Over the years, McLellan Marketing Group has been part of the community teams that launched both Make-A-Wish Iowa’s Jolly Holiday Lights and Youth Emergency Shelter & Services of Iowa’s Duck Derby. Those events have both lived on for years, proving to be each organization’s biggest fundraiser.

This September our third effort will launch, and I thought it would be valuable to dissect the process.

The right charity: To create an event that the general public is going to care about, the charity has to have broad appeal and their work has to have impact on a wide population. The I Have A Dream Foundation fit the bill perfectly. Their work with local disadvantaged students helps the kids get college-ready, both academically and by inspiring them to dream and set goals for their futures. On average, an at-risk child has about a 60 percent chance of graduating from high school. The I have a Dream students? Over 95 percent.

The right event for the right time: Jolly Holiday Lights happens during the Christmas season. The Duck Derby is in the spring, when we’re all hungry to be outside. And this new event — I Have A Dream’s Search The City — will be a weeklong hunt for a silver medallion hidden somewhere in the metro. Participants buy a $5 button that gives them the right to hunt for the medallion. Whoever finds it first will win a 529 college savings account, funded with $10,000 for any postsecondary educational expenses. So naturally, we’re doing it as the kids go back to school.

The right interaction/opportunity: With Jolly Holiday Lights, the interaction is creating a holiday tradition by viewing the lights. The YESS Duck Derby has the excitement of 20,000+ ducks racing and having a shot at winning the grand prize. With Search the City, everyone gets both the adventure of following the clues every day and a shot at finding the medallion and winning the college funds.

The right funding: When a nonprofit takes on a multi-day, citywide event, there’s a lot of risk. Sometimes it takes a few years for the event to garner the attention of the general public and until then, the event must generate enough funds that the nonprofit doesn’t have to dip into their operating funds to cover it.

That’s why, with all three launches, we found presenting sponsors who would underwrite the expenses tied to the event and take the risk away from the nonprofit. For the Search the City event, we were lucky enough to get The Women’s Charity Classic and, in a support role, Bank of the West to come to the table in a big way.

The right partners: It takes more than money. It takes media exposure, distribution channels and volunteers. We worked hard to secure The Des Moines Register, KCCI and WHO-AM, all who will broadcast the daily clues, tell the charity’s story and encourage people to participate. Other media like The Business Record and area bloggers are also spreading the word.

Once we got people excited about the event, we needed a place for them to buy the search buttons. Casey’s and Bank of the West agreed to sell the buttons for us. Volunteers from Sammons and other local companies are making sure the buttons are always in stock and they’ll also be selling the buttons at the State Fair.

The hook: We’re hoping that the hook is the combination of the fun, pithy clues and the chance to win $10,000 will get people talking and searching. The more buzz we can create, the more the charity and Des Moines area children win.

Putting on an event of this magnitude takes incredible courage for a nonprofit. But with the right recipe, partners and a little luck, it can be a game changer for the charity.