he main purpose of a school parents party is to raise money for your children's school, teachers, and programs.
It's a noble cause, but it requires parent turnout to accomplish. Since parents purchase tickets and are the bidders in any live or silent auctions, the more parents that turn out the better. Herein lies the challenge to planning a successful school parent's party.
Some things to steer clear of
Many parents party committees start with the assumption that the way to raise the most money is to cut the most in costs. That is a fatal trap and one from which some committees takes years to emerge from the wilderness. A party built around low cost often struggles to wow the client, the parents, and once this tactic is employed it is difficult to get those parents to return the next year.
We observe this (we're parents after all) and hear the criticisms quite often as parent parties go through their predictable cycles. Cost cutting years are followed by more elaborate and engaging years in order to attract more parents, and then cost cutting years return when parent participation is taken for granted. You'll know that your school is in the cost cutting phase when it's held in the school gymnasium and the school cafeteria is the caterer. Going to your child's school usually seems like work. It's not what great date nights are made of and so participation wanes.
At some point, an incoming parents' party committee, fearing a repeat of prior years' turnouts, decides to up the game. They tour venues, sample menus, chose band/DJs, and create a program or theme. Ticket prices go up, but parents buy into the upgrade in large numbers. We often hear of attendance doubling or more.
Parents have a great time and are ready to return the next year. It becomes a don't-miss event. In addition to ticket sales, the auction proceeds set records. Even the dreaded parent party committee may achieve some luster and parents sign on for the next year.
If there is a downside, spending may exceed the budget this first year. This can cause the school to revert to the gymasium days, and suffer the certain outcome. Or they stick with the extravaganza and make adjustments based upon what worked well and what didn't. Those that stick with it usually see even larger turnout the second year as many holdout parents come around. Revenues increase and some easy cost cutting measures are implemented (for example, move to heavy appetizers if parents didn't eat the dinner, have alcohol or music donated, select a more cost effective venue). So budgets are usually righted in year two.
What should the committee do?
This formula sounds great, but it does depend upon getting several big things right.
For us (as suspected) it starts with the size and quality of the venue. Also very important is the type and quality of the food and beverage, and the appeal of the music. Then there are a host of other important, but often overlooked, issues that include availability of parking, the venue's proximity to the homes of the parents (and in Nashville, the distance away from downtown!), availability of private outdoor space, etc. And don't overlook a theme. We've seen everything from Cuban inspired to Great Gatsby. These all drive ticket sales.
Our biggest recommendation for parents parties may not be so obvious, however. Instead of a sea of round tables that evokes a ballroom or work event, we urge parent committees to use the entirely of the venue for lounge arrangements - couches, ottomans, and coffee tables. Why? Unlike tables, lounge settings encourage interactions among parents much like an event at a private home. They state loudly that this is not a work or on-campus school event. Trust us, once you try it your parent party will never go back to tables again (or at least until the new committee reverts to the gymnasium years).
On the cost front, the parents party committee should focus on venues that allow some degree of vendor flexibility, particularly those that allow BYO alcohol as this is the single largest driver of cost for parents parties. And there are always parent who own business that are willing to donate a product or service. For this reason, we recommend avoid costly "all-inclusive" hotels and country clubs that preclude use of these outside vendors. Choice of vendors, especially when they are donated, means that you have control of your costs. And we always have to mention it - ideally, the venue would have stages, audio, video and lighting already in place as no parents committee wants to design, pay for or oversee the setup of those critical components.
The result of putting these measures in place is that event revenues - and profits - set records as costs are controlled. Don't give up after only one year of radical change! Thank the school for use of their gymnasium and give us a call.
