The Basic Guide to Planning a Fundraiser

 

Organizing a fundraiser can be daunting, but with this step-by-step guide, it doesn’t have to be! Follow these steps and you’ll be on your way to raising money with a great event in no time. 

1. Establish the purpose

You need to have a clear idea of why you are planning this event other than raising money. Is it to also raise awareness and promote a message? Is it to bring a community together or show supporter appreciation?

Ask yourself each aspect of why this event matters for achieving its purpose so you can move forward in developing the event. A strategy must be in place before tactics are enabled!

 

2. Determine your audience

Before you do anything else, you must know who your audience is. Your target audience will influence every decision in the planning process. By assessing who is most likely to donate and attend, you can make educated decisions on food choice, music, keynote speakers, decor and marketing strategies.

The marketing tactics you use with busy moms are far different from what would be used with retired world travelers! Keep whoever your audience is in mind during the entire process of planning.

 

3. Delegate tasks

If you have a fundraising team (hopefully you do!), you have the ability to split up the tasks among everyone. This will save time and make the process much more efficient. You can delegate tasks based on people’s skill sets and interests but as the team leader, you get to ultimately decide where people are most needed.  

If you don’t have a team to help you organize your fundraising event, you can always ask for volunteers if you don’t want to take on this responsibility alone. However, if it’s a big event you will definitely want a group of people that can contribute. 

4. How will you make money?

Calculate the cost of the event to make sure you aren’t going to spend more money than you anticipate raising. You may want to hire someone or enlist someone on your team to run the financial side of planning if math isn’t your strong-point. Make a spreadsheet and calculate food, venue, entertainment, gifts -  any inevitable costs - and add a contingency for all those little things that seem to pop up.

The main point of a fundraiser is to raise funds, right? Determine how you’re going to accomplish this. This can be done in a number of ways including ticket sales, donations, item sales, silent auctions and online-giving.

 

5. Set a date and location

Figure out what date is best for your return on investment. This can be done by setting the date towards the end of the week - Thursday, Friday or Saturday seem to see the best attendance. Make sure you schedule the fundraiser apart from holidays where people are likely to be taking vacation days. Think about what the weather may be like and if the event might be at risk for cancellation. 

Another thing to consider is the location of the event. There needs to be adequate hotel space for attendees depending on the size of your expected audience, so check what other events are scheduled for the area at the same prospective time to see if they conflict. 

 

Don’t forget:

After considering these five steps to event success, don’t forget about booking your keynote speaker! Hiring the best speaker for your fundraiser might seem like a huge process, but with Premiere Speakers Bureau, it’s incredibly simple. The right keynote plays a major role in the quality of your event and will keep your attendees engaged. No matter what the event is, our agents are ready to help. Happy fundraising!

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