Natalie Kate Moss Fundraiser: ‘Through the Looking Glass’
Saving Grace Events recently brought the Natalie Kate Moss Trust’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’ theme to life. Raising over £50,000, this impressive fundraising event was a huge success.
Read on to find out more about this unforgettable charity event at Victoria Warehouse.
About the Natalie Kate Moss Trust
The Natalie Kate Moss Trust (NKM) was set up in 2012, following the sudden death of Natalie at age 26, after an unexpected brain haemorrhage. The charity empowers people to understand how to prevent lifestyle-related brain haemorrhages from occurring, generating funds to support groundbreaking research to treat them when they do.
The brief
Having previously worked with NKM for their ten-year celebration under Concorde, the brief for 2024 was to create another successful fundraising evening, this time with the Alice in Wonderland theme of ‘Through the Looking Glass’.
The main event objectives were to generate awareness about brain haemorrhages and raise money for the charity. We also wanted to create a fun and engaging charity event that guests would want to return to in the future.
The venue
The event took place in Victoria Warehouse’s newest event space, The Tobacco Stores. This venue is a blank canvas with a lot of personality, allowing us to transform the space into this theatrical and immersive fundraiser.
Our solution to the brief
Upon arrival, guests were greeted by Alice in Wonderland characters on stilts, before being welcomed by the Saving Grace Events team. A live wall handed out bottled beers and prosecco, guiding guests through to the drinks reception in the back room, where String Infusion played a beautiful selection of music.
During a sit-down meal, the wonderful Jenny Powell hosted multiple fundraising opportunities (like heads and tails – or in this case ‘off with their heads, caught by the tails’), a live auction, and a prize draw. After dinner, guests were directed to the ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ table to enjoy cakes and brownies.
The after party then took place in the back room, with a DJ and further themed entertainment, like gold mirror ball bunnies and a Cheshire cat contortionist.
Production by Sterling, including lighting and stage design, enhanced the overall theme.
With the help of event sponsor PS2 Print, we were also able to bring further elements together, with large props like a mushroom window vinyl and giant cards on the stage.
Trees and an eclectic mix of ‘mad hatter’ table centres, by Verdure, also added to the atmosphere.
Throughout the evening, Alice herself, the Queen of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter (provided by Winterworks) roamed around the venue to engage with guests.
To add another surprising element to the event, there were hidden draped areas around the room. One contained a giant chess set; the other contained a tarot card reader.
Event highlights
One of the evening’s highlights was the prize draw, which involved guests buying different playing cards throughout the night, without knowing which the winning one would be!
As part of this fun and engaging experience, all guests were instructed to stand if they had purchased any cards in the prize draw. Then, by process of elimination, they were told to sit down if they didn’t have a specific card. When four people remained, they were asked to come up to the stage, where Alice waited with a tray of cupcakes. Each person took a bite of a cupcake – the winning one contained a gold coin, and the winner won a trip to Tuscany!
What makes a standout awards event?
A standout charity event not only helps raise awareness and money for the specific charity, but it also teaches people about what the charity is doing. Additionally, the event should be engaging, fun and memorable, ensuring people want to come back to the next one.
You can read about our 2022 ‘Mancunian Way’ NKM event in our previous blog post.
Are you looking to deliver an event with a difference? Get in touch with our team of experts.