In this comprehensive overview of annual giving programs, you’ll gain an introduction to the basic terminology and concepts of annual giving as well as the various solicitation channels and donor types. Learn how to write a direct mail appeal, craft an impactful email appeal, and develop a script for phone solicitation. You’ll learn how to build a leadership annual giving portfolio and maximize the impact of memberships and events in annual campaigns. You’ll complete the course with the knowledge and skills to build and implement a multi-channel solicitation strategy that achieves the goals of an annual campaign.
Events (Part 2)
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Из курса от партнера University of California, Davis
Annual Campaigns: Building a Case for Support
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Memberships and Events
In this module, you will be able to compare the fundraising techniques of dues-based membership organizations. You will be able to examine the keys to successful fundraising events, and you will be able to create a plan to engage members and donors throughout the year.
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Michelle PoesySenior Director
Annual and Special Gifts
[MUSIC] So you now have a good idea of
what event you need to do and
what your audience will be.
It fits within your goals and mission and it has a clearly defined purpose.
You've looked over the event with a fine-tooth comb, and
you've assessed the sponsorship benefits you can provide to secure some
outstanding business partners.
You've put together a nice one pager brochure or
folder of information to share.
Now you need to go out and ask.
The same skills we covered in the leadership annual giving module would
apply here.
Start with narrowing down your prospect list and
talk to those with the highest probability to support you.
Look for businesses that fit your demographic or
businesses that are already supporting you in other ways.
You need to plan ahead.
In most cases, you want to secure sponsors for
events about six months before the event.
The businesses need to fit you into their overall operating plan, and
you need to secure them early so you can plan for your event.
You now need to talk to the right person, the decision maker.
Do your research and find who makes those decisions.
In smaller companies, it will be the owner, the manager, or the president.
Larger corporations and foundations may have positions dedicated to this role.
Figure out who that person is and get on their calendar.
Once you've secured the visit, send information ahead of your meeting for
their review.
Also, bring those materials to the meeting, and
please make sure the materials you are presenting are well done.
They don't have to be fancy, but they need to be good with no typos or errors.
If a company chooses to tie their name to yours through a sponsorship,
the decision maker needs to trust you can present yourself in a professional way.
And lastly, know your stuff.
You need to know what your sponsorship package is backward and forward.
Like we mentioned in the session on leadership annual giving,
you need your elevator speech.
Flexibility is also important.
Most businesses will fit within your defined program, but
you'll have some that need some special care, and
if you can accommodate, it will pay dividends for you.
Now we've gotten to the good stuff.
You know what you're going to do, you know who you want to come, and you found
a way to pay for it, whether it's a donor or a corporate or business sponsor.
Now you've got to get the people there.
This component is crucial to your success.
If you build it, they will come does not apply to fundraising events.
If you build it, mail people, e-mail people, text people, e-mail them again,
post on Facebook, send out a press release, call them, they might come.
For invitation-only events like dinners, receptions, recognition events and
galas, you'll see here a plan for invitations.
Our donors are savvy and they know if they know if a non-profit is hosting an event,
we undoubtedly have fundraising in mind.
Keeping that mind, plan ahead so you can do a lot of follow up.
Send a save the date six to eight weeks out.
Follow up with invitations between four and six weeks out.
I'm kind of old school in my thinking about invitations and
believe special events should have a hard copy invitation.
It makes it special for the donor.
With my knowledge of e-mail open rates, I also know
if you can get 30% of recipients to open an e-mail you're doing great.
That means only 30% of your audience sees your invitation.
It's the same logic I use for annual giving solicitation.
E-mail is a great tool, but mail still makes it to everyone's kitchen counter.
About two weeks before your event,
send out an e-mail reminder to catch those last minute folks.
And if you're getting down to the wire and
still need to boost your attendance, pick up the phone and call people.
Use your development staff for this or students or volunteers.
Calling to remind people is a great stewardship touch,
even if they decline the invitation, so it isn't wasted time.
Marketing a community event is where you get to be the most creative, and
I have to share with you this was my favorite part of doing events.
I was ceaseless when it came to getting the information out about my festival.
I'll start with some basics here and then share a few of our more creative moments.
Send e-mails to your donors, members, and listservs.
Post regularly on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Produce press releases to send to your regional media outlets.
If you have the opportunity,
take the advantage of radio public service announcement.
Event posters still work, and so do brochures and flyers.
Create great ones that people notice.
If you have business partners,
ask them to share the event information on their reader boards.
Buy ads if you have the budget.
Just be sure the vehicles you choose fit your demographic.
Today, you cannot neglect having a website or Facebook page.
Most people search the Internet for information, and
if they can't find you in the Google search, you've lost them.
Having worked for a community event that had minimal budget,
we learned to do a lot with very little, and
I had some very creative marketing people who helped with our event and promotions.
Our event had the opportunity about 15 years ago to paint an event mural on
the side of a building downtown to advertise our event on an ongoing basis.
The dates of the event get updated by a painter every year, but
the mural is still there today.
It looks great and reminds people every day of the event.
We also produced a tip sheet about a month prior to the event
that we sent to all the media outlets in the state.
It shared event information, weird and interesting facts and photos.
The tip sheet referred to me as the Lentil Lady,
the event celebrated lentils, by the way, and shared my contact information.
That tip sheet garnered several radio interviews around the state every year and
three television interviews.
For one of the TV interviews we actually did an on-air cooking demonstration.
The tip sheet took some time to create, but
the free press it generated was worth the effort.
It was just weird enough to be interesting.
One year, I also worked with the Mayor and the City Council of our town to have
the name of a street changed to Lentil Lane to celebrate the event.
I did a little research first to make sure no one would be offended by
the name change.
The city agreed, and we did a celebration to commemorate the name change and
unveil the new street sign.
My hope was to get a little coverage for the event in the regional papers.
But the story, including information about the event, was just strange enough that it
hit the AP and we ended up in a few newspapers around the country.
When you're marketing your event, whether through communication vehicles, or
face to face, you will find success if you are creative in your thinking.
Be inspired in your thinking and your actions so you can inspire others, and
be enthusiastic.
I used to speak every semester at my alma mater to public relations students
interested in becoming event planners.
And the piece of advice I shared every time
was you have to be your own biggest cheerleader.
If you aren't excited about what you're doing,
how will you get anyone else to be excited?
I want to circle back and talk briefly about sharing impact at your events.
Community events, fund runs and
golf tournaments don't really fall into this category, but this is
definitely an integral part to recognition events and other fundraising events.
Find ways to share stories about the impact of giving at your events.
Donors telling stories about why they choose to support can be really impactful.
It helps other donors envision themselves in the same way if a colleague, peer, or
friend stands up in front of everyone and shares their story.
Maybe they were a scholarship recipient as a student and
they have an endowed scholarship to help students now.
Or a study abroad semester changed their lives so they
are funding a program that allows students to have those same kinds of experiences.
Maybe an especially caring nurse helped their family during a difficult medical
situation and they decided to fund a program that supports nursing education.
I know this donor that started an endowment to support
the Disability Resource Center at the university because his father worked in
that field for 50 years and impacted a lot of lives during his career.
The donor wanted to leave a legacy in his father's name that would really reflect
who his father was.
I love this story, and I admit I cried, and I wasn't the only one who did,
when the donor shared his story at that recognition event.
It meant a lot to them, and they told their story better than we could have.
Share stories from the people directly impacted by the giving as well.
A student who wouldn't have an education if it weren't for a donor.
A research project that wouldn't exist if it weren't for donors.
A group or club that did something really great like winning a national competition
because donors supported their project.
If a story impacted you when you heard it, it will impact your donors.
So keep your eyes open throughout the year for
people and projects that might be good to feature in your events.
Many impact stories require a serious tone.
Much of what we do as non-profit fundraisers is to support people in
need or serious problems, curing cancer, other diseases, solving global problems.
But sometimes a little levity helps deliver your message in a really memorable
and impactful way.
This year, at our recognition gala,
our donor relations team put together this really fun Jeopardy style game that
highlighted giving impact across the university.
There were categories, just like Jeopardy, and
then questions related to each of those categories.
Everything was related to philanthropy.
Each table competed in a trivia game at the beginning of dinner, and
the top three tables got to compete.
There were buzzers and lights flashing and the winning team won a prize.
The guests had a blast, and
the game shared donor impact in a really interesting and memorable way.
I hate to be a broken record, but I'll say it again, be creative.
People are looking for new and different experiences, and
you'll keep them engaged if you can do that even in a small way.
For events, we discussed the various types of fundraising events.
Doing an inventory of what you're currently doing, what is missing, and what
can be eliminated was discussed, as was defining your purpose and your audience.
Fundraising events need to have a goal.
We covered briefly how donors and corporate business sponsors can help fund
your events to give you the greatest impact.
I also shared some ideas for building a sponsorship package for your events, and
selling those to potential business partners.
To wrap up,
we talked about marketing your events to your audience to maximize attendance.
And for fundraising events, we touched on impact stories and some ideas for
including them in your events.
I'll close by saying that working with membership organizations and
doing events brought me a lot of personal joy.
The members were wonderful people.
Being part of something larger than myself with a greater purpose was fulfilling, and
the work, though it was hard sometimes, was a ton of fun.
Some of my fondest memories, proudest moments, and
best friends were made during those years.
If you take this path, or you're already on it, enjoy the work, be creative,
and have some fun with your projects.
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