Nonprofit fundraising events bring people together and unite them around a common cause. Events are not only an opportunity to raise money, but also to engage your community and build impactful relationships. Long term, these relationships will help you meet community needs, boost awareness of your work, and build a pipeline of potential supporters.
As part of forging these bonds, you must plan events that resonate with community members. Follow these steps to host engaging events to attract new donors and solidify your nonprofit’s place in the community.
1. Explore your data to discover audience preferences
Before deciding what kind of event to host, turn to your organization’s donor database to gather more insight. This fundraising plan template (free) explains how special events are part of your narrative fundraising strategy (a detailed plan for achieving your fundraising goals), which should always be grounded in and driven by data.
To get a better understanding of your audience and the types of events community members are most interested in, analyze data such as:
- Past event attendance numbers
- Total fundraising revenue from past events
- Number of new donors acquired from past events
- Qualitative feedback from post-event surveys
- Volunteering rates for different event types
- Online engagement with event marketing materials
Based on this information, you might learn that your most popular, successful events were all outdoor activities. Or, you may discover that virtual events attract more first-time donors than in-person ones. No matter what conclusions you draw, use this intel to drive your decisions going forward.
2. Choose events that encourage participation
The most engaging fundraising events not only align with community members’ preferences—they also inspire active participation from each and every guest. When you incentivize event attendees to interact and join an activity rather than just sit and watch the event unfold, they’ll naturally engage more with the event’s content.
Consider events that clearly encourage community participation, such as:
- Friendly competitions: Events like auctions and team challenges inspire engagement by giving guests a chance to win. With silent auctions, attendees can bid on several items, check on them throughout the night, and even participate in exciting bidding wars.
- Active events: Walks, runs, rides, and other a-thon style events invite community members to get active while contributing to a good cause. They can meet others and have fun in a low-stakes, inclusive environment.
- Interactive classes: Why not let donors learn something new while they support your organization? Yoga, cooking, painting, or craft classes encourage guest engagement and help them develop new skills.
If you’re unsure what activities your community members would like best, invite key volunteers or supporters to share their opinions via a survey on Field Day. Ask them to provide feedback on a few options and explain how valuable their input is to the success of your nonprofit’s future events. Supporters who are particularly excited about an idea may even be your next event committee members!
3. Seek out partnership opportunities
Partnering with a local business or another nonprofit can help you connect with the broader community and introduce your cause to new audiences. If you partner with a company to host your event, you’ll get access to the business’s audience and its employees—opening the door for future donors and volunteers who want to take advantage of their employer’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs.
A partnership could be a traditional corporate sponsorship where the business covers the costs of your event in exchange for promotion. Or, it might entail a company donating venue space, hosting a joint fundraiser with a like-minded organization, or another mutually beneficial agreement.
When choosing a company or organization to partner with, look for shared values, locality, and collaborative spirit. Any group that’s particularly popular within one of the key communities you serve will help you expand your nonprofit’s reach. No matter who you partner with, develop a co-marketing plan to promote each other’s brands, including co-branded social media posts and include each partner’s logo across all promotional materials.
4. Promote the event throughout the community
Next, start marketing your event strategically. You’ll need to go beyond traditional email and social media campaigns for this event. Since you want to engage new, local audiences, it’s essential to promote your event in high-traffic community spaces (both physical and virtual!).
Depending on your unique community, this might include:
- Posting about the event in popular local groups on social media apps like Facebook, NextDoor, or MeetUp.
- Hanging flyers in frequently visited community spaces like coffee shops, restaurants, parks, libraries, college campuses, etc.
- Asking current supporters and registered guests to share their invitations with friends and family.
Ensure your marketing efforts are unified and communicate the purpose of your event. NXUnite explains that effective community outreach demonstrates your organization’s transparency and genuine interest in the good of community members.
Explain that your event aims to raise money for a specific cause and unite the community. Emphasize that everyone is welcome, give them a good idea of what to expect, and include links or QR codes to pages on your website where interested individuals can learn more.
5. Cultivate new relationships during and after the event
On the day of your event, try to introduce as many people as possible and encourage guests to get to know each other and any members of your nonprofit’s leadership who attend. This way, you’ll help attendees make new connections and strengthen community bonds, cementing your event as a valuable experience in their minds. You never know what the next connection will lead to: that’s a mindset that will pay off in spades.
Afterward, start developing your organization’s relationship with new supporters by adding them to your database, sending timely thank-you messages, and sharing more information in an email welcome series. You might also post pictures from the event on social media and send an email or text message with the event’s final fundraising results.
Once you have new contacts in your database, consider screening them for relevant attributes to learn their affinities and habit markers that indicate if they will be a good prospect for future major or planned giving. If you identify any prospects, create individualized donor cultivation plans to strengthen those relationships.
When you screen new contacts, pay special attention to their employment data. Many companies offer corporate giving opportunities to their employees, such as matching gifts and volunteer grants. If you identify a supporter who works for one of those businesses, reach out to them about the opportunity to double their impact with employee matching.
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Remember that your nonprofit’s community propels your mission forward and enables you to make a difference. In the long run, community engagement events help you build stronger relationships and fortify your organization’s foundation for success.
