Are you making best use of events
for your cause?

How to boost your income with fundraising events
by Andrew de Mille

What is involved in staging an event? Of course there is no one answer to such a question – events come in all shapes and sizes, but there are some basic principles which apply to all. This article aims to set out some checklists and thoughts which apply generally to almost all fundraising events, starting with Four Basics (fig 1).

Fig 1. Four basic factors essential to all fundraising events

1. A first class idea.
2. A defined target audience (for whom the idea is a real draw).
3. A very strong organising committee.
4. An operating budget – access to funds.

The Idea

Few organising committees start with all the Four Basics (fig 1) – they develop them and build up to them. The “first class idea ” for the event is seldom just sitting there waiting to be acted upon; more usually it is developed by discussion.

Fig 2. Where do ideas for events come from?

• Development of a previously successful event.
• Lengthy discussion and brainstorming, based on the organising committee's knowledge of the audience and of its own skill base and capabilities.
• Plagiarism! – if it works for another charity why not try it for yours? (But make sure you add your own unique touch to it, to avoid any infringement of copyrights or encroachment on intellectual property.)

The usual “10% inspiration and 90% perspiration” applies to creating imaginative events. Brainstorm, for inspiration, with some colleagues or good friends, with a whiteboard or flip chart; the perspiration includes studying other charities' newsletters, annual reports and websites. There are some wonderful ideas out there, and by combining several you can create a “brand new” event all of your own!

“Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess”, wrote Oscar Wilde. Some really over the top ideas can have the zany quality which makes them successful 7ndash; Red Nose Day was one such idea; The Moonwalk for breast cancer charities is another – “What? You walk a Marathon course all night? You must be mad!” and thousands of people do, and make the event a huge annual success. When zany ideas catch the public imagination they can go very big indeed. There is, as usual, truth in the wisdom of Wilde.

The Organising Committee

The organising committee needs to be quite large in order to maximise potential access to the audience through personal contact and networking. It may start as a smaller group, perhaps six or so, and expand. It will finally need to number fifteen or even more. Such a group needs a very good Chair who can keep discussions on track whilst allowing group members to feel involved and part of the team.

Fig 3. Essential skills to recruit for the organising committee

1. Some one who is very much in charge! – a strong, determined Chair or leader.
2. Several with “very big address books” – ability to engage with and personally persuade large numbers of the target audience to buy tickets – and to cascade this on down through their friends.
3. Several with well honed organisational ability – who can be relied upon to take on tasks and deliver them without undue chasing.
4. A competent treasurer, who can administer the budget, provide or administer a system of very tight financial; control and cash control, and set in place appropriate safeguards for any cash handled at the event and to keep full accounts.
5. Someone with presentational flair – who can write and create, or commission, promotional material and all the print needed for the event.

Note to Very Small Charities

Organising events can seriously drain your limited human resources. Always try to tell organisers that you have no resources to help them; they will often rise to the challenge so all you have to do is turn up, and bank the funds raised! But you do need to apply due diligence to the organisers too – to avoid possible mishap or misdemeanour.

Working out a Budget

Planning a budget is largely achieved by common sense and attention to detail. See checklist in Fig 4.

Fig 4 Operating budget – advance expenditure will normally be needed for items such as:

• Deposits on venue, catering, hire equipment, etc
• Booking fee for band or entertainment
• Costumes or props for a “home made” entertainment (more appropriate to many smaller charities)
• Printing tickets, flyers, advance publicity material, programmes etc.
• Insurance – public liability cover is essential; consider pluvious insurance and other forms of cancellation cover (but read the small print very carefully!)

“Walk the course”

At a very early date, once the venue is decided, the organising committee should “walk” through the whole event at the venue, from when guests arrive, park, deal with coats and so on all the way through the point at which they leave. This can make the difference between success and failure. You will see potential problems and “pinch points” and can plan accordingly.

Prime Objectives, Secondary Objectives.

Think carefully about the objectives of your event. Fundraising is probably the prime purpose, but the event will offer a wonderful opportunity to achieve a range of secondary objectives. See Fig 5.

Fig 5. Some possible secondary objectives of the event

• Attracting more volunteers or members.
• Increasing the cohesiveness of your team.
• Providing corporate recognition for a main sponsor or major donor.
• Celebrating an anniversary.
• Thanking volunteers for all they do.
• Making some special awards.
• Running secondary “fundraiser” such as an auction, or draw.

Observe Legal Requirements

The Institute of Fundraising website (www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk) lists all the regulations that affect events under its Codes of Practice section, on events. This draft code is currently out for consultation but is already an extremely useful reference.

Have Fun

Your event must be fun. If it is, people will come when you repeat it next year and the year after and for as long as it remains a good event. Enjoy it, and enjoy the revenue from it!

A shorter version of this article first appeared in Charity Funding Report, May 2006 (Caritas Data)

May 2006

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