Manna Soup Kitchen
Founded in 1985, Manna began as a traditional soup kitchen serving hot meals to those in our community facing food insecurity. Fast forward 40 years to today, and Manna serves90,000 meals a year in conjunction with a suite of other products: culinary and gardening certifications, job placement assistance, and housing assistance.
Challenge
Although Manna’s largest annual fundraiser, a formal gala, generated significant donations, it also required a great deal of overhead and planning. Manna was looking for ways to make the most of their donors' generosity by directing a larger portion of its fundraising towards its mission.
Solution
In 2008, I worked with Manna to develop a pitch for a No-Go Gala. The idea was to invite people to RSVP for an event that didn’t actually happen (hence the “no-go”) freeing them to spend an evening at home and in turn directing all ticket sales and donations directly to the bottom line. Using original design and messaging each year, we encouraged people to donate what they would have spent on a fancy fundraising event instead to the work of Manna. In year one, the invitation raised $35,000 and by the 11th year, donations topped $450,000. The No-Go Gala has become the non-profit’s largest fundraising initiative of the year for 11 years running.


