6 Tips for Planning a Successful Nonprofit Fundraising Event

There are a lot of ways you can raise money for your nonprofit, but one of the most effective (and fun) is to host an event. But planning a nonprofit fundraising event is easier said than done. The bigger the event, the more money you can bring in, but it also means more work for you and your staff, so you need to maintain a balance between bringing in enough money to fund your nonprofit without biting off more than you can chew.

​Having said that, there are ways to simplify the process of planning a nonprofit fundraising event, regardless of how large or small it ends up being. You just need to follow these steps:

​Set a Goal Before You Start Planning a Nonprofit Fundraising Event

Before you do anything, you need to determine the goal of your nonprofit fundraising event. How much money do you need to raise for your organization? Are you raising money for a specific initiative, or just to help you keep the doors open for the next few months? Knowing what your goal is will determine every step you take throughout the rest of the process of planning a nonprofit fundraising event.

​Decide on the Type of Nonprofit Fundraising Event

​This is where you need to decide how big your nonprofit fundraising event is going to be, but you also need to make sure it’s a fun event that people will want to pay money to attend. If you’re a large, well-known organization, you can host a ball (or get a volunteer or donor to host it for you), or a charity luncheon. If you’re smaller and more community focused, maybe you host an event in one of your local parks.

​When deciding on the type of event, you should also determine how big you want it to be. Can you handle a room (or park) with hundreds of people? Or should you try to keep it to a few dozen? If you’re selling tickets for the event, make sure you cap the ticket sales at whatever your upper limit of attendees ends up being because you don’t want to end up with more people than your space can accommodate.

​Get Your Space and Your Supplies

​Once you know the type of nonprofit fundraising event you’re going to host and how many people you’re going to have, it’s time to start looking for spaces where you can host the event. If you want to host it outside in a park, be sure to get a permit from the city/village, and you might want to consider a backup venue in case the weather turns against you. If you’re hosting it inside, see if you can get someone to donate the space for you.

​You’ll also probably need seating, food and drinks, and maybe items to raffle off if you’re doing a raffle to raise money. Most, if not all of those things can be donated by local companies or individuals, so ask around and see who would be willing to help you out. Anyone who donates should have an opportunity to promote their business at the event, which leads nicely into my next tip:

​Ask Businesses to Sponsor Your Nonprofit Fundraising Event

​Getting companies to sponsor your nonprofit fundraising event is a great win/win for everyone. You get to raise money for your event/organization and they have a chance to show off their company name/brand while positioning themselves as a company that cares about their local community and philanthropic efforts.

Before you start calling companies and asking them to sponsor your nonprofit fundraising event, make sure you know what you can offer them. Will they be featured on your website for a period of time? Will they get their own table at the event?
Keep in mind that you can offer different sponsorship levels so that someone paying one amount to sponsor your event won’t get all the perks as someone paying at a higher level.

Promote Your Nonprofit Fundraising Event

Once you have everything planned and ready to go, it’s time to start promoting your nonprofit fundraising event. You’ve set the date, time, and location, and you know what activity is going to draw in donors, so start spreading the word. Talk it up to your friends and family. Ask your volunteers to invite their friends and family. Start a social media campaign. See if you can get your local newspaper to mention it in their “Event’s” section. Do some advertising if that’s within your budget.​

Also keep in mind that there are a variety of online calendars that could be useful to you. A lot of people check those calendars to see what events are happening in their area, so take advantage of that opportunity for extra visibility.

Rinse and Repeat

After your event, it’s important to take stock. How did it go? Did you reach your fundraising goal? Did people enjoy themselves? Would they come again if you hosted another nonprofit fundraising event? You need to take stock of what went well and what could have been done better before you start planning your next nonprofit fundraising event.

​Whether you’re planning a nonprofit fundraising event, or looking for other ways to raise money for your organization, it can help to have a Strategy Rockstar on your team. Helping nonprofits run a better organization is one of my specialties, as well as one of my passions. You can schedule a call now to see how I can help you plan a better nonprofit fundraising event.