An easy guide to hosting an educational fundraising dinner to raise money and help GI-Net end the genocide in Darfur.

Step One: Register your Dinner for Darfur.

Post your event on our calendar, and be sure to include the location, date and time, and type of event (Dinner for Darfur, for instance). If you have any questions, please contact us [0].

Step Two: Decide how much to charge for your dinner.

Depending on how much food and preparation will cost you, set an admission fee for your dinner that gives you a sure profit. Once you've bought your groceries, paper plates, silverware, if you choose, and whatever else you would need, calculate the cost of each meal you intend to prepare.

As a sample, say you're spending $8 a head to prepare your meal. You're inviting 20 people, and you decide to charge $20 a person. Twenty dollars is a reasonable price that people pay in nice restaurants all the time. This admission fee will give you proceeds of $240 for donation. If you think your friends/family or community would be willing, charge more — $25 or $30, which would give you $340 or $440 for donation.

Or

Invite people to dinner and don't ask for an admission fee but ask for donations at the dinner. You can recommend donations based on how much you hope to fundraise.

Step Three: Invite people to your dinner

Think about how many people you would like to invite to your dinner and how many you can accommodate. Depending on what you decide, you may want to find someone to co-host your dinner. Creating a host committee is one of the most effective ways to increase attendance and make your dinner party as large and diverse as possible. Ask one or more of your friends, family or colleagues to join you as co-host and invite five to ten people on their own.

Then select a location, time, and venue, and decide whether you want to cook, serve coffee, or even order in.

Invite people! Lets say you think with your resources and manpower you can only host 20 people in your house. Send out invitations with RSVPs to 25 or 30 people depending on how many people you think would be willing or able to come. E-mail invitations are a cheap and effective option.

You can also let people know that they can donate online [1].

Step Four: Get turnout!

Dinners for Darfur are about raising awareness and money! Be creative and persistent in getting the word out. Do not be ashamed to ask people for money. Many people are happy to be able to help support a cause you believe in. Personal follow-up is very effective. Send additional e-mails or make phone calls to people who have not responded to your first round of invitations.

Step Five: The Actual Dinner

At the dinner make sure to have a sign-in sheet [1] (PDF). Ask people to sign in.

In addition, you may want to set aside a table where people will feel comfortable filling out donation forms and sign in sheets.

You may want to have pictures from Darfur, video footage, or a relevant movie to show before or after your dinner. We suggest looking at the pictures or videos you select before your dinner to make sure they are suitable for your audience and goals. We have have a list of links to Darfur multimedia online [1].

Over dinner, explain to your guests why you decided to host the fundraiser.

• Talk about the current situation in Darfur, Sudan and the ongoing genocide.
• Have some key statistics on hand: The genocide has claimed 400,000 lives and displaced over 2.5 million people. Five hundred continue to die each day; 15,000 die every month.
• Tell them why you are supporting GI-Net. This may be helpful as it can open the conversation up to their opinions and make them more comfortable with donating.
• Then, if you choose, pass out a short packet of reading materials about the genocide in Darfur and about GI-Net.
• Depending on your preference, you can read parts of the packet during dinner or ask people to read it on their own time.

Step Six: Follow-up

Send us [1] pictures and stories from you successful Dinner for Darfur to inspire other people to do the same!

Mail checks and contributions to:

Genocide Intervention Network
1333 H Street NW, 1st Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Checks should be made out to the "Genocide Intervention Network."

E-mail Us [1] if you have any questions about hosting a dinner or about GI-Net. Please tell us if you plan to host a dinner, as we'd be happy to help you in any way we can.