Back to Basics: Events on the We Are For Good Podcast

Listen to this episode

Overview

Well, we had to bribe Becky with chips and queso to have this conversation, but even she agrees that regardless of how you feel, events are about as basic to fundraising as it gets. Join us as Jon + Becky walk us through Back to Basics: Fundraising Events. We're talking all things event fundraising, staging, volunteers, messaging, production, follow-up, and we're even advocating for diversifying your event offerings (Welcome to the party, hybrid-events! Please grab a chair and stick around awhile. A chiavari chair, of course🧐)

“We think you can do events in a way that is so smart and strategic while being entirely human and present.”

— Becky Endicott, CFRE

Episode Transcript

Download Full Episode Transcript Here

Episode Overview

Goals of Fundraising Events (2:50)
Back to the Basics: Events (7:00)
Hybrid and virtual events (20:00)
Think bigger: focus on your overall strategic plan, leverage digital channels, and dream bigger (26:00)

Powerful quotes

“Events do not look the same as they did pre-pandemic.” -Becky

“We think you can do events in a way that is so smart and strategic, while being entirely human and present.” -Becky

“You can thread together all these production elements, experiences, and emotions, and tie it together with a fundraiser.” -Jon

“If you want to elevate your goals, don’t just stop at an event goal. The event is a conduit to launching all kinds of fundraising strategies.” -Becky

“Those relationships that you build along the way live well beyond the event.” -Jon

“Casting vision matters.” -Becky

“When you think about virtual events, go back to the drawing board and re-imagine your event.” -Jon

Key Goals of Fundraising Events

1. Get your goal right.

Some events exist to grow awareness. For fundraising events, how much are you trying to raise? If you get your goal right, it will keep everything else in check . Be laser focused on creating something meaningful as it relates to your goal.

2. Build a plan.

This will give you direction for how you can grow and scale, and keep you intentional in doing the right steps along the way. This is an opportunity for a ton of touch points. Those relationships that you build along the way live well beyond the event.

3. Build a team.

Look beyond your internal team. You have volunteers, vendors, and more. Your net has to be cast wide. Your fundraising event MUST fundraise. It is not all about the pre-work, you have people captivated in a room listening to your message, and you have to leverage the opportunity to fundraise.

Back to the basics: events

Challenge: This is a team sport.

Go into this with a team approach. How can our major gifts team be intricately involved? How do we put all the chips together in the middle of the table to make the event stronger and more strategic?

Staging is critical.

From the silent phase, day of the event, and activating your post-event plan, your staging is critical. This is about using the event to forecast how you can bring your major gifts prospects into the larger story.

Production matters.

Think of your event as a chance to tell a story. Your event should have a soul, a rise, a fall, and a journey throughout. This is a moment that people will experience and remember. People experience and learn through story, so why would you not use that in your tool belt? Cues matter. Silence matters. Be tight with how everything pulls together. If you invest well in the production, focus on having a syndication mindset. How can you use the content you develop in lots of different ways?

68. Reimagine How You Communicate + Engage With Your Donors This Year - Jonathan McCoy, CFRE and Becky Endicott, CFRE

Focus on your messaging.

We need to refresh every single year. People don’t want to come to your event and hear the same message every time. Tip - focus on something different every year to keep it fresh! Your messaging needs to be telling a compelling story, celebrate the vision, and bring donors in with you.

Leverage digital.

What are you doing before and after your event? What is your social media plan? How can you leverage your online community? By taking hold of what is digital, you can get a lot more play out of what you are investing in.

Practice.

You want everyone involved to be so comfortable on stage!

Don’t play small.

This is a chance for you to raise your standards, your goals, and your production. It is worth it to dream bigger. Make sure you share your dreams on stage. The more you talk about your vision and what is next, you are planting seeds. Casting that vision will encourage people to stick around and invest in your next stage.

Hybrid Events Helpful Tips

1. Level up your game with high quality videos.

2. Create an event specific website or landing page for your event.

3. Utilize innovate venders and platforms

Hoppier - Create memorable experiences for virtual attendees - fresh morning coffee, virtual lunches, happy-hour drinks, and so much more. Virtual doesn't need to be boring!
Snap Bar - Engage your audience with virtual event products & photo booth technology
Givebutter - Donate buttons, fundraising pages, event ticketing, all-in-one platform
hopin - An online events platform where you can create engaging virtual events that connect people around the globe
Givecloud - Simple fundraising tools that connect with your existing donor management system.
Run the World - the one-stop-shop for experts, creators, community leaders and organizations to host and monetize from interactive online events such as workshops, meetups, summits or shows.