How to prepare for a fundraising event

Successful fundraising events, whether large or small, start as simple ideas – often written on paper, referenced in an email, or mentioned during a team meeting – and grow into something successful. But where do you start? How do you take that simple idea and make it remarkable?

 

Preparation is key. It is the difference between disaster and triumph. A rushed, disorganised event always suffers from a lack of preparation. Successful events owe their success to preparation.

 

So, in this article, we’re going to look at how charities can lay the groundwork for a successful fundraising event. We’re going to show you how to prepare. We will cover, among other things, how to establish realistic and ambitious goals, how to choose appropriate ideas and interesting venues, how to find the right insurance to protect against potential risks you could face, and so much more.

 

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Setting your goals and define responsibilities

 

Setting your goals is a creative process. You can start broad, throwing out any ideas, noting down overarching aspirations, no matter how vague or ambitious. Do not worry about precision at the earliest stages.

 

Once you have a host of broad goals, start to refine them, picking the ones that seem most important. If in doubt, vote among the team. Agreement supports staff motivation. If staff feel they’ve been left out of goal setting, they’ll have little incentive to reach the goals.

 

You’ll want to narrow the goals, ensuring they’re realistic, accessible to everyone involved, and aligned with your organisation’s purpose. Goal-setting strategies can help. We suggest using the SMART criteria, making all your goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timed.

 

Adjust your goals as necessary to meet the above criteria. Write each one down clearly and share them with your team. Your goals should reflect the mission of your charity, but typically they cover areas such as the number of attendees, expected reach, and financial targets – specifically around expected budget and anticipated income. Clear goals will boost your planning efforts, energise your staff, attract donors, and provide a clear framework for tracking progress.

 

Once goals are set, start to assign responsibilities. Preparation starts with defining clear roles and deadlines. While plans may evolve, providing a structured outline from the start enables the team to work in a focused and co-ordinated way. The entire team will know what they are trying to achieve, how they intend to achieve it, and who exactly is responsible for each part of the process.

 

 

Pick an appropriate and engaging idea

 

Defining your idea is the next step – and often an enjoyable one. There are plenty of fundraising ideas and even the ones available online are simply the tip of the iceberg. Often the best ideas will be entirely new, inspiration, and capable of drumming up excitement.

 

We’ve all been to the cake sales and the sporting tournaments, but there is a growing appetite for the abnormal: the poetry slams, the hackathons, the high-end treasure hunts, or the Polar Bear plunges.

 

The best ideas align with your cause. The tone and style of your event should reflect the nature of the issue you are addressing. A light-hearted, playful approach may be inappropriate if your aim is to raise awareness about a serious or potentially traumatic subject. Striking the right tone is essential. You want people engaged, one way or the other, and should always aim for an emotional reaction. You will lose that engagement, and reaction, if the tone is inappropriate.

 

 

Focus on a venue that supports the idea

 

The venue should reflect the steps already taken. The size of the venue will depend on established goals, for example. If you’re hoping to attract 100 people, at a minimum, you may wish to look at venues that fit around 150 people. If you’re just hoping to raise £1000, a small school or church hall should suffice. By virtue of establishing goals, you’ve already defined criteria for your venue.

 

Just consider which venue, within your budget, would best marry with your fundraising idea. As suggested by specialist insurer Markel Direct, a hotel would be appropriate for a charity ball, whereas a large garden would easily accommodate an Easter egg hunt. You may even think outside the box, finding an unexpected venue to match your idea. Have you ever attended a dog show in a pub, for example?

 

Often, with fundraising events, the idea itself drives the promotion. If you feel it’s appropriate, if you feel its totally acceptable, leaning into the weird and wonderful often proves most engaging.

 

 

Find the right insurance

 

The best laid plans still go wrong. You cannot accurately predict problems, so it is beneficial protect yourself. Insurance for your event can be essential – and often forgotten.

 

But you will need to find the right insurance. Public liability insurance protects charities should someone become injured – the event organisers are typically required to submit proof of this insurance to their chosen venue. Employers’ liability insurance safeguards charities from any claim should a staff member or volunteer suffer injury.

 

The right insurance will depend on the nature of the event you’re planning.   Specialist insurer, Market Direct, offer charity insurance to protect against a variety of specificrisks facing the sector, especially working with small charities and local community groups, providing tailored insurance covered based on their individual needs. If you’re throwing an event and need insurance, check out Markel for a quick and easy quote.

 

This article was produced in partnership with Markel Direct and is not intended as advice or guidance and is solely for informational purposes. If you need more details regarding insurance for your charity, please get in touch with Markel Direct at markeluk.com or get a quote at markeluk.com/quote  

 

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