
A couple weeks ago, someone presented the idea of a Tweetup at Radius, a high-end restaurant and lounge in Boston’s Financial District (I run the valet operations there.)
What a great idea, I figured. If there was ever a way to draw my social media friends from New York (hello, Matt?) up to Boston, a restaurant on par with NYC’s best would be it.
I presented the idea to the masses on Twitter, and got nearly universal approval of the idea. The question was, how to go about this? If only 10-20 people showed up, it would be best to just meet up in the lounge, have drinks and appetizers, and socialize. If I could get upwards of 40+ people to show, then the prudent idea would be to reserve the private dining room.
Just off the initial, hey-would-you-go questions, I knew that there would be good turnout. The private dining room it is! That’s gonna cost some money. Luckily, in one of those early tweets was possible help from a local social media company, should I need it.
This got me to thinking. This is going to take some real, heavy duty organizing. If I’m going to go through the effort of bringing this all together, why not do it for more than a hey-we’re-all-awesome-cuz-we’re-on-Twitter meetup?
Thus was born the idea for a social media fundraiser.
I’ve always wanted to help. Domestic violence is something that my family has faced, and ending it is something I feel particularly strongly about. I’ve contacted one anti-domestic violence organization to see about helping them. Now I’m waiting for a reply
So, everything is hypothetical right now.
I know it’s going to be held in mid- to late-September; I’m thinking a Wednesday or Thursday evening after work. I know I want it to be at Radius, but I can’t get Radius booked until I have the money to do so. I won’t have financial backing until I know how much the event will cost. I won’t know how much it will cost until I get a proper head count of committed attendees. I’m also thinking about ways to raise funds for the charity, from registration fees, to raffles and silent auctions.
Suggestions? I’d love to hear them!
One thing I’m sure about is that this will be entirely promoted through social media. I will not call or mail anybody anything. I will use my blogs, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and any other online social space to build attention. This is going to be a completely transparent process, so you’ll know everything I know.
I would love your support as well.
Are you part of an organization that could provide financial sponsorship to cover the costs of securing the space? Any promotional help on your blog or on social networking sites would be greatly appreciated. Any guidance or recommendations you have is welcome, too.

This is a fantastic idea, and a huge cause. Thank you for taking social media and using it to look for a little social justice, my friend. I love your heart for this stuff.
I am in, however you need my support
Marketing, idea bouncing, talking it up, etc. Just let me know
not sure how much financial help I can be, but I’ll do my best there also.
Leslie Poston
Profy.com Social Media News and Reviews
UptownUncorked.com Social Media Consulting, Bringing People Together
Blorge.com Blog Family: Technology With Attitude
of course I’m in - anything I can do to help, dude
I think that’s great!–Amanda Gravel and I are amidst organizing a “social media prom”… AKA an excuse to dress up all pretty and hang out with fun people. Perhaps we can join forces? Just an idea. I love projects like this.
Anyway I can help, my friend, you know how to find me.
Thank you, everyone. I’m still working out numbers as far as how many can attend and how much that will cost.
The biggest and best way you can help me right now is to get the word out. Write about it on your blog or Facebook, tweet it, whatever. Just let people know what’s going on so we can get the best turnout possible.
Thanks again!
I’m in! Let me know if you need help!
Just discovering what this idea turned into - excellent! One of my best friends in Maine has been a domestic violence case manager for 10+ years, hmmm, let me ponder. Very happy to help!
Gradon, great thinking. I would love to help spread the word about the event and help brainstorm any ideas with you when you get stuck…maybe we could throw together a casual post-work Tweetup in the next few weeks to get a few folks together and get the brain cogs turning…?
[...] been twelve days since I’ve brought up the idea of a Social Media Fund Raiser. That time’s been spent trying to figure out things like how many people will come, how long [...]