WordPress Event Ticketing

What’s not to love about fundraisers? It’s a sort of event where everybody wins – the guests have a good time or a fine dinner and a chance to support a cause they believe in, the hosts get funding - and the event manager gets a break from high-paced high-stakes gigs that are the norm in the thrill-packed world of event management!

But even though fundraisers may seem like cookie-cutter affairs, much less demanding and complex to make into reality than is the case with most weddings nowadays, the truth is that the special nature of fundraising events demands a somewhat unique approach to some aspects of the event.

In order to properly organize a fundraiser you will need to take into account some things that make them stand out from other types of events. Of course, much of the same methods and dos and don’ts will apply – after all, a fundraising event has a budget, needs a venue and usually requires a good caterer since people have been known to part with their money more generously when their stomachs are filled and their head buzzing a bit.

Still, fundraising events by their very nature are more focused affairs then other events (which is actually what makes your main job – for guests to leave the event happy and with a feeling of time well-spent i.e. for the event to succeed and fulfill its purpose – easier.)

See, fundraisers have a purpose, and it’s cleverly hidden in their very name – they are organized to raise money. Shocking, I know. The good news is that everybody is pretty much aware of this - people who come to a fundraiser are there because they want to give money away, so that part of the job is cut out for you and basically all you have to worry about are technicalities and logistics.

Sometimes, however, that is not the case. Sometimes fundraising is just one aspect of an event which has other goals. Maybe you are organizing a publicity event for a company with a fundraising corporate social responsibility component. Also, some purely charitable events could have more than one goal, like recruiting new members. So, the first order of business is to know exactly what is the purpose of the event and to what extent does fundraising play into it.

Here, I must briefly pause to point out one thing I think is of particular importance.

In my experience, it really really helps if you yourself subscribe to the cause that is set to benefit from the fundraising event. I’m not talking only about charity stuff, but also shared ideology or political beliefs, since most fundraisers fall into one of these three categories.

Of course, it’s not necessary for you to support fairer treatment of livestock or the erection of a border wall in order to organize a successful fundraising event for that particular cause. All I’m saying is that it would be best if you do only fundraisers for such causes that you believe in – otherwise you could do long-lasting damage to your job satisfaction or just make yourself too damn jaded and cynical.

And event organization is a job that takes passion, not only cold professionalism and efficiency (and thinking on one’s feet and charisma and… etc. you know).

Okay, now that I’ve got that off my chest, time to get on with things you need to consider on your way to a finely organized fundraising event.

The second thing is that these sorts of events usually have a very specific goal – expressed in the amount of money that the organizers (not you but people who have hired you or for whom you will be doing this pro bono) hope to net, after expenses, of course.

You should never forget the fact that success or failure in this regard will somehow find its way to reflect upon your job performance as the event manager. It doesn’t really matter that most times you can’t really do much about it – because the way in which the event was organized can influence the amount, it will invariably be taken as a fact that it has. For better or for worse. So good luck with that.

What you can do to ameliorate this situation a little is to use the lion’s portion of your budget for top-notch catering and give your best to find the most appropriate venue for your guests, making them feel relaxed as possible. And if it’s possible, do provide some quality entertainment.

It’s important to know that fundraising events in most cases have “host committees” of people who are responsible for contributing the most funds and who are there to motivate guests to donate. Make sure to forge a good relationship with them and understand that your role is among other things to make it easier for them to perform their role.

On the other hand, they can make your job easier, since host committee members are usually local business or community leaders, celebrities or other kinds of respected and popular individuals, who can do a lot to increase event attendance through what boils down to influencer marketing. Since marketing the event is one of the primary functions you as the event manager will be performing, why not utilize them for that?

Fundraising events are also different in that they tend to rely on volunteers for many organizational task and roles, to a much larger extent then encountered when dealing with other types of events. For you as the manager, this means that it is advisable to take special care to ascertain the skills, strong and weak points of each volunteer, since chances are that they do not have much experience. Taking some time to chat with each and every one of them before the event can save you much more time and energy down the line.

Finally, because most of the staff are volunteers and most attendees are there to make a gift,  it is only polite to say “thank you” to all of them. Make sure to secure and send out thank-you notes to everyone involved in your event, including donors, volunteers, staff and vendors. Keep people happy since you will probably be asking them for another donation of their time or money at one point in the future.