EVENT OVERVIEW:
On Friday, November 22, 2024, the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle hosted their 23rd Annual Breakfast: ‘Era of Essential Service’ featuring special guest, Taraji P. Henson!
The Annual Breakfast is a celebration of the essential programming and services ULMS provides to the community in the focus areas of health, housing, entrepreneurship, advocacy, education, and workforce development. The 2024 event will also include a special emphasis on hope in action with a future forward focus of the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle’s mission
HIGHLIGHTS:
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Event Date: 11/22/2024
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Total Guest Count: 2,350 attendees
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Total Event Sponsors: 54
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Total Individual Donors: 239
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Total Dollars Raised: $1.3M
MY ROLE:
Creative Director
For this event, I served as Creative Director, with responsibility for leading the creative vision, communications strategy, and production coordination.
My core responsibilities included the following:
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Established the event’s creative vision and aesthetic, defining the overall look and feel, including color palette, typography, backgrounds, and key visual design elements.
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Designed and produced all digital assets, including the official event invitation, sponsorship packet, live presentation slides, post-event survey, social media advertising assets, and the official event landing webpage.
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Designed and produced all print materials, including donation pledge cards and the custom Black Business Directory.
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Led all event-related communications, drafting and distributing correspondence to partners, sponsors, and community stakeholders. This included the initial press release, outreach to returning and prospective sponsors, sponsorship follow-ups, event updates, registration reminders, table captain communications, and post-event thank-you messages.
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Developed and managed the seating plan for an audience of more than 2,300 attendees.
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Oversaw the production of all event video content, including end-to-end storyboarding, coordination of filming with honorees, and final review and approval of deliverables.
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Coordinated and managed key event vendors and stakeholders, including two photographers, two videographers, venue support staff, two high-level production teams, honorees, and special guests.
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Created and managed the official event run of show and detailed on-stage script, ensuring alignment across presenters, production teams, and event flow.
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Drafted interview questions for special guest segments featured during the program.
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Established team roles and delegated responsibilities, ensuring clear ownership and efficient execution across all event functions.
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Designed, ordered, and distributed branded Urban League staff apparel, including purple event shirts worn by all staff on the day of the event.
RELATED LINKS:
Please click one of the bulleted items below to view more.
(A photo of me, my mom, and Taraji)
Official Recap Video
Included below is the official event recap video, which highlights how the creative, production, and communications efforts I led (and outlined on this page) came together to deliver a successful 7-figure fundraising event.
For this video, I sourced and managed a freelance videographer, oversaw the filming and editing process, and provided final creative direction, edits, and approval prior to release.
Black Business Directory
Each event attendee received a printed copy of the Black Business Directory. This directory originated as a project I assumed ownership of upon joining the Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle in 2019, at which time I redesigned, expanded, and established its ongoing management.
At inception, the directory consisted of approximately 15 businesses. I transitioned the directory into a digital platform by developing a dedicated webpage and implementing a standardized submission process that allows businesses to independently submit and maintain their listings. As of November 2025, the directory now features more than 200 local Black-owned or Black-operated businesses across King County, Washington. It is also the most visited page on the Seattle Urban League’s website, generating an average of 60,000+ views annually.
Due to the directory’s strong online engagement, I led the development of a printed edition, first distributed at the 21st Annual Breakfast. Following overwhelmingly positive feedback from attendees in 2022, the directory was adopted as a permanent component of the annual event to further promote local Black-owned businesses to sponsors, partners, and funders. In 2024, I refreshed the print design and expanded its content to reflect the directory’s continued growth. The most recent edition was printed and released in 2024 for the 2025 program year.
Here is the finished iteration below:
Official Invitation
Included below is the finalized event invitation, which I designed to establish and communicate the overall look and feel of the event.
Sponsorship Packet
This is the document I created to solicit corporate sponsorships for the event.
Donor Pledge Cards
There are the donor pledge cards that I created. Each attendee received one and used them to make donations during the live event.
Presentation Slides
Included below are the presentation slides I designed to support and align with the event’s run of show.
Event Programs
Here are the two-sided event programs I created to accompany the Black business directories and donor pledge cards on each table.
Seating Chart
Included below is the seating chart and table map that I created for the event. Each table was individually numbered and color-coded to support real-time visual planning and enable the team to efficiently arrange the room as sponsorships were confirmed and tickets were sold.
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Email Correspondence
Below are selected excerpts from the email communications strategy I developed to engage event attendees, sponsors, and vendors. These communications played a key role in driving ticket sales, securing vendor participation, and supporting post-event cultivation efforts.
The email strategy consisted of 10 targeted messages and achieved an average open rate of 63%, significantly contributing to overall event performance. The campaign included:
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An early giving appeal
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Early-bird ticket announcements and follow-up reminders exclusive to organizational subscribers
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Vendor participation solicitations
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Keynote speaker announcement
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Leadership invitations to previous attendees
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General event updates
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Essential arrival, day-of, and registration information
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Post-event thank-you communications
A performance snapshot of the mass email campaign is also included below:
"Hype Week" Campaign & Social Media Contest: "Guess Who?!"
One week prior to the event, I designed and launched “Hype Week,” featuring a five-day social media campaign titled Guess Who?! to build excitement and anticipation around the keynote speaker reveal. The campaign invited followers to participate by guessing the keynote speaker through daily interactive content.
I created and scheduled content for each day of the campaign, including three progressive clues, an employee reaction video, and a senior leadership teaser. On the final day, the keynote speaker was officially revealed, and participants who submitted correct guesses were entered into a raffle to win two complimentary event tickets.
OUTCOMES:
Over the course of the week, 76 participants submitted guesses, with those who guessed correctly entered into a raffle to win two complimentary event tickets.
In addition to generating strong audience engagement, Guess Who?! also functioned as an informal audience research tool, offering valuable insight into the keynote speakers and themes that most resonate with our community and informing future programming decisions.
Social Media Ads
Included below is the ad set I developed for the event, along with a summary of overall performance and results.
Event Photos
Included below are photographs captured during the live event (photography by others), shared to highlight the event-day environment, room design, and key program moments.
