The year will soon be coming to a close. For your charity or non-profit group, this probably means a new year for budgets, event planning, and funding. Chukkar Farm has helped many non-profits raise money for their cause through our Chukkars for Charity during polo season. Now is the perfect time to plan your fundraising event for 2014, and we’ve got a few tips for you on how to make it a success.
1. Define Your Purpose
The very first step in your planning process should be to define the purpose of your event. Are you aiming to strictly raise money, or are you also hoping to gain publicity for your cause, or reach out to a new network of potential donors or volunteers? The purpose of your event will greatly impact your planning process. Write it down, share it with your team, and use it as your first building block.
2. Set a Goal
Without goals, no one can succeed. Go ahead and set the monetary goal for your fundraiser. This should be the number that you plan to raise, after all of your expenses have been deducted.
3. Budget Costs
Hosting an event of course costs money. Set your budget for each of your expenses and make factor it into your fundraising goal. You will have to deduct your budget for expenses from the total amount of money raised and come out in the black for your event to be a success.
4. Set Up
Planning is essential, but with out proper execution the plan has been wasted. Set up everything for your event as far in advance as possible. Make sure everyone on your team knows how the event should run the day of, and that everyone has a clearly defined job. It is also a good idea to do a run through of the day’s events before guests begin to arrive.
5. Thank You
Your donors and volunteers are giving you two of their most precious resources – money and time. Make sure that you say “thank you!” It’s common courtesy in day to day life, and not one that should be ignored in this environment either.
Have you run a successful fundraiser and you have your own tips to share? Please leave them in the comments below!