The Article “Special Events” gave some “rule of thumb” for fundraisers. In the article it states that is has become increasingly difficult in order to meet goals of fundraising and to obtain money. The first tip was of Corporate Sponsors and Vendors because since sponsorships are hard to obtain so in order to obtain more profit, we must secure more sponsorships in order to escalate event costs without having to pay back the same amount to the donors. Next on the list was Volunteers, stating to require training and planning, these people are crucial to the fundraiser because the reason for the event is because of people and their mission to do so. Keeping participation and enthusiasm is important so that we do not lose them. In addition, Constituents who attend the event are important as well because we need people and attendees for the fundraiser in order to make money. I believe this will be the hardest part during our journey because it is hard to attract people especially if we are asking them for money at the same time. Time and money are both so important to individuals because we do not want to waste their time because it would most likely lead to no profit. However, if it is worth their time they will donate to our charity. I believe these two are very crucial in how our fundraiser will run because we want our participants time to be worth while and justifiable in order for them to invest. Instead of also thinking of it as just a fundraiser, we should mostly think of it as a relationship builder. This will make the participants decision easier because we have created a relationship with them, making them more willing to donate.
In the article “Maximize Special Events” it also gives us some important details and tips as well as the one I read before. However, this one elaborates specifically on what else we should physically focus on instead of relationship building. For instance, the first detail brought up is effectively gathering auction items and use contact lists in order to do so. This will be less costly as we gather resources from our contact lists. This will help us in the end because we will give them the profit back in return which might lead them to donating due to the relationship we have built. In addition, we should also use the event as a part of our long-term development strategy. This means contacting our potential donors through the event and have staff “work the room.” In addition, we should also empower the development team to make sure we have resources to have a successful event. The development team is a valuable group because they bring in the revenue for the organization’s mission.
In Devney’s article the main issue we should focus and evaluate is the primary goal of the event. This is because many nonprofits judge their fundraising events solely on profit instead of other factors such as attendance. She also states that many new members typically focus on how many names and addresses are gathered not how many people are at the event. She also states to incorporate people’s suggestions for other events. Which I think is a very important factor which we should use as reference so that ILEAD can have a better understanding of the people that attend. She also states to evaluate the event such as data and statistics and brainstorming. In addition, critique the event such as the fliers we use, supplies, registration process, feedback, staff and volunteers. Keep a permanent record of the event: write a report of the entire event, budget, and site survey. This document is valuable in how future events will be held.
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