Did you know that the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia is made up of a staff of just 4 people? While we work very hard to reach out to the entire state, sometimes we need your help!

By hosting a third party fundraising or awareness event to benefit EFGA you can help raise funds and awareness for the 150,000 Georgians living with epilepsy. With your help, EFGA can reach more supporters in your community helping improve the lives of those who have epilepsy. There are many ways that you can help raise awareness and funds – everything from a golf tournament at your local course to a dining out night at local restaurants to a bake sale at your school. Any way that you can help raise funds and awareness for epilepsy is greatly appreciated! We welcome the opportunity to work with you to increase awareness of our programs, build community support and raise funds for our programs and services. If you are interested in planning and hosting an event to benefit EFGA, please review the following steps to plan and host your event. We have found that thoughtful planning ensures an enjoyable and successful event!

Steps to Hosting an Event Benefiting the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia

1. Review Event Ideas and FAQs below and start thinking about what kind of event you would like to see in your community.
2. Check out the Tips for Hosting Third Party Events document.
3. Read the Event Planning Guidelines information packet and review the event questionnaire.
4. Complete the event questionnaire and return to EFGA. If you have any questions along the way, you can contact Aly at [email protected] or (404)527-7155. A timeline should be attached with the questionnaire to ensure the time frame is appropriate.
5. Once the event is approved by EFGA, collaborate with EFGA to execute a marketing and promotional campaign of the event that includes, but not limited to: local publication press releases, e-mail newsletter insertion, e-mail blasts, flyer creation/distribution and local/peer group networking activities.
6. Send reminders to your networks, friends and family the week prior to the event.
7. Have fun and raise money for EFGA’s programs and services!
8. Collaborate with the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia to complete event wrap-up and follow-up. This includes sending all thank you notes to vendors, donors, volunteers and planning committee.

EVENT IDEAS

As for most organizations, it is very important to have participation from supporters of EFGA and their communities. You can help by putting together a third party event to help raise funds and create awareness for those who are living will epilepsy! No event is too small; find something that would be successful in your community. It could be a bake sale at your school, a dining out night at your favorite restaurant or even something like a golf tournament! Check out the event ideas and see what could work for your community. Have other ideas? Review EFGA’s Event Planning Guidelines to learn how to get started planning your event today.

Seize Change – Coin Drive for Epilepsy Starting a coin drive at your school, workplace, church or local business is a great way to raise funds for EFGA and create awareness at the same time! Be sure to get proper permission to do a coin drive, EFGA will be happy to provide you with a letter stating your request and include all details of the fundraiser. EFGA can provide templates for flyers to help let your community know about your fundraiser.

Dining Out for Epilepsy – Contact your favorite local restaurant to see if they would participate in a dining out night for epilepsy. This is a great idea that is very easy to execute successfully! The request is that the restaurant will donate a percentage of the proceeds from that day/evening/week/month, whatever the restaurant would prefer, to EFGA. Some restaurants require patrons to either tell the servers “I’m dining for EFGA” and some require patrons to bring in a flyer of some sort, while others require nothing at all. This is great to promote at your school, workplace, church, etc. EFGA can help provide a template for a flyer to be distributed and help promote the event on the website and social media outlets.

Purple Power Day – Show your support for epilepsy by wearing the color purple! This is a great event to do for a school, challenge all the kids to wear purple – you could even turn it into a classroom contest! EFGA will be happy to provide a letter for your school to request this awareness event and a template for flyers to share with the students.

Cakes for a Cause – Join forces with all the great bakers you know and host a bake sale to benefit EFGA! You could have it at your school, church, community center – anywhere you see a great fit for your community. EFGA can provide templates for signage and flyers for you to pass out, along with letters requesting permission for this fundraiser.

Casual Friday – Speak with your office manager or HR office about hosting an office-wide dress down day to benefit EFGA. For a small donation, your co-workers can trade business attire for more casual wear. Promote the event through signs, emails and meeting announcements. On your “Casual Friday”, collect funds from all who dress down. EFGA can provide templates for signage, wording for emails and tax receipts for those who donate via check or credit card.

These are just a couple ideas to help get you started – if you have another event idea in mind please feel free to contact EFGA to discuss the details and how to get started! You can also review the Event Planning Guidelines for more information.

EVENT PLANNING FAQs

Can EFGA provide letters and receipts for my supporters? EFGA will happily provide a letter of legitimacy to present with any sponsorship proposals to help your plea for support. Also, we will be happy to provide in-kind donation letters to those who donated items for your event. Please note that we are unable to provide tax receipts for any gifts or contributions that are not received or made payable directly to the Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia.

Can I use EFGA’s name and logo to promote my event? Yes! Prior to use on any materials, please submit for approval of all materials on which you would like EFGA’s name and logo to appear. Also, EFGA must approve all invitation copy, advertisements and printed materials related to the event before printing and distribution. The material approval process can sometimes take up to 1 week, please allow ample time for this.

Will EFGA be able to help promote my event? Once your event has been approved, EFGA will happily add the information to our website, include it in any upcoming e-blast and add to our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Can EFGA provide me with a list of supports or volunteers? EFGA will not provide any names or contact information of our donors, supports, staff, board members or volunteers, as it is our policy to keep records confidential.

Can EFGA solicit corporate sponsorships for my event? EFGA cannot solicit any corporate sponsorships request for third-party events. We would be happy to provide you with a letter from EFGA stating the approval of your event and our tax ID information, as reassurance to the corporation that this is a legitimate event.

Who will help run my event? As a third party event host, you will be taking responsibility for the event in its entirety. We suggest creating a planning committee to assist in the planning and execution of this event. A planning committee can be vital in helping an event run smoothly. It is important to recruit people who also passionate about the cause, reliable and can commit time to this event. EFGA is happy to provide advice and guidance along the way, but we are unable to help run these types of events.

What forms of payments should I accept at my event? For accountancy purposes, it is best to only accept checks for your event. Credit cards can also be used, through the EFGA website donate page. Another option is to request either a PayPal link or button, setup by an EFGA staff person, to use for credit card transactions. It is requested that you do not accept cash for these events. For more information about this please feel free to contact Aly, (404)527-7155 or [email protected].

Can I have a raffle at my event? Raffles and auctions (silent and live) are great ways to raise money. Each state has its own regulations governing raffles and gaming events carried out for charitable purposes. Please contact the Attorney General office for more information about raffles at your event.

What should I do with the money from my event after it has been collected? Please send all proceeds to the EFGA office within thirty (30) days of your event. Checks should be made payable to the “Epilepsy Foundation of Georgia” and mailed to EFGA 6065 Roswell Road, Suite 715, Atlanta, GA 30328.

Still didn’t answer your question? Please contact Aly Clift at (404)527-7155 or by email at [email protected]. Thanks for considering EFGA for your fundraising event!