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Planning a fundraising event can seem daunting, but breaking it down into manageable steps makes it much more achievable. As you work through these 10 steps, you’ll gain confidence in your ability to organize an event that meets your fundraising goals.
1.Set Your Goals
First, clearly define what you want to accomplish – financially and otherwise. Set a specific dollar goal for money raised, as this quantifiable target will allow you to accurately measure success later.
Beyond dollars raised, identify other goals like increasing awareness, making new contacts for your organization, or acquiring more volunteers or donors from the attendee list post-event. Having these varied yet concrete goals in mind drives decision-making as you plan out event details.
For example, a 5K run coordinated by an animal rescue may set goals of:
- Raise $15,000 to fund cat and dog sterilization surgeries
- Register 200+ runners to increase event reach in the community
- Obtain email addresses for 50% of attendees to expand our donor contact database
- Recruit five new regular volunteers to walk dogs at our shelter
2.Form An Event Committee
Don’t try to plan everything solo.
Recruit a committee of 4-6 reliable, well-connected people who can share key tasks and responsibilities. Seek out detail-oriented individuals who love making lists and chasing down specifics. Bring creative types into the mix to develop an appealing theme and activities. Tap natural networkers who easily secure sponsorships and prizes.
Include long-time supporters who deeply understand your organization’s culture and needs. Have a tech wizard handle all things digital such as tools like Hour-A-Thon.
Clearly define roles right away so tasks get divvied up based on each person’s interests, connections, and talents. Continue coordinating closely as a team throughout the planning process.
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For example, a silent auction committee may include:
- Overall Lead Coordinator – manages timeline, budget, lead volunteer
- Venue and Logistics Manager – researches venues, manages vendors
- Sponsor Outreach Lead – solicits corporate sponsors
- Donations Lead – gathers auction items from supporting businesses
- Social Media and Promotion Lead – handles all event publicity
- Dessert Dash Coordinator – plans fun fundraising activity
3.Choose Your Event
Once your goals are set, brainstorm fundraising event ideas that align with what you want to accomplish.
Consider your organization’s resources, limitations, capacity, audience, and location as you think through options. Weigh expected costs versus income potential for each type of event. Also factor in volunteer needs for set up, operation during, and clean up after.
Will one event idea excite your existing donor base to participate? Does another appeal to and attract an untapped new demographic? Land on a focused event concept that your committee feels passionate about driving from idea to fruition.
For example, potential event options include a wine-tasting gala at a downtown hotel ballroom, a golf tournament at a local country club, a cornhole tournament in the park, a 5K fun run/walk through the neighborhood, and so on.
4.Set The Budget
Once your event type is chosen, outline an itemized budget. Make sure to include all likely expenses like venue rental, food/beverages, decor, and more – all this to avoid any financial woes later on.
Also, carefully project estimated income through ticket sales, sponsorships at various levels, merchandise sales, silent auction proceeds, and the like. As you assign dollar amounts to each line item, make sure your income exceeds expenses enough to hit your net fundraising goal. If not, rework aspects of the event like the venue size, menu options, number of tickets available, entry fees, and expected sponsors until the budget balances favorably.
5.Secure Space And Vendors
With a workable budget set, now lock down event necessities like your location/venue, caterer if serving food, A/V rental company if using mics/sound equipment, plus any other key vendors required to pull off your chosen fundraiser.
Negotiate service contracts that provide flexibility or discounts should the event fall short of projections for any reason, like lower-than-expected turnout. If you have personal relationships with vendors who align with your cause, enlist their donated services whenever possible. Offer promotions at the event itself or on social media afterwards to sweeten the value proposition when asking new vendors to get involved. The key is securing reliable vendors to deliver all the moving parts you need.
6.Plan the Timeline
Map out a detailed timeline working backwards from the final event date. List every major task and benchmark along the way. Building in more time cushions than you think you’ll need is wise at each step as delays pop up. Following this comprehensive roadmap keeps you on track and ahead of the game.
7.Promote The Event
Get the word out early about your event on all communication channels. Create an event webpage with details that can be shared widely. Distribute email blasts to your full contact list, and then follow up personally with event attendees. Nonetheless, make sure that your outreach efforts are ethical and non-intrusive.
Post on social media weekly, then daily, closer to the date. Print posters and distribute flyers at local shops, churches, libraries, and schools. Ask existing volunteers to promote through their own networks, too. Emphasize how participating and contributing funds at this event furthers your organization’s critical mission.
8.Manage Volunteer Help
Determine how many volunteers you need on the actual event day to carry out functions, like set up, check-in, parking management, photo booth, tear down, and other roles. One week prior, confirm your volunteers for shift times and provide instructions regarding where to go, what to bring, what to wear, and so on. Continue communicating leading up to the event, and then show heartfelt appreciation for their gift of service afterwards. This inspires repeat help at your next community event.
9.Plan Contingencies
Despite your best intentions, things can still go wrong at events like technical glitches and so on. For each scenario that could reasonably happen, make an if/then plan listing back-up options or solutions you’ll smoothly deploy. Communicate these clearly with your event committee and trusted volunteers so you can adapt seamlessly if needed.
10.Review And Make Adjustments
In the final month, weeks, and days pre-event, communicate frequently as an event committee. Review your timelines and benchmark progress to date. Confirm vendor commitments, volunteer help, appropriate income and expenses tracking against budgets. Identify any last-minute challenges or changes needed and solve issues quickly before they grow exponentially.
In Conclusion
Staying organized is absolutely key to orchestrating a seamless, successful fundraiser. But, also embrace unpredictability, which is inevitably part of any complex event dependent on many people. Continually solve issues creatively as they pop up. Then, celebrate exceeding your attendance, fundraising, and engagement goals, thanks to thoughtful upfront preparation paired with positive flexibility when needed. Attendees will leave glad they came and supported your worthwhile cause.
You’ve got this in the bag, champ!
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