VCS Feature

Statistically, events fundraising has never been one of the more profitable forms of fundraising. While both special events (e.g. a gala dinner or concert) and challenge events (e.g. a marathon or sporting challenge) can sometimes raise a lot, promotion costs are often high and a lot of staff time is required. For example, while you might expect a return on investment of 10:1 (£10 raised for every £1 spent) from trusts fundraising, or 5:1 from corporate fundraising, events are often closer to 2:1 or 3:1.

Even this figure is decreasing as fundraising events are hit by the current financial climate, market saturation and supporter fatigue (the challenge of keeping on going back to the same limited pool of supporters). If you have a small fundraising team, you’d be forgiven for wondering whether it’s worth your time committing to new fundraising events at all.

So in what circumstances are events still worth your time, and how do you decide whether they’re right for you?

To capitalise on these advantages, you need to be crystal clear what you’re looking to achieve from your fundraising events, and plan accordingly

Maximising The Benefits Of Special Events

Special events are excellent for engaging corporate and major donor prospects, encouraging existing supporters to introduce people from their own network, and recognising the contributions of key supporters. Particularly when your event features stories and speeches from the people you support, or creates an inspiring and celebratory atmosphere, or when senior staff and trustees are on hand to mingle with people.

When planning an event, liaise with people across your organisation to map out who should be invited. Then invite them well in advance, warmly, and with a personal message. Depending on how much you want them to be there, you can consider offering discounted or free tickets where appropriate, particularly if the long-term benefits outweigh the short-term cost.

On the night, make sure key prospects get plenty of time and attention, and take every opportunity to educate and inspire them about your organisation’s work. If you have a long-term plan about how you ideally want them to support your cause, you might be able to cunningly sow some seeds on the night.

Carry on the personal touch after the event, by thanking people and sending any follow-up material promptly, personally and creatively (for example with a handwritten card or colourful social media image). This often requires some advance planning, particularly if staff plan to take some much-needed time off after your event.

Bear in mind that high-value prospects expect ‘senior’ attention, so you need to enlist support from management and trustees at every stage – before, during and after your event. Particularly for corporate and major donor fundraising, it’s rare to be successful without senior level buy-in.

To read the full Lime Green Consulting article click here.

Source: Lime Green Consulting

Charity Digital News have taken a look at some of the effective ways charities can grow their revenue stream using digital technology.

While total giving declined by 4.2% in the UK last year, one area of fundraising stood out like a beacon: online giving to UK non-profits bucked the trend, skyrocketing by an astonishing 5.5% in 2018, according to the Charitable Giving Report 2018. So what are charities doing to grow their revenue with digital?

1. Focus on social media. Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks have become integral to the lives of millions of people. So it makes sense to ensure you have an effective social media strategy that may include sponsored posts and advertising.

The results of a well thought out social media presence can be impressive: 72% of NGOs worldwide agree that social media is effective for online fundraising, according to the 2019 Global NGO Technology Report, and Facebook alone is responsible for raising over £1.6 billion for charities through its social media platform.

2. Find digital match funding. Match funding – where a business or other large organization pledges to match funds raised by a charity – is a highly effective way for non-profits to increase revenue with digital: match giving leads to more people donating and some people donating more compared to regular donations to a cause, according to A Great Match, a survey commissioned by digital match funding platform Big Give.

Big Give and other digital match funding platforms help charities access match funds provided by foundations, trusts, and individual philanthropists.

To read the full Charity Digital News article click here.

Source: Charity Digital News

Social media can be a powerful tool to build relationships with supporters and donors – here’s a list of tips to get started.

Social media giant Facebook has just announced that charities have now raised a total of £1.6bn through the platform, with £803m raised through Facebook birthday fundraising.

And according the 2019 CAF giving report, one in seven people who donate using a website or app do so through social media, such as Facebook’s ‘donate’ button.

There isn’t always a strong connection between charities’ social media efforts and their fundraising, but the stats we just cited show that social media can be a powerful tool for those that get it right. Whether or not supporters give directly through a charity’s social media channels, these platforms represent a cheap or even free opportunity for charities to build valuable relationships, raise awareness, get people involved in their cause and build an engaged community of fans.

So how do you make sure you’re getting the most out of social media for your charity’s fundraising campaign?

To read the full Charity Digital News article click here.

Source: Charity Digital News