While Birmingham city centre is the prime choice for an unforgettable night out, Eastside is often overlooked. However, whether you’re looking to have a boozy night out or a day surrounded by creativity and fun activities, Eastside has loads to offer. It’s an excellent location for everyone’s night out, whether you’re a student, celebrating with friends or spending time with family. So here are a few reasons why your next night out should be spent in Eastside.
1. It’s close to transport links
Eastside is located near a range of transport links, making it easy for you and your family and friends to travel in and out of Birmingham. This is perfect if you can’t find a designated driver and it allows you to get home safely after a night of drinking. Transport links include:
- Moor Street Station.
- New Street Station.
- Snow Hill Station.
- Motorway links.
- Bus routes.
2. It’s close to Birmingham city centre
Eastside is also just a short walk from Birmingham city centre, placing you close to a range of bars and restaurants. This allows you to explore different bars, restaurants and activities to make your night unforgettable.
Being in close proximity to the city centre means you can forgo expensive taxis and Ubers when travelling to different venues, helping you save money that can be spent on things that make your night extra special.
2. A range of student accommodation is close by
Eastside’s proximity to Birmingham City University and Aston University’s student accommodations provides the perfect setting for an exciting yet affordable night out. Pubs located within Eastside tend to have student deals like happy hour or discounts giving students the opportunity to do more with their night on the town. This also offers excellent opportunities to meet new people and make more friends.
Birmingham City University’s Student Union is also located nearby, providing great opportunities for students to get involved in a range of activities. This could include things like:
- Games or trivia nights.
- Pizza and pint night.
- Cocktail club.
- Bingo.
- Paint and cocktails/mocktails night.
There’s also a range of pubs situated in Eastside, including Gosta Green and Eagle & Ball. These both host excellent social events and student offers, making them a fun and affordable night out. You can expect events like:
- Bottomless brunch.
- Happy hours.
- Craft and Cocktails.
Millennium Point is in the heart of Eastside
Millennium Point is positioned in the heart of Eastside making it a great venue to centre your next evening out around. We host a range of exciting events throughout the year and have some excellent upcoming events, including:
Dirty Dancing bottomless brunch
Date: 25th May 2024
Time: 1PM
Price: £35pp (plus booking fee)
Dance the day away with our Dirty Dancing bottomless brunch. Enjoy 90 minutes of unlimited prosecco and fabulous food in our fully licensed bar. You can choose from a beef, chicken or vegan burger and add your desired toppings, salad and chips at our build-your-own-burger station. If you’re still wanting more, you can purchase further food and drinks throughout!
Loki summer wine & spirits fair
Date: 6th July 2024
Loki has spent the last couple of months travelling the world, tasting different wines to find the most exciting and interesting ones for you to take home!
They’ve gathered their favourite producers, trusted suppliers and newly made wines from friends around the world to share their best bottles with you! Over 30 tables will showcase delicious wines, gins, whiskies, cognacs and liquors for you to taste test.
Over 250 beverages will be available to try including sparkling and dessert wines allowing you to experience a vast tasting selection.
An assortment of artisan cheeses from Anderson and Hill will also be available to buy throughout the day, as well as Laghis deli who will be serving delicious pizza and sweet treats.
If you’re looking to have your next night out in Eastside, explore our range of events.
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Looking for a Christmas party venue in Birmingham? Hosting your Christmas party has never been easier with Millennium Point. Get in the Christmas spirit by exploring our Christmas party packages below. If you’re looking for a more tailored Christmas party night get in touch.
Christmas Party Packages:
Exclusive Party Night package
Our Christmas party package boasts a three-course banqueting menu, stylish centrepieces, a private fully licensed bar and a DJ and dancefloor. So grab your dancing shoes and party the night away.
The price is just £49.95 + VAT per person.
The package also includes:
- Exclusive access to our venue, Platform from 7.00pm until Midnight.
- A glass of house wine, bottled beer, or fruit juice on arrival around our 39ft Christmas tree.
- Luxury Christmas crackers and novelties.
- Coloured uplighters to match your corporate branding
- PA system & microphone.
A minimum of 100 attendees are required with a maximum of 200.
If you have over 200 guests, there’s no need to worry as we can work with you to create a bespoke package for your perfect Christmas party in Birmingham. Get in touch for more information.
Ultimate 80s Christmas Party
Join us at our ultimate 80s Christmas party, perfect for small businesses and friendship groups. You’ll feast on a delicious festive three course meal that includes a Christmas Yorkshire Pudding Wrap and an Eton Mess Cheesecake with seasonal berries for dessert. The night will also include an 80s live band and stylish house centrepieces, what more could you want?
Book your festive night to remember for just £44.95 per person.
Our Christmas Tree makes the perfect selfie backdrop
We boast one of the largest indoor Christmas trees in Birmingham at 12 metres tall. It’s also accompanied by two nutcrackers giving visitors lots of opportunities to snap a festive selfie.
Our Christmas tree is put together by Christmas experts ‘The Christmas Decorators’. It takes a team of 5 installers and 7 decorators, to prepare the branches and baubles. The Christmas tree takes around 10 hours to complete. With good reason too as there are over 21,000 lights and 1,500 baubles to set up!
Book your Christmas party with Millennium Point
Make Millennium Point your place to go this Christmas. By booking our Christmas party venue, you’ll receive first-class hospitality, hassle-free planning, and high-quality service when you book with us.
If you have something in mind our friendly events team is happy to help. Get in contact for any questions you may have with our team.
Where to find us
Millennium Point is situated in the heart of Birmingham city centre, close to various transportation options. It is:
- A 9-minute walk from Birmingham Moor Street station.
- A 15-minute walk from New Street Station.
- A 15-minute walk from Snow Hill Station.
Building on the success of our SciSeries events which saw 2,000 students visit Millennium Point. We are excited to announce our next event – the SciTECH Showcase on 10th June!
Last year, we welcomed students from over 20 schools across the region to SciMED where they participated in a range of thrilling activities, workshops, and talks delivered by organisations and personalities from the world of STEM and medicine.
To get an idea what’s in store, watch below how SciMED went –
The SciTECH Showcase is open to upper primary (years 5 and 6) and lower secondary (years 7 and 8). To confirm your place book here – www.elevationx.uk/scitech-event
SciTECH – Showcasing the importance of STEM in the Technology industry
The SciTECH event that takes place Monday 10th June 2024, seeks to inspire the next generation of STEM students with all things technology – from the traditional careers of Programmers, Analysts and Designers, through to the wider STEM related sectors such as IT Service Management, App Developers and Business Analysts, whilst showcasing technology and engineering advances in all associated sectors.
Students will be able to explore:
– Interactive workshops
– Digital activities
– Technological advancements
Sign up to book your school’s place and discover all things STEM and Tech!
Get your company involved
There is still time for your team to get involved with SciMED. Promote your company and showcase your innovations to young people from schools across the region. With lots of exciting organisations already joining us, now is the time to book your place to ensure you get the chance to connect with the future of your industry. Email our event partners Elevation X to secure your spot – [email protected] or call 07379769722.
This is just one of the ways we’re supporting STEM in the region
Our multi-award-winning Charitable Trust invests more than £4.5m each year towards furthering STEM education within the West Midlands.
Over the years we have provided funding to Scholarships, Grants, and projects that benefit the region. Find our more about our Trust and how we can work together for a better future.
Hosting a charity event is exciting, but it does require a lot of thought to get it right. There are so many worthy causes out there and with the ease of donating online, you need to show guests why they should attend your event. As a result you need to make sure it’s engaging. You can do this by:
Showcasing how guest’s donations will make a difference
Showing donors where their money is going and the positive impact it’ll have on your cause will make them feel as though they’re making a difference and encourage further donations. You can do this by:
- Weaving in stories about how previous donations have helped beneficiaries.
- Showcasing any interesting statistics.
- Showing live demonstrations of your charity’s work.
- Playing video testimonials.
- Displaying a chart showing how close you are to reaching your donation goal.
Highlighting how attendees’ donations are making a difference will leave guests inspired and encourage them to make contributions outside of the event.
Providing opportunities for guests to get involved with the cause beyond the event
While it’s important to meet your event donation goal, you also want to foster long-term connections with your donors to help you raise money outside the event. You can do this by:
- Providing volunteering opportunities – Dedicating a section of your event to showcasing volunteering opportunities is a great way to gain extra support and further donations. You should provide clear information on the types of volunteering roles, how people can get involved and the difference they make.
- Encourage attendees to post the event on social media – Social media is a very powerful tool for all businesses, especially charities. It can help you raise awareness for your cause and encourage donations. Additionally, creating a hashtag for your event is a great way to raise awareness and track how well your event went by reviewing what people posted online.
- Send a follow-up message after the event – You should send out a thank you email with information on how much money was raised and the impact it had on your cause. Following up is a great way to foster a relationship with your audience and encourage future donations with updates on upcoming events.
- You could also include information on upcoming events to encourage further interactions and donations.
Incorporating fun ways for people to get involved with donating
Incorporating fun ways to raise money will encourage more people to donate. You can implement things like:
- Silent auctions.
- Games.
- Competitions.
By adding creative ways to donate you can further incentivise giving while making it fun, helping you leave lasting memories and encourage future contributions.
Providing photo opportunities
Photos are a great way to create user-generated content that raises brand awareness. By providing opportunities for photos through implementing things like photo booths you can inspire them to capture memories and post them on social media. This can help you reach a wider audience and encourage further engagement, helping you reach donation targets and make a real difference for your cause.
Hosting a charity event at Millennium Point
At Millennium Point we have a wide range of event spaces perfect for your next charity event, no matter how big or small. Some of our spaces include:
The Auditorium
This space is perfect for larger events and our newly refurbished stage and screen allows you to host an exceptional charity event. With 354 tiered seats and the ability to host a hybrid event, you can reach your desired number of guests, helping you increase contributions and support for your charity.
Platform
Platform can hold up to 350 delegates and has a built-in bar, helping you create the celebratory atmosphere you want. This can be incorporated with outdoor space, helping you create more interactive donation opportunities and better engage guests.
Station
For those looking to host a smaller event, Station can hold up to 150 delegates and has multiple rooms, allowing you to create a range of interactive activities. It can also adhere to a range of layouts, such as:
- Theatre.
- Classroom.
- Exhibition stands.
- Standing.
- Boardroom.
- Cabaret.
- Banquet.
This allows you to create the ideal layout for your charity event.
So what are you waiting for? Host your next charity event at Millennium Point!
Millennium Point Events presents a bottomless brunch and a special screening of the romantic drama, Dirty Dancing. You’ll have the time of your life at the event, which will include a delicious brunch, 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco and a screening of the film all for £35.00 per person (plus fees). The event will be taking place on Saturday 25th May and starts at 1pm.
Hosted in our giant screen Auditorium, guests can see the iconic romantic drama on Birmingham’s BIGGEST screen.
Purchase your tickets here before they sell out!
‘Nobody puts baby in the corner’
Head back to Kellerman’s Holiday Resort, this time with bottomless prosecco! Join Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman as she develops hungry eyes for the resort’s hot dancer, Johnny Castle. And cheer on Baby and Johnny as they attempt *that* dance lift.
‘This is my dance space. This is your dance space.’ (You after drinking prosecco probably.)
Tickets are priced at £35.00 (plus fees) and you’ll get more than just a screening!
Guests can expect to enjoy 90 minutes of bottomless prosecco, accompanied by a delicious brunch of burgers, wedges and coleslaw.
After you have had your fill, head up to our Auditorium, one of the biggest screens in Birmingham to watch the film.
Our bottomless prosecco brunch events are not to be missed!
Check out our recent Love Actually Bottomless Brunch. Guests got to enjoy the festive favourite, bottomless prosecco and a fantastic brunch overlooking our spectacular 39ft Christmas tree.
Getting to Millennium Point
Millennium Point is in the Eastside of Birmingham City Centre just 5 minutes’ walk from Moor Street and 15 minutes’ walk from Grand Central and the tram. There is also limited parking onsite parking which means we’re easy to get to regardless of how you travel. For more information, please click here.
Millennium Point is delighted to support the Engineering Inclusive Futures scheme spearheaded by Birmingham Open Media (BOM). This initiative brings an extraordinary opportunity for 20 Special Educational Needs (SEN) learners to immerse themselves in engineering, gaming, and virtual reality, showcasing the power of inclusivity in technology. The Millennium Point Charitable Trust’s funding enables a series of workshops designed to bring technology closer to the students.
The project kicked off with a workshop at Aston University, where SEN students from Birmingham’s Wilson Stuart School explored the Rock Mobility Climber wheelchair, presented by Rock Engineering. This not only allowed the children to voice their thoughts on the design but also served as a bridge between them and the world of product development. Timothy Whitehead, a Product Design lecturer at the university, delivered a thought-provoking seminar which was then followed by an exciting virtual reality workshop.
Chloe Lawson, Director of Learning & Inclusion at BOM, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled that Millennium Point is supporting us. We’re working with top-notch engineering organisations and helping them realise that the relationship between them and young beta testers is really important for the future of inclusive technologies.”
Abbie Vlahakis, CEO of Millennium Point, expressed her enthusiasm for the project: “We are incredibly proud to support Engineering Inclusive Futures. By providing these young minds with the opportunity to interact with cutting-edge technology at some of the world’s most innovative organisations, we’re not just educating them – we’re empowering them to become the problem-solvers of tomorrow.”
Engineering Inclusive Futures represents a huge leap towards realising a future where every child has the opportunity to explore, learn, and thrive in the STEM fields.
STEM grant funding is a great way to encourage children to get into the STEM industry. Funding can help schools or businesses provide opportunities and remove barriers in the way of children exploring STEM activities or a career within a STEM-related subject like science, technology, engineering and maths.
In this blog we’ll delve into the various benefits of STEM grant funding and how it can shape children’s futures.
What is STEM grant funding?
STEM grant funding is where organisations, institutions, government agencies or foundations provide financial support for individuals, not-for-profit organisations or educational institutions, within Science, Technology, Engineering or Maths.
Grant funding aims to promote and advance STEM education, research, innovation and workforce development by providing funding, resources and opportunities that align with STEM-related goals.
The benefits of STEM grant funding
It helps provide equal opportunities for all children
STEM grant funding plays a crucial role in providing equal opportunities for all children. Funding often helps to support schools, children and businesses in underserved areas to help bridge the opportunity gap within the STEM industry.
Funding can also provide STEM materials, teacher training and extracurricular activities that encourage students to explore various opportunities within the STEM industry. This can play a huge part in creating a more diverse and inclusive society by levelling the playing field for all children, no matter their background.
It encourages innovation
STEM grants can act as a catalyst for innovation. By providing financial support to researchers, entrepreneurs and organisations it allows them to undertake groundbreaking projects. Grants can fuel innovation by enabling the exploration of new ideas and technology and allows individuals and teams to take risks, push boundaries and turn concepts into reality.
Ultimately STEM grant funding allows complex challenges to be tackled that reshape industries and society.
It helps to support STEM career development
Grant funding can go a long way toward supporting STEM career development by offering financial assistance that can be used to create scholarships, internships and educational opportunities. This can help to remove financial barriers that prevent students from pursuing a career in STEM.
STEM grants often promote mentorship and networking, helping students interact with like-minded people. Mentors can also help guide them through their journey in the STEM industry, helping to create a stronger, more diverse and talented workforce.
It helps to strengthen the workforce
Grant funding helps to strengthen the workforce by supporting educational initiatives, training programmes and skill development activities that equip individuals for the skills needed to work in the STEM industry. As a result, the workforce is more adept at dealing with challenges and driving innovation. This helps to strengthen the workforce as a variety of industries will gain access to highly skilled and adaptable talent.
Encourages collaboration
The financial incentives of STEM grant funding encourage various stakeholders in the STEM industry to work together. For example, partnerships between educational institutions, research organisations, businesses and not-for-profit organisations can be formed to tackle complex issues and challenges.
This can help to spread awareness of the STEM industry, encourage more people to undertake an education and career in the industry and improve society by solving various problems with the latest technology. Ultimately, encouraging collaboration within the STEM industry can have huge positive effects on both the industry and the planet as a whole.
STEM grant funding at Millennium Point
The Millennium Point Charitable Trust provides funding to not-for-profit organisations, schools and colleges across the West Midlands Combined Authority yearly. The grant provides up to £20,000 to applicants for their STEM related project, subject to meeting eligibility requirements. We also welcome smaller grant applications of £1,000.
We accept applications from:
- Schools.
- Voluntary or community organisations.
- Registered charities.
- A constituted group or club Not-for-profit company or community interest company.
- Community Interest Company/Social enterprise.
- Statutory body (including town, parish and community council)
We don’t accept applications from:
- Universities.
- Hospitals or hospices.
- Individual Companies or sole traders that are aimed at generating profits primarily for private distribution.
- Organisations based outside the UK; we only accept applications from the geographical area covered by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
- Applications made by one organisation on behalf of another.
- More than one application per organisation.
STEM scholarship
We have partnered with Birmingham City University to provide a fully funded undergraduate degree at their Faculty of Computing, Engineering and Built Environment.
To apply for our scholarship you’ll need to meet the following criteria:
- You live in the West Midlands Combined Authority area in the United Kingdom. We don’t accept international applications.
- You are looking to start an undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.
- Your chosen course is listed on our website under the ‘What Courses are Included’ section.
Hosting a corporate event is exciting and a great way to engage with your staff or a range of companies within your industry, as it can encourage networking and building strong relationships. Corporate events also help to foster innovation and drive brand awareness.
Here are a few ways you can ensure you host an engaging corporate event:
1. Define your objectives
When planning any event it’s important to set your objectives. A key objective to consider is how you engage with your audience. Understanding what your goals are will allow you to pinpoint topics, themes and conversations you want to use and encourage to help you meet your goals. This will also help you stick to your set budget and plan and promote your event successfully.
2. Understand your audience
When you fully understand who your audience are, their behaviours and preferences you’ll be able to grab their attention and get them to participate with your event. This can help you choose themes and topics of discussion within your event and any activities or aspects of participation that you want to include.
Once you know who your audience is you can start marketing campaigns and processes with a targeted approach. This will help you increase attendees and encourage guest speakers to promote your event. You could also create a dedicated hashtag for the event to promote engagement before it even starts. This will spread further awareness of your brand, create excitement around the event and boost sign ups, attendants and/or ticket purchases.
This can simply be done through social media posts for free, meaning your marketing doesn’t necessarily have to eat into your budget.
3. Pick the right venue
Venues are an integral part of the experience of a corporate event. If you choose a venue that doesn’t align with the topic or theme of your event you won’t curate an environment that reflects your goals, ultimately leading to a disengaged audience.
By already defining your goals and audience you should be able to narrow down the type of venue that aligns with your event.
At Millennium Point, we have a range of spaces perfect for any event. For example, Station, Express and the Auditorium are great venues to hold conferences and corporate events. If you’re looking to hold a more extravagant gathering the Auditorium could be a great option as it’s been newly refurbished with a giant screen and stage. This allows you to host awards ceremonies, talks or presentations.
4. Incorporate interactive aspects
Incorporating interactive aspects into your corporate event should add value to your event and keep your audience engaged. For example you could include:
- Keynote speakers and presentations – This will help set the tone of the event and introduce key industry speakers that can spark conversations and innovation.
- Panel discussions – This can bring together a group of professionals that bring different perspectives and experiences that can provide knowledge and inspire your audience.
- Breakout sessions – This gives the audience the opportunity to discuss and reflect on topics discussed during the event. This can take the form of workshops and training seminars.
- Interactive activities – You can implement things like live polls and group activities to encourage collaboration and engagement.
5. Provide entertainment
Adding entertainment into your corporate event will help you host a more engaging event. You can include things like:
- Live music.
- A magician.
- A comedy Act.
- A photo booth.
Implementing live entertainment can break the ice between guests, spark conversations and boost engagement. Your entertainment can align with your objectives and build a positive brand reputation.
6. Personalise the experience
You can personalise your guests’ experiences by tailoring things like their agendas, activities and interactions based on their preferences and interests. This can increase the likelihood of attendees getting involved in activities throughout the event.
Personalising the event can improve guest experiences, making them more likely to attend future gatherings and get involved with your company.
At Millennium Point we can help you host an exceptional corporate event that heightens your brand reputation and guarantees guest engagement. Explore our range of event spaces today.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is fast approaching, but women shouldn’t just be celebrated once a year! That’s why Millennium Point works hard to provide equal opportunities for women.
This blog will explore the importance of International Women’s Day and what we’re doing to empower women all year round.
The importance of International Women’s Day
International Women’s Day takes place annually on the 8th of March and celebrates the accomplishments of women within culture, politics, the economy and society at large.
IWD is important for a number of reasons, such as:
It explores a different theme each year
Each year IWD explores a different theme. This year is ‘Inspire Inclusion’, where it’s encouraged to inspire others to understand and value women’s inclusion so that we can forge a better world. Furthermore, when women are inspired to be included, they feel valued and feel a sense of belonging, relevance and empowerment.
Being able to explore a new theme each year will allow crucial issues and topics to be explored and awareness to be raised.
It’s an opportunity to celebrate women’s accomplishments
Women have played crucial roles in various parts of history, such as voting rights, civil rights, LGBTQ+ rights and much more. They’ve also made significant contributions and achievements within various industries such as:
- Medicine.
- Science.
- Literature.
- Politics.
It highlights what work still needs to be achieved
While International Women’s Day celebrates and recognises what has been achieved, it’s also a great opportunity to highlight what still needs to be done.
It’s an opportunity for schools and organisers to educate children
Implementing one dedicated day to celebrate women gives schools and organisations the opportunity to introduce topics that aren’t usually taught all year round. They can also use this as an opportunity to tailor IWD to their industry or topic. For example, many STEM industries previously frowned upon women working within them, causing a lack of role models and diversity. Schools and organisations can explore how this has changed and what still needs to be done to close the gender gap and create equal opportunities for women in all industries.
International Women’s Day Conference and Exhibition
We’re hosting an inspiring and empowering International Women’s Day conference and exhibition on the 8th March 2024 to celebrate women’s achievements and promote gender equality.
This in-person event brings together influential speakers, including fashion entrepreneur Karren Millen and Software Engineer Parris Small where thought-provoking conversations will be encouraged. So why not come and take part in this incredible celebration of women’s achievements and the journey of building a more inclusive society?
The exhibition will include a range of stands and a seminar stage where content will be delivered to individuals, small businesses and young females. The event is free to attend and don’t forget this event isn’t just for women! Getting as many men as possible involved encourages conversations that help close the gender gap and ignite change.
The exhibition time table goes as followed:
10:00 AM Welcome & Introduction
10:30 AM Motivational Networking
11:00 AM How to Start and Scale Your Business
11:30 AM The Magic of Writing Your Book
12:00 PM Funding Females
12:30 PM Mental Health & Wellbeing
1:00 PM Women In STEM
2:00 PM Women in Media
3:00 PM Empowering Girls for Career Success
4:00 PM Building Your Personal Brand
4:40 PM Monetise your Passion
5:10 PM Finish
If you’re looking to get involved, book your ticket for the exhibition here.
STEM grant funding
We offer excellent STEM grant funding opportunities where not-for-profit organisations, schools and colleges across the West Midlands combined area can gain up to £20,000 to fund their STEM projects.
The grant will be provided depending on eligibility and how well a measurable impact in STEM can be demonstrated. Applications for smaller grants of £1,000 or more are also accepted.
We accept applications from:
- Schools.
- Voluntary or community organisations.
- Registered charities.
- A constituted group or club.
- Not-for-profit company or community interest company.
- Community Interest Company/Social enterprise.
- Statutory body (including town, parish and community council)
We don’t accept applications from:
- Universities.
- Hospitals or hospices.
- Individuals.
- Companies or sole traders that are aimed at generating profits primarily for private distribution.
- Organisations based outside the UK; we only accept applications from the geographical area covered by the West Midlands Combined Authority.
- Applications made by one organisation on behalf of another.
- More than one application per organisation.
Our grant programme helps to provide equal opportunities in educating both girls and boys in the STEM industry and aims to encourage them to undertake a career in STEM.
STEM scholarship
We’ve partnered with Birmingham City University to provide 1 fully funded undergraduate degree at their faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.
Applications are currently open and will close on the 15th of March 2024. Applicants will also need to be available on Tuesday 7th of May 2024 for our assessment day. If you become the lucky winner you’ll receive a scholarship where your tuition fees will be paid for. If you don’t win we’ll invite you to attend developmental workshops that focus on supporting your personal development and professionalism within interviews and presentations.
If you’re interested in applying you’ll need to meet the following eligibility criteria:
- You live in the West Midlands combined authority area in the United Kingdom. International applications aren’t accepted.
- You will be 18 by September 2024 and want to start a degree in Birmingham City University’s Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment.
- Your chosen course is included on our website under the ‘What courses are included’ section.
- You’re available to participate in our finalist workshop on Saturday the 20th of April and the assessment on Tuesday 7th May.
Charity events are a great way to raise money for important causes. But this can be a little daunting. That’s why we’ve created a step-by-step guide to help you effectively plan a charity event that gains donors and attendees and achieves your fundraising goals.
Here are a few steps you should follow:
Step 1: Determine the goal of your event
Like any event, it’s important to determine what you want to get out of it. Determining goals allows you to track and measure the success of your charity event. For example, it’s a good idea to set a goal on how much money you want to raise. This will encourage larger donations from attendees as they’ll want to help you reach your desired amount.
Other goals may include:
- Acquiring new donors.
- Promoting your cause and getting publicity.
- Engaging with potential donors.
- Reconnecting with existing donors.
Set a budget
For a charity event to be successful it’s important to remember that significant money and time may need to be invested. To ensure you keep on top of costs, raise as much money as possible and deliver an engaging event, it’s a good idea to create a detailed budget before you start spending money. Your budget should include costs for things like:
- The venue.
- Entertainment.
- Fundraising and/or auction software.
- Marketing and advertising.
- Catering and refreshments.
- Invitations.
- Furniture, crockery and cutlery.
- Staff.
- Any video, presentation or audio equipment.
Choose the type of event you want to hold
When planning your charity event, it’s important to define the type of event or theme you want to use. When deciding this you should consider what will resonate more with your guests and encourage better engagement. To get a better understanding of this there are a few questions you can ask yourself:
- What do our guests prefer to get involved in?
- Where do our attendees live?
- Will the weather have an effect on my event ideas?
- Does my cause have a specific demographic?
These questions will allow you to narrow down the type of charity event you hold and any set themes. For example, some types of charity events include:
- Fun runs or walkathons.
- Competitions.
- Fashion shows.
- Auctions.
- Exhibitions.
- Galas.
- Concerts.
Research and book a venue
Choosing the right venue is crucial to having a successful charity event. You’ll want to make sure your venue fits your theme, accommodates your cause and is easy to get to for your audience.
Venues are usually the biggest cost and while you want to create an excellent event, you don’t want to overspend or significantly underspend your budget. When looking for a venue you can ask yourself a few questions, such as:
- Does the venue fit my theme?
- Does it have enough space to accommodate the number of guests we want to invite?
- Does this venue have any previous experience hosting charity events?
- Does this venue fit my budget?
- Can tickets be reasonably priced based on the cost of the venue?
Promote the event, send invites and sell tickets
After spending numerous hours planning the perfect charity event, you don’t want to neglect to promote the event, send invites or sell tickets.
Marketing your event helps you reach a wider audience and encourage people to buy tickets, helping you to sell out your event and reach your fundraising goal.
Social media is a great way to promote your event as it’s often free and helps you reach an already acquired audience. It also allows you to post regular updates and photos taken during the event for guests to easily access and keep up with any changes or updates.
You can also send out invitations to those you want to attend helping you curate the perfect set of donors and attendees. This can also encourage others to buy tickets as influential people relating to your cause may influence ticket purchases and conversations about your event.
Set up the event
It’s the big day! That means it’s time to start putting all of the finishing touches in place. This may include:
- Making sure the entertainment knows where to park, the time they’re performing, when they need to arrive and the time of any rehearsals.
- Decorating the venue.
- Preparing food and refreshments.
- Setting up tables.
To ensure the day runs smoothly it may be a good idea to create a clear and thorough schedule for the day. This could also include information on dress codes and the times different team members need to arrive. Creating these should, in theory, mean that everyone is on the same page and understands their requirements and the overall plan.
Get in touch with attendees after the event
Getting in touch with your attendees after the event makes them feel valued and like they’ve played an integral part in something special.
Sending thank you notes and updating guests on how much was fundraised lets them know the impact the event has had on the cause. This also helps you build strong relationships that lead to returning guests and donors helping you make significant contributions to your cause in the long-term.
Hosting a charity event at Millennium Point
We have extensive experience in hosting a whole range of events, including charity events and our spaces benefit from:
- Being fully flexile – Multiple of our spaces are perfect for a variety of events.
- Outstanding services and add-ons – We offer bespoke catering and hybrid and virtual events to help you accommodate all of your guests.
- Being in the heart of Birmingham – We have onsite parking and are close to various train stations as well as being a short walk from the city centre. This gives guests multiple transport options helping you gain a bigger turn-out.
Many of our spaces also come with tables and chairs allowing you to create your desired seating plan if required. Our Auditorium is also perfect for a range of events like awards shows and auctions due to our giant screen and stage.
Formerly known as the first IMAX, the Auditorium has comfortable tiered seating where up to 354 delegates can be seated. It’s also equipped with Datavideo PTC-280 cameras giving you the opportunity to live stream your event.
If you’re looking to host an exceptional charity event, explore our range of event spaces and their benefits.