Case study · The Cure Starts Now · Wisconsin
How a fundraiser raised $90,000 for kids
The Wisconsin chapter of The Cure Starts Now raised $90,000 for pediatric cancer research in one night. Here is how the entertainment was built to help.
Case study · The Cure Starts Now · Wisconsin
The Wisconsin chapter of The Cure Starts Now raised $90,000 for pediatric cancer research in one night. Here is how the entertainment was built to help.
The client
The Cure Starts Now raises money for pediatric cancer research. Its Wisconsin chapter, Brayleighville, is led by chapter director Christi King.
The chapter is named for Christi's daughter, Brayleigh King, who lost her life to pediatric brain cancer. Every dollar raised carries her name forward.
Galaween is the chapter's biggest night of the year. A costume gala with a cocktail hour, dinner, speeches, and a room full of people who came to give.
The challenge
A fundraiser has one job. Get people to give. That happens when guests feel connected, stay for the program, and are paying attention when the ask comes.
Galas have real risks. Guests arrive in waves and stand around. A long program can lose a room. And people who leave early do not give.
What they were looking for
Get guests talking and connected from the moment they walk in.
Never compete with dinner, the speeches, or the ask.
A finish worth staying for, after the program.
What we did
Eric worked the room from 5:30 to 7, table to table, through registration and the cocktail hour. The magic happened in guests' own hands, so people at the same table had something to share right away.
When dinner and speeches started, the magic stopped. The room belonged to the cause. After the program, Eric took the stage for a 20-minute show to close the night.
Eric also donated most of his performance fee, so more of the night's budget stayed with the mission.
90 minutes of tableside magic during arrival and cocktails. Guests met, laughed, and settled in before the program.
No entertainment during dinner or speeches. Full attention on the families and the cause.
The stage show came after the program, so the night built to a finish instead of fading out.
See it in action
What guests saw up close during the cocktail hour.
The finale
By the end of the night, the chapter had raised $90,000 for pediatric cancer research.
That money came from generous guests, sponsors, families, and volunteers. Eric's job was to make the room an easy place to give. Warm, connected, and paying attention when it counted.
The takeaway
He does not just fill time. He plans the entertainment around your program, so it helps your ask instead of competing with it.
Your guests connect faster. Your speakers get a focused room. The night ends on a high. If you are planning a gala or fundraiser, that is the job.
From the planner's side
Guests arrive in waves. Tableside magic during registration and cocktails gets people talking before they sit down.
Never put entertainment on top of the speeches or the ask. Give the cause the whole room.
A finish worth waiting for keeps guests in their seats through the program.
Clean, warm, and fun. Nothing that pulls focus from why people came.
Fall gala dates fill fast. Lock in entertainment as soon as you have a date.
Straight answers
Entertainment does not write the checks. Your guests do. What it can do is keep people connected, focused, and in the room when the ask comes. That is what Eric plans for.
Yes. Eric performs at galas and fundraisers often. Ask about options for nonprofits.
Yes. Many galas book tableside magic during the cocktail hour and a short stage show later in the night.
Yes. Clean, fun, and right for every age in the room.
No. A clear spot at the front of the room and a mic are usually all it takes.
As early as you can. Fall gala season fills first.
Planning something similar?
Tell Eric about your event. He answers every inquiry personally.