4 Ways to Get More Out of Your Fundraising Events Bianca Leveriza - FirstGiving
go to original August 11, 2012

With tighter budgets and less flexibility during tough economic times, here are four ways to get the most out of your fundraising events.

1.  Raise suggested donation amounts

In order to get most support from your donors make sure to suggest an amount that will make a significant impact on your cause. While a suggested giving amount might be an uncomfortable thing to address the greater the initial asking price the more likely you are to receive a more generous donation. This way, in addition to targeting new donors, you optimize your existing ones.

2. Use events to target multiple groups of donors

Within your nonprofit, you may have different sets of donors that can be classified as high, mid, and lower contributors. Many nonprofits make separate events to target these donors, but in order make your event a multi-channel fundraiser it should include separate happenings encompassing all donor levels. For instance, if you have a dinner, you may want to have a champagne hour for lower contributors, leaving the dinner for high donors, and a desert hour that could incorporate the mid donors. This way your event includes all your donors in a cost effective way.

3. Budget event expenses

Planning an event where you break even, or use most of the proceeds to cover the cost of the event is not an effective fundraiser. In order to ensure that your fundraiser garners enough monetary support in addition to awareness, you must set a realistic budget. For instance, if your budget is tight and you are planning to host a benefit dinner, you might want to consider doing something more casual like a picnic or barbecue. A less extravagant event will have the same overall effect and will be appreciated and supported by your donors regardless.

4. Use your supporters

Many nonprofits use their volunteers to accomplish menial tasks, while these are extremely important for the overall event, trusting your volunteers with more responsibilities will benefit your nonprofit and the volunteers as well. Many volunteers use these opportunities to build their resumes, so by letting them have authority over more  areas, you will enhance their experience and save your nonprofit additional time and money. Make sure you remember to thank your supporters with recommendations and flexibility.

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