Charity fundraising. Common solutions
To reach out to the community and make people talk about you, one can launch an advertising campaign. However, this attitude is not always true with charity, where you have to encourage large corporations to invest for the future. We understand the value of such gatherings and want you to know what you can do to gather fundraisers for an event.
Businesses that operate on a local level often reach out to clients to cover the costs for the social event, and if it happens to be charity, it will only increase their chances to support their name and maintain reputation. If you haven’t found the right sponsor yet, we are going to provide you with a few tips on how to do this:
Use your connections. Talk to people you know and communicate with the members of the board. They may personally know business owners, who are interested in funding the charity event and receiving additional bonuses for hosting it on a high-end level. If you are lucky, you will be introduced to some very influential individuals, who can be of great help whenever it comes to a charity event.
Plan the event ahead. Every time we talk about raising funds, we should remember that it is an opportunity for the sponsor to make an association with their names. In other words, when larger businesses facilitate your budget, they hope to receive their fair share of advertising in return, even if it is charity. These are the rules of the game, and by creating a scenario of the future venue in your head, you make it easier for sponsors to follow your thought.
Think of the assets. Before the event takes place, make a small excursion around the area to identify the best places for the brand name of the company. Like any other venue, charity organization demands time and effort. You should search for all potential spots where the commercial banners can be placed so that they catch the guests’ eye immediately. However, you should not make your advertising tacky, as the objective of the venue does not represent commerce alone.
Provide the goody bags. We all need encouragement, so do not forget to present your guests with a memorable gift. It does not necessarily have to be a luxury item or a golden piece (after all, we are talking about raising money for a good cause – they don’t call them goody bags for nothing). However, you can opt for a notebook with the company’s initials and basic information about the aim of venue. Frequently, guests are presented with the bags at the entrance, but you can do this throughout the party to produce an impression.
Establishing the relationships
If you think that your venue details are in order, it is time to manage relationships between the sponsors. You should be as diplomatic as possible, and remember to stick to the original plan. In case you are on a limited budget and the local businesses cover all the costs, you should still be ready to provide an outlay of the future event.
Once you know your sponsors are going to be with you, you should delegate someone on your team to ensure friendly relations throughout the entire campaign. This is done in order to secure future meetings: in case you plan to organize similar events in a couple of months, you want your sponsors to keep coming back to you no matter what.
Venue recap
Delegate people who are good at communication and are excellent conversationalists. Assisting a charity event is no easy job, and you will need as many helping hands as you are able to find. Discuss the event prior to its start in order to clear up the details and make sure you found a mutual agreement in terms of finance and logos.
In case you have contrasting opinions or your views differ on the objective of the event, share them with your colleagues and members of the board, so that you can come to similar conclusions together. After the event is over, do not forget to send a letter of gratitude to all your sponsors, indicating the number of the guests that attended the party, the money raised and the general impressions of the public. It would be a wise gesture to thank your fundraisers for the opportunities provided.
We always think of a charity event as a duty, but there is a side to this issue you probably never knew, especially if you are the head of the group, responsible for the venue and everything, related to it. Do not underestimate the importance of recapping an event and highlighting the details, as you inform your sponsors of the press coverage. Their name should be associated with the event, and the goody bags we mentioned in the beginning will help the guests remember the organizers. Local businesses are no exception to the rule when they want to give feedback to their customers and deliver the best performance, whether it is an advertising campaign or a charity issue.
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