10 Tips to Maximize Fundraising Events

Fundrais­er events come in many sizes. From blowout, star-stud­ded galas to small scale pan­cake break­fasts, no mat­ter the size, the core of these events is the need to suc­cess­ful­ly engage guests and bring in donor dollars.

At Bell­mont Part­ners, we have sup­port­ed sev­er­al of our non­prof­it clients through fundrais­ers big and small. Here are best prac­tices we’ve col­lect­ed along the way that can make your event impact­ful and mem­o­rable – all while build­ing a greater con­nec­tion with your donor community.

STRATEGIZE

• Set some goals. What would it take for you to call your event a suc­cess? Let this be your North Star through the plan­ning process.
• Keep in mind the bot­tom line. You want a good ROI on every dol­lar spent, so that in the end, you come out ahead. If you don’t see a valu­able perk (mon­e­tary or oth­er­wise) from an event expense, con­sid­er cut­ting the concept.
• Build a good sup­port team. Plan­ning events can be fun, espe­cial­ly if you are work­ing with a sol­id team. And as they say, “many hands make light work.”
• Spread the word well in advance. From seek­ing spon­sor­ship part­ners to get­ting guests to RSVP, it’s impor­tant to give peo­ple enough time to answer your call to action. If your fundrais­er occurs annu­al­ly, it can be very effec­tive to announce next year’s event date at your cur­rent event.

Live Your Healthy Lyfe is an annu­al block par­ty in North Min­neapo­lis con­nect­ing Black and brown res­i­dents to health and well­ness experts and also rais­ing mon­ey for col­lege schol­ar­ships for neigh­bor­hood young adults. We’re inspired by the pas­sion­ate core plan­ning team, who are all com­mit­ted to the event’s pur­pose: Repair­ing the trust gap between health providers and the BIPOC com­mu­ni­ty, carved by cen­turies of sys­temic racism.

CONNECT WITH THE CAUSE

• Tug at the heart­strings. The best way to engage your donors is through sto­ry­telling. Spot­light the impact of dona­tions by shar­ing the sto­ries of peo­ple who will ben­e­fit from their generosity.
• Cre­ate a buzz. Use pre-event mes­sag­ing to drum up excite­ment for your event. Offer nuggets of fun or unique event hap­pen­ings, release a sneak peek at your silent auc­tion or offer video mes­sages from keynote speakers.
• Get guests involved from the moment they walk in the door. Put your cause front and cen­ter upon arrival. From slideshow pro­jec­tions to video high­light reels, from strik­ing sig­nage to a spe­cial wel­com­ing com­mit­tee – remind guests why they are there.

At the Best Bud­dies Gala, which rais­es funds for men­tor­ing and lead­er­ship pro­gram­ming for indi­vid­u­als with and with­out intel­lec­tu­al and devel­op­men­tal dis­abil­i­ties (IDD), pro­gram par­tic­i­pants will greet fundrais­er guests at the door.

• Involve every lev­el of donor. Cre­ate a spec­trum of dona­tion oppor­tu­ni­ties to engage all of your guests on a lev­el they are com­fort­able with. Some donors will grav­i­tate toward a big, flashy live auc­tion, while oth­ers will pre­fer a more sub­tle approach like a silent auc­tion. You can even offer a sim­ple wine pull or gift card raf­fle tree for a low-cost chance-to-win donation.

At the MnFORE annu­al golf fundrais­er for the Min­neso­ta Fire­fight­er Ini­tia­tive, which offers health and well­ness ben­e­fits to Min­neso­ta fire­fight­ers and their fam­i­lies, there are “chances to win” for as low as $20.

SURPRISE AND DELIGHT

• Let peo­ple enjoy the moment. Guests know they are there to help finan­cial­ly sup­port a cause, but don’t squeeze every pen­ny from them at every turn. Part of your event is the expe­ri­ence itself! Find oppor­tu­ni­ties for peo­ple to soak in the ambiance or enjoy the vibe.

Taste of the NFL is an annu­al culi­nary expe­ri­ence timed with the Super Bowl in sup­port of GENY­OUth and its school-based nutri­tion and phys­i­cal activ­i­ty ini­tia­tives. Roam­ing between tast­ing tables and enjoy­ing var­i­ous chef cre­ations at one’s own pace is a main por­tion of the evening. 

• A heart­felt thank you goes a long way. Don’t make your “thank you” an after­thought. When you express your grat­i­tude authen­ti­cal­ly (and in a time­ly fash­ion!), you are build­ing brand loy­al­ty, ensur­ing future dona­tions and return­ing guests. While you’re at it, thank your vol­un­teers, ven­dors, spon­sors, staff, board, plan­ning com­mit­tee – any­one and every­one who helped make your event happen.

There’s no exact recipe to cre­at­ing a five-star fundrais­ing event. One of the best things you can do – after the gala glit­ter set­tles or the last pan­cake is served – is to regroup with your team and talk about what worked and what didn’t. Use your learn­ings to refine your approach next time with the con­tin­ued goal of deep­en­ing your con­nec­tion to your donor com­mu­ni­ty and, in turn, boost­ing your fundrais­er results.