Charity events culminate long months of planning and development – doing schedules, booking venues, and following the procedure.
No matter how well-planned an event is, its true success is reflected in how many people attend and how they engage with the event.
Bringing people to your event is a complicated process, but following a specific action plan will increase your chances of having a high attendance.
In this article, we share with you 4 ways in which you can draw more people to your charity event – and, by extension, boost your campaign’s potential for earning.
1. The Importance of Outreaching
Communication is important to draw attention to your activities. Because of this, you’ll need to be proactive and reach out to those that might be interested in attending your event.
You’ll need to have a two-pronged engagement plan, both internally – within your organization – and externally. Here’s how you should approach it:
Within the organization:
- Look within your internal records. Check your mailing list and effectively message each person on the list.
- Get in contact with people who have attended your previous charity events (or events in general)
- Don’t hesitate to ask your team members to spread the word among their fellows.
Outside the organization:
- Develop a brand for your fundraising campaign.
- Create a hashtag that users can share on social media.
2. Incentivize Attendees
If you’re determined to draw people to your charity event, you will have to give something as a stimulus. People will be spending their time and money, so giving something in return, even symbolically, feels like their effort is acknowledged.
You don’t have to splurge too much on incentives, but we recommend giving items that will draw people’s attention. Something as little as a sticker or a pin could go a long way.
For a long time, non-profit organizations have been giving out T-shirts – they’re suitable for their utility and have a promotional purpose.
If you’re willing to spend a bit more, you could offer special packages for those who bring other people to the fundraiser.
3. High-Value Guests
Attracting new people to increase your donor base is essential, and you should get in direct contact with those who have the potential to be your major donors.
In this situation, it’s not a matter of convincing them to attend your charity event for the first time but instead convincing them to prioritize your event over other important activities. Because of this, you’ll need to have a more personal approach.
You should exclude these donors from your general mailing list and instead create personalized messages for them.
Incentives also play a significant role in swaying these major donors to your side. Physical gifts won’t work here, so we recommend you focus on providing them with better services or experiences. For example, you could reserve the best seats in the venue for those whom you deem to be your most high-valued guests.
4. An Entertaining Experience
Entertainment is your fail-safe method of attracting people. Wherever there’s a social activity, you can be sure that entertainment will cast a big net and lure even more people.
You can integrate an entertainment segment as part of your event’s main program without going too far off from the event’s scope. The performance itself could be a catalyst to incentivize people to donate.
It’s known that people are more receptive when they’re at their best. And after an engaging performance, you can be sure that they’d be more willing to hear your call to action. You can even ask the performer to make the call on behalf of your organization – since it may fit better with the audience.
As for the entertainment, there are numerous options for you to choose from. Magic, music, or comedy all work well within the context of a fundraising event, and it’s up to you to get a feel of what would work best with the audience you’re expecting.
Expand Your Charity Event
The tips we shared with you will surely give you an edge when planning your fundraiser. However, it’s best not to tackle all of these by yourself and instead rely on professionals’ help.
Regarding the entertainment side of your event, we at the Grable Group can help you with entertainment solutions that are perfect for fundraising events.
Give us a call at 615-283-0039, and let’s work together to raise your events to their highest potential.
