HDSA Annual Convention

In May 2024, Saphier Events partnered with Huntington’s Disease Society of America (HDSA) to plan their 39th Annual Convention in Spokane, Washington. The event brought over 750 families, supporters, and experts together from all over the country for a three-day conference filled with inspiring speakers, workshops, a Talent Show, a community Team Hope Walk, a Gala, and much more.

HDSA is the premier nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of everyone affected by Huntington’s disease.

We are looking forward to planning another great Convention for HDSA in 2025!

Learn more about their important work here.

Vendors:

• Venue: The Davenport Grand

• Balloons: Pop Balloon Bar

• Carnival Games: Entertainment Warehouse

• Transportation: MTR Western

HAWC Walk and 5K Run

Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) collaborated with Saphier Events to plan their annual HAWC Walk and 5K Run in June 2024. The Walk and 5K Run included a powerful speaking program from local community leaders, an awards ceremony, pet parade, interactive activities, and kids games. Despite the rainy weather, the event had a great turnout of runners, walkers, local vendors, sponsors, and supporters.

HAWC provides services to survivors of domestic abuse residing in 23 cities and towns on Massachusetts’ North Shore in order that they may make informed, independent decisions about their futures.

Learn more about HAWC and their crucial work here.

Vendors:

• Venue: Salem Common

• Photographer: Molly O’Shea

• Timing Company: Second Wind Timing

• Medals: Crown Trophy

• Food Vendors: Kelly’s Roast Beef, Atomic Coffee Roasters, Cedars Foods, HP Hood, and Wegmans

La Colaborativa Community Event and Gala

La Colaborativa partnered with Saphier Events to elevate the Grand Opening of their Survival Center through a Community Block Party and an Inaugural Gala which was held in their new building. La Colaborativa is a Latina-led organization serving as a reliable and bold ally to Latinx immigrants in the Greater Boston area by developing and implementing a range of programs, initiatives and campaigns to uplift the community.

The Community Event brought together community members, supporters, and families to celebrate with carnival games, a petting zoo, face painting, yard games, and much more!

The Gala celebrated the Grand Opening of La Colaborativa’s state-of-the-art Survival Center opening in Chelsea, MA. The night was filled with lively entertainment, delicious cuisine, and an empowering speaking program.

The Saphier Events team is currently planning La Colaborativa’s 2024 Gala and can’t wait!

Learn more about La Colaborativa and their incredible work here.

Vendors:

• Venue: La Colaborativa Survival Center

• Caterer: Merengue, Puffy Clouds, Esquina Mariachi y Casa Mariachi, Sweet Savory and Spritz, Tu Casa Restaurant, Mi Salvador-Mejico, Aloe Natural

• Entertainment: Mass Production Entertainment

• Photographer: 617 Media Group

• AV: High Output

• Rentals: PEAK Event Services

• Lighting: Love in Lights

• Plants: Tropiculture

• Florals: Dahlia’s Garden, New England Flower Exchange

• Restrooms: New England Restrooms

• Photo Booth: FUN Enterprises

• Balloons: Balloon Joy Boston

The Steppingstone Foundation Annual Gala

Saphier Events partnered with The Steppingstone Foundation to produce their Annual Gala in the SoWa Power Station. The Steppingstone Foundation prepares students from historically marginalized communities to access, navigate, and graduate from college.

The gala featured an incredible speaking program, delicious food, and a lounge ready for intimate networking.

Learn more about The Steppingstone Foundation and their incredible work here.

Vendors:

• Venue: SoWa Power Station

• Caterer: Above and Beyond Catering

• Lighting: Frost Productions Boston

• AV: High Output

• DJ: Greg Wymer

• Florist: Table & Tulip

• Rentals: PEAK Event Services

• Plants: Tropiculture

Partners for Youth with Disabilities

The youth participants at the Access to Theatre showcase hosted by Partners for Youth with Disabilities, hold a special place in our heart. We helped source rehearsal and performance spaces that were fully ADA accessible, supportive of other non profit organizations and overall awesomely unique spaces with a youth audience in mind. 

Arts professionals hosted the sessions while Saphier Events got creative with swag bundles to welcome and excite participants. Custom backpacks were filled with water bottles, journals, stickers, fidgets, and art supplies. We also sourced custom snack packs all of which supported businesses that focus on employment for those with disabilities.

After working with and receiving training from PYD, we plan all of our events through a new lens. It has changed the questions we ask during registration, the way we ensure extra aisle space for all of our room setups, and the onsite services we offer including ASL interpretation, large format versions of all printed materials, and sensory break rooms. 

Learn more about Partners for Youth with Disabilities important work here.

Fletcher School 90th Anniversary

After successes with the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Annual Art Sale, Tufts University brought our team back to work with the Fletcher School: A Graduate School of International Affairs, on their 90th Anniversary campaign. Since October of 2022, we have worked with the Dean of the School, the Department of Alumni Affairs, Marketing and several committees to create a comprehensive year long marketing, alumni engagement and events plan. 

We planned events in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Mexico City, Dubai, London, Tokyo, New Delhi, and Athens. Each event will host a networking component, a fireside chat with notable speakers such as Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, and opportunities for alumni to engage with the celebration by sharing their story.

We are gathering alumni stories onsite in storytelling booths and online as part of a massive oral history project. The goal of the project is to balance the 90 year history with a wider, more diverse, variety of voices. Current Fletcher students have also been paired with a journalism professor to learn the fine art of conducting in depth interviews. We worked with several committee members to identify a targeted list of 50 alumni to receive these in depth interviews which will be highlighted throughout the celebration year.

Saphier Events also conceptualized several on campus branding opportunities. This fall, as students head back to campus, they will be met with a giant Fletcher orange selfie wall, modeled after the famous pink wall in LA. This campus centerpiece with be paired with 2000 mini Fletcher flags that will be shipped out worldwide as part of the “Where in the World is Fletcher” social media campaign. 

Early results are in, and the pre planning stages have paid off with alumni excitement, board support, and calendars marked with save the dates.

To learn more about the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, visit their website here.

Make-A-Wish 2023 Gala

The Saphier Events team was tasked with revitalizing the annual Boston Make-A-Wish Gala. We brought the event from a standard hotel ballroom, where it had been hosted for years, to the SOWA Power Station, Boston’s newest raw venue where we were recently named to the preferred vendors list. We partnered with our favorite caterer and AV team to bring their mission to life! From the creative tablescapes, to custom star auction paddles, a 100 item silent auction, to an hour long heart tugging program, the Saphier Events team had a hand in every single aspect of the event. 

For 10 months, we worked side by side with the development team, event committee, organizational leadership and board, to mine information about past event successes and misses. We wanted this event to represent the best of the past as they celebrated 40 years of wishes in Boston. 

The event site also offered us some unique budget saving opportunities. We used the caterer to serve appetizers and our main course, but then leveraged relationships to bring in donated desserts from 6 amazing vendors and a fully donated bar hosted by 90+ Cellars, The Boston Beer Company and Good Dogg Seltzer. We made the most of the night by offering signature mocktails and cocktails with custom blue cotton candy glitter bombs from one of our favorite women owned small businesses.

With David “Big Papi” Ortiz and Wish Families onstage, we brought in a record setting $1.1 million in donations for the event and set the stage for years to come. We have continued to expand our partnership with MAW and have planned 3 events in 2024 while looking ahead to 2025.

If you’re interested in learning more about about Make-A-Wish’s mission and incredible work, you can visit their website here.

Vendors:

• Venue: SoWa Power Station

• Caterer: The Catered Affair, Cool Cow Ice Cream

• Photographer: Michael Blanchard

• Entertainment: NIghtshift Entertainment

• AV: High Output

• Rentals: PEAK Event Services

• Lighting: Love in Lights

• Transportation: VPNE, Trike Hub

• Plants: Tropiculture

Italian Home for Children Virtual Gala 2020

The Italian Home for Children started 100 years ago during the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918. Now, they’ve become a vital piece to the survival of the greater Boston community during a similar time of crisis. Saphier Events assisted filming on-site for their virtual program, managing and acquiring super-silent auction items, and event production on event day. The proceeds they raised during their annual Gala will go directly towards their therapeutic, educational, and residency programs that aid the families and youth in the community. 

If you’re interested in learning more about about the event, you can visit the event website here.

To view their full program, follow the links to YouTube below: 

• Pre-show

• Virtual Program

Science Club for Girls Virtual Catalyst Awards

Our second virtual event of the season honored outstanding leadership of individuals and institutions advancing diverse girls and women to succeed in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The goal of this event was to showcase the impact of their programs on the community. Saphier Events provided tips for all individuals pre-recording their part of the program, consulted on sponsorship opportunities, assisted in creating the event website and, for the first time ever, produced the event on event day. Science Club for Girls’ Virtual Catalyst Awards was able to raise over $150,000 for their free, hands-on educational and mentorship programs that are paving the way for a more diverse, inclusive world of STEM.

To learn more about Science Club for Girls and the Catalyst Awards recipients, visit their event website here.

Samaritans Virtual 5K Run/Walk for Suicide Prevention

Every year, Samaritans, Inc. hosts a 5K Run/Walk for Suicide Prevention at Artesani Park in Boston, MA. Due to COVID-19, they had to take their event virtual and, like many other non-profits, didn’t know where to start. We helped them pivot an incredibly communal event online for the first time ever. Saphier Events coordinated everything from event t-shirts and fundraising swag incentive drop-shipping to filming various parts of the open program to managing the super-silent virtual auction. If that wasn’t enough, Saphier Events was also able to move two key pieces of their event virtual: the Memorial Scrapbook and Ribbon Wall.

Even though this event went virtual, Samaritans, Inc. was able to raise over $550,000 USD for suicide prevention. All proceeds go towards their life saving services, including their 24/7 helpline, suicide prevention workshops, and grief support services available to the community free of charge.

To learn more about Samaritans, Inc., the virtual 5K and/or donate, visit their event website here. 

What we're up to: Virtual Events

Saphier Events has been working with our clients since late February to completely overhaul events and present them virtually, in some cases, to an even wider audience than originally planned. In fact, we produced one of the very first webinars in early March for the Boston event industry on the expected impact of COVID-19 on upcoming events. We provided information on existing and emerging virtual platforms, tips and best practices for producing virtual events, and the importance of staying engaged with your audience. Since then, we have continued to demo dozens of new virtual products and stay in touch with vendors, venues, non-profits, and other planners throughout the industry to be sure we can offer the best recommendations for our clients.

COVID-19: How to Prepare for Upcoming Events

As we all know, the COVID-19 situation is still evolving hourly. The full effects on the event planning industry as a whole still remain uncertain. Many of us have events coming up in the next days, weeks and months and the impact is still to be determined. As planners, it is our job to have back up scenarios prepared and to keep our clients, attendees, sponsors and other stakeholders informed and calm. 

Topics discussed: 

• How to prepare all stakeholders for an event cancellation

• What to do if you have an event planned for next week, next month, or in the fall, how do you deal with each of them in this climate

• Contracts and Insurance, currently and moving forward

• How are local vendors handling the situation

• What are the major differences when preparing for, and considering to cancel, a local event vs a national or international event

• How do I take my event virtual? 

To view the recording of this webinar, follow this link. 

If you’re looking for a second opinion regarding your current event, we would be happy to assist. Please email your question and/or concern to us at info@saphierevents.com.

Event Planning: From Start to Finish

Jennifer Saphier Whitman leads aspiring event planners through an all-day workshop: Event Planning: From Start to Finish. Hosted at Salem State University, planners learned how to expertly craft any event from start to finish and wow their attendees, colleagues, and boss. Topics included how to create a timeline and budget, work with various vendors and navigate,  negotiate contracts will be thoroughly discussed, and more! Everyone left the class feeling confident that they had the right tools in their toolbox to reach their target audience, engage them, and be profitable.

If you’re interested in signing up for this class, keep an eye out for Summer 2020 opportunities!

The 10th Annual National Mentoring Summit

The Saphier Events team recently wrapped up the 10th Annual National Mentoring Summit at the Renaissance DC Downtown, our 8th Summit! Over 1,300 attendees were able to enjoy over 100 presentations, three main stage plenaries, a VIP dinner at the Library of Congress and an advocacy day to promote MENTOR and the mentoring field on Capitol Hill. To celebrate 10 years of MENTOR’s impact across the country, we were thrilled to host Olympic medalist Ibtihaj Muhammad as a keynote speaker at the summit. As an Olympian, she spoke about her story as a role model, combatting stereotypes, and embodying authenticity. Saphier Events also arranged for a staff retreat, created and managed the registration site in CVENT, and handled all of the logistics for the many fabulous pop up meetings that happened along with the Summit. Planning is already underway for the 11th annual National Summit next year in January 2021! 

Click here to view Ibtihaj’s plenary session. 

To view all other plenary sessions at the 10th Annual National Mentoring Summit, visit MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership’s Youtube Channel.

Holiday Dog Photos with Santa

Circle Furniture Boston wanted to do something special to celebrate the holidays. They wanted to give back to a local shelter and animal hospital and chose MSPCA Boston’s Spike’s Fund. Each day animals who need medical treatment come to the MSPCA Boston. Unfortunately, their resources are limited when it comes to caring for expensive and time consuming medical cases, like emergency leg amputations, hip surgery, open heart surgery. That is why the development of Spike’s Fund became necessary to help those animals most in need of care and support. The special fund is supported through the donations who help them care for the sick and injured animals who cannot care for themselves. So, the Circle Furniture Boston team personally invited Santa to sit and take pictures with customers and their furry companions. There was a raffle to help fundraise. Some of the prizes included a gift card from Bacco’s, a gift basket from PolkaDog Barkery, a gift basket from Loyal Companion, a two-night stay with breakfast at the Park Plaza, and more! We were able to raise over $500 for the MSPCA’s Spikes Fund.

Saphier Events helped come up with the day’s creative concepts, managed registration for our owners and furry friends, brought in a catered spread, found great local businesses to partner with onsite and worked with a local vendor to produce custom logoed giveaways for all.

Impact Awards Breakfast

Photo Credit: Chris Dilts

The Impact Awards Breakfast is one of MENTOR Illinois’ annual events for leaders and innovators in Chicago philanthropy and the mentoring field which honors community organizations, businesses, and key individuals who are making a difference through mentoring. We heard inspiring stories from the award winners, met the leaders and innovators in the field, like Valerie Jarret, the Senior Advisor of the Obama Foundation and New York Times bestselling author, Finding My Voice: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward; Michael Strautmanis, the CEO of the Obama Foundation; and David Shapiro, the CEO of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership; and cheered on the champions who are advancing youth outcomes through mentoring. 

Saphier Events worked closely with MENTOR Illinois’ and the Obama Foundation on all of the advance prep and logistics for the event. We also managed all of the details in advance and onsite with the Urban League Club of Chicago, a historic downtown venue.

Go Big. Go Bold with Color

INTERIORS magazine Editor-in-Chief Erika Heet welcomed a panel of influencers in a lively, informative exploration of how seasonal colors are determined, the intersection of color in product and interior design, and navigating color trends in design. The panel featured Spencer Bass, the Creative Director of American Leather; Eric Haydel, Designer and former ASID New England President; and Elyse Parkhurst, Principal and Co-founder of Norfolk Design. Topics of discussion included how designers choose and name their colors, the psychology behind color choice, how neutrals are used for the foundation of design and more! 

Saphier Events worked with all of the panelists in advance of the event to insure a cohesive presentation and also directed all of the logistics including registration, menu, setup and colorful favors.

This Old House Season Finale Premiere

For the third event in our Circle Furniture event series, we premiered the season Finale of This Old House at their Cambridge, MA location. A long time client of Circle Furniture, and host of This Old House, Kevin O’Connor, offered them an opportunity they couldn’t refuse: to stage furniture in the project house and to be featured on the season finale. With over 200 registrations, this quickly became our most popular event to date. Kevin came to talk about the project and gave our attendees a behind the scenes look before viewing the finale together. 

To learn more about Kevin O’Connor and This Old House, visit his website.

2019 Investors vs. Entrepreneurs Golf Tournament

GreenLight Fund hosts the Investors vs. Entrepreneurs Golf Tournament annually. This tournament allows GreenLight Fund to celebrate the newest addition to their portfolio organizations. This year, however, was a little different GreenLight Fund celebrated a huge milestone in their mission by reaching 100,000 children, youth, and families annually. Not only is the tournament used as a fundraising tool for GreenLight Fund and their current and future portfolio organizations, it is used as a networking tool for their investors and entrepreneurs to get to know each other and network on the links. Saphier Events sponsored a hole, coordinated venue communication, in-kind donation outreach for the raffle, provided on-site support and managed the tournament foursomes. Planning has already begun for 2020!

Geared Up for Kids

Saphier Events has had the pleasure of working with the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation every year for the last 10 years to plan their Geared Up for Kids event. This event is a bike ride and 5K walk run to help fundraise for children’s brain tumor research. After the race, attendees and their families can enjoy a festival filled with music, food, and activities. Saphier Events took care of everything from the permit approvals and route planning, to the full breakfast and lunch donations, and the on-site set up, vendor management and producing the event signage.