ‘90s? Or, if you’re raising money for a specific World Vision country programme, you could choose that country’s dress and customs as the theme.

Plan your menu

Your menu is the focal point of your dinner party, so you need to make sure it’s good. Having a theme should help with this as it will give you an indication to the sorts of food you can include.

It’s always wise to ask your guests if they have any allergies or intolerances before planning your menu, so you know whether you need to serve some different options or come up with a separate menu for them.

If you want to make your menu a little more adventurous, then you could serve more than three courses, or include a cheese board and coffee at the end, or you can even get the food pre-prepared for you so you don’t need to worry about cooking on the night and you can enjoy your evening without stress.

A nice way to make the planning simpler for you is to do a potluck, where you ask everyone to bring a dish. Just make sure to assign courses or you might end up it seven desserts and nothing else!

Decide who you’re donating to

Of course, the whole point of planning a dinner party is to raise money for your chosen charity.

World Vision is a great charity to support at a dinner party – your donations and fundraising will help vulnerable children across the globe, from supporting a child in Africa to helping stop child marriage. Having a pot on the table that people can pop money into will encourage people to donate throughout the evening, you could even play some games where the loser has to donate a certain amount into the pot.

If you want to support World Vision through any fundraising event, whether a charity dinner or something different, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Our fundraising pack is filled with ideas, and you can contact our team by email at fundraising@worldvision.org.uk, or talk to us directly on 01908 244417.

Setting up a fundraising page to go alongside the event is a good idea, so even people who haven’t attended the event can contribute to the fundraising, as well as those who did attend but may want to donate more after the event.