Due to the pandemic, VEAP has made the decision to move our biggest yearly fundraising event completely online. Everyone is invited to tune into this free streaming event, which will include diverse opportunities to financially support our mission of ending hunger and homelessness in our community. A great way to expand the scope and reach of VEAP’s Gala is to consider hosting a watch party…

A watch party is a gathering of 4 – 8 people either at your home or via Zoom. Prior to the 7 p.m. start time of our virtual gala, we invite you to gather with friends, family or colleagues to watch the event together.

Here’s a straight-forward checklist to get you started. Feel free to also download a Word document with this checklist.

TIMING
This virtual event will begin at 7:00 p.m., so a good time to start your watch party is about one hour before the event. The virtual event will last approximately half an hour, so there will be time before and after the party for you and your guests.

IN-PERSON or ONLINE
During these challenging times, some people are understandably hesitant to have gatherings in their home. If you do have an in-person watch party, make sure to follow all safety guidelines and implement social distancing, provide masks and make hand sanitizer readily available. If you decide to meet online, Zoom is an example of a free online system that allows you and your friends to hang out virtually until the event starts! Guests can easily use their phone or computers to be a part of your virtual watch party. We can offer assistance in setting those up if you’d like.

YOUR RSVP GUEST LIST
Social gatherings are always nice, but with these watch parties, you can take it to the next step and share your passion for VEAP and why you’re encouraging your friends to be a part of the event with you. We would love for guests to participate in the event any way they can, by bidding, donating or just learning more about VEAP overall. Inviting guests is best done via phone and serves as a nice personal touch to ask others to attend! Follow up the call with an email (see below for a copy and paste template)

Focus on the “PARTY” part of WATCH PARTY
Here’s your chance to have fun and make this an even more memorable evening! Choose to have a theme, have specialty drinks, do fun appetizers, and play games! Make it an all-around fun evening. Remember, there is no cost to attending this event, so it’s a great opportunity for your guests to invest instead in VEAP via the silent auction or donations.

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING (Technology that is)
Since you are hosting the watch party at your home, you can either setup your TV to stream the virtual event or you can connect your laptop to your TV. Most TVs today are smart and have Youtube and other apps already built in. You will want your guests to participate in the auction and donations, so ask them to bring their fully charged phones too! Zoom meetings can also be done through your TV or computer. Other options are Google Chromecast, Roku, Amazon Fire or Apple TV.

We are here to assist you and make this watch party as successful as we can, so please reach out with any questions:

Caley Long
Marketing and Digital Manager
caleyl@veap.org
952.955.8322

Below is an example of an email you can send to your guests after you invite them on the phone! Feel free to personalize this with your own story/reason for inviting them! Keep a list of your guests and their emails and provide those to VEAP so that they can be kept updated on all things regarding the event (program, auction, etc.)

Dear NAME,

I am excited to invite you to join me at my home on November 13, 2020 to be a part of our watch party for the virtual event for VEAP. This will be a fun night full of great company, good food and drink and a great program telling us about we can help raise money and help support VEAP’s operations.

ONE PARAGRAPHY WHY THIS ORGANIZATION IS IMPORTANT TO YOU AND WHY YOU WANT TO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS TO LEARN MORE.

With the current state of the world, we promise to be as safe as possible, with no more than 8 people, plenty of room to social distance, hand sanitizer/soap readily available and masks if you feel comfortable wearing one.

We will offer appetizers and drinks before the short 30 minute program. We’d love if you stayed around for a little while after the event so we can catch up!

Thanks for considering. If you could let me know by DATE, that would help us plan the evening.

Hope to see you soon,

YOUR NAME