Charity events can be a great way to raise money for a good cause while presenting a visible and positive approach to publicising your cause to the community. Below you will find some pointers on how to plan a successful charity event and to get the most out of it.
Things you'll need
- Time
- Purpose (raising money, publicity…)
- People
Set your Goals
Once you have defined your project idea and decided to go through with it, you need clear goals. These goals should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely! For example: how much money will you spend? How much money will you raise? Who will you target? What deadlines?
Identify a Target Audience
Who do you want to attend or participate in your event? Is this a general charity event where everyone will be invited, or rather a specific group of business people or artists?
Choose what Kind of Event you Want to Organise
Once you have selected your target audience, find out what kind of event fits your target. Do some research; see what has already proved successful in your local community. Get inspired but go further!
Look for Collaboration
Assign tasks to your team members, contact your supporters for help and contact external vendors (e.g. food and drink suppliers, venue owners, etc.). Keep in touch with them and make sure that everyone knows their tasks!
Create a Complete Budget
Now that you have selected and contacted the external vendors as well as assigned tasks to your helpers, you can create your complete budget for the event. Include all expenses required to hold the event, take into account your fundraising goal and don’t forget to leave extra room for unforeseen costs.
Draw up a Marketing Plan
Once the budget is drawn up, it is time to publicise your event in order for your target audience to know about it, and attend it. Convince them that your event is worth attending. Use social media, direct emails, non-profits’ fundraising network, flyers distribution and any other possible ways to spread the word.
Create a Timeline
The deadline is the day of your event. Until then you should be busy planning all the details. A timeline is an easy tool to keep things clear and simple.
Follow Up
After your successful event, getting some feedback will be critical. Send an online survey to your participants and ask them what they liked and what can be improved for your next event. Don’t forget to thank those who helped you along the way, you want to maintain good relations with all your supporters and outside vendors.
Further information
Organising a charity event can be challenging and require a lot of time and effort. If you do not have the time, yet still wish to organise one, you can use software that will simplify the organisation of your event. With Optimy you can save your time, simplify your recurrent tasks, focus on your key mission and evaluate the impact of your project!
Contributors
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Kenneth Berard
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Myles Kunzli
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