Whether you organize a fancier or a more informal fundraising event, they will all have in common one thing: a well-established plan.
No event, regardless of its size, can take place without proper planning.
A fundraising event checklist will help your organization reach your goals and increase your chances of raising enough money to cover the costs.
When the success of your event is on the line, you can’t afford to leave to chance any aspect which goes into organizing the event.
Use this checklist next time you need help planning a fundraising event.
- Set Goals
Goals are essential because they will help you stay on track and measure success once the event is over. They will also impact the decisions you make from start to finish and determine aspects regarding the size of the venue, staffing needs, entertainment type, catering and others.
The goals need to be SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-based. That way, you will be able to set a realistic goal when it comes to how much money you want to raise.
When settings your goals, think about these three following points:
- Attendees number. How many people you’d like to attend your event? This goal is important because it can also help you figure out the size of the venue you would need.
- Fundraising goal.
- Press coverage. Coverage from the press can help your nonprofit organization because it can increase the awareness of the cause you’re advocating for. Moreover, it may also encourage other people to attend your events in the future.
- Build the Team
When it comes to event management, you need to have a team which covers a variety of roles, including team leaders, volunteers, public relations, logistics and many others, depending on the event size.
Here are five key aspects which your fundraising event checklist needs to include when building a team:
- Establish who is going to be the team leader;
- Define team roles and assign responsibilities to each person;
- Work on team unity by organizing activities, even if they are small, because they will help the members be more effective when working and interacting with each other.
- Hold regular meetings to keep track of the how the event planning is going and if the team members have hit any roadblocks.
- Set the Budget
The budget needs to include staffing costs, venue, catering, entertainment and speaker fees, marketing and other additional costs which depend on the type of event you’re organizing.
- Select the Venue and Choose a Date
Before selecting the venue, you need to determine how much space do you need and how much money you can spend on it.
It’s also important to be practical when choosing the location and see if they have parking, and if they can provide A/V equipment or you need to bring your own.
When it comes to choosing the date, you need to be flexible here because the venue you want may not be available on your desired date, so you will probably need to change it accordingly.
- Book the Speakers/Entertainment
Speakers and entertainment can make a big difference when you’re organizing a fundraising event.
If you want to hire speakers, they need to be relevant to your cause, and preferably they should have experience in the field.
Additionally, you can book an entertainer who can make your event unique and your guests feel welcomed. You have multiple choices here, from a clean comedian to a visual artist, juggler or live music band.
Keep This Fundraising Event Checklist Close
Because it takes months to organize an event accurately, a fundraising event checklist is what you need to keep yourself focused and on track with everything.
