Events are a crucial fundraising tool for many non-profit organisations. They are also an effective way to immerse supporters in a memorable and personal experience. However, planning a legitimate fundraiser event involves maximising the funds you raise and getting people excited to show up.
Over the past two years, the event industry has taken a blow because of the pandemic. Fortunately, some companies made the most out of it and turned a tragedy into an opportunity by transitioning to virtual events.
Now, charities are starting to spring up as everyone adjusts to the new normal. So, no matter the scale of your fundraiser, here are a few fundraising ideas in Australia that you can use to organise such an event.
Critical steps in planning a fundraiser event
Establish your purpose
When planning a fundraising event, you must determine why you’re raising money and for whom. Doing so will help you create a marketing strategy in the days leading up to the event while assisting donors in understanding the impact of their participation.
Remember that events that have a well-defined idea create more impact as donors feel more connected to your cause on a personal level. This makes it essential to align all parts of your fundraising strategy so that all channels work towards the same end goal.
Create a goal
When it comes to traditional fundraising, the entire event revolves around reaching the target value. However, nowadays, fundraising means more than getting the necessary funds to run your project. It also means gaining more publicity or reaching out to a new network of possible donors.
If you’re thinking about conducting similar events in the future, it’s best to refer to your previous fundraising activities to understand better what amount to expect. Consider setting your goal to at least 30% higher than your project needs. Doing so ensures that you’ll have enough funds to cover the fees and expenses while helping your beneficiaries.
Compute all the costs
Every aspect of an event has its price — from the actual venue to food and entertainment. So, if you’re working on a tight budget, it’s essential to gather all the costs when computing your budget. This ensures that you won’t overspend when organising a legitimate fundraiser event.
Creating room for unexpected expenses is also critical when budgeting. You’ll never know what will happen in a few weeks. Having a spare room for these unpredictable events will prevent you from being caught out.
Establish your target market
Although it may sound like a practical idea to get as many people as possible to attend your event, all your marketing efforts will eventually thin out, making it far less effective than what you want it to be. So, it’s highly advisable to concentrate your efforts on a specific market.
It would be best to decide which group of people to focus your efforts on to maximise your marketing strategy. For instance, if your event appeals to a more professional audience, you can consider planning a black-tie event. Meanwhile, if you want to attract a younger audience, social media can be an excellent avenue to market your event.
Design an experience
Regardless of your target market, creating a positive experience for your audience is the best way to make the event memorable. One way to do it is by planning an experiential event. You can design the overall theme, colour theme and logo to ensure that your audience will remember your brand. When everything is cohesive, you’re creating a consistent branding that you can use for future promotions.
Creating a theme that ties with your cause and goal is also essential to the event’s success. For instance, if you plan to maximise the donations, creating a high-end auction is the best choice, as long as you have enough funds to handle all the costs.
Form a host committee
It could be stressful to handle the event on your own. That’s why you must create committees to manage various parts of the event.
If you have invited people who support our cause, whether they are your corporate associates or sponsors, let them be a part of the event. This doesn’t only strengthen your ties, but it’ll also give you access to their resources. Even more, you’ll also have a broader circle of contacts with whom you can talk to when planning the entire event.
Start your promotions
No one will know about your fundraising event unless you have an effective marketing campaign to let people know about it. When it comes to event promotions, it’s crucial to find the best way to reach out to your target market. It can be via email, social media or traditional advertising, depending on what your target audience typically uses.
Remember that no matter what channel you use, be sure to send a clear message across all platforms. It doesn’t have to be the same message. You can tweak it a bit, but it still has a similar tone of voice. Also, ensure that it still adheres to your event’s branding.
Establish how you’ll collect all donations
Although the occasion’s ticket sales are another way to raise funds, it doesn’t mean that you can’t find other ways to get the financial assistance you need for your cause.
Aside from cash donations, another way to get funding is through cashless payments. These include contactless cards and mobile payments. In addition to its security features, cashless payments are much easier, especially if you’re planning to do the event online.
Takeaways
These steps in planning a fundraiser event will help you get started. Whether it’s live or online, these will guide you to the success of your event. However, you can also consider working with a company that specialises in fundraising events to get the finances you need.
