PhilanthroFest 2013 is taking place on April 6, 2013 at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE 2 Avenue, Downtown Miami, Florida 33132-2296.

Participating organizations will have the opportunity to promote their work to a broad community audience (estimated 3000-5000 attendees), build brand awareness, engage new donors, and recruit new volunteers and issue advocates.

Selected organizations will have access to workshops and hands-on learning sessions related to topics such as social marketing, media relations, brand management, engaging volunteers, fundraising techniques using on-line/social media tools and enhanced story-telling and communications strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a fee to apply or participate?

There is NO fee for organizations to apply or participate in PhilanthroFest 2013.

Organizations are strongly encouraged to promote the PhilanthroFest 2013 event through their networks using e-mail campaigns and their social media platforms including Facebook and Twitter.

Selected organizations are asked to supply two (2) raffle items valued at a total of $100.00. These items may be donated from supporters or sponsors, or they may be organization branded/promotional items that showcase the mission of the organization.

What types of organizations are welcome?

Animals * Environmental * Cultural/Arts * Educational * Poverty/Welfare * Health * Children & Youth * City/County Services * Business Development * Entrepreneurship * Housing * Elderly * International * Disabilities * Other

A variety of philanthropic organizations in the categories identified above will be considered.  The organization does not need to be a 501(c)3 to participate.

Organizations must have operations in Southeast Florida, which includes Palm Beach County, Broward County, Miami-Dade County, and Monroe County.

What are the event details? 
The festival takes place on April 6, 2013 at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus, 300 NE 2 Avenue, Downtown Miami, Florida 33132-2296.

Event day non-profit logistics:
1. Each organization receives one 6′ space to promote their mission.
2. Each space comes with one 6′ table and one chair.
3. Organizations are grouped under large 20×40 tents by type. You will be assigned a tent, but not a specific table. When you arrive, choose any open table under the tent you are assigned.
4. SET UP will be Saturday morning prior to the event, starting at 10am. If you need extra time, let us know.
5. TAKE DOWN will be Saturday night after the event, starting at 6pm. Do not start taking down until 6pm.
6. You must be set up and ready to go by 12:00pm day of show.
7. Organizations must bring their own displays and installation materials. This includes easels, walls, stands, etc.
8. Organizations must secure their space and make sure their displays do not disrupt other organizations (stuff blowing off the table, signs blowing over, no load/disruptive music, etc).
9. Organizations are encouraged to be creative in the set up of their installations. Decorate in an eye-catching manner. Bring outgoing personnel who are going to engage the public.
10. Organizations must be able to install their own displays, or bring personnel to do so.
11. There is no electricity available. This is a daytime show.
12. If you want to show photo shows or videos, bring laptops with long-term batteries.
13. You are encouraged to do fundraising; you may sell merchandise such as t-shirts, bracelets, posters, etc.
14. Organizations may not sell food or beverages.
15. No fire! This includes candles or incense.
16. An organization representative must be in occupation of the space at all times.
17. Note: This event is on concrete. No pounding stakes into ground.
18. All spaces must be returned in the form they were found or a cleaning fee will be assessed.
19. Be considerate of your neighbors. We are all here to do good.
20. PARKING: There will be FREE parking for organizations in Lot 9. It is the surface parking lot located at 100 NE Third St.
21. UNLOADING: Please note there is very little street parking adjacent to the event site. We encourage you to get there early so that you can pull up curbside and offload, then go park.

Can organizations sell items?
Yes! Organizations are encouraged to sell merchandise to fundraise.
Organizations are responsible for handling all their own sales of merchandise.
Merchandise may include t-shirts, branded materials, items made by organization participants, or other fundraising items.
No food/drink/alcohol sales are permitted. Philanthrofest is not liable for any lost or stolen goods.

Reporting Requirements:
1. Gather email addresses from attendees and share them with PhilanthroFest.
2. If you sign up volunteers and report to us on the number of volunteers signed up. If you do not sign up volunteers, let us know why not.
3. If you are selling merchandise, report your total sold in merchandising.
4. If you are doing fundraising, report your other funds raised through that fundraising.

Will the reporting information be shared?
All of your reporting information will be kept strictly PRIVATE. We may share totals in aggregate with some of our partners to help them serve the community better, but your specifics will never be shared with anyone. These reporting requirements are very important, your participation in PhilanthroFest in contingent on your organization’s commitment to following the PhilanthroFest guidelines, including the reporting requirement and the collected email addresses. This information will help us serve you better in the future.

Promotional Tips and Tricks

• Perfect your story! What is your elevator pitch?
• Be sure to be friendly, helpful and outgoing to attendees.
• Identify your organization with branded signage.
• Add website information and social media links to your signage
• Use tactics to entice attendees to sign up for your mailing list
• Plan ahead for rain, wind, and even sunshine to prevent sunburn and heat exhaustion.
• Make sure everything in your booth is well secured to avoid loss, theft or wind blown items.
• Make your table reflect your work and personality by showcasing photos and visual rich displays.
• Before you begin this process you should remember that transporting, setting up and breaking down your booth can present problems and must be figured into the equation.
• Creating levels diversifies the visual presentation and increases the room in which to display items
• Important Signage Considerations: Everything in your booth should be tagged, labeled and identified for the customer. Information is important to help make the customer feel comfortable.
• When considering what to bring to sell, it is better to err on the side of too many rather than too little.
• You want to understand what you need and how long it will take to pack your materials, transport the materials, set up and break down the booth. This translates into understanding if you need additional manpower and that includes managing the booth during the show.

You can find a copy of Non-Profit Orientation slides here!