Five Awesome Fundraising Tips For Charity Events

Charity events are pretty awesome. Done right, a fundraiser can put a metric ton of money towards a good cause, elevate the profile of a cause, and build a strong brand reputation. Done wrong, however…it can be a complete money-sink, and could be as likely to make people despise as much as love an organization.

We’ve already covered some of the basics of running a charity fundraising event – the challenges and core considerations event planners will take into account. Today, we’re focusing more on the ‘funds’ side of fundraising.

Here are five awesome fundraising tips for your charity event.

Go Mobile Yesterday

If you haven’t already incorporated mobile technology in one way or another into your fundraiser, do so. Mobile devices are quickly surpassed desktop usage. If you can find a way for people to participate in your fundraising efforts through their phones – even if they’re not actually in attendance – you’re tapping into a new revenue stream.

Acknowledge Donors

If there’s something thing people like, it’s being recognized for doing something good. Consider how you might acknowledge donations. Acknowledgement may be made private or public; it may be of an individual, a group or of everyone involved. For example, you may give a prize to every attendee if a certain benchmark is reached. This type of reward might make a live-auction that much more exciting. A more personal and public thank you might include listing last year’s big donors on your invite to this year’s gala.

Tip: try a tiered donation reward system, if you donate X-value, you win a particular gift, and up it goes.

Make Fundraising A Game

This is similar to the benchmark reward; consider making your drive to acquire donations a game of some sort. Perhaps a roll-playing game may fit into a fundraising scenario, or arrange people into teams and whichever team raises the most ‘wins’ a prize. Basically, be creative and make the act of giving a bit more fun.

Hint: inject excitement into your fundraiser and see how generously people respond.

Don’t Make Things Too Complicated

Just like every other event you run, your fundraiser should follow the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid). Donation forms need to be spartan and easy to read, and landing pages and handouts should be kept minimal and clean. Furthermore, a charity event should have very clearly defined activities.

Remember: simplicity and clarity does not mean boring!

Put Your Best Foot Forward

Last, but certainly not least, make sure you’re using every ounce of your charisma to keep things running. It’s one thing motivating people to attend an event they’re interested in or sit in on a keynote they want to hear; it’s another altogether to convince them to part with their hard-earned cash. You and your staff need to make a positive impression on anyone who might be interested in donating. Otherwise, they might just enjoy the party.

Go for simplicity above all else; people don’t like feeling confused. Be crystal clear about what action you want attendees to take. This is especially true of a charity event.

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