The fundraising world may be adapting but one strategy remains very effective: fundraising events. Whether it’s in-person, virtual, or hybrid, events are a great way to engage your community, inspire donors, and increase outreach.

Our digital world makes it easier than ever for your community members to attend an event. Nonprofits can use online ticket options and don’t have to worry about ticket design or printing. The Soapbox Engage Events app provides a variety of ticket options that make it easy for both you and your attendees.

But there’s a lot that goes into creating a successful event! Keep reading for an in depth guide to make sure you don’t miss any steps.

Remember early 2020, when we were meticulously planning our in-person events (only we didn’t call them “in-person” events at that time), only to have every plan entirely derailed by the pandemic? Terms like “new normal” and “in-person” became infamous. Event planners were forced to think outside the box and creatively figure out ways to bring the event to people at home.

But as they say, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and providing virtual opportunities for events became very successful, allowing nonprofits to reach a broader geographic range while maintaining high levels of engagement.

Now, we use the advantages of virtual events intentionally. Maximize your next virtual event with these five best practices.

A nonprofit can rely on three primary revenue streams when it comes to fundraising with events: sponsorships, ticket sales, and "add-on" revenue (like auctions, raffles, on-site donations, etc.). Many nonprofits rely on ticket sales to ensure they'll reach their minimum fundraising goal for a fundraising event.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many nonprofits shifted to more virtual or hybrid fundraising events. This raised the question, "How do you successfully sell tickets for fundraising events that might include virtual or hybrid options?"

While there are still many opportunities to experiment and learn, we gathered nine strategic steps to help you boost ticket sales for your next fundraising event–whether it's in-person, hybrid, or entirely virtual!

It takes a lot of time, money, and energy to recruit new donors to your nonprofit. Of course, bringing in new supporters throughout the year is vital to the long-term financial stability of your organization. Many nonprofits began incorporating virtual fundraising events during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue fundraising and connect with new donors during the "age of social distancing."

Your nonprofit probably emphasized connecting to as many donors as possible during those virtual fundraisers. But something that many nonprofits overlooked in their virtual fundraising strategy is donor retention.

Most nonprofits use fundraising events to raise large portions of their annual budget. Everything from charity golf tournaments and galas to 5Ks and bake sales fund organizations large and small.

Events are excellent ways to bring supporters and like-minded people together around a common cause. The right fundraising event can generate a lot of revenue for your nonprofit. Still, big events can require more time to plan and advertise, and they usually have a higher overhead cost. It's critical to choose fundraising events that match your nonprofit's budget and execution capacities.

We gathered a list of some of the top fundraising event ideas and some practical insights about their ease of execution and potential return on investment. Our goal is to help guide your decisions about which events might best fit your nonprofit.