Smile Factor -This Is Serious Business
Biz Take Away - Exploring the Options
Many non-profit organizations love events and so do I!
Fundraising events bring awareness to your cause; attracting new donors, volunteers and press coverage. The end goal is to build a stronger pool of contributors and ultimately secure more funds to keep your programs active within your community.
Lack of money, resources or time are the biggest reasons non profit organizations choose not to host an event.
Let’s first focus on money. How many times have you heard, “We don’t have the money to host an event!”?
While some start-up money is needed for most events to cover the costs of deposits, support services and other misc. items, a well-planned fundraising event should be self-sustaining; paying for itself in full through all revenue collected. Really? Yes!
So how do you determine how much you need to a) pay for your event and b) meet fundraising (net) goals?
Here is a brief overview of the steps that will help you gain a clear picture. For a new event, this due diligence period can take 30 to 60 days.
1) Set your fundraising goal. Tip: When first starting out, keep your fundraising goal reasonable and focused. Identify what you are raising funds for. This will help you get the maximum level of "buy-in" from the most amount of supporters. Remember that people want to be part of something that makes them feel important.
2) Choose the type of event you would like to hold. Should it be a gala, auction, golf tournament, gallery showing, walk-a-thon or a night of entertainment? Tip: Choose what you feel best reflects your organization and will best attract constituents. Also, consider whether the type of event you choose has potential to bring in the revenue you are looking to generate. For example, you would not want to host a car wash if you wanted to net $50,000.
3) Draft a budget. First write out all the expenses associated with your ideal event. You can find samples of comprehensive budgets templates on-line. We know budget building is not always a barrel of laughs, but we encourage you to put together a very detailed budget and consider ALL areas of cost. This will help you avoid many of those surprise expenses that sometime come up later. This portion of planning will take the longest, as we advise you get actual proposals from venues and vendors to get a true sense of cost.
I also recommend putting out feelers in the community for possible in-kind donations to get a sense of what type of community partners may be interested. While the ideal for all non-profit organizations is to have everything donated, it is important in this phase to put in writing the true cost of all line items to help you understand the value of your project. Tip: Know what the IRS expects for reporting your special event. Click here for a great blog entry on this from Non Profit After Hours. <http://nonprofitafterhours.blogspot.com/2010/05/special-events-reporting.html>
4) Identify and solidify revenue sources. Tickets, tables, raffles, journal advertisements, sponsorship packages and more; determine what your revenue sources will be. Create several options/levels of involvement in order to include a broader scope of participants at different economic status. Tip: Create a projection chart that allows you to review different configurations of sales that will help you meet your goal. Review this with board members, committee and existing donors to test the strength of your ticket levels. Make sure it is not prohibitive to local participation. Be sure to have something for individuals (possibly also young professionals), local business, corporations and other organizations.
5) Three tier final review. You have just reviewed your revenue strength, now I highly recommend this last (important) step. . .GO BACK to your budget with a magnifying glass and tighten it up. When reviewing your budget again, there are three categories expenses fall into;
1) YOU MUST HAVE - You must have a venue. You must have food. You must have a bathroom facility. You must have invitations. You must have a microphone and speaker system. You get the point. These are items that are critical to the functionality of your event.
Tip: Look for new venues or venues that are heavily marketing themselves and create a cross-marketing benefits package. This will reduce your cost and increase their local visibility.
2) YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE - You would like to have centerpieces. You would like to have a video. You would like to have an upgraded stage lighting package. You would like a full-color program. These are the items that will give your event a more professional touch.
Tip: Create sponsorship packages for local business to participate in supplying these items.
3) YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT - You can live without your event volunteers having matching t-shirts. You can live without personalized menu’s. You can live without plasma screens. These are the extra special touches that are the first to go when reviewing and tightening up your budget.
Tip: If revenue is exceeding expectations, you can always add back the extra special touches. However, we advise that you only do if it is crucial. You want to have a professional and inspirational event, but you also do not want to look like your spending your donors money on too many “bells and whistles.”
Remember - Balance is everything.
Liz Glover Wilson, CMP, CSEP
Elizabeth Rose Consulting
www.elizabethroseconsulting.com
Liz Glover Wilson, CMP, CSEP
Elizabeth Rose Consulting
www.elizabethroseconsulting.com
