We all know that A LOT of work goes into planning a fundraising event. A LOT. Your organization will spend countless hours fine-tuning every last detail to ensure that your guests have an excellent experience at your event. But as your planning goes along, there’s one thing you need to stop and think about for a moment: are my guests excited for this event? This is often the million dollar question that many non-profits fail to answer. We want to help you generate buzz around your event and draw your donors to the event like bees to a flower!
Fortunately, we at AmFund are equipped with 20 years of experience and thousands of fundraising events under our belt. We have truly seen the goods, the bads, and the uglies of fundraising events and we want to share them with our nonprofit partners. We were founded in 1999 with the purpose of fundraising for fellow nonprofit organizations and raising funds for their missions, one community at a time. Ingredient #1 for your event, is getting your donors excited, which is a major component to the overall success of your event.
Taking a look at your donors’ mindsets
Take a look at these two conversations below and think about which one you would rather your donors be having about your event.
Conversation 1: “Well, I guess we can go to the XYZ event. It’s only $75 to get in and it includes an open bar, hors d’oeurves, and dinner.”
Conversation 2: “Don’t forget that we have the XYZ gala next month. You should call Susie and David to see if they will be attending this year. The food is always excellent and everything is always running on time. I also want to hear about all of the different things this organization has been doing lately. I heard that they have been doing some excellent things in the community. And of course…make sure you have your dress ready by then.”
It’s obvious that you want your donors to talk about your event in the ways of Conversation #2. Although a bit contrived, you get the point. In this conversation, your donors are talking about inviting other people. They are also excited about the quality of the event, such as food and the logistics of the event. You also want them to be excited about your mission. After all, your mission should be the driving force that brings out your donors. It’s your job to remind them exactly what you are doing to help accomplish your organization’s goals.
The art of generating buzz
Generating buzz is like training your donors to speak about your event in a certain way. It’s important to highlight the features of your event. Maybe you have a new raffle prize, celebrity attending to sign autographs for VIP ticket purchasers, or maybe you have some exciting high-end auction items that you want to promote. Don't forget to keep in mind the number one question in good marketing--- WIIFM or "What's in it for me". This question drives almost every decision we make. Whatever you are highlighting make sure it answers this question and get that information out there to your donors. Creating this buzz will get them excited to come out and support your worthy cause and cause them to have the right conversations among themselves and their friends about your event, which in turn will further elevate the event.
For further tips and insights on generating buzz for your next fundraising event, contact us at AmFund.