ESA - Training Manual

Social Change Training Manual

ORGANISING FUNDRAISING EVENTS

Presenter: Garth Luke

Don't jump into events

Fundraising events - participative occasions designed to encourage financial support - may not be the best way for your organisation to raise money. Asking your network for donations, or concentrating on government or private sponsorship may be (and are likely to be) much more cost effective.

Nonetheless an event may be appropriate if you use it to also do one or more of the following:

raise awareness
make a protest
enlist new supporters
make contact with a new group of people
have fun.

However always be aware of the opportunity cost of running an event. Could you use the resources more effectively in some other way?

If you decide to take the plunge

If you do decide to run a fundraising event try to make sure that it achieves at least three things:
raises sufficient money
conveys a message which is congruent with your organisation's philosophy
offers something for the spirit of all the people involved.

It is also very important that the event does not become too much of a drag on the organisation - it must be tailored to your organisation's interests and resources. It should also form part of a larger fundraising strategy which is diversified - you don't want everything depending on the success of one event.

Plan for success

Thorough planning is necessary if you want to pull off a successful event. The plan should include:

clear objectives for the event
an income and expenditure budget - income predictions should be based on a cautious assessment of the number of people likely to be involved and the average amount that they will contribute
allocation of responsibilities
identification of the target audience
a detailed timetable which allows sufficient time for organisation and promotion.

Event organisation

Closely monitor progress of event organisation, promotion and response rates - act quickly if things fall behind schedule.
Make sure you have all relevant approvals.
Keep things as simple as possible by reducing frills - it is usually easier to cut costs than raise money.
Try to delegate as many tasks as possible - good if individual volunteers can take on discrete areas of responsibility eg newspaper promotion or entertainment at the event. This is easier to manage, increases accountability and is likely to be more satisfying for the volunteers.
Ensure all event staff are well equipped to handle any likely issues on the day - role play if necessary. You don't get a second chance on the day.

Promotion

Letting people know about the event and getting them to come along are central - the best organised event is a failure if no one joins in.
The key to effective promotion is personal engagement. People are most likely to get involved if they are asked personally by a positive person. Letters and glossy brochures are not enough - you need to ask people to come along.
For small scale events this entails personal contact. Use your networks of friends, volunteers etc and build from there. Share the responsibility eg ask each committee member to bring ten people.
For large scale events which may rely on media publicity build relationships with media organisations and ask them for help. Also ask relevant celebrities for their support. Once again personal contact is very important.
Local media are usually very willing to help if you contact them in plenty of time. You can help them by providing good stories, picture opportunities or by involving celebrities. There is a tendency for media to provide most publicity on the day of the event - this may too late for you and you should be clear about the best timing for you. Give aways are a cheap way to get some media coverage also eg free rainforest t-shirts to the first three people who ring in.
Schools can be an important promotion avenue - this is especially useful if you have a supportive teacher contact.
Banners and posters can also provide a relatively cheap form of promotion in a confined geographical area. These are especially useful in regional centres where there is one central meeting place for the community.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship can be a very useful way to minimise costs, promote the event and lend validity to your cause.
Try to have all material costs sponsored and also obtain media sponsorship. Before approaching a potential sponsor research their interests and likely ability to give. Then ask them for as much as you feel is reasonable. Be careful of offering too much in return as some sponsors try to get every bit of publicity they can. Be very clear about your obligations under any sponsorship agreement and ensure that these are followed. There is no quicker way of losing a sponsor than not keeping your end of the bargain.

On the day

There are three main things to remember on the day:

What can go wrong will go wrong! - prepare for every possibility you can think of and be on the lookout for those you can't.
Make the most of the occasion - maximise the benefit of the day. Make sure people can hear and see what you have to say - make your presence real. If it's a fundraiser also use the occasion to inform people and ask them to send campaign letters, if it's a campaign event also ask people to give money. Try to get them to act there and then - not just think about doing it later.
Don't forget to ask people for their names and addresses - one of the main benefits of events is to make contact with new people.
Have fun - keep the energy going and share it with others.

After the event

Tie up all the loose ends straight after the event. It is important to do this before the energy is lost or it can drag on for ever. If it's a big event and you need a break try putting off holidaying until after you've finished all the post event organisation - you'll enjoy the break much more.
Don't forget to immediately thank everyone involved. As well as specific thanks to volunteers and sponsors it is often a good idea to send a general letter of thanks to be published in the local paper.

Evaluation and documentation

Feedback from participants and all those involved in running the event is very valuable. Participant feedback can be obtained with a sample survey on the day or just by asking people for comments during the event.
Get feedback from helpers at a special feedback meeting or by using a standard evaluation sheet.
The lessons learned should be summarised and documented to ensure that they are used in future planning. Keep more than one copy - you wouldn't believe how many organisations lose their evaluation summaries.

The evaluation should also test whether the event objectives were achieved and assess the cost-benefit of the event. An adequate assessment of costs is usually best attained by simply listing all the costs you can remember (very soon after the event) under each of your organisation's cost categories eg salaries, postage, copier, advertising, printing, hire of equipment, travel etc. Salaries are likely to be the largest cost and the hardest to work out.

Simply ask all those involved to estimate the time that they spent organising the event and multiply this by their salary rate. Include everyone who spent time on the event eg receptionist answering phone calls, coordinator supervising event staff etc.

Don't forget to also include an estimate of infrastructure costs such as rent, electricity etc - staff time is probably the best guide. Don't spend too much effort being too precise with amounts - there's no use trying to record the cost of every last letter that went out when salary estimates may be hundreds of dollars out.

Don't forget to define all numeric data and costs clearly so that useful comparisons can be made in future years.

Effective documentation of the event requires considerable detail. I find it best to break the documentation into sections covering background, objectives, budget, ideal timetable, allocation of responsibilities, location of resources and then each of the main organisation activities.

These can include sponsorship, promotion strategy (with separate sections for each method of promotion), printing details (including originals), on the day volunteers, evaluation and documentation, strategies for next time.

The documentation needs to not just talk about the approach but also the details such as how many chairs were needed, who provided them, at what cost and who picked them up. If each section is detailed and separate it is much easier to delegate the task to a volunteer next time.

If you don't record these details in an easily accessible format the event has to be reorganised almost from scratch each time - a major contribution to burnout of fundraisers.

The event smorgasbord

A number of event options with brief notes are listed below.

Auctions - can be big or small and often attached to a dinner or other event. Small groups can raise money quite well by asking people to donate things they have made or no longer need or to offer services eg 2 hrs of computer instruction or cleaning. Small, friendly groups can raise most by asking for all bids to be paid.

Button/badge Sales - many areas allow groups to sell badges on the street on specific days. The key to success is a few very gung-ho and positive sales people. Don't spend weeks recruiting school students when a few adult volunteers will achieve more.

Cinema - relatively successful and profitable but you need to have a good deal with your local cinema. Great if the film can educate people to.

Concerts - lots of organisation, costs and risks. Probably best if you can piggy back an existing event or if a group of performers offers to organise their own event and give you the income ( or some of it). Try to use the opportunity to educate the audience at the same time.

Dances/parties -parties are likely to be more popular than dinners with most people - the Wilderness Society in NSW has years of bush dances to its credit.

Dinners - can be expensive and risky - likely to be successful if you have well healed committee members and supporters who like paying large amounts of money for poor food and a speaker.

Doorknocks - can be very cost effective, but don't take it on unless your members are comfortable with it. Positive collectors can usually raise about $80 in two hours of collecting. Could work very well for a local conservation group because of geographic linkage.

Morning Teas - currently used by cancer groups around Australia - sponsored by a tea and coffee company, organisation is minimal and taps a market of people at home during the week. Neat idea.

Raffles - Australians love gambling - keep the tickets cheap, obey the law, and have a few positive sales volunteers and you can't lose. Try to keep the prizes in keeping with your organisation.

Sponsored events - Walks, fasts etc - try to avoid events that depend on the weather and don't choose a day that clashes with other major activities. Probably the best option is to arrange sponsorship with an existing event eg MS and the big bike rides.

Stalls - can provide a regular and effective promotion of your organisation and can assist campaigning also. Need regular volunteers who are willing to do it or to focus on peak times eg pre-Christmas. A useful variation of this is to set up a shop just for a few weeks before Christmas. Ask real estate agents for a free space and perhaps combine with like minded groups. Shops such as this in rural areas can raise $15,000 in one month.

Some major community markets are willing to support a charity for the day. People are asked to donate as they enter the market area and/or stall holders give a percentage.

Weird and wonderful things eg plastic duck races, red nose days etc -see! anything works with enough promotion - just keep it simple and keep the costs down - that way you can't lose too much if it doesn't work. Hey you could even try asking people for the money directly.