Staying true to your values can be a challenge. Broadly Entertaining has figured out how to build a values-based event business.
Giana DeGeiso and Jamie Rosler are the founders of the highly creative and successful event planning and hosting business, Broadly Entertaining. They’re also best friends with a passion for love, laughter, and social justice.
Meet Broadly Entertaining
DeGeiso and Rosler founded Broadly Entertaining in 2017, after nearly seven years working together as professional collaborators and close friends. Together they created their company, which dedicates a portion of all its proceeds to non-profit groups committed to fighting for the most important issues facing the world today.
They do it through fun events like team-building workshops, game and trivia nights, and even wedding services (both women are ordained ministers). DeGeiso and Rosler also branched out to offer virtual events in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Within the myriad services it provides, Broadly Entertaining works with many different kinds of clients, from large corporations to small private parties. When discussing taking on new clients, DeGeiso explains, “You can meet with people, and if you realize you’re not gelling, it’s okay. Planning events, especially a wedding, is a really personal process, and there’s a lot of personality-jiving that has to happen to make the process enjoyable for everyone involved.”
Born Entertainers
Both DeGeiso and Rosler have backgrounds in theatre as actors, stage managers, and directors and find that that has translated very well into the world of event planning.
Rosler moved back to New York after grad school in 2007 and started working with independent theatre companies, through which she met DeGeiso in 2011. They went on to produce a successful improv team; it was the start of a beautiful friendship. Their next endeavor together was co-hosting a weekly trivia night. Rosler remembers, “Our relationship has always been personal and professional at the same time, and we’ve co-managed things from the start. So starting BE was just a natural fit.”
Laughter and humor are big parts of what make Broadly Entertaining so successful. Both women credit their theatre past. “Our relationship and the work we do is based around laughter and having a good time and spreading that to other people,” Rosler affirms. “You can do good while having a good time. You can talk about serious issues affecting the world today and laugh at the same time.”
Staying True To Their Values
The pair were having fun hosting trivia for someone else’s business. But DeGeiso recalls, “The company wasn’t jiving with our belief system and the way we saw our audiences. We really wanted to do it our own way. It’s important for us to champion the causes that we want to champion.”
They often fundraise by doing a ticket split – charging people to come to an event and giving half the proceeds to a chosen organization. Broadly Entertaining also partners with non-profits and sponsors to fundraise through fun events.
Related: How To Make Charitable Giving A Part Of Your Event
Their annual “Party, Period.” partners with and collects donations for menstrual equity organizations. The price of admission is a box of tampons, pads, underwear, etc., and their charitable partner distributes those products to bleeders in need. Another event DeGeiso and Rosler are especially proud of was a fundraiser for Planned Parenthood in partnership with Nasty Woman: A Card Game, Undiscovered Works (a New York City theatre company), and talented local comedians, which took place shortly after the 2015 attacks on the organization. With their values and unique brand of sincerity and levity, Broadly Entertaining was able to respect the seriousness of the issue while still providing a fun and hopeful event for their attendees.
Keeping Up With The Times
In true Broadly Entertaining style, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, DeGeiso and Rosler didn’t hesitate to adapt to the challenges presented. Fueled by the desire to keep hosting fun events and raising money for charities that mean a lot to them, the women successfully transitioned into virtual events and are now offering live and online services.
“Some form of virtual events will still be around in the future, even once the pandemic is over,” DeGeiso foresees. “The hybrid situation – a mix of live and virtual events – is blossoming.”
Rosler says it would be hard to go back to strictly live events since their audience has grown and expanded so much. “It’s hard to go back once we’ve built up these audiences in other places. How can we tell them: ‘That’s it. It was nice getting to know you. We’ll see you next time’?”
Team-Building: An Necessary Ingredient For Success In A Post-Pandemic World
With all the ways work culture has changed through the pandemic, DeGeiso and Rosler say that forming bonds, company values and connections with co-workers is more important than ever before.
“Building cohesion and camaraderie is arguably even more important now because of the remoteness and distance that the pandemic brought about,” Rosler states. “Building healthy relationships around play, being able to be silly and vulnerable with each other, is where our team-building events fit in perfectly. Can you trust the people that you work with to have your back, whatever problems arise? Can you work together as a team, even on something you’ve never encountered before? Find out who has what skills that you never knew about, and how they can serve all of you well in the future.”
Related: Finding your Niche As An Event Professional
Making The World A Better Place Through Events
With enthusiasm for the future and the drive to improve the world we live in, Broadly Entertaining is making their plans and meeting their aspirations easier than ever, thanks to Thymebase’s event-planning software.
“My favorite things about Thymebase are the task list and the timeline,” DeGeiso says. “I start with the task list because there is so much to do for onboarding, even before the real planning begins. From there, I start building a timeline.” Throw in a little theatre razzle-dazzle and the unbreakable bond of two best friends with a passion for change and making the world a better place. Broadly Entertaining can only continue to be a fun force of change in the industry and the world.