Miracle Network Dance Marathon February Webinar: Emphasis on In-Event Experience
In-Event Experience was the focus of the Miracle Network Dance Marathon monthly webinar in February. In case you missed the webinar a brief recap is below.
Providing your participants with a high-quality event experience is an important part of their overall impression of the Dance Marathon. You’ve interacted with campus all year: from recruitment efforts to fundraising push days, to connecting campus with our cause. They’ve heard from you a lot! Your Dance Marathon event is the last chance to make an impact on them and make them want to come back year after year.
You need to think critically through every piece of your event to help build a meaningful experience for your participants. We don’t want to be seen as a “bucket list event.” We need to find a balance between tradition and just doing something because it has always been done. If the event is always the same they will say they have done it before and don’t need to again – why should someone come back year over year? Here are some ideas!
Aspects of the Event Experience
Check-in sets the tone and is the first interaction your participants have with you on the event day. Make it a great one!
Opening Ceremonies allow you to address all of your participants as a group to welcome them, introduce our cause, and what they can expect from your event.
Cause Connection should connect participants with patient stories and your hospital as a whole. They should understand why your local children’s hospital needs donations and what their funds are doing in your community. To find out where your hospital uses their funds, check out the 2018 impact reports.
In-Event Fundraising can unite your participants towards a common goal. Check out the full blog-post and webinar on In-Event Fundraising here.
Logistics planning includes preparing your timeline, volunteers and venue details (who is taking out the trash and checking bathroom cleanliness throughout the day?).
Flow is so important to enhance the professionalism of your event. Your emcees should be well versed in your timeline and miracle families and be able to guide your participants through smooth transitions throughout the day.
Activities should range from those that require active engagement from your participants to performances and structured free time. You want to vary your schedule so participants aren’t spending too much time on one thing.
Closing Ceremonies is your last chance to drive home cause connection and steward participants for the impact that they’ve made. If done right, participants should leave the event feeling that they’ve made a difference and wanting to come back next year.
Hear more about these topics by watching the full webinar. To watch the full webinar you can visit the Miracle Network Dance Marathon YouTube channel here. The webinar PDF can also be found here to use as a future resource.