Kristen Ferris has always been a planner — whether it was planning parties in college, volunteering for the mayor’s office or serving nearly 10 years in event planning roles with Riverfront Recapture.
Today, as president and chief creative officer of The Ferris Group, a company she co-founded with her brother Eric in 2005, Ferris has transformed her life’s passion into her livelihood.
Ferris credits a big part of her success to the niche she has established in the nonprofit community statewide — a niche that accounts for nearly 60 percent of the company’s business.
“Because I came from a nonprofit background, it was a natural fit,” said Ferris, who is working with 10 non-profit clients, including the Foundation for the Advancement of Catholic Schools, Connecticut Veterans Fund, Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford and the Lyme Academy of Fine Arts.
With many nonprofits in the region still reeling from the economic downturn — and with smaller staffs than a few years ago — Ferris says demand for her company’s services is up. “We have seen a strong uptick among nonprofits wanting to resurrect events that they haven’t had the resources to plan in the past couple of years.”
To meet that demand, Ferris has a group of a dozen or so freelancers she regularly works with. That allows her to respond more quickly to client demands — and provide specialized expertise
“Some event planners focus on specific types of events,” Ferris explained. “We have experience in all types of events — from galas to golf tournaments to ground breakings.” Additionally, her company offers promotional items, marketing support and sponsorship consultation — a diverse business model that enables Ferris to take on part of a project or drive an event in its entirety.
And it’s not just the nonprofits that Ferris is trying to help. “We help our clients understand the true value of their events to their corporate sponsors,” Ferris said.
“Fund raising events are great marketing tools for companies — a chance to align their giving with their corporate mission,” Ferris notes. She frequently works with organization’s to construct sponsorship packages to provide meaningful benefits for corporate donors, whom she thinks don’t always take full advantage of their sponsorship dollars.
That missed opportunity, Ferris notes, is often a reflection of time constraints — the biggest challenge she sees among many non-profit organizations. “It takes a solid year to plan a large scale event successfully,” Ferris says. “But many organizations don’t dedicate the right amount of time.”
That has meant more opportunity for Ferris — who offers nonprofit rates and free consultations to understand the needs of her potential clients.
Having found success in the corporate and nonprofits sectors, Ferris expects to launch a new service this spring — Party Chic — focused on stylizing personal events like holiday celebrations and home parties. “It’s still in development,” Ferris said. In typical fashion, she’s planning ahead.
