I’ve been around a ton of nonprofit events. With experience as the one pulling the strings, making sure everything is going according to plan (or improvising when the plan goes awry) I’ve seen how events succeed or fail firsthand. Sometimes I’ve just been part of the staff attending the event,fluffing out the audience. When a nonprofit needs staff to be in attendance not as a thank you for work done throughout the year (eat some nice food, have a glass of wine, mingle) but to mask light attendance, there’s a failure somewhere in the planning stage.
Devote the Time
The key wisdom I can impart: devote enough time to the planning and execution of the event.
For a major ongoing fund raising event, 12 months should be insisted on to plan and implement. Long lead times are the cornerstone of a truly successful event that grows in size and income potential every year. For anon-profit establishing a major fundraising event I’d want even more time to research the various kinds of events that could take place. Ideally this time could be used to develop an event interesting enough to break through the noise while moving the mission of the nonprofit forward.
Maybe you read the last paragraph and laughed, but I’ll quote former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden: “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.” Short time horizons sets up an event for failure, most importantly setting up following years for less financially successful events too.
The first step in the process is a debriefing meeting within two to three weeks after the prior year’s event detailing the successes and failures and adjusting the strategy for the next year accordingly. Failure to honestly address shortcomings remains the best way to insure that an event neverr eaches its true potential. The event committee (more on this later) should meet within three to four weeks post event to plan the next event and target sponsors. Yes I know that at this meeting people will have event fatigue, but it can’t be helped. The next few months should be about developing sponsor-targeted advertising, meeting with prior sponsors to get them to re-commit and making inquiries to new sponsors. If honorees are involved they should be secured nine months out. By six months out the major sponsors and vendors should be secured.This leaves the final six months for getting the word out (save the date,invitations, social media posts and traditional advertising), finding gifts for the silent auction and all the myriad tasks required to make an event work.
The Board and Staff Commitment
Nonprofit boards need to build a culture based on years of feedback,commitment and goals in order to support a major fundraising event. The staff at most nonprofits don’t have the expertise or the time to make major events successful, especially small and medium sized organizations that can’t afford fundraisers/event planners employees. Every board should have an event committee working all yearlong to ensure the agency’s major fundraising events rake in cash and move the agency brand forward. I know most board members have no desire to participate in event planning, but that’s where the expectation and board culture comes into play. Every member of the board should understand that they can’t just write a check, that they’ll need to devote some time and energy to help the event succeed.
This kind of board commitment will allow proper use of staff resources and will get more from the staff resources devoted to the event. When the whole of an agency is involved in making something work, that commitment energizes staff and management. It’s just simple human nature to want to help a committed bunch of people succeed.
Long Lead Times Generate Sponsors, Advertisers and Donors
Properly done a major fundraising event mines the local community for corporate and individual sponsors, for businesses that will advertise in an event brochure and for donors who believe in the cause. Without a large time horizon developing these pillars of financial support is impossible. I wouldn’t expect the head of a local supermarket chain to want to advertise or sponsor because I contacted her once. There needs to be an on-going often months long discussion to get her attention to the professionalism of the agency, the great work it’s doing and how sponsoring this event can help her corporation’s brand.
Starting a discussion with a potential corporate sponsor three or even six months from the event signals the agency is not really professional,and what’s worse may not be aware of their lack of planning and professionalism. The same holds true for private donors and to a lesser extent to those businesses being approached for ads in an event brochure.
The quick take away
Major events require year-long commitment of staff and board. Take the time and generate the commitment, and your event will grow.