Project Description:
Our team selected to work with Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) after completing the
proposal and reaching out to our selected charities. They were very eager to assist with the
planning of the event and had a lot of online resources to help our group get started. After looking
into their organization and mission statement further, we felt it was a charity that everyone could
relate to. Although we do not all have children, it was important to all of us to help an organization
that believed in the world’s future. FMSC is committed to feeding hungry children around the world
where getting a healthy meal on a daily basis is hard to come by. FMSC is a non-for-profit
organization that relies solely on donations and volunteers to hand-pack specially formulated meals
which then get shipped to the children that most need it around the globe.
Our project consisted of recruiting 145 volunteers for a two-hour packing event on August
8th 2015 and a combined fundraising effort of $5,000. Our team (#3) joined team #2 to pool our
resources together and scale up both the fundraising and volunteer event. We named ourselves,
“Keeping Kids Alive”. We also had a pre-event set up outside the FMSC Libertyville location and a
post-event dinner at Jimmy’s Charhouse. The pre-event activities included a red carpet where
volunteers could take pictures with their families and friends. This was a way for volunteers to
showcase their pictures on their social media sites and create additional awareness of our event.
During this time, we were also raffling off tickets to gift baskets that would be raffled at Jimmy’s
Charhouse after the packing event. All the goods in the gift baskets were donated by the employers
of some of our group members. The dinner at Jimmy’s Charhouse provided additional revenue
towards our fundraising goal since they were donating 15% of the proceeds to FMSC.
Factual Analysis of Success
Funds generated through donations:
Goal – To achieve the most likely scenario (each group member is able to obtain a $25 donation from at
least 10 people) – Total donations of $1,500 raised from our group. Total combined group donations to
be $2,400.
Actual – Our main source of revenue came from the FMSC site donations. The original goal for our team
was to raise at least $1,500. The total amount raised from the FMSC link on our group’s behalf was
$2032. This amount is 35% more than we anticipated. In addition, we received cash donations outside
the link in the amount of $1025 which we did not anticipate. FMSC T-shirt sales and coin boxes raised
another $108.75. The raffle ticket sales generated additional fundraising revenue of $300.00. Finally, the
proceeds from Jimmy’s Charhouse totaled $96. The grand total of all donations was $3561.75. We
exceeded our fundraising goal by creating different revenue streams such as an online website, through
purchases, a raffle, and hosting a post-event with a percentage donated to our charity.
Number of people participating in the packing event:
:
Goal – To achieve the most likely scenario (each group member is able to recruit 10 people to
participate) – Total of 60 packing event participants from our group.
Actual – We met our goal of 60 volunteers. We also created awareness for the charity and many of the
volunteers that did not attend have stated they plan to volunteer at FMSC when their schedule allows.
In addition, the collaboration between the two teams generated an in-kind investment in the amount of
$8,316. We were able to pack 175 boxes which equates to $8,316 in cost of food (37,800 meals, 103
children fed for a year). If we split this investment down the middle, our portion would be $4158 worth
of food packed.
Number of people attending the post event
Goal – To recruit a total of 60 attendees from our group (each group member is able to recruit 10 people
to attend).
Actual – When this goal was set, the post-event was being planned to be held at a larger venue so the
expectation of recruiting 10 attendees per member seemed reasonable. However, after checking
availability and going through the logistics, it was necessary to scale down the post-event. The total
number of attendees for both groups was set at 60 people. Our team brought in 32 attendees for the
post-event.
Advice for Future Teams
1. One of the biggest reasons why our event was a success was the willingness of the charity to
help. Although they did not have a lot of space on site to support a larger pre/post event, they
were flexible in accommodating many of our other requests. Their online website supported a
way for us to keep track of donations made on behalf of our team. They also had a lot of printed
material, videos, and information on their social media sites that we could use to promote our
fundraising and volunteer efforts. So it is important to work with an organization that
communicates well and is willing to provide you with some of their resources so that your event
is successful.
2. Create events based on the talents and connections that your team members have. The idea for
the gift baskets came about because some of the group members knew their companies would
be willing to donate the goods that went into the baskets. They were easy to put together and
had virtually no cost. It was a great way to raise additional revenue for our fundraising goal. The
red carpet backdrop set-up was made possible by one of the group members having a
connection to a Chicagoland DJ who provides this service as an add-on package. The equipment,
red carpet and backdrop were donated to make the pre-event possible.
3. Select venues with low costs that are willing to donate a percentage to your cause. The post-
event at Jimmy’s Charhouse was a way for volunteers to decompress, enjoy dinner, talk about
their experience at the packing event and be present for the raffle. The restaurant offered a
private area to host the dinner where a cost-conscious menu selection was provided. For $20
dollars, a person received a choice of 3 entrees, salad, and soft drink with tax and gratuity
included. Children had a similar arrangement for just $10. The group members did not incur any
costs besides the cost of food if you chose to attend. It was an attractive deal which benefited
those that went to have a meal and in turn generated additional revenue for our charity.
4. Don’t assume that your company will help you with a donation. Many of the members in the
group had success in getting their companies to match or donate on their employee’s behalf.
There were some of us where our employers do not contribute to employee hosted events and
they do not allow solicitation (no emails, no printed material handouts, and no discussions
during work hours). The potential to get donations from co-workers or recruit volunteers was
minimized because of strict policies. Do not rely on one source of donations. Learn the policies
of your company right away and find other ways of gathering donations or volunteers.
Otherwise, you will be scrambling at the end to get donations from family members and friends.
Lessons Learned
Time management and identifying roles for every member of the group are key
elements to the success of your project. We had every member accountable for a function
during the event and responsible for project deliverables. Every member completed their task
by the date assigned but it helped to have a project manager who would follow up and check
the status. Every member had different school, work or personal commitments and there
needed to be some flexibility in the expectations for deliverable completion. The lesson is that
effective communication between team members is as important as the deliverables in your
project. It is very important to follow the WBS and make changes during the planning phase if
the task assigned to a particular member will not work with their schedule and the date that the
project milestone needs to be completed.
Every members input mattered. During the planning phase we all had many ideas that
were suggested and as a team we voted on whether it fell within our scope. It was important
not to become a victim of scope creep especially since we were working with another group. We
were able to work together effectively by having each project manager communicate with each
other and then give their own groups an update. We were able to avoid scope creep by keeping
the end result in mind and having the two groups remind each other what the goals were. We
learned that working with more people doesn’t make the project easier. The amount of work
each member had was the same as if we would have done the project without the other team
but our goals may have been more modest.
