How to Organize a Successful Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser

Why Host a Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser? 

As the saying goes, "the way to someone's heart is found through their stomach", and while this often rings true, fundraising dinners can also be a way to find donation dollars in someone's wallet. Spaghetti dinners have been a long time favorite of local charity organizers because they are both simple and affordable, making them an attractive option for organizers and supporters alike. 

Most importantly, fundraising dinners, like spaghetti dinners, are all about community. They're about bringing people together over a shared meal and giving neighbors an opportunity to connect while raising money for a good cause. So, let's roll up our sleeves and dive into how to make your spaghetti dinner fundraiser a memorable, and delicious affair, that will have supporters licking their lips and donating to your cause all at the same time. 

Planning Your Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser 

While spaghetti dinner fundraisers are considered a great, budget-friendly way to raise money for charity, that doesn't mean that they don't need to be well-thought out. Here are some pre-event planning essentials to ensure that your fundraiser is a success and that everyone goes home well-fed and happy. 

• Setting goals and objectives: It's important to create realistic fundraising goals. Take into account how many tickets you think you can sell, and how much money can be raised with side fundraising efforts, such as raffles or silent auctions. Be clear and transparent with ticket buyers as to how much money you're hoping to raise and how the money will be allocated. People are more inclined to buy tickets if they know their money will be put to a good cause and are made aware of the financial goals.
• Creating a budget and timeline: Once you have set your financial objective, creating a structured budget and timeline are an essential part of making sure you achieve this goal. Take into account expenses such as food costs, venue rentals, promotional material, and any fees associated with permits such as food handling permits, gambling permits if you plan on holding a raffle, and alcohol permits if you plan on selling beer, wine, etc. Be sure to investigate if any of these may be required well in advance in order to avoid any problems that could leave you scrambling at the 11th hour. And don't forget to over-estimate food costs, you never know how many last-minute plates or take-away orders you may sell, and it's always better to have more rather than not enough. 
• Selecting a venue: No matter what kind of event you're throwing, whether it's a large gala fundraiser, or a smaller-scale pasta dinner, the location can make or break your event. Be sure to check with community centers, church halls, and local schools for low-cost, or potentially free, venues in which to hold your event. Many of these locations also have built-in kitchens, dinnerware and seating, which can make a world of difference when it's time to get food off of the stove and onto the table. Also be sure that your venue is the right size for your expected turnout. While spaghetti dinners are normally informal affairs, a venue that is too small can make people feel crowded, and a venue that is too big can make it seem like your event is under-attended and affect the atmosphere, and nobody wants that. 

Crafting the Perfect Menu 

When it comes to your menu, it's best to create a balanced and appealing menu that offers something for everyone, and you can't go wrong with a classic marinara sauce. It's easy to play with marinara sauce by including meat to make a bolognese or by adding meatballs (a hit with both the young and young at heart). For those looking for vegetarian or vegan options leave the marinara sauce as is or include lentils or a soy-based meat alternative, and always offer a gluten-free pasta option for those who may have food allergies or simply prefer a gluten-free diet.

It seems these special dietary requests and food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent, so be sure to include an email contact or link to your charities social media pages so that ticket buyers have a way to communicate any food allergies or preferences they may have. Keeping track of orders, particularly special requests, via spreadsheet is an ideal way to stay organized and make sure everyone is getting what they want.

Now, let's talk extras. While these dinners are all about the pasta, a spaghetti dinner isn't a spaghetti dinner without extras like salad and breadsticks and, perhaps even, a simple dessert like brownies or cupcakes to round things out (nut-free of course!). While generally these items are included in a traditional dinner, it's up to you if you'd like to offer a basic dinner then charge extra for dessert, drinks, or extra breadsticks. Keep in mind that while charging for these items separately can increase revenue, it can become logistically complicated to keep track of, and charge for, when people have already paid for their tickets in advance. Gauge your audience and manpower to decide which option is best for you and your fundraiser.

Promoting Your Spaghetti Dinner Fundraiser 

When it comes to promoting your event, these days social media is king. While word-of-mouth is an invaluable tool when it comes to letting the community know about your event, using different social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok can be a deciding factor in your event's outcome.

Creating a Facebook or Instagram event page which includes all the important information including venue, price and menu, as well as the cause and charity mission, can help tap into a whole different audience who may not know about your fundraiser otherwise. Encourage friends, family and volunteers to share your event on their own social media pages in order to reach as many people as possible. 

Once your social media pages are up and running they can be used to create excitement and garner attention by posting reels, previews and including a countdown timer. Hashtags such as #spaghettifundraiser, #communityfundraiser and #[thenameofyourcause] can also draw attention to people who may already be following these hashtags.

And while social media reigns, it's important to include other marketing and promotion strategies such as email marketing, newsletters and posting flyers in high-traffic areas, community centers, shopping malls, coffee shops etc. Posters should be bright and eye-catching with easy to read text and links to your social media pages, so people can contact you with any inquiries or to buy tickets. If space allows include the menu, but be sure not to make the poster too overwhelming or hard on they eyes. Keep it simple.

Another avenue of promotion that is sometimes overlooked is collaborating with local businesses. Approaching businesses and asking for supply donations or prizes for raffle draws can benefit both sides. Supply donations naturally lower your costs, and raffle draws can increase your revenue. Be sure to promote their business on your menu or event page as a way to let people know that they've sponsored and to give thanks for their support.

To sum things up, the best way to promote and market your event is to use as many different avenues as possible to reach a maximum audience. A combination of social media, email marketing and soliciting local businesses for their support is your best bet to make sure your event is successful and help you to achieve your fundraising goals. 

Stirring Up Success: Your Guide to a Smooth Event Night

You've done all the leg work, planned your event, crafted a menu, promoted your fundraiser and, hopefully, sold lots of tickets. Now it's time to pull it all together and bring it all into fruition. Here's a comprehensive guide to help you through the process:

• Venue and Decorations: When it comes to the venue, it's important to take into account the layout and whether or not you'd prefer buffet style or table service. Naturally table service requires extra manpower, but it also adds to the experience and makes ticket buyers feel like they're receiving a little extra TLC and added value to their ticket purchase. 

Whichever layout you choose, make sure that their is sufficient seating for groups of all sizes. Remember that this is a community event and your seating plan should encourage a sense of camaraderie and conversation among families, friends and total strangers. People who may have never met before can walk out the door with not only a take away container, but some new friends and acquaintances. 

As mentioned earlier, dinner based fundraisers are a great opportunity to throw in a side fundraiser such as a silent auction or raffle... or both! Set up a space apart from the dining area and have one of your volunteers in charge of selling raffle tickets and keeping an eye on the silent auction. These additional fundraisers, particularly the silent auction, are great ways to keep people sticking around until the end of the event, which can encourage them to spend a bit more money on another dessert, or perhaps even a whole other plate.

As for decorations, if possible go for a classic Italian theme. This means red checkered table clothes, some greenery, perhaps some pasta filled jars for place settings, and some Italian flags scattered throughout the room. If it's an option, light some candles, or even better use battery operated ones to avoid potential fire hazards, especially if your event proves to be more family based with lots of little ones running around. If you can, try and dim the lights a bit, in an effort to remove that sort of cafeteria-style glare and as a way to create some ambiance. Put on an Italian instrumental playlist and the mood is set. Time for dinner service...

• Coordinating Volunteers and Meal Service: The backbone of any fundraiser is the team of volunteers you've assembled to help you achieve your goal and make your event a success. Family, friends, co-workers, and charity supporters are all great places to find people to help out. Once you have estimated how many people are going to attend (overestimating is also never a bad idea), you can decide how many volunteers you are going to need accordingly. The easiest way to coordinate your volunteers is to assign them different roles. 
  • Set-up/Tear down crews: This group is in charge of putting the venue together, decorating, and setting-up the raffle and silent auction area. If your event is fairly short, let's say only a couple of hours, ask if your set-up crew is willing to assist with tear down as well, making sure you remove all the trash, wash all the dishes and leave the venue the way you found it. 
  • Kitchen Team: This is the team that makes the magic happen. You can put all the bells and whistles you want on a fundraising dinner, but if the food isn't good or the servings are small, that's what people will talk about the next day. The kitchen team prepares the food, makes sure any special dietary requests are handled, and assures that everyone gets what they paid for and that no one leaves hungry or disappointed. 
  • Servers: If you've chosen to have table service, you're obviously going to need servers. As in any restaurant, servers are responsible for making sure that food and drinks orders are processed efficiently, dietary needs are communicated to the kitchen team, and that the right order gets to the right place as quickly as possible so everything arrives at the table nice and hot. While it's always helpful to have volunteer servers with experience, it's not absolutely necessary. The beauty of the spaghetti dinner, is that is a pretty basic concept, and generally people are a little more forgiving when it comes to dining at a fundraiser than they are eating out at a traditional restaurant.  
  • Greeters: Your greeters are the first point of contact ticket buyers will have when they arrive for dinner. They're in charge of welcoming guests, helping them find their seats, and answering any questions they may have. If these volunteers aren't directly involved in the charity, be sure to set some time aside with them beforehand so they can explain to patrons what the fundraiser is for and how the money raised through ticket sales will be allocated. 

However you choose to break up your volunteer team, have everyone wear similar outfits (all black for example), so you're team is easily identifiable to diners should they need anything. Also be sure to allocate a little bit of time beforehand to brief your team on their roles and make sure everyone knows where they should be and at what time. Communication is key to ensuring the evening runs smoothly and, if need be, designate a specific volunteer to handle all communication, questions and any problems that may arise throughout the evening. Don't try to do everything yourself.

• Keeping the audience engaged: While good conversation and even better food is more than enough for most people, being able to engage the audience throughout the event is an opportunity to gather more contributions through secondary fundraisers. It is also as an opportunity to talk about your charity, your goals, and how ticket sales and donations will make a difference.

Take some time at the beginning of the night to thank everyone for attending and to recognize donors who may have supported your event with contributions. If at all possible, take a moment to share a story about your cause or have a guest speaker who has been directly affected by your charity's efforts tell their story, so that diners feel more of a personal connection to your cause, and are more likely to contribute further.

Once the opening remarks and speeches have been made, it's important to continue to keep people engaged, as not to have people get up and leave as soon as they've scraped their plate. Remind people about the silent auction and raffle tickets, and draw a raffle prize several times throughout the course of the evening. People are prone to stay in their seats if they think there may be a prize at the other end, and revealing the silent auction winners at the end of the evening or in between dinner and dessert is a great way to keep people at their tables until the last tea or coffee has been served. 

As the night winds down, the bellies have been filled, and the prize winners have been announced, it's important to address the audience one more time. Update them with the amount of dollars raised (if possible), and give one last heartfelt thanks to diners, sponsors and volunteers for their support. Showing appreciation is the best way to create lasting relationships and ensure future support should you plan on throwing any fundraising events going forward. 

More Than a Meal: Following Up for Future Success

As with any fundraiser, just because the event is over it doesn't mean that your work is done. Once the venue has been cleaned and returned to it's original state, it's time to do some final accounting.

Calculate the money raised from ticket sales, raffles and auction proceeds and any in-hand donations that were collected throughout the course of the night, and subtract your expenses to see what kind of profit you made from your fundraiser. Have a look at the original budget and try to identify any areas where you were under budget, or over budget and ask yourself, Why? If you're event was successful and profitable you may want to organize another one in the future and knowing what you did right and what you could improve on for the next time can make all the difference. 

Next, if possible, it's time to check in with supporters, sponsors and volunteers, with formal thank-you letters or emails, and use this opportunity to ask for feedback. A simple, but heartfelt message of gratitude should also be shared via social media, along with an update of the amount of money raised, including progress photos if the money allocation is already in progress. Be transparent. People want to see results and feel good knowing their money is making a difference.

This is also a great time to share photos of the nights event and ask others to do the same. Having a collection of photos from your successful fundraising dinner shared across your charity's social media platforms adds that visual impact that can boost your online presence, help spread your message and remind people about the great time they had at your event. Bonus: these photos are great to have access to should you decide to organize a similar event in the future!

Pasta, Purpose, and Progress: Wrapping It All Up

While spaghetti dinners are a modest and humble means of fundraising they can be so much more than just a meal. These kinds of fundraisers bring people together in an informal way to celebrate community while showing support for a common goal... raising money for charity. 

With the proper planning, budgeting, and marketing as well as the right mix of volunteers, you will be well on your way to hosting a successful event that will benefit your charity and your community at large. At the end of the day it's all about creating a meaningful experience for your ticket buyers, and showing your gratitude for their support. 

Good food, good times and a good cause are all the ingredients you need to make your event a success. Buon apetito!

If you would like to know more about how to run an effective and successful fundraiser, or are looking for resources on a vast array of topics related to charitable giving and event management, feel free to contact us at Paybee, we're your end-to-end fundraising solution experts, and ready to help you with all of your fundraising needs. 

FAQ's

• What is the average cost of hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser?
  • The average cost of hosting a spaghetti dinner depends on several factors, including the size of the event, the rental cost of the venue and the menu you plan on offering. When budgeting for your event be sure to take into consideration not only ingredients, promotional materials, decorations etc., but also the little things like event supplies, tablecloths and take away boxes, as well as larger items like required permits, and live entertainment (if that's something that is within your budget). Here's a breakdown of the average cost of hosting a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to give you a rough idea of what you will need to get started:  
    • Small Event (50–100 attendees): $200–$600
    • Medium Event (100–200 attendees): $500–$1,500
    • Large Event (200+ attendees): $1,500–$3,000+

Tickets for these types of dinners typically range from $10-$25 per ticket, so if you budget accordingly and cut costs by soliciting donations from local businesses, reaching a realistic fundraising target shouldn't be so difficult. 

• How can I estimate the number of attendees for my fundraiser?
  • Estimating the number of attendees to your fundraiser is a crucial part of the planning and budgeting stages, especially when it comes to making sure you have enough supplies. If you or any friends or family have hosted similar events in the past look at the numbers, while also seeing what you can do to make those numbers increase. If this isn't an option reach out to other fundraising organizers who have held similar events locally and ask for insights and what to expect.
  • Always sell tickets in advance, and offer discounted tickets to those who buy early. Taking pre-sales into account, allow for 10%-20% more in walk-in attendees. As mentioned before, when it comes to fundraising dinners it's always better to have too much rather than not enough. 

• How do I accommodate dietary restrictions at a spaghetti dinner fundraiser?
  • Accommodating dietary restrictions is part and parcel of organizing dinner fundraisers these days, and it's all about creating a sense of inclusivity and making sure that everyone can enjoy a meal together regardless of what their restrictions may be. The best way to accomplish this is to convey to ticket buyers that special options will be available, and to communicate via email or social media what their preferences are. Be sure to offer vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and non-dairy options, and be particularly careful with allergies to nuts, eggs, shellfish etc. Be sure to use separate cooking tools and utensils to avoid cross-contamination, and ensure all items are clearly labeled. It's also good practice to have a volunteer on hand that knows the menu inside and out and is available for any questions or concerns your diners may have.