Everything about your nonprofit’s work requires thorough planning, and that includes fundraising! Whatever fundraising idea you’re trying to execute, you’ll want to prepare well in advance for a successful (and fun!) event.
Before you jump into making your fundraising event a reality, you’ll need to follow these nine steps:
- Identify Your Fundraising Event Purpose and Goals
- Budget for Your Fundraising Event
- Recruit a Fundraising Event Planning Committee
- Consider Your Fundraising Event’s Target Audience
- Leverage Free Event Marketing Tools
- Solicit Donations and Request Volunteers From Companies
- Organize a Ticket Sales Strategy for Your Fundraising Event
- Schedule Your Fundraising Event
- Plan Appreciation Efforts for Your Supporters
- Review Your Fundraising Event Details
By planning well in advance, you can run an effective fundraising event to drive revenue, expand your reach, and strengthen existing supporters’ connections to your organization. Let’s begin.
Follow along with us from the top, or if you’re more of a visual learner, watch this video to learn about five of the helpful tips this article covers:
1. Identify Your Fundraising Event Purpose and Goals
Set clear expectations for your fundraiser, so you know how to measure your success. This way, you can ensure all of your fundraising logistics are on track before you get distracted by the event details.
Begin by quantifying exactly how much fundraising revenue you’d like to raise. From there, you can provide a more informed budget for your fundraising event costs.
To determine your fundraising goal, we recommend reviewing your long-term fundraising plan and creating SMART goals to advance your broader fundraising progress. That way, you can use even your smaller fundraising events to accelerate your larger nonprofit objectives.
SMART goals stand for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound:
- Specific. A goal that’s clearly defined is much easier to make progress towards. “Raising money for Program X” does not provide enough specificity. Instead, opt for clarifying how much money you’d like to raise, what date you’d like to raise it by, and the strategies you plan on using to raise your funds.
- Measurable. As mentioned above, determining the exact amount of funds you’d like to raise through your event is crucial. However, money is not the only metric to consider in fundraising events. You can also measure metrics like guest attendance and new donor acquisition.
- Achievable. Stretch goals are great, but realistic ones define what’s reachable. Consider your donor base size, the success of previous campaigns, the time of your event, and your average donation size to guide you toward an achievable goal marker.
- Relevant. Keep your goals relevant by connecting them to your event type. For example, if you are running a nonprofit fundraising shoe drive, your plan could involve earning X amount of shoe donations to further your cause.
- Time-bound. Provide a target date for when you’d like to achieve your fundraising event goals. How much do you hope to raise by the end of your event night? Will you be accepting donations for a time following your event?
Regardless of the specific goals you choose to target, you want to be sure they are measurable and quantifiable. That way, you can use evidence that your event was, indeed, a success!
2. Budget for Your Fundraising Event
Choosing a profitable fundraising idea ahead of time can minimize the risk of unexpected costs. Research and compare popular fundraising ideas that have performed well in the past and explore ideas that will engage your target audience. You never know; through your research, you might find that a hybrid or online event may work better than an in-person event.
When you work on your budgeting and planning, it’s not all just about dollars and cents. For instance, let’s say you want to send printed invites in the mail in addition to email invites. Printing costs can add up, but instead of covering this expense yourself, consider getting local businesses to sponsor the printing in exchange for free marketing. It’ll help them promote their brand and also help you save money.
Your budget should account for space rental costs, catering, entertainment, and other relevant fees. Also, you’ll want to raise more money than you expend to reach your fundraising goal. So take the time to think carefully about every possible expense and try to look towards outside sources for support.
Finding outside sources can but does not have to mean securing corporate sponsorships. Nonprofits can also ask donors for in-kind donations. If an organization is hosting a silent auction, for example, it can reach out to donors to help them procure exciting auction items.
3. Recruit a Fundraising Event Planning Committee
To ensure the success of your fundraising event, you’ll need volunteer help. So, look to your board members, staff, and volunteer team to become members of your event planning committee. Securing their time will lay the groundwork for a reliable planning team.
To reduce confusion and maximize your event payoff, you can organize your volunteers by leadership position based on your fundraising event type. With standardized volunteer roles in place, you can easily delegate necessary tasks. For ideas, some typical volunteer roles include:
- Ticket Sales Manager
- Catering and Venue Manager
- Volunteer Manager
- Donor Outreach Manager
- Marketing and Promotions Manager
However, the work isn’t over after recruiting volunteers. It’s essential to train them so that they can fulfill their responsibilities successfully. Consider including a volunteer handbook to keep all volunteer and event-related information in one place for supporters to reference. Include items like a welcome letter, volunteer role descriptions, contact information, and conduct expectations in your handbook.
4. Consider Your Fundraising Event’s Target Audience
Regardless of how well-planned your fundraiser is, if people don’t know about your event, they won’t attend. That’s why defining and targeting your event audience with a reliable promotional strategy.
Nail down your audience and their demographics, so you know exactly where and how to reach them. You can do this by segmenting your audience by similar traits, starting with donor type (small, medium, major, first-time, and lapsed donors). Then, within each donor segment, find their average career type, age, location, etc.
For instance, if many of your major donors are above middle age and respond well to email and direct mail communications, you might consider implementing those communication platforms into your event promotional strategy.
Depending on your target audience research, other platforms you can use to build your multichannel marketing strategy include:
- Email marketing
- Direct mail
We recommend attracting attendees using various promotional methods and leveraging your nonprofit website and current communications. Remember that some people will respond to print, while others prefer digital. As your RSVP deadline gets closer, recruit a team of volunteers to work the phones and encourage people to attend.
5. Leverage Free Event Marketing Tools
In addition to the more traditional marketing methods listed above, there are also ways to promote your event at no cost to your organization. Enter the Google Ad Grant.
The Google Ad Grant offers $10,000 in monthly ad credits to eligible nonprofits so they can promote their websites online. Nonprofits hosting events can take advantage of this tool to share their event registration or ticket sales pages and encourage people to sign up.
To market your event with the Google Ad Grant, follow these steps:
- Ensure you’re eligible for the program. The Google Ad Grant has program requirements to ensure all participants are charitable organizations. For example, U.S.-based organizations must have tax-exempt 501(c)(3) status. Organizations must also meet the specific program requirements in their country and accept Google for Nonprofits’ terms.
- Complete your application. Before you apply for the Google Ad Grant, you’ll have to register with TechSoup. Then, use the validation token you receive to sign up for Google for Nonprofits. Once you’re a member of Google for Nonprofits, you can fill out the Google Ad Grant application. Google typically reviews and approves applications within three business days.
- Promote your event. By creating highly targeted Google Ads, you can drive users to your event registration or ticket sales page. This is where the grant funds come in. You’ll use them to bid on relevant keywords that potential event attendees might be searching for. That way, your organization can show up on the top of their search engine results page. For example, you might bid on keywords like “nonprofit shoe drive fundraiser” or “nonprofit fundraising gala” so your ads show up when people search for these terms.
- Make your call to action clear. By reading your ad, people should know exactly what action you’d like them to take. For events, desired actions usually include registering for the event or purchasing a ticket, but you could also recruit event volunteers or encourage donations. Depending on your intent, choose a call to action and make it evident to users so they know what you’d like them to do when they click through to your site.
- Track conversions. With the help of Google Analytics, you can measure the success of your ad campaigns. Each of your campaigns will have an associated conversion goal, such as registering for an event or purchasing a ticket. When you use conversion tracking, you can see how many conversions each campaign produced and take note of which ones were most successful.
If you need extra help applying for the Google Ad Grant or optimizing your ads to increase event attendance, contact a Google Ad Grant agency.
6. Solicit Donations and Request Volunteers From Companies
These days, companies are becoming more aware of their duty to give back. Many companies engage in corporate giving as a way to position themselves as socially responsible and increase employee loyalty.
After all, a study conducted by America’s Charities found that 71% of surveyed employees say it’s imperative to work for companies that support giving and volunteering. What’s more, 86% of corporate leaders believe employees expect them to provide community engagement opportunities.
Reach out to your corporate partners to request donations and volunteers for your event. Provide opportunities such as:
- Sponsorships: Companies can financially support your event to cover operational expenses in exchange for you promoting their company.
- In-Kind Donations: Ask companies for any products, services, or venue space that you can use for your event. For example, you might reach out to a catering company to provide food or a tech company to offer audio-visual equipment.
- Volunteerism: Encourage companies to ask their employees to volunteer at your event. They might help with setup, registration, cleanup, or any other activity. This is a great way to get employees involved in workplace giving without asking for direct donations.
If they can’t support you through one of these methods, you might ask them to promote your event to employees, customers, and social media followers. Chances are, socially responsible companies will be excited to contribute.
Using Workplace Giving to Power Your Fundraising Event
Because so many employees want to work for companies that positively impact society, workplace giving has become commonplace. Often powered by workplace giving software, these programs encourage employees to donate, volunteer, and fundraise on behalf of nonprofits.
That’s great news for nonprofits like yours! Companies are a wonderful source of support, whether your organization needs more donations or volunteer power for its events.
Here’s how your nonprofit can tap into workplace giving to power your next fundraising event:
- Event promotion: Ask your corporate partners to promote your nonprofit’s mission and fundraising events within their workplaces. That way, employees will be more likely to support your cause and attend your fundraising event.
- Company fundraising teams: Businesses can ask employees to form fundraising teams to compete with each other to raise the most funds for your event. Alternatively, companies can encourage employees to create individual peer-to-peer fundraising pages to raise money.
- Corporate volunteering: Ask your corporate partners to encourage employees to volunteer. These volunteers can assist with event logistics, registration, and other essential tasks, giving your fundraising event the power it needs to succeed.
- Matching gifts: Many companies offer matching gift programs, where they match their employees’ charitable donations. These programs are known for their impact on employee engagement and participating nonprofits. Promote these programs to your supporters, and they’ll realize they can double their contributions and make your fundraising events more successful.
By integrating workplace giving into your fundraising events, your nonprofit can tap into a network of employees and corporate partners. In turn, these connections will amplify your fundraising efforts’ impact and foster long-term relationships with both individuals and companies.
7. Organize a Ticket Sales Strategy for Your Event Fundraiser
Assemble your planning committee to determine a ticket sales strategy. You should begin selling tickets to your event as soon as possible to increase your potential guest count. To create a straightforward ticketing process, keep the following factors in mind:
- Registration process. Where will you sell your fundraising event tickets? Many nonprofits will create a designated event landing page on their website with an embedded registration form. Create a simplified registration form so guests can sign up with ease and define prices and packages with clear descriptions.
- Ticket packages. Reward early buyers with a discounted ticket rate or promo code. Consider selling a higher-priced VIP ticket option or a family/group ticket option at a discounted rate.
- Attendee management. If you’re conducting online registration, you’ll have a lot of incoming donor data to manage. Partnering with fundraising event management software like Bloomerang or CharityEngine can help you tidy up loose ends. The best part is these software applications integrate directly with your existing nonprofit CRM.
With a thorough ticket sales strategy, you’ll be in great shape to manage and organize your attendee data.
8. Schedule Your Fundraising Event
As your planning continues for your event, determine the program schedule for your event. Lay out exactly which activity is happening at what time, so you can ensure guests are constantly engaged, and your team can follow your program schedule without a hitch.
If you plan on having speakers or video presentations, time everything. For instance, tell speakers how long they have to make their speech. Also, before you send out invitations, ensure you communicate dress code expectations if applicable. Think about the event, theme, and what you want participants to experience.
If your participants are expecting a fun dance-a-thon event, for instance, choose music that fits well with your theme and maintains an upbeat atmosphere.
9. Plan Appreciation Efforts For Your Fundraising Event Supporters
Although thorough planning can help, the key element to a successful fundraising event is your supporters! After all, their contributions are what enable your organization to do its important work, and your event wouldn’t accomplish anything without their participation.
To make your gratitude meaningful, you must recognize your supporters immediately following the event. That’s why you must plan your follow-up before the fundraiser takes place—that way, you’ll have your follow-up materials ready to send out as soon as the event wraps up! Some gifts of gratitude you can prepare include:
- Thank-you letters: Whether handwritten or typed, letters are one of the most personal ways to thank someone. While planning your event, create a template for your thank-you letter to send to donors. You can even pre-address and stamp envelopes to make your letters ready to go! During or after the event, you can fill in each letter with donors’ personal information, seal the envelopes, and drop them in the mail to be delivered as soon as possible.
- Digital cards: For a quick (and fun) way to share your message of gratitude, make your letter digital! Create an eCard with your nonprofit’s branding, fun animations, and a template expressing your gratitude. After the event, you can quickly personalize each eCard by filling in the template with donors’ specific information, such as their names and donation amounts. Your card could be waiting in their email inbox as early as the morning after your event!
- Impact reports: Provide an event recap highlighting the fundraiser’s success, sharing details such as the number of attendees or the amount raised in donations. Then, follow up as soon as possible about how those donations were used to impact the community you serve.
Don’t stop after you’ve thanked donors for their generosity. Reach out to everyone else who made the event a success, including sponsors and volunteers. You should also show your appreciation for your event planning committee and anyone else who contributed to the fundraiser.
10. Review Your Fundraising Event Details
Sometimes, taking a step back can help you see things you might have missed before. Host a practice session or run-through with your team and volunteers to finalize your event preparation, hitting important points such as:
- Points of confusion: Make sure everyone is on the same page about the order of activities and how the fundraiser will operate.
- Individual event-day responsibilities: Go over the expectations for every role, from the event emcee to the thank-you letter addresser. Answer any questions about what the role entails and what to do in certain situations.
- Venue layout: Everything should be in place and clearly laid out for event attendees. Also, make sure your volunteers know the most important parts of the venue, such as where supplies might be held and how to access fire exits in case of an emergency.
Your team should also know how to answer common guest questions or point to someone who can. Go over important talking points so that your team knows how to address potential questions and what language to use when representing your nonprofit. Remember, the day becomes much less stressful when everyone knows how things will go!
Wrapping Up
With a couple of planning steps and practice runs, you’ll be ready to hit your fundraising event out of the park! Remember to mingle and enjoy your event day. After all, it’s evidence of your team’s hard work. Chat with supporters and thank them for attending. You never know who might turn up at your event, so be open to facilitating new and engaging conversations.
