As a small nonprofit that’s just starting out, what do you do when you don’t have the funds to host the fundraisers you want? How do you know what to do when you lack the experience other nonprofit event planners have?
Growing any event from the ground up is difficult but entirely doable—you just need to know the best practices to apply. Whether your mission is to boost civic engagement or safely rehome pets, this guide will help you host events with limited resources and experience.
Choose a low-cost fundraiser.
Choosing an event to host requires more thought than simply picking what looks fun from a list of fundraising event ideas. When you’re trying to grow your fundraiser from the ground up and use as little money as possible, you must start with an innately low-cost fundraiser. Big, expensive events like galas may be out of your reach right now—but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to generate revenue for your mission.
Aside from the overhead cost of the event, also consider the following details when selecting your idea:
- The event’s revenue-generating potential: How much money do you anticipate this fundraiser bringing in for your nonprofit? Is it enough to cover the cost of the event and push forward your mission?
- Your community’s preferences: Will your community like the event you’re hosting? How can you make it more aligned with their preferences?
- Your team’s bandwidth: Does your team have the time, resources, and ability to handle this event? Are there any changes you could make to make it more suitable?
Here are a few examples of low-cost fundraising events you could use:
- Shoe drive fundraiser
- Community bake sale
- Car wash
- Walk-a-thon
- Movie night
Additionally, just because the event is low-cost doesn’t mean you can’t put an exciting spin on it. For example, if you want to organize a walk-a-thon, look at these ideas from Funds2Orgs to spice your event up. You could augment your event with a shoe drive fundraiser, a matching gift challenge, or a fun theme to boost revenue and engagement.
Mobilize your volunteers.
Staffing issues are one of the greatest challenges smaller nonprofits and advocacy organizations face, especially when dealing with event day challenges. That’s where your volunteers come in—these dedicated supporters donate their time and energy to helping you with tasks ranging from content creation to canvassing. Naturally, you might call upon them to assist with event-day tasks.
When mobilizing volunteers for fundraising events, establish a thorough volunteer strategy. This should include how you’ll handle:
- Recruitment. Follow top volunteer recruitment strategies, such as crafting compelling volunteer job descriptions, hosting a volunteer open house, connecting with students, and creating micro-volunteering options.
- Training and onboarding. During onboarding, debrief new volunteers about your nonprofit’s mission, discuss specific processes they must follow while volunteering, and outline your expectations for their behavior and conduct. This will give them all the tools they need to succeed in assisting your organization.
- Management. When your nonprofit is smaller, you may assign a single individual to manage all your volunteers. They’ll decide what volunteer opportunities your nonprofit should offer, create a volunteer schedule to ensure you always have the help you need, and more. If you’d like to dive deeper into this topic, check out this guide to successfully managing your volunteers.
Build upon your existing volunteer program by outlining how volunteers will help at your event, how you’ll prepare them for it, and how you’ll manage them on the event day. You may need a staff member to act as a volunteer manager. This individual will write volunteer job descriptions, handle event-specific training, and support volunteers during the event.
Engage sponsors for extra funding.
If your organization lacks the funding necessary to host your desired event, consider sponsorships for supplemental funding. Be strategic with your appeals by only contacting the businesses most likely to agree to your request. Look for organizations that:
- Work in the same community
- Operate in the same vertical
- Have a history of charitable giving
- Are related to your event’s offerings
For example, let’s say you’re looking into sponsorships for a golf tournament. According to GolfStatus, you might solicit sponsorships from:
- Food and beverage companies: Most golf tournaments incorporate food and drinks, and these businesses offer related products and services.
- Healthcare companies: Improving the quality of life of residents and community members is likely a shared goal between these businesses and your nonprofit.
- Sports and fitness companies: These organizations may offer golf equipment and other sporting goods directly tied to your fundraising event.
When requesting sponsorships, focus on the benefits your nonprofit can bring to the other organization. Usually, this takes the form of marketing and access to your audience. Highlight perks you’ll offer in exchange for funds, such as posting social media shoutouts or sharing the sponsor’s branding on your event materials. Ideally, bring statistics and data to justify why this perk is impactful—for example, offer to include the sponsor’s logo on your website’s sponsorships page and disclose that you receive 10,000 site visits a month to make your offer more enticing.
Strategically promote your event.
With a small budget and the time constraints of event planning, you can’t afford to waste staff time on ineffective marketing strategies that don’t speak to your community. Tailor your event promotion to your audience’s needs and preferences by following these steps:
- Identify your event’s target audience. In addition to figuring out your nonprofit’s general audience, determine the exact segments that would be most interested in your event. For example, if you’re hosting a 5K fundraiser, community members interested in participating will likely be local individuals prioritizing their physical health and spending time outdoors.
- Determine the best channels to reach them. Use data stored in your nonprofit’s constituent relationship management system (CRM) to outline the best channels to reach your event audience. If you don’t have a CRM, analyze your website and social media traffic, review engagement on past content, and even survey supporters directly.
- Incorporate inspiring marketing elements. Personalize your messages by incorporating marketing elements that inspire the viewer to act. For example, many individuals connect with real stories of nonprofit beneficiaries, so add storytelling elements to your messages. Or, feature testimonials from past volunteers to demonstrate the impact your nonprofit is making on the community.
Add clear calls to action to your marketing materials so viewers immediately understand what you’re asking them to do. Include links to your event site so readers know where to RSVP and find more information about your fundraiser.
Prepare a day-of execution plan.
After all your planning, you still need to execute your event! The exact steps you must follow and the preparation you should undergo depend entirely on what the event is, but here are some general execution steps:
- Conduct a team briefing
- Set up event equipment
- Test all technology and equipment
- Set up your event command center
- Marshall your volunteers
- Manage attendee check-in
- Host specific activities according to the schedule
- Oversee catering and refreshments
For a more specific example, here are a few specific steps needed to run a silent auction:
- Create an auction item sorting system
- Set out auction items and displays
- Print bidding cards and item descriptions
- Manage and troubleshoot any bidding technology
- Check out attendees and distribute auction items
Build your event-day execution toolkit by starting with the general execution steps and then building out your fundraiser-specific tasks for a full view of what you need to do to host your event successfully and reach your fundraising goal.
Fundraising events aren’t just about boosting revenue for your organization—they’re also a way to create lasting relationships, allowing you to retain key support from community members. Use the tips in this guide to host a low-cost event that generates the revenue and connections your nonprofit needs to continue its work.
