Organizing a successful fundraising event is, without a doubt, one of the most popular ways of raising money and gathering support for a cause. However, just planning an event and sending out invitations does not guarantee the event will be a success.
For that to happen, you need to make sure you pay extra attention to a few essential aspects. Please keep reading to find out what they are.
1. A Well-Established Purpose
When organizing a successful fundraising event, there’s something you need to do before you do anything else; and that is to decide what that main thing you hope to achieve is.
Think about whether your sole goal is to raise money or whether the real purpose of the event is to gain publicity, or perhaps reach out to a new pool of potential donors.
It’s not uncommon for fundraisers to have more than one purpose, but you need to know what your priority is.
This will help you establish a cohesive overall strategy, as well as serve as a guide when having to make crucial decisions in the planning process.
2. High-Quality Entertainment
It should go without saying that how your guests feel attending the event will influence that event’s success, as well as their decision to continue to support your nonprofit or not.
You’ll want people to have a good time and remember your successful fundraising event for a long time ahead. Also, featuring great entertainment can help you achieve that.
If you’re interested in creating a memorable experience for your guests, make sure to read this article to discover five amazing entertainment ideas which will make your fundraiser stand out from the rest.
3. Marketing
When it comes to organizing a successful fundraiser, the famous “build it, and they will come” mantra does not apply.
You need to make sure you employ an array of marketing strategies to get the word out about your event and get more potential donors to RSVP.
Here are a few tactics you can try to promote your fundraiser.
- Create dedicated landing pages. These pages should state the most important details about the fundraiser and provide clear next steps on how people can sign up to show their support.
- Social media promotion. Focus on posting visual content and don’t forget to link to your dedicated landing page.
- Reach out to local media outlets. Even if you don’t have the resources to write a comprehensive press release, you can still submit your fundraiser to local event sites and reach an audience who is actively looking for events such as yours.
4. Practice Makes Perfect
Don’t worry. This doesn’t mean you need to do a full run-through of your event beforehand.
However, it is essential that everyone who is working the event knows, ahead of time:
- what their responsibilities are
- where they should be during key moments of the fundraiser
- how the event is timed and how it should “flow.”
If you are having a large or unusual event, you may want to have a practice run with your staff, as well. This will help detect a few last-minute hiccups and ensure everything will run smoothly on the day of the actual event.
Get More Ideas to Help You Plan a Successful Fundraising Event
Are you looking for more inspiration to help you get the most out of your fundraising events? Then you’ll be happy to know you can find more articles on this topic on our site. Take a look now.
