A Small Change- Fundraising Blog

Brenda has guest posted with A Small Change before and is writing today about how to plan your events. She is a Donor Relations Manager with the Nature Conservancy and is a skilled event planner. - Jason

You’ll be most successful if you’re always thinking of your main goal as you design your event. Are you trying to thank and recognize, educate and make a case for support or raise money? Again, clearly define your goal and design the event from there.

Let’s say you decide that your major donors should see the facility first hand and understand how their support made it possible. What are some creative ways to reach your audience? Individualized tours of the facility might an option because tours allow more personal interaction with staff and an in-depth look at the housing. Tours can be scheduled at the convenience of your major donors which is a plus when working with busy people. Additionally, you don’t have to rent a venue, order catering or set up chairs, tables or audio/visual equipment. However, you will likely want an opportunity to talk to specific donors and introduce key staff. In this scenario, the ideal solution might be an open house at the facility with tours starting every half hour.

But what if tours aren’t an option because of client confidentiality concerns? Maybe you will need to organize a reception that premiers a nicely done video of the facility and, ideally, a testimonial from someone your organization has helped. When designing your program, keep in mind that donors want to hear from the staff directly connected to the organization’s mission. Oftentimes, you are there to facilitate those conversations. Ask those in the organization that work directly with programs or clients to talk about what they see daily. Spend time working with program staff to help them understand a donor’s point of view and how best to talk about their work. Coaching your program staff on fundraising techniques can take a lot of time, but the dividends will be tremendous once you have allies in your organization.

Other event articles by Brenda:
Party for Party’s Sake

When staff members get together to talk about donor recognition, increasing revenue and finding creative ways to reach new donors, usually one of the first ideas on the table is to have an ‘event.’ But, is a reception, lunch, ground breaking ceremony, auction or dinner what you need? These things can be done well and reach your key audience, but there are pitfalls and drawbacks you want to consider carefully and be careful to avoid.

In planning events, it is important to avoid letting the tail wag the dog. First, decide what your need is. (We need to have a donor event is NOT a legitimate need!) Your need should be defined in terms of moving your fundraising objectives forward. Let’s say your organization wants to draw attention to the opening of its new housing facility for victims of domestic violence. Which donors or groups of donors need attention and what has been done to communicate your message so far? You may not be able to design one event that is the best solution for every group. Better to have a clearly defined message and defined measures of success for one group than an event that invites everyone, but doesn’t advance your objective. Sometimes, an event is NOT what you need. You may be able to get the same results with visits or other techniques. The worst thing you can do is spend money for a party and then find that your event didn’t attract your core audience and you spent your time and money on fancy hors d’oeuvres for staff.