What kind of event should your nonprofit host?
Special events can be a powerful tool for your organization, but they can also be a huge strain on resources, especially for small and mid-size nonprofits. On the one hand, you can raise a ton of money, get new supporters through the door, get old donors back in the game, and gain a lot of visibility for your work. On the other hand, they require a lot of time, planning, and sometimes money. It is important to make sure that the rewards outweigh the risks of hosting a major event and that you host an event that is the right fit for you.
The very first step is to determine what your main goal is. Most of the time, your goal is to maximize fundraising revenue. But events can support other goals too:
fundraising
finding new supporters
finding new clients
announcing a new program
launching a new campaign
The event you choose should support your goal(s). As you’re making decisions, ask yourself what would most support your main goal.
Next, consider the landscape and your audience.
Competition: If your town is already supporting two popular golf tournaments, you probably won’t want to try to launch a new golf tournament.
Timing: Obviously you wouldn’t schedule your big event on Superbowl Sunday, but you’ll also want to think about scheduling around things like popular holiday travel, your local school district’s last day of school, or a very popular (even if unrelated) annual town event. Check your Chamber of Commerce, local news, and any other town calendars to make sure you don’t schedule against a competing event.
Fit: You may personally think that a fancy black-tie gala would be a lot of fun, but if your donor base is more of a beer-and-barbecue crowd, you’re going to have a tough time filling your venue.
You should also think about what kind of event budget your organization and your donors can sustain. If you have wealthier donors who can afford a higher ticket price, you can charge more, but know that those donors will probably be expecting a bit more from your event. If you have a lot of loyal donors who really want to support your organization but can’t contribute large sums, you may need to choose a more casual format, lower your ticket price, and decrease your expenses.
And last, consider what infrastructure you have to support your event. If you choose to host a fundraising auction, you’ll need a lot of donors to contribute items and a lot of staff/volunteer hours to get those items. If you host a 5K, you’ll need a very detailed-oriented event manager to coordinate everything from securing sponsors to ensuring compliance with safety and legal regulations, a large group of volunteers to assist on race day, and a very large group of people willing to run and fundraise for you. Make sure you have the resources needed to host your event.
So these are the fundamental pieces to consider when choosing what kind of nonprofit event to host: your goal(s), fit with the landscape and your audience, your budget and your donors’ budgets, and what resources you need to support the event.
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