House Party Tips

1. Organize, organize, organize. Once you’ve decided to host a party, you’ll want to allow enough time to get the word out, invite your guests and confirm any special guest speakers. Be mindful of work schedules, holidays and other local events when setting the date. Most of our party hosts find that the more time they put into the planning of the party, the more fun and funds are raised.
2. Register your event. As soon as you know that you will be hosting an Outrageous Acts party, please send us an email or register your event on our blog. It’s a great way to publicize your event and to encourage other outrageous actors to join in.
3. Invite your guests early! We all lead very busy lives and even with advance notice, not everyone that is invited to your party will attend. The general rule is that one out of four people who receive a written (paper) invite attend and the response is even lower when just email is used. Keep this in mind as you begin to put together your invitation lists. No matter what form of invitation you send, make sure to request an RSVP so that you’ll know how many people to expect.
4. Ask your friends to co-host with you. Co-hosts are a great way of building and maintaining excitement for your party. Some people choose to enlist their friends as members of a host committee in order to share in the planning, expense and promotion of the event.
5. Let people know that the event is a fundraiser. You should include this information on your invitation. You may want to play with our suggested giving amounts of $75, $750, $7,500, etc. — all in keeping with our “75” birthday theme in honor of Gloria! Your event may not have fundraising as its top goal — and that’s okay. The main point is to be clear with your guests and your co-hosts that this is one of the outcomes for the party.