Asking Local Businesses to Host an Event
I am an Events Coordinator for the Development department in a local affiliate of a large, national non-profit that tends to be in the news a lot, and that people either support or hate. Because of this, we don't do typical fundraising events like galas (too much of a security risk), and stick to smaller donor hosted house parties. This has been great for engaging the 40+ audience, however, we really need to acquire donors from the younger generation (20s and 30s). Being 26 myself, I know that fundraisers at local businesses like bars, comedy venues, and cafes (among many others) attract that age range. There have been a couple of local places that have reached out to us to host these "third party" events, and they do really well as they don't require much, if any, work from myself/my department. I think it would be a great part of our strategy to have more of these events, to target a younger audience, but I'm not sure if it would be seen as rude or unprofessional to reach out to some local businesses myself and ask them to host these events. Has anyone done/are doing something similar? Any advice is much appreciated (: