Special Event Fundraising Musts

By Abny Santicola

Earlier this month, Convio and Event360, with support from the Run Walk Ride Council, released a research paper detailing key trends and best practices on managing a successful fundraising event. The paper highlights the strategies and performance metrics nonprofits with special-event fundraising programs can use to achieve their goals.

The paper recommends the following five best practices for nonprofits interested in increasing participation in and funds raised during their special events:

Recruit participants effectively. Know why participants are drawn to your event, and target participants naturally driven to take action and connect donors to the event.
Charge a registration fee or require a minimum fundraising amount. Requiring a fee gets people in the mindset that your cause is important, that there is value in being a part of the event and that raising money is vital. The companies noted that organizations should set the fee at a level that encourages fundraising but isn't prohibitive.
Create multiple points of entry. Use a mix of outbound e-mail, Web site content, social-networking tools, tell-a-friend functions and ads on partner or industry Web sites that link to your event page where visitors can get information on the event, register and donate.
Encourage team participation. Participants on teams are more likely to feel accountable for their fundraising. The team setting fosters healthy competition and motivation that drives fundraising.
Craft participant e-mails carefully and encourage participants to send them. Use CRM technology that offers a participant center where event participants can create profiles and send solicitation e-mails to friends and neighbors for support. Make it easy for them by offering training in using the tools or message templates.