Fundraising Events - The Power of a Marquee Event
Fundraising events bring a spotlight to your cause, so be ready for the attention and use the momentum to carry out a year-long fundraising plan. Hosting a marquee event provides an opportunity for your supporters to gather, either in person or virtually, to support the mission. Silent or live auctions, sponsorships, ticket sales, and donations will bring additional fundraising revenue. The key is to engage with your audience through effective storytelling.
Fundraising events that you see in photos with fancy tables and floor-length dresses are just one type of celebration. There is a huge variety of fundraisers, ranging from galas, hoedowns, carnivals, holiday parties, spring flings, to many more. Some are family-oriented, some are adults-only, it all depends upon the audience that you are trying to reach and engage with.
Use the time wisely to showcase the organization’s mission and work, milestones your nonprofit has achieved through supporters, and its vision for the future. Use photos, videos, and powerful stories to illustrate your organization’s impact. If your organization’s work can be showcased through performances or visuals, take advantage of it. Make an emotional connection with the audience. Then, give them the opportunity to help!
Below, we will discuss:
Different types of marquee events & fundraisers
How to use sponsorships to increase the wattage
Event planning strategies
Post-event communication to donors
Live or Virtual Event & Fundraisers
In-person events like galas, benefits, and dinner parties are formal fundraisers, and a great way to celebrate your organization’s achievements, connect with supporters, and raise funds.
These events aim to showcase the work that the nonprofit has accomplished on behalf of the donors, and are also a great opportunity to involve beneficiaries to share their stories. These types of events will run for a few hours and include food, drinks, entertainment, and a fundraising activity such as a live, silent, or virtual auction. For events like galas and benefits, there is usually a set program with speakers, and most often an honoree, who is a committed supporter of the mission. You will need to work closely with your finance team to set a budget and negotiate prices with vendors using your nonprofit credentials. Many vendors will offer reduced pricing or in-kind donations if you, your event committee, or supporters request it.
Live streaming your event is a great way to widen your audience and connect with as many supporters as possible. Broadcasting your live event will work best if you have a set program and entertainment as viewers at home cannot participate in some of the social aspects of a live event. The program can include a keynote speaker, a big announcement of a milestone or upcoming projects, a celebration of an honoree, entertainment such as a performance, and a live auction. Fun and meaningful virtual events with strong storytelling components will resonate with your supporters and leave them feeling like they are an integral part of your organization.
Benefits of Live or Virtual Events & Fundraisers:
Connect with a purpose
Longer format to engage and share impact messaging
Tie in an online auction
Messaging from leadership
Impact stories
Pre-party
Live chat
Public recognition of donors & sponsors
Have fun
The great part about virtual events is that you put a lot of work into the event and it can live on for an extended period of time. After the event, you can post the recording and related content on your social media and website, and also share the content in an email newsletter.
Online Events &Fundraisers
Virtual fundraising events can broaden support due to the accessibility - anyone can attend your event if they have internet! Since you will be hosting the event online, creating a high-quality website or hosting the event on a reliable virtual platform makes a big difference - Include videos, photos, testimonials, and opportunities for viewers to donate or bid on auction items. . Use your organization's branding and clearly communicate the organization’s mission and work.
Benefits of an Online Event:
Can span multiple days - not confined to a single night like a live event
Attendees are not limited to pre-registered guests, viewers can log on at any time
Reach a broader audience, especially supporters who live in another city or have busy schedules
Content that you will be able to share again
Website or platform hosting your event can be a space for you to share engaging content
Easy to ask for online donations or pledges
Take advantage of digital fundraising tools like online auctions
More feasible than a live event for a small organization
Planning Your Marquee Event
Know your audience. It’s imperative to understand the audience that your fundraiser is targeting. Consider what has worked in the past and what has not worked and use this insight to grow smarter with each fundraising endeavor. When you are setting the date of the event, consider which part of the year, day of the week, and time of day appeals to your audience. No date will work for everyone, but you want to be strategic about the date so that you have a high turnout. Your event committee can also help you steer towards a date that works best. If you are asking specific individuals to be a presenter, honoree, or entertainer, you will need to coordinate the event date based on their availability.
Your choice of venue and location, food and refreshments, decor, and program should be designed with your audience in mind. Guests attending an in-person gala will expect a more formal sit-down dinner, whereas a less formal arrangement is suitable for cocktail parties. Consider the ticket price as well - higher-end ticket holders and VIP guests will have higher expectations. Consider what would make a great family event vs. an adults-oriented fundraiser in terms of date and time, venue, menu, and activities. Design your event to best attract your target audience and inspire them to give towards your cause.
Set an achievable goal that will inspire your supporters and motivate your fundraising team. Take an honest self-assessment of your past fundraisers and the current environment. A goal that is set too high can be discouraging for the planning team, and create additional stress. In contrast, setting goals that are too low will limit fundraising as people will see this as a lack of need. Establish goals that are ambitious but not intimidating. It is also recommended that you set an internal stretch goal - this would be the goal to aspire to if you do meet your goal before the event.
Communicate goals before, during and after the fundraiser. Setting a goal and communicating it motivates supporters and marks a benchmark for success. Stakeholders like board members, event and fundraising committee members, and committed supporters who are working on the fundraiser with the staff are your best message amplifiers. They will be the individuals purchasing tables and tickets, connecting you to in-kind donors, and bringing guests who have capacity and inclination to give to your cause. So it is imperative to set clear goals and give some directions and timeline to these stakeholders.
For your organization’s fundraising committee, there is nothing more motivating than a tangible opportunity to help you progress towards your annual goal. During the event, you want to directly appeal to donors to give. Motivate them by telling them how far you are away from the goal. If you have reached your goal before the event, challenge your attendees to meet your stretch goal. Clearly explain the impact of meeting that goal and how the funds will be used. Saying “We’re just $50,000 away from meeting our goal of raising $500,000 tonight to fund scholarships for 500 students, let’s do this!” is a lot more motivating than saying “We’re really close to meeting our goal tonight, please donate!”
After the event, be sure to thank and follow up with all attendees by sharing photos, videos, shoutouts to sponsors, and an update on the event’s fundraising success. Missing this key piece of follow-up will raise questions and make your organization look less transparent. More on follow-up communication later.
Secure sponsorships through clear communication of benefits for the business as well as the impact of their sponsorships for the organization and its beneficiaries. Offer sponsorships at multiple levels with increasing benefits that include event tickets and marketing opportunities. Ask your board members, committee members, and circle of high-affinity donors for help in connecting you to the right people at the right companies. Make a list of your institutional donors and partners, and even vendors. Most levels of sponsorships include a number of tickets to the event, so that will be an incentive for stakeholders who are already planning to purchase tickets or a table.
You can also work with these stakeholders and utilize research such as a relationship mapping tool to see who they know and can reach out to. Companies are more willing to say yes if they already have a relationship with your organization or have a mutual connection.
Market your event, and sell tickets. Marketing and sales skills are vital to planning a successful fundraiser. Clearly plan out your content and marketing materials - such as the invitation, event registration page, the event page on your website, and sponsorship materials - Clearly tell the story of your organization and its impact to elicit an emotional response and an action.
Plan Your Post-Event Communication
For all those who made a contribution, in time, effort, or money, a more personal thank you will be greatly appreciated. You can tackle this list by assigning personal phone calls, emails, or handwritten cards to the appropriate staff. This is a great way to build a closer relationship with your key supporters. You may even get additional donations through this process and also facilitate pledge payments.
Thanking now is an insurance policy for asking for support again later. Whether it is small or large in time and effort or financial contribution, each of these supporters deserves a sincere thank you. Fatigue can easily set in after the exhaustive efforts of fundraising and you want to ensure your team is prepared and ready to support your next event. A show of appreciation goes a long way to get them excited to continue supporting your cause.
A more general post-event thank you should go out to all attendees. Regardless of contributions, these folks made the time to attend your event, so show your gratitude. Be sure to collect contact information for any new supporters and guests. This will be the first point of contact for these individuals who have just learned about your organization and a key cultivation tactic.
Share photos and videos from the event if you send out an email campaign, and post them on your social media and website. You can also highlight your sponsors in these pieces of communication.
Share your success! It’s human nature for people to want to associate with winners and to be around winners. It is important to celebrate meeting your event’s fundraising goal with the people who made it happen - the attendees. You can also share this success more widely with all of your constituents, and share your organization’s latest events and news for those who were not able to attend the event. Remember to explain how the funds raised will be used and how it will help further your organization's mission. Numbers and data can be mundane, so seek emotional connection.
Some examples:
More than 500 children will be enriched through free after-school tutoring. Funds raised at last night’s event will provide more than 2,000 nourishing meals for the hungry.
Thanks to you, more than 100 families will have a safe shelter this winter.
Continue to update and intrigue your donors through a strategic communication plan, including regular email campaigns and content sharing on all of your digital platforms. Share a testimonial from a beneficiary of the funds raised from the event, share a photo of a building that is renovated through your donors’ support, and create interesting and informative content that illustrates not just your organization’s work, but also provide helpful resources and highlights your supporters and beneficiaries.
As mentioned above, it is imperative that you take the time to establish trust with new supporters. You can set up a new supporter email marketing campaign that provides information, updates, stories, as well as opportunities for them to get more involved. Share the story of the cause and progress you have made through the written word, photos, and videos. Social media makes this part easy. The needs assessment must be accurate and clearly stated. Determine the gaps in current conditions to what NEEDS to accomplish as opposed to WANTS. Emotional connections create and re-affirm empathy for the cause that in itself leads to the close, so show how past fundraisers have funded past promised needs.
Planning and executing a successful marquee event takes a lot of hard work - so maximize the success and re-use the content created for and during the event. Continue to build relationships with carefully crafted communication and your guests will return to your annual event year after year
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This post was contributed by Laurie Hochman at Auctria.
Auctria is an easy to use, powerful tool to run your fundraising events. For 10 years we have been taking auctions to new heights and raise more for your cause!
Laurie Hochman has a passion for helping groups exceed their fundraising goals. After using Auctria for many auction fundraisers, she joined the team to help others boost their auction fundraising for many wonderful causes.
“The beauty in what is done with the money raised with Auctria is what motivates me every day to help auction teams succeed. Hope all your bids soar!”