Fundraising Ideas to Engage Donors
When tickets, membership subscriptions, gift shop sales, and food and snack sales aren’t enough to meet the growing demands of a nonprofit, most cultural institutions turn to fundraising.
But what’s the best way to engage donors and ensure that your fundraising strategy is a success? By bringing people together around a common cause in a fun, energized manner.
By hosting face-to-face, interactive events, you can connect with your donors on a human level, bring people together, reinforce your mission statement, and remind donors of all the important and enriching work you do as a cultural pillar of society.
Below are some amazing event ideas and tips on how to engage donors.
Fundraising Plan and Checklist
Before you host a fun event to engage donors, you need to start with a plan.
Here are a few things to consider in your fundraising plan and checklist.
- Establish your goals
- Set a budget
- Define your target donor
- Create your fundraising campaign
- Assign roles to your fundraising team
- Market your event
- Host your event and engage your donors
How to Engage Donors with Amazing Events
Wine Tasting Event
There’s perhaps no more elegant of a scene than a seasoned sommelier looking after your glasses, an enriching exhibitions surrounding you, and a set of excellent wines to taste. Especially if you’re running a historical, artistic, or socially relevant cultural institution, it’s likely that many of your potential donors will respond cordially to a wine tasting invitation.
At the event, make sure you introduce all of your institution’s upcoming events, projects, yearly benchmarks, as well as what your organization has achieved thus far for the year. You can think about setting up a powerpoint presentation or speech regarding the amount of fundraising your institution needs and available streams that donors can use to contribute to the cause.
If a full-fledged wine-tasting event is too expensive, consider a smaller-scale version with wine, cheese, and other snacks.
Engage Donors with an Auction
Hosting an auction is an excellent way to meet and engage donors, raise funds, and contribute to your long-term fundraising campaign.
If you’re running a museum, this is a great opportunity to clear a gallery and use the exhibition space as an opportunity to present auction items. You can present auction items or descriptions of auction items throughout your gallery and allow your guests to mingle with one-another while they stroll through your beautiful halls.
Some things to consider when hosting an auction:
- Select items that will appeal to your guests
- Meet your guests as they roam around your gallery
- Simplify the process by making it a silent or mobile auction, allowing for a more social atmosphere
- If you have the right staff member, give them the mic and let their energy carry through a live auction
- Allocate a percentage of the proceeds out to a charity
How to Engage Donors in your Local City
One of the most meaningful and simple ways to host a fundraising event is to look toward your local community. You can team up with local restaurants, golf courses, schools and universities, or city council to create a joint event.
Partnering with locals will not only bolster your presence in the community, but it allows you to benefit from the mutual resources and potential donors of both parties.
If a local golf club runs a perennial charity, consider teaming up with them for a golf tournament, bringing people together for a fun and active day of golf.
Are there any well-known local restaurants that have captured the heart of the city? Consider a curating event where one of their chef’s cooks for your guests at a fundraising event. Whatever path you take, it’s smart to seize the opportunities that are closest to you.
Engage Donors with a Walkathon
Walkathons are a true and tested fundraising method that everyone can get behind. They encourage and promote active living, are easy enough for most demographics to be a part of, and are bound to attract attention.
You can provide awards, engage participants with an online leaderboard, sell shirts, and market your institution and brand to everyone involved.
The more you engage your community with your cause, the more likely you’re going to get the kind of response and support you’ll need to make the walkathon a success.
With these tips, you can start planning your next fundraising event to engage donors and meet your annual needs.
With ACME ticketing, you aren’t just managing your ticketing sales and subscriptions, you’re also organizing donations, fundraising events, and the donors that you rely on. ACME’s cloud-based technology and intelligent CRM will allow you to track, update, and stay on top of all your important donor relations. Widen your fundraising scope and start planning your next event with ACME today.