The final installment of our Planning a Fundraising Event focuses on the event follow up steps you need to take after the event. It is easy to assume that the work is done and all the money that was raised is all that will be raised, but that would be a mistake. The work is not complete after the event, and the fundraising for the event target is also not complete. How you take advantage of the excitement generated by the event after the event is over can have a significant impact on the overall funds raised and the impression made on donors. It can also impact your vendor relationships.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Auction
So you want to have an auction at your fundraising event. There are simple ways to do this using paper and pen. There are live auctioneers who can run the show. Then there are auction management software solutions. Today, we will discuss the many benefits of utilizing an online auction management software solution.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Fun & Games
Your event will have many entertaining facets to it. One component that is important to implement is something that makes the evening feel like it is an opportunity to have fun and play games. Games? Well, that can take many meanings, but the traditional concepts such as silent auctions, goal meters, and such are aspects that are frequently associated with competition and winning. These types of activities raise the level of excitement and motivation to participate. Don’t limit your fundraising efforts at the event to mere ticket sales or the traditional direct ask. Induce a social component which will bring a level of deeper community collaboration to participate and do what it takes to raise the funds. Plus, who doesn’t like to be a winner?
Planning a Fundraising Event – Promotion
You cannot have a successful fundraising event without effective and sufficient promotion efforts. Once you have everything in place or in progress, you can begin your promotion campaign to spread the news about your exciting fundraising event. You can simplify this process down to four steps.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Website
Today we will focus on why a website that focuses on connecting with your donors and encouraging immediate gift collection is the best investment you can make during and after your event. Your website is its own fundraising administrator that once set up properly, can continue to serve your organization long-term. It is especially helpful when it is used in conjunction with a specific fundraising event.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Partnerships
One of the most crucial things that your fundraising planning entails are your partnerships with local businesses. It is always a good idea to formulate relationships with local businesses throughout your organization’s ongoing efforts to assist you in easier collaboration, negotiation, and ideally better rates or donations to supply your fundraising events.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Theme
Every fundraising event has a theme. The theme sets the tone and the focus for the event and inspires donors to be taken on a journey of your choosing. This means, you need to consider what the donor might like to experience. Make sure this aligns with your organization’s mission and the program that funds are being raised for at the event. Best of all, you can make this fun!
Planning a Fundraising Event – Budget
The previous installment of Planning a Fundraising Event focused on setting goals. Within the goal setting, a budget will be developed. This is to help establish the concrete numbers necessary for the cost planning for the fundraising event as well as the establishment of a fundraising goal that exceeds this budget.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Goals
Every fundraising event starts by determining a fundraising goal. This is the purpose behind the event and the driving force that generates all activities surrounding the fundraising event. Although it might seem obvious, there are many who interpret a fundraising event as a general effort to raise funds for the overall functioning of the organization. Although this can be a goal, it is more critical to identify a concrete goal.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Volunteers
Every nonprofit understands the value of good volunteers. Some are great at handling the smaller time consuming tasks and others are great at generating public support. They can help to make your event run smoothly, and they can reassure donors that they are very pleased to be involved with the organization’s efforts. They are true advocates for your nonprofit in every aspect.
Planning a Fundraising Event – Staff
This is the first in an 11 part series to walk you through the steps of fundraising event planning. Planning a fundraising event is a major undertaking. As such, it requires a significant amount of planning and budgeting to ensure that the costs and efforts truly bring positive returns. Not only do you want to make your money spent on the fundraiser returned, you want to bring in an abundance of additional funds to provide for your programs and projects. Today’s focus is on staffing.
Fundraising and Word Selection in Campaigns
Word selection can make or break your fundraising campaign efforts. How do you know when to use what word? The focus is always on how you wish to appeal to the audience and who needs to feel something. More often than not, the word that needs to be focused on, is the word ‘you.’
Boosting Online Engagement for Event Planning
Qualifying for grants requires additional sources of income. This takes the form of individual donors, other grant sources, and fundraising events. Fundraising events are not only a great source of sustainable revenue, they are also fantastic opportunities to encourage supporter engagement. This level of engagement makes supporters feel included and helps to reinforce what your organization does and how their support truly helps your organization achieve its goals. Fundraising events come in many forms: galas, street fairs, silent auctions, and more. Planning the event is crucial, and the supporter engagement must be planned intelligently to ensure strong engagement before, during, and after the event. This post is designed to assist you in utilizing the various online supporter engagement opportunities available to you.