If you work for or run your own non-profit organisation, you’ve probably been a part of or attended a fundraising event or two in your time. Whether it’s a simple fun run or an extravagant gala, many non-profits, especially small ones, rely on these events to generate a lot of cash in a short space of time. These events are a lot of fun for attendees, but, when it’s up to you to plan one, there’s a lot more work involved. To help you organise a successful event, here are six tips.
- Start To Plan Early
Organising a fundraising event requires a lot of work. You need to choose what type of event to run, plan the budget, secure sponsorships, market the event, and much more. With all of this to do, it isn’t something that can be planned in a few days or even weeks. In fact, most would recommend that you give yourself a minimum of six months to get every component figured out.
- Build A Great Team
Regardless of how productive you can be, it’s impossible to run a whole event entirely by yourself. This has to be a team effort, which means that you need to build a great one to help you out. With so much work to be done, the team members that you recruit need to be passionate about your cause. After all, without this, they’ll have nothing to get them through the long hours.
- Choose Your Venue Carefully
Before choosing a venue for your event, you need to consider locations that would be most suitable. If you were hosting a colour run, for example, you would want an outdoor space so that it’s easier to clean up the color powder. If you were running an auction, on the other hand, you’d have many more options. Whatever you decide, you must make sure that it’s easily accessible.
- Create A Sponsorship Strategy
While donations are, of course, crucial, it’s sponsorships that can make or break an event. If you attract well-known sponsors to your fundraiser, you’ll give it credibility, allowing you to attract more donors and secure more donations. To ensure that you find plenty of sponsors, you need to create a sponsorship strategy. This should include ways of reaching out to potential sponsors.
- Provide Multiple Donation Opportunities
Most fundraising events ask that attendees pay for the price of a ticket. This money would count as a donation and go towards helping your cause. However, having a fee for entry doesn’t mean that you can’t incorporate other ways for your attendees to give. The most common other type of donation comes in the form of an auction or raffle, so consider having one at your event.
- Remember To Follow Up
The event may have ended, but that doesn’t mean that your work has. Before you can give yourself a rest, you should follow up with every donor and sponsor and thank them for their help. You should also offer a little information on how their money is going to help your cause. This helps to build a relationship, which is an important step in creating repeat donors.
Organising a fundraising event is a lot of work, but, hopefully, with this advice, you’ll find the task a little easier to handle.
Leave a Reply