Hosting Exceptional Fundraising Events
I had lunch recently with two friends. As often happens when nonprofit executives get together, the conversation turned to recent fundraising events in the community and our assessment of them. When one commented that she had attended “the best fundraiser yet,” I had to ask why.
Her answer surprised me – yet seems so fundamental and worth sharing.
What do you think made it such a good event?
The venue? No. They oversold tickets, so the room felt crowded and really nothing special. I do not recall her sharing where they held the event and if she did, I don’t remember it.
The food? No. She rated the food as average. Not bad, but nothing to write home about.
The auction? No. In fact, she commented that she struggled to find items to bid on.
The program. YES!! She said that they had phenomenal messaging and speakers who did an exceptional job explaining the organization’s mission and impact in a way that really touched her. When it came time to invest in the mission, people opened their wallets, and the organization raised a significant amount that evening.
What can you take away from this example?
1. Focus less on event logistics. I see too many planning committees spend an inordinate amount of time debating the napkin colors, decorations, and menu, leaving the program as an afterthought. While your logistics should not detract from your message – that is, you want a well-organized event that flows smoothly – people will remember how you made them feel, not if they sat at a table that had blue or purple flowers.
2. Focus your time planning the program and messaging. In fact, I argue you should start here when planning an event. Ask yourself these questions:
· What is the purpose of the event? Sounds simple, but I have attended events that seem to have no clear purpose, at least not obvious to me as an attendee. What a wasted opportunity!
· How can we best convey that purpose? For a fundraising event, talk about your mission and how you make a difference in the recipients of your services.
3. Identify people whose story best shares your mission. Their heartfelt honesty can move audience more than the most polished speaker talking without direct experience or passion. Everyone in your organization should help identify and cultivate potential speakers for your event. I realize this becomes tricky for some organizations that serve people who have experienced trauma. However, if you carefully vet people to assure that sharing their story does not retraumatize them, they can deliver a very powerful message that will augment fundraising.
4. Keep the program short and focused. While people want to learn more about your organization when they attend an event – and you certainly you want that – they did not sign up to sit and listen to people drone on for an hour. Focus your message by thinking about what you want your audience to know and take away from your time on stage and choreograph the program accordingly. In general, people will listen to people talk about your organization and mission for about 15 minutes, especially with the alcohol flowing!
5. Follow up. Period. Too few organizations follow up with event attendees after the last person leaves. Take this follow up a step further by reinforcing the messages they heard at the event. The thank you could come from your client-speaker or refer back to the way in which the client benefitted from your services.
Anyone who knows me well knows that special events rank as my least favorite way to raise money. Most of that opinion stems from the fact that too few organizations take the time to carefully message their events in a way that maximizes the power that they could have to raise money, both that night and in the future.
By hosting an event that someone talked about a few days or weeks later, that event extended its reach beyond the evening’s attendees to at least two other people ... and now to all of you. How can your next event have that staying power?