Non profit fundraisers fill the house and gain word of mouth marketing

Last night, my husband and I searched for the place that we read about in our local event weekly, The Portland Mercury. Listed as a "feature pick," this event promotion cost the host, 10 Barrel Brewing, no advertising dollars and it filled the house on an otherwise normal Tuesday evening in Portland, OR.Savvy business owners engage community nonprofits to host events in their business. This kind of promotional event helps people decide where to go out, especially on a regular weekday. It's a win-win-win! Nonprofits gain a percentage of profits during a specific time period. Businesses gain access to the nonprofit's database, possibly reaching new faces. Customers appreciate the opportunity to give to their favorite nonprofits while enjoying a meal out. Some of these people may be new to the business.Events create a buzz! 10 Barrell Brewing, billing themselves as "a rooftop party in the Pearl," was the only business hopping in that neighborhood, that night. We accidentally walked into Rogue Ales, another fabulous brewery with award-winning beer but the place was sleepy at 6:30pm. A few couples were leftover from happy hour in the bar, the restaurant had one table full. Music was dim, the TV mesmerizing the few folks at the bar. There was nothing really going on and no one inviting us to stay.We crossed the street to find our intended destination packed, with 3 hosts greeting us, offering to find us a seat as soon as possible. One of the greeters was from the Community Warehouse, a local, nonprofit furniture bank that collects and redistributes donated furniture and household goods to neighbors in need. Rena Star Meloy, Community Warehouse Communications Director, had plenty of smiles and made time for us, enjoying getting to know us as much as we did finding out more about the Community Warehouse (CW).We had never been to the 10 Barrel Brewing taproom before. We were drawn by the event, and we have since talked about the great beers we had there that night. Word-of-mouth is still one of the best ways to market your business.10 Barrel Brewing invited CW into a large staff meeting early in the month. They helped all employees understand what the nonprofit was about, how it helps others and how 10 Barrel was helping CW. In addition to the profits from Tuesday night (over $1K!) 10 Barrel provided a portion of sales from their cool merchandise throughout the month."10 Barrel Brewing asks the selected nonprofit to share information about the event in social media, news releases or whatever they can do to leverage their connections, says Mike Starzec," from 10 Barrel Brewing. It's really up to the nonprofit to do the promoting. 10 Barrel just updated their website to highlight the Charity of the Month. CW staff sent out an announcement to their community and emailed it to local news outlets. They posted an invitation on their social media sites and their website.On event night, CW posted signs and welcomed people, that's all. A good time was had by all!       Entrepreneurs are restricted by the comfort we feel in doing the same thing.  Events are not scary. Events give you the opportunity to learn firsthand the value of word-of-mouth marketing and the benefits of long term community building.