For years I've been reading Event Magazine's articles on experiential and immersive events delivered by corporate brands across the world. And last week, I read with excitement as Save the Children received national coverage for their Forced to Flee event.
Having worked on Ark's immersive event Ark by Night since 2014, I often speak to charities who are also keen to do something different. In recent years, I’ve seen a shift away from the often very costly traditional gala dinner and a move towards something that better reflects the work that they do. In order to truly bring their work to life, charities need more than a three-minute film or a compelling speech to get their mission across.
From my work as Chair of the Special Events Forum for the charity sector, I’ve become aware of a whole host of innovative and unusual events, breaking the mould of the traditional fundraising dinner and dance - from the DEC taking guests on a journey to demonstrate how they take action in emergency situations to the Royal Opera House hosting guests for behind-the-scenes experiences.
It’s long been a bugbear of mine that the charity sector is seen as a cardigan-wearing, risk averse and boring place to work – with 10 years in the sector, I can confidently say that this is far from the truth. And perhaps you'll be lucky enough to get an invitation to one of these events in the future so that you can see for yourself...
