Fundraising programs provide an excellent opportunity to unite people, connect with your supporters, and have fun while making it possible for you to raise more funds for your cause.
And while every fundraiser is inherently different, there’s one key element that ALL fundraisers need to be successful: attendance.
Keep reading to discover four practical tips which will help you increase fundraising event attendance.
1. Make the Most out of Your Existing Network of Donors and Supporters
If you have an email list, a social media following, or other connections, make sure you leverage them!
Send emails about the function to your existing list of donors, post on social media, and ask people for help promoting it – even if they can’t attend themselves!
Please provide details about the fundraiser and the cause it supports to make it easy for people to spread the word about it to their friends, family, and co-workers.
This will help increase awareness about your gala and support your goal of getting more attendees.
2. Consider Providing New Donors with Extra Incentives to Attend
Casting a wider net and reaching out to people outside your existing network of donors can be an excellent way to increase fundraising event attendance.
But just letting new people know about your fundraiser and the cause it supports is only sometimes enough to tempt new attendees.
Offering priority registration or discounted tickets are two effective ways to incentives new donors. Consider including them in your strategy to engage new donors early in the process and ensure they will be excited to attend your program.
3. Create a Schedule and Share it with Guests ahead of Time
Many people are often reluctant to register for events when they need to know what they can expect to happen at that event.
One way to remove this obstacle is to create a schedule and share it on your event registration page. Furthermore, a plan also allows you to showcase some of the highlights of your fundraiser.
The schedule should emphasize those “can’t miss” special moments of the event (for example, if you’re bringing in a well-known speaker or entertainer, you should include that in the schedule).
By helping potential attendees identify those key moments ahead of time, you also provide additional motivation for them to attend.
4. Follow Up on Invitations via Email to Increase Fundraising Event Attendance
Be mindful that people you invite to your event most likely have other things on their minds and may forget about your fundraiser.
As the event date approaches, consider sending out an email to remind those on the guest list of your upcoming event.
The point of a follow-up email is to keep your event top of mind and provide people with any additional information that might be helpful for them in deciding whether or not to attend.
For your event to be as successful as it can be, you’ll want to ensure that the people who do understand the purpose of your event and the cause it supports.
It’s essential to have many people attend your event and ensure that the people attending genuinely want to be involved with your cause.
Need More Tips on How to Increase Fundraising Event Attendance?
Then be sure to check out some other articles on our blog now.
These articles cover everything from new marketing trends you can leverage in your promotion efforts to proven strategies that will help boost participation; they are worth looking at.
