Community based organizations, non-profits, and local partnerships are essential for creating a healthy and flourishing community; but securing funding, building engagement, and sharing your organizational mission with the broader community can be a tall order, especially when you are already busy organizing and running your core programs. Fundraising events are a great way to build awareness, support, and community buy-in, and working with an experienced consultant, like Acquire, can ensure your fundraising runs smoothly. Let’s look at four essential questions you will want to answer before determining the best fundraising event for your organization…
What Is the Heart Behind Your Fundraising Event?
At the core of every successful fundraising event lies a deep-seated desire to make a positive difference in the world. It’s about channeling empathy into action, but in order to mobilize supporters, you need to clearly communicate a WHY people will get behind:
- Clearly articulate your mission and purpose
- Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals to guide your efforts and build excitement with supporters as you near your fundraising goals together.
- Choose fundraising activities that keep the focus on supporting your mission. There are multiple fundraising options, but make sure that your actions align with and reinforce your core values.
- Keep long-term impact in mind: not everyone will give at this event, but sharing the heart behind your organization can motivate people to get involved, spread the word, or give later.
- Once your message is clear, create compelling ways to capture attention and drive engagement.
- Don’t forget to share the story leading up to the event and following the event – build and maintain the momentum that your unique and powerful story to drive engagement well after your event has come and gone.
Who Should Be Involved and In What Capacity?
- Understand the demographics, interests, and motivations of your target audience.
- Tailor messaging and outreach strategies to resonate with your audience’s values and preferences.
- Select a venue that aligns with the tone and scale of your event.
- Consider factors such as accessibility, capacity, and ambiance.
- Choose a date that minimizes conflicts with other events and maximizes attendance.
- Build a dedicated team of volunteers to support various aspects of the event, including planning, logistics, and outreach.
- Provide clear roles and responsibilities, training, and support to ensure smooth execution.
How Will You Engage the Community At Large?
With a solid plan in place, the next phase involves executing the event and engaging participants effectively. Here are some strategies to enhance engagement and maximize fundraising potential:
- Create memorable experiences that resonate with participants and differentiate your event from others, consider incorporating interactive elements, such as live entertainment, auctions, raffles, or experiential activities.
- Cultivate a sense of community and camaraderie among participants, volunteers, and beneficiaries.
- Share stories of impact and highlight the collective contributions of donors and supporters.
- Offer various platforms for attendees to contribute such as online platforms and mobile apps, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, and text-to-give campaigns.
How Will We Maintain Engagement & Momentum? - Don’t forget to follow up! Show appreciation to donors, volunteers, sponsors, and partners for their support AND share the impact their fundraising has had or will have on your organization.
- Evaluation and Reflection: After the curtains close and the funds are tallied, it’s essential to reflect on the event’s outcomes and identify areas for improvement. Conducting an evaluation allows you to learn from successes and challenges, refine strategies, and enhance future efforts.
- Make sure you assess the financial results of the event and evaluate the event’s impact on awareness, engagement, and support for the cause.
- Don’t be afraid to ask guests and participants for feedback.
- Celebrate the results with your supporters: share success stories and milestones with stakeholders to reinforce the impact of their contributions.
Conclusion
Running successful fundraising events requires dedication, creativity, and collaboration. Working with the experts at Acquire can help you develop a fundraising strategy that generates a lasting impact for your organization.
