Holding a fundraising event may seem like a very exciting and profitable endeavor. However, as exciting as it may seem, it takes a lot of forethought and planning to increase its chance of success. Below are some fundraising event planning tips that you may find useful prior to executing your fundraising ideas.
Preliminary Planning
Since pulling off a fundraiser consist of a wide range of different activities, it’s important to get a handle on each activity as early in the process as possible. That way you’ll minimize hiccups from occurring on the day of the event and increase the chances of it running smoothly.
During the preliminary planning process, you will need to determine things like your goals, the best time to hold your event, the type of committees needed, your marketing strategy, identifying your target audience, scheduling and setting up timelines, creating a fundraising budget and more.
Needless to say, creating a successful fundraising event should not be taken lightly. And initial planning is the key to coming close to having a successful event.
Establishing Committees and Subcommittees
When planning your event during its early stages, you should make establishing committees and subcommittees one of the first things on your list. Adding capable and qualified individuals to your team as early on as possible will help you organize and structure the best committees for your event and delegate tasks accordingly. At minimum, you should consider forming the following committees:
Main Committees
- Planning committee
- Marketing and promotions committee
- Budgeting committee
- Host committee
Sub Committees
- Committees for the day of the event, such as a:
- Catering committee
- Decorating committee
- Entertainment committee
- PR committee
- Security committee
The committees you form should be based on your overall needs and should comprise of individuals who are dedicated and support your cause.
Determining the Right Type of Event That Best Reflects Your Purpose
When planning your event you should be careful to choose the right type of event based on a variety of factors. For example, your event should capture the attention of your target audience based on the demographics that are aligned with the purpose of your event.
The event should also reflect your company’s brand as well as your budget. It should attract donors and sponsors with very deep pockets based on your fundraising goals.
Establish a Realistic Budget
Mapping out every detail far enough in advance will allow you to establish a realistic budget that is needed to launch your fundraising event. This includes allocating funding for the venue, meals, entertainment, staff, insurance, decorations, transportation for key guests and other unknown expenses.
In those cases where you may need to supplement your fundraising efforts, professional fundraising companies such as ABC fundraising can offer alternative ways to raise additional funds for your organization.
Have a Good Story to Tell
Nothing moves a donor like a compelling story; especially one that includes the mission and purpose of your fundraiser all while promoting your cause.
The great thing about sharing your story is that it’s easier to do nowadays that it has been in the past. They can be shared through social media platforms as well as through mobile devices where both images and videos can be shared. The use of mobile devices can extend your reach tremendously.
Marketing and Promoting Your Event
After performing adequate market research to determine who your potential donors are, the next thing to do is to determine:
- how to best reach them
- the best marketing messages to use
- the best media outlets to use
Social media has a wide variety of platforms to choose from to help you get the word out about your cause. As indicated above, you can reach more potential donors through the use of mobile devices, which has been responsible for getting stories in front of millions of potential donors with just a few simple clicks.
Establish and Cultivate Key Relationships
Forming the right relationships is a great way to share your cause with the right people. It allows others to share your event and become your mouthpiece and representatives of your cause.
Assessing the Results
One of the biggest takeaways from planning your fundraising event is to make sure you measure the effectiveness of each strategy that you implement. Be sure to determine ways to capture the outcomes of your efforts so that you will know the best methods to use going forward and which ones to eliminate.
