Hosting a nonprofit event sounds easy...until you actually do it! There are a million little pieces that have to come together for the big day, and I wanted to talk about all of them. There was so much great information in my interviews this week that I have to break this episode of the Nonprofit Jenni Show into two parts. In Part One, we talk about how you can improve your next fundraising event with donor data and how to welcome newcomers who are attending their first event with you.
How to Use Donor Data to Plan Better Fundraising Events
Timi Paccioretti, the Senior Marketing Manager of Little Green Light, gives all kinds of great advice on how to use your donor management system to improve your events. She says your donors can be “upgraded” in your organization when you analyze all of their interactions with your nonprofit through various channels, including through events.
Here are my top 5 favorite tips from Timi for using your donor management database to plan fundraisers:
Segment your donors to customize your event invitations. For example, talk to those who have attended your events before, who are newer to your organization, etc.
Track your event attendees, sponsors, and all the information they provide for their event registration to inform your event planning next year.
Use your donor management system’s built-in event registration system to sell event tickets so your donor data will be updated automatically, or at least import all your event information from an external system you use. Little Green Light’s built-in registration system even lets you print out name tags automatically.
Customize your event registration form to ask attendees if they want to join your email list, learn about volunteer opportunities, or respond to another call-to-action which is important to your nonprofit.
Have your donor management system generate a list of donor addresses through the “mail merge” function. This saves a ton of time as you mail out event invitations.
Don’t forget to listen to the full podcast episode so you can soak up all of Timi’s other tips! Visit nonprofitjenni.com/podcast to find the episode on your favorite podcast platform.
Try out Little Green Light’s donor management system for free!
LGL is truly my favorite donor management platform because Timi, the software designers, and the rest of their team are all experienced nonprofit professionals and fundraisers. They understand what your system needs to help you upgrade your donors, and I’d love for you to try out their free trial! Visit their website and use the free trial button at the top of the page to get a free month with their platform.
When you fall in love and decide to sign up for your first year with Little Green Light, use the discount code JENNI to get $150 off!
Three Real Life Event Examples
My other guest this episode is Holly Clark, a seasoned nonprofit events planner and owner of Holly Clark Events. Holly walks us through the details of how to plan and coordinate three very different types of nonprofit events:
A “lunch and learn”
An upscale signature event
An outdoor holiday event
In Part One of this episode, Holly explains why Lunch & Learns are timeless and effective, even if they sound a little outdated. Holly also offers some great advice on incorporating strong a strong call-to-action at your Lunch and Learn by using the examples of Safe Haven Family Shelter and Renewal House.
How Safe Haven Family Shelter Hosts a Lunch & Learn
The people who have signed up for the Lunch and Learn meet in Safe Haven’s conference room and get a delicious lunch. Someone leads them through a slideshow which includes information about the organization’s:
Mission and impact
Annual fundraising events
Needed item donations
E-newsletter
Social media accounts
The event concludes with a tour of the shelter. I’ve been on this tour several times, and it’s just as powerful for me every time. I love to see the family therapy rooms, homework and tutoring space, computer lab, indoor garden, and more.
Holly explains that Safe Haven’s Lunch & Learns incorporate several easy calls to action. (I call these “easy” because when people are coming into contact with your organization for the very first time, you don't want to come on too strong.)
Volunteer Opportunities: Usually people sign up for Lunch and Learns because they're interested in learning about volunteer opportunities. Safe Haven lists out the volunteer needs that they have, including microvolunteering opportunities, ongoing weekly commitments, and skilled volunteer needs, such as offering budgeting classes for their clients.
Soft Asks: Holly explains that when you make a soft ask, you’re sharing opportunities to give without actually asking someone to make a financial commitment right then and there. In this soft ask, Safe Haven lists the item donations they need (such as supplies for continuing to run the shelter), monthly donor opportunities, and the annual fundraising events they host. Fundraising events are a great way to introduce new donors to the organization because attendees feel like they're getting something in exchange for their money.
E-Newsletter and Social Media: Attendees are asked to subscribe and follow Safe Haven for future updates.
After someone responds to one of these initial easy calls-to-action, Safe Haven can work on “upgrading” their supporter relationships. For example, Holly estimates that more than half of Safe Haven’s volunteers eventually become financial donors to the organization.
Holly recommends following up with Lunch and Learn attendees several times after the event to reiterate very specific calls to action. If they don’t respond the first time, this doesn’t mean they’ve lost interest in your organization. They may have competing obligations and messages getting in the way and need reminders about your nonprofit’s needs.
How Renewal House’s Lunch & Learn Compares
Obviously, Safe Haven’s Lunch & Learn format is not the only way to host an introductory event. Holly shares the example of Renewal House’s Lunch and Learn events to compare a different style.
When attendees arrive at Renewal House for a Lunch & Learn, they are taken on a much smaller, more intimate tour through the nonprofit’s property. They learn about a different part of the organization’s mission as they enter each office, including:
A family room, with family-friendly movies and games
Case management offices
Adults’ and children’s classrooms
Therapy rooms
Upscale Signature Events and Seasonal Outdoor Events
My interview with Holly was so long and amazing that I had to break it up into two parts for the podcast. Subscribe to the Nonprofit Jenni Show so you won’t miss my chat with Holly about these two other types of nonprofit event!
Get Help With Nonprofit Event Marketing and Fundraising
Don’t let yourself get overwhelmed as you plan, promote, and wrap up your next nonprofit event! Nonprofit Jenni offers affordable coaching and consulting services to nonprofit professionals who would like one-on-one support to develop their marketing and fundraising initiatives. You can even schedule a free initial consultation call to decide if we would work well together! You should also subscribe to the Nonprofit Jenni Show for free, because I love talking about fundraising and marketing with other nonprofit leaders.
Speaking of fundraising events, I highly recommend using a couple DipJars at your upcoming fundraiser. DipJar is a seriously fun credit card machine which lights up and plays music every time someone makes a donation. Hundreds of nonprofits trust DipJar for their events and everyday donations, and they offer a 5% discount to Nonprofit Jenni Show listeners!