Online Publishing Platform Helps Nonprofits Plan Their Events

Every local business has a story worth sharing with the community. This series is as much about supporting companies as it is about celebrating the places and faces that make our community special.

Our spotlight today is on Holly Alexander of Saveadate.

Business: Savadate
Owners: Holly Alexander
Website: http://savadate.com/
Address: 100 South Bedford Rd, Mt. Kisco

How did you come up with the name?

Like a Save The Date card that arrives in the mail from your favorite charity, Savadate is an online events publishing platform that’s FREE for nonprofits to use and lets people know what events are happening when.

Why choose that location? Why start a business in this town?

Savadate began a local roll-out this month because I live in northern Westchester and have wonderful relationships with so many local nonprofits but, ultimately, Savadate is a national platform.

Briefly, what business are you in?

Social media

What’s the most difficult moment or challenge you’ve faced as a business owner?

Because Savadate is so necessary, I’ve had a few large groups get behind the idea with great enthusiasm and attempt to alter its direction to fit their particular needs.

Were there any challenges that made you second guess your decision to be an entrepreneur?

NEVER!

What’s been your favorite moment or proudest achievement since opening?

When the first nonprofit signed up on Savadate and listed an event.

What’s the most innovative idea your employees or customers have had that you put into practice?

I have a social media marketing business, TopSpin Communications (http://www.tpspin.com) and I’ve worked with many nonprofits over the past 5 years to help them promote their events. Each time they’d invest time, energy and resources in planning a fundraising event only to find out that another local organization with the same donor base had planned one for the same night drove me to create Savadate.

How do you deal with difficult customers?

By always trying to look at the big picture.

How does your business give back or get involved in the community?

Savadate is free for nonprofits to list their events and free for people to browse but it will be advertiser supported. At the end of each year, 10% of profits will be allocated to Savadate’s Dividend Fund and any nonprofit that has listed an event during that calendar year will be eligible to apply for a grant.

The plan behind this series at Patch is to shine the spotlight on all our favorite local businesses, and to learn a little about the ones we may not know that well.

This is as much about supporting local businesses as it is about celebrating the places and faces that make our community special.

Click here to get to a simple form where local business owners can answer a few quick questions to be part of this ongoing feature.