Finding the correct approach to fundraising is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
There are so many different ways to collect funds from people (for good causes of course) but perhaps one of the best approaches is to host a corporate fundraiser.
Corporate fundraising events give you the opportunity to voice the need for funds to your audience, sparking their minds, and hopefully awakening their pockets as well.
However, planning a fundraising function can be a challenge, especially if you’re doing it for the very first time.
Well don’t worry, today I’ll be sharing with you a simple but effective guide to planning magnificent results-driven fundraising events.
Are you ready? Let’s go.
What are FundRaisers?
Before we even get into the guide, let’s set things out clearly.
Corporate Fundraisers are any formal business related gatherings with the objective of raising funds for a specified cause.
The cause could be a new product, a new company branch, a new concept, and so much more.
The point is, the event should attract investors and donors to give money towards the specified cause.
Now, here’s the guide to planning a fundraising event.
1.Define Your Cause Clearly
Convincing people to give you money is difficult. More so if you can’t clearly explain what the purpose of the funds are.
When planning a fundraising event, your first step is to clearly and concisely define your cause.
You could be growing a business, looking for investors, pushing forward charity, and so much more.
But whatever you do, never start planning the event without a clear cause.
Your cause will be very important in the next step, let me show you.
Pick Your Theme
Like we mentioned in our previous article about creating memorable experiences you should select a theme for every event.
When you pick a theme, your audience can clearly remember what your event was about.
Even better, if you correlate your theme to your cause, the audience will know what your cause is before you’ve mentioned it.
This clarity makes the process of fundraising faster and more efficient as it reduces resistance and friction.
So pick a theme around your cause.
For example if your cause is to raise money to build a new sports academy in a rural area, you could make the event theme Empowering Youth or perhaps Enhancing Rural Sports.
3.Do your Research, Don’t Forget Marketing
Now when it comes to getting people to the event, make sure you keep the same energy and seek to get it right.
Start by understanding your audience by asking yourself what kind of people are most likely to give funds in support of your cause.
Going back to our example about the sports academy, perhaps you could look for people with experience in the sports field, people in NGOs empowering sports, and maybe even people with connections to professional sports clubs or teams.
From there, it’s all about your outreach. Find out where the people on your list usually hang out and go reach out to them with invitations to your function.
This is the stage where you do your research on the logistical aspects of the event and create a detailed list of every possible expenditure.
4.Define Your Budget
Now that you know what you’re going to spend your money on, it’s time to make a budget.
This part is quite straightforward. All you have to do is total every possible expenditure then add about 15% more to the number and that’s your budget.
Yes, 15% more.
This amount supplements your budget and acts as an emergency fund in the case of any sudden changes or inconveniences in the process that can only be solved monetarily.
If you’re interested in diving more into creating effective budgets for corporate events, check out one of our previous articles here.
5.Make A Clear Event Program
So now you have your budget, it’s almost time to execute the function.
Before that, make sure you set out an ordered event schedule or program.
As the host of a fundraising event, your job is to convince your audience to trust you that their funds will be well managed.
The lack of a pre-arranged program at your event shows very little of your organisation skills.
So plan your event from the time the guests arrive, to your explanation of the cause, to the point at which they can begin funding the cause.
Make it all very simple, orderly, and efficient.
One More Suggestion
So there you have it, your guide to planning a corporate fundraising function.
Go step-by-step through the guide as you prepare for your event and it should all be a smooth sail to victory-and of course a funded cause.
However, we always suggest that you bring in professionals to help you plan your corporate gathering from start to finish, reducing your stress, and ensuring perfection.
Here at Tellit Events, we do just that.
So if you’re looking for a team of qualified planners to plan, set-up, and manage your fundraising event, find out more with the button below.
