Building a Community That Shows Up

The moment

I joined less than three months before the Women Who Inspire Luncheon, after most sponsorship budgets were set. The team was also launching Living Well Conversations. So I focused on what lasts: new relationships, a stronger community around each event and tools the team keeps using.

What I did

• Invited people, one by one. I personally reached 385+ contacts and 40 organizations, against a target of 15.
• Created table ambassadors. 11 hosts filled tables, 4 of them new to the event and the magazine. I ran it end to end, from the planning call to handwritten thank you notes.
• Added On the Record. An on-site video booth capturing the keynote, panelists, sponsors and guests to feed the magazine and social, added at no cost.
• Brought in a community partner. Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland joined and re-engaged a current client who filled nearly a full table.
• Built the program for Living Well. Shaped a keynote and guided workshop with NPR's Allison Aubrey and a panel, and brought in a new panelist.
• Gave the sales team what they needed. A Sponsor Guide, Event Brief and Sample Activations with the pitch, levels and partner fit.
• Left systems behind. 20 reusable templates and tools, from outreach trackers to a timed moderator script and a master workbook for each event.

What changed

• 30 active partner conversations across both events, including a lapsed 2017 advertiser back at the table.
• More than half of attendees joined the Attendee Directory, so connections continue after the luncheon.
• The sales team closed $12,500 in Living Well sponsorships using the tools I wrote.
• A $2,000+ photo booth donated pro bono, with no ask in return.
• Living Well Conversations grew from a single morning into a series. Suburban Hospital / Johns Hopkins Medicine, a client I cultivated over seven touchpoints, plans to host the next session in its 250-seat auditorium.
• I also introduced a highly qualified sales rep, now hired.