Let's get the party started with a winning invitation

A benefit party begins long before the invitation is designed.

It starts with committee and staff meetings, planning sessions and tastings, but eventually that invitation must reach a potential partygoer willing to part with some folding green.

Invitations can be wonderfully imaginative -- and outrageously expensive. There will always be a need for a printed invitation, but I think it's time for nonprofits to experiment with e-mailed invitations.

Last year, attorney Joel Sawyer designed an attractive invitation that he pasted into the body of an e-mail and sent to a number of friends, asking them to attend a new Jewel Charity event. The party was a fundraising success -- and not one penny went to mailing costs, which go up each party season.

But e-mailed invitations for benefit parties must be as attractive, colorful and clever as their traditional paper cousins, and the RSVP should be handled over the Internet, too, giving organizers the added bonus of expanding a database of people who might become future patrons.

So what makes a winning invitation? Here are some dos and don'ts for printed and e-mail-worthy benefit party invitations.

Do set the party tone with the invitation. Use color, art and carefully chosen words so that the potential partygoer will know what to expect: a fancy black-tie event or a cookout at the lake.

Don't depend solely on the invitation to bring in those partygoers. Find other ways to market your party. Attach a personal note from a friend on the board or the committee. If it's an e-mailed invitation, ask the recipient to send it on to just one other friend who might not be on the invitation list.

Do put the names of the honorary chairs, event chairs and committee members in a prominent place.

Don't forget that these people are your core supporters, and others will come because they 1) owe those folks a favor or 2) count them a friend or family member. They are probably not coming because they love your cause or want to learn more about it.

Do tell partygoers what to wear. Be clear, not clever, here. The most important words on the invitation are found in the "attire" line. These few words should make the partygoer comfortable, not confused. Use understandable terms such as black-tie, cocktail attire, business casual, patio attire and ranch duds or Western chic.

Don't use glib or muddy language. What does "Hollywood chic" mean? How 'bout "Fat Tuesday finery," or "all white"?

Do include a phone number. People have all sorts of questions, concerns and yes, last-minute problems. Make it easy for them to contact you.

Don't assume everyone knows what your organization does, so include a brief mission statement.