How to plan and build fundraising events

There are plenty of fundraising event trends to keep track of and they’re changing all the time. But perhaps the first thing charities can take note of for 2023 is that mass participation events are not only back, but recovering from pandemic restrictions, when all but virtual activity came to a halt.  

Research from fundraising platform Enthuse discovered that 54% of people are now happy to take part in physical events, compared to just 27% who said the same in 2021. The 2022 Charity Pulse report, also from digital fundraising platform Enthuse, revealed that more than half of charities believed that fundraising events would grow in 2022.  

Now is the time for charitable organisations and non-profits to reassess how they deliver them. In this article, we outline how charities can maximise their fundraising before, during, and after mass events, with insights derived from 2021’s London Marathon. 

For 2022, London Marathon Events chose fundraising platform Enthuse to be its official online fundraising partner, following the closure of previous partner Virgin Money Giving.  

Nearly £20 million was raised during the 2021 event and, as the appetite for large public events continues to grow in the wake of the pandemic, with the right strategy, charities can be confident that their fundraising will be a similar success.  

Pre-event 

Jade Smith, Senior Events Fundraising Manager at Alzheimer’s Society, says the charity dedicates a “huge amount of our resource to supporting our participants from the moment they sign up right up until race day and beyond”. 

“Our aim is to make sure we’re giving our participants everything they need, to make it as easy as possible for them to train and fundraise for their challenge,” Smith notes. “And make sure they know how grateful we are for their support and the difference their fundraising is making to the lives of those affected by dementia.” 

The time between signing up and race day can seem long to participants. According to Smith, 40% of the marathon and half marathon sign-ups come between 5-7 months before race day. Research shows that those who start fundraising early are likely to raise up to £700 more on average than those who start fundraising two months before the day of the marathon. 

With this in mind, Alzheimer’s Society created a framework for their supporter journey. The framework is split into four key phases: 

• Phase One: Onboarding
• Phase Two: Keep in touch
• Phase Three: Countdown
• Phase Four: Post-event

The charity created this framework by mapping out the 24 weeks prior to event day and plotting how a supporter would be feeling about their upcoming challenge at each point. From this, Alzheimer’s Society was able to decide what messaging they wanted to deliver at strategic points and what their supporters would want to know too.  

For example, during the onboarding phase, supporters are feeling very motivated, making it a great time for them to create their fundraising page and get started on their fundraising journey. Alzheimer’s Society also provides tools and resources to participants to help them plan their training, in recognition of their supporters’ needs.  

Participants’ fundraising pages likewise provide a home for all training and fundraising activity before the event and on the day. They can showcase their training efforts, as well as post updates, images and videos to demonstrate their fundraising activities. 

Similarly, the countdown phase is dedicated to pushing the supporter’s fundraising efforts, with the charity tailoring their messaging towards how much has been raised so far. With 40% of funds being raised for Alzheimer’s Society in the month of the event, this stage is crucial.  

“For us, delivering an excellent supporter experience is all about sharing the right information at the right time, having multiple touchpoints through different channels and making sure all of our content is as personalised as possible,” says Smith.  

On the day 

While communications ahead of the event are important, so are the fundraising options available on the day. In 2021, more than £2 million was donated on the day of the London Marathon itself – more than 10% of the final total.  

How charities interact with supporters on the day of the race is all about motivation and celebration. Charities should help celebrate the efforts of their fundraisers, recognise the lengths they’ve gone to and the feat they have achieved in completing their challenge.  

Race day is also an excellent time to remind supporters of the cause they are running for. This not only motivates them during the challenge itself, but also provides extra incentive to share their fundraising pages and encourage others to donate as they go. It’s all for a good cause.  

At the London Marathon, a participant’s fundraising page will also be integrated with the official race app when signed up exclusively through the official fundraising partner Enthuse, meaning that supporters tracking a participant can easily donate and see the participant’s finish time when it is automatically posted to the fundraising page.  

Once the event is passed, it’s time for the thank you, which is sent through by Alzheimer’s Society eight weeks after race day. Prior to that, the rest of the final phase includes messages of congratulations, feedback surveys that can help improve the next fundraising challenge, and information on how to pay in any offline fundraising – meeting the needs of both the charity and its supporters.