Fundraising for charities and worthy causes is a great way to inject the feel-good factor into your event. Whether you’re running an industry conference or internal networking event, giving an opportunity to give is guaranteed to boost attendee engagement. Raising funds can be as simple as placing donation boxes around an event venue or including a donation button within your event app. But if you want to raise serious amounts of money, a silent (or live) auction or a raffle is the way to go.
While dedicated fundraising technology makes raising money a breeze, here are a few tips on hosting a fundraiser within your event:
Who Are You Helping?
It’s an obvious starting point, but choosing your nominated cause or charity is an important step. Is the charity well aligned to the event? E.g. if you’re organising a medical conference, it might make sense to choose a healthcare related charity, such as Médecins Sans Frontières. If you’re looking to develop a longer term partnership with one or two charities, how will these fit with your future event portfolio and schedule? Can you work together to establish joint fundraising goals?
How Much Do You Want To Raise?
As much as possible is the obvious answer, but the bigger the goal the more elaborate the fundraiser will need to be. Think about how much time within the event you can dedicate to the fundraiser. Is it something as large as a gala dinner or can the event schedule only really accommodate a small raffle during pre-dinner drinks?
Also, how many people will you have on hand to help and what space is available at the event venue. Can you run the fundraiser within the existing event budget? Allocating available time and resources will determine how much money you can realistically expect to raise.
Ask Professional Fundraisers For Advice
Once you know how much time and resources you have available, seek the advice of professional fundraisers to guide you on the best possible fundraising options. Service providers such as GalaBid can give you some great advice on whether a raffle or silent/live auction will work best in the time and space you have available.
Know Your Fundraiser Boosters
If you’re starting out, it can be hard to know what factors will get your attendees digging deep. Although the cause itself will inspire people to participate, other factors can really get the fundraising humming. An experienced auctioneer can create a sense of fun and competitive atmosphere. Marquee prizes (such as luxury holidays and exclusive experiences) can often act as drawcards. An easy and straight forward bidding system is also a great way to encourage maximum participation and activity.
Tell People About It
Don’t forget to include details about the fundraiser within your general event marketing. Take the opportunity to promote the cause and the fundraiser. Think about drip-feeding tantalising details about the prize packages. Digital fundraising platforms will allow attendees to register to bid well in advance of the event. You can even encourage early bids to generate a pre-fundraiser buzz.
