Fundraisers are a fantastic way to:
- Get your corporate team involved in a group initiative
- Benefit a specific charity or cause
- Gain recognition in the public eye for your company or a specific service or product
- Fulfil your Corporate Social Responsibility obligations
- Make money for your own non-profit organisation
Fundraisers are very different sorts of events when compared to conferences, seminars, gala dinners, and so on. However, they require planning and forethought in order to accomplish the same professional, efficient outcome. By following a set of steps, you will be able to plan and enjoy your corporate fundraiser:
Step 1
Appoint a team to work on the fundraiser, rather than trying to handle everything alone. This will allow you to pool ideas and resources and will also ensure that, if you were to fall ill, someone else could take over the event. This takes a bit of the pressure off and also allows for a bigger, better event, generally speaking.
Step 2
As a committee, decide on the purpose of the event, your goals (usually how much money you aim to raise) and how much money you can spend. Write these down so that you do not lose focus, distracted by the fun or potential grandness of your function. Always be conscious of the possibility of hidden costs (such as the petrol required for shopping for the gifts, for example).
Step 3
Make a list of all the resources you require. Next to each item, put the name(s) and number(s) of anyone who may be able to assist or provide these for you. Try to think of friends, colleagues, peers and those in your professional network, so that you can try to save money by calling in favours or relying on good contacts.
Step 4
Once you have a list of everything you need to prepare and possible resources, assign different items to different team members and get going. This should involve arranging the venue, décor, catering, entertainment, prizes, sponsors, guest speakers, transport (if necessary) and accommodation (if necessary).
Step 5
Once the venue, date and time are confirmed, advertise your event as widely as possible. Send out invitations, emails, notifications on public networks, text messages and even flyers if the nature of the event allows.
Remember:
- Communication is the key element to a successful fundraiser. Ensuring that everyone is aware of their roles and responsibilities and really listening to the needs and concerns of others will go a long way in ensuring that your event is cohesive and free-flowing and that it achieves your objective. This also encourages team work and mutual cooperation, setting a precedent for how corporate functions should be handled in the future. Communication acts as a clear direction for sponsors too. They cannot be expected to know how much to give if you are unable to communicate your needs and objectives clearly.
- Always offer your sponsors a variety of options or sponsorship packages. This gives them the freedom to decide how much or what they are prepared to donate. Variety should also come in how the gifts or prizes are ‘earned’ or won. For example, some can be in the form of raffle tickets, others auctioned and yet others competed for.
- Make yourself aware of the possible taxation benefits granted to sponsors or donors and use this as a selling point. In some countries, companies are actually reimbursed (completely or to an extent) for charitable donations.
- Other ways to get sponsors and donors involved is to let them know how their involvement will actually benefit them. Define what you will do with their money or prize, how it will help you and the value that it will add to their company image. You may even reward them for their contributions by reimbursing them in services rendered (if these do not cost you financially), and so on.
- It is very important that you stay passionate and enthusiastic about your fundraiser throughout the planning and execution process. This will shine through and rub off onto others, helping them to feel motivated to participate. You may need to have regular breaks in order to keep your enthusiasm strong and genuine, so make allowances for these.
These steps and reminders will ensure that you can enjoy a well-organised, well-supported fundraising function in confidence.
