Soapbox Engage Blog

Events are a critical way for nonprofits to connect with current and potential donors, share about the mission, and raise money. But planning and managing an event--whether in-person or online--can be quite a task, especially if it's an event you've never hosted before.

Whether you're planning a small gathering for your top donors or a massive event with hundreds of attendees, fundraising events require careful planning, promotion, budgeting, and many other things.

Event management tools and strategies can help you raise the most money possible at your upcoming nonprofit events and reduce the event planning stress for your entire team. We've gathered the top lessons, tips, and tools from fundraising experts to help you streamline your event management strategy!

Table of Contents

1. Set specific, SMART goals for each fundraising event
2. Set a working budget for your nonprofit events
3. Choose the right type of event that matches your goals
4. Decide how you'll conduct event registration and receive donations
5. Create a promotion plan for your fundraising event
6. Collect as much data as possible from your nonprofit events

Lesson 1: Set specific, SMART goals for each fundraising event

Take the time to set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely) goals for each of your nonprofit events. SMART goals help you focus your efforts and resources in the right areas and increase the likelihood of achieving your objectives.

Setting specific goals gives you a target to aim for. If your goal is to raise money, how much do you need to raise? Or suppose your goal is to expand your list of potential donors. How many new contacts would you like to add to your CRM system?

These SMART goals will help direct and influence your event planning, from the ticket prices to the invitation list and the target audience for your advertisement.

Lesson 2: Set a working budget for your nonprofit events

Once you've defined your SMART goals, create a budget for each of your online and in-person fundraising events. Even if it's a low-cost event, a budget will help you stay on track, calculate an accurate return on your investment, and help you plan accordingly. Budgets are especially valuable if you're working with limited funds.

Though some event management software includes budgeting tools, you don't need any fancy software to create an event budget. A Google spreadsheet will let you build, update, and share your budget with your team.

Make sure to include all the costs in your budget--from marketing and promotional material to actual event costs. As you go, update your budget with actual expenses compared to your expected costs to make sure you stay within your budget.

Lesson 3: Choose the right type of event that matches your goals

Now that you've laid out the goals and resources available, decide what kind of event will help you accomplish those goals. What type of audience do you want to attract, and which events will draw those people in? What events can you afford to host?

Another factor to consider when choosing a fundraising event is planning time and volunteers. How much time will it take to plan and execute the event? Will that fit in your timeline? How many staff, volunteers, and other people will it require to plan and execute the event? Will you be able to recruit the right people to make it happen?

If you're planning a repeat event (one you've held in the past), take a look at the previous data to see what you can change or adjust to improve the quality and outcome of the event.

Using event management software can make answering these questions easier over time. As you use the software to plan and execute events and organize your volunteers, you'll have more data to look at and rely on year after year.

Lesson 4: Decide how you'll conduct event registration, receive donations, and collect contact information

No matter what goals you set and what events you choose, every fundraising event is an opportunity to receive donations and collect contact information--even if it's a free event!

Decide how your team will conduct event registration. Whether you're selling tickets or asking people to reserve a free spot, the right event registration tool will make your job much easier. Many event management software tools include ticketing options.

The Soapbox Engage Events app lets you customize every detail of your event registration. Whether you're selling tickets or taking free sign-ups, the registrations are processed on your event site, and the information can go straight to your CRM system (like Salesforce or Microsoft Dynamics). You'll simplify the event registration process and seamlessly collect contact information!

In the lead-up, at the event, and post-event, make sure people can make donations online. Some people may not be able to attend but still want to give generously to the cause. Other people might like to attend then donate afterward. You get the idea. Make it easy for anyone to make a donation with a custom donation page for each of your nonprofit fundraising events.

It's also critical to gather contact information throughout the event so you can follow up and connect with new potential supporters. Use the Soapbox Engage Forms app at your next event to capture contact information and seamlessly upload it to your CRM system. It's fully customizable, so you can quickly create a form that gathers the data that matters to you--nothing more and nothing less!

These tools will make your event management job infinitely easier! It's ok to use paper contact forms and Google spreadsheets when you're just getting started. Event management tools enable nonprofits to grow and plan bigger, more complex events, host more people, and raise more money.

Lesson 5: Create a promotion plan for your fundraising event

If you want to have a great turnout for your next event, you'll need to promote it! Even virtual events need some marketing and promotion to ensure you attract the right audience.

Event marketing can be a complicated and expensive task, but it doesn't need to be if you have quality tactics and tools.

Digital advertising is often the most effective and affordable strategy. Create a custom landing page for your upcoming event and direct potential attendees to that site via email and social media campaigns. Don't forget to add a donate button, registration information, and opportunities to learn more about your organization!

Even video marketing is a great strategy to advertise your upcoming nonprofit events! Studies show that social videos can get up to twelve times more "shares" than traditional text and images. Additionally, 82% of people polled in one survey said they'd rather watch a video than read social media posts. So, some quick, simple videos advertising your events can go a long way to get people registered!

This is also where your CRM system is a real asset. Create email campaigns to invite the right groups of people to your event. Suppose your goal is to increase the number of first-time donations. In that case, you can create a segmented list in your CRM system and only invite people who haven't yet made a financial contribution.

Lesson 6: Collect as much data as possible from your nonprofit events

It's critical to collect as much data from each fundraising event as possible so you can determine whether you accomplished your goals. The right data can also guide future event planning decisions so you can enjoy greater success.

Event management software can make collecting the right data much easier. It connects all aspects of the event planning in one location, from ticket sales and online donations to contact cards and budget details.

When used correctly, event management tools enable you to look back on previous events to learn helpful information like the average donation size, the number of tickets sold, or even the cost of hot dogs. These data points are harder to track with Google spreadsheets, handwritten notes, or other event management strategies.

The right event planning systems and tools can elevate your nonprofit fundraising events so you can accomplish your fundraising goals more easily. It can also boost your donor engagement and increasing the chances of future fundraising opportunities!

Here are three more resources to help boost your fundraising events strategy.

• Make a Fundraising Calendar in 5 Simple Steps: Successful fundraising demands strategy, organization, and a plan. It can feel overwhelming to manage the entire fundraising process day after day. Creating a fundraising calendar can be an excellent recipe for year-round fundraising success! Head over to this blog for some tips, tricks, and strategies to help you build an effective fundraising calendar.
• How to Choose A CRM System for Your Nonprofit: When you consider all the donors, staff, volunteers, potential supporters, event attendees, and other people to maintain relationships with, it can get downright overwhelming! That's where a CRM system comes in to help you keep updated contact information, monitor your interactions, track donations, and grow your relationships with individuals and groups. This blog will help you know what to look for in a CRM system to make sure you find one that's a good fit for your nonprofit.
• Mobile Giving: What Every Nonprofit Needs to Know: It's the digital age, and practically everyone uses a smartphone or mobile device now. If you want to remain competitive and relevant, it's time to expand your fundraising strategies to include a wide range of mobile giving tactics. This blog will help you understand why mobile giving is so important and explore some of the most popular mobile giving strategies and tools.