Leadership Tips for Successful Fundraising Events

I really like Roger Carr’s topic for this month’s Giving Carnival. I’ve always believed that principles are important, but small tips are just as important when you add them all together. So I’ve put together Six Leadership Tips for Successful Fundraising Events.

Six Tips for Leaders of Successful Fundraising Events

1) Start Early - I started working on the outline for this article a little more than three weeks before it was due to Roger. I easily could have wrote it the night before the deadline, but it would have been a terrible article because I wouldn’t have had time to do any revising or editing. When you start projects earlier than necessary you give yourself time to screw up, make mistakes, think of new ideas, and brainstorm. It gives you the freedom to make changes and improvements without having to deal with stress of deadlines.

2) Get the Best - In other words, find the right people to help you make the event successful. Work hard to find people who have the extra time and passion for your cause. This needs to be a group of individuals who can move, shake, and make it rain. People who know how to get things done, and can meet the needs of the event. These are individuals who have strengths and weaknesses that compliment each other. An example would be a team of poeple who are great at asking for donations, others to keep track of those donations when they are made, and someone else to take care of the small details.

3) Know Your Outcome – In Morrie Warshawski’s book, The Fundraising Houseparty he writes about the difference between fundraising and friendraising. He describes friendraising as the act of building relationships with new potential donors to ask them for a donation at a later date. As the leader you need to determine early in the process what the outcome for the event is. Is this an event to meet some new people and build new relationships with possible donors? Or, is it an event to bring in your die-hard supporters who wait all year long to write you that big check?

4) Work Hard – Now that you’ve started early, gotten the right people in place, and everyone knows the outcome of the event it’s time for you to step up to the plate. As the leader you need to be the person who works the hardest. You have to put in the sweat and tears, because most people on your team will only work as hard as you. If you set the example of putting in the hours and dedication of wanting to make the event successful, others will follow your lead.

5) Be the First to Donate – This is extremely important. Sometimes you have to grease the wheels to get them to move. With fundraising events make sure you and your team all donate to the cause very early in the process. Everyone should make a donation before they ask anyone else to make a donation. In my three years of fundraising for A Day of Hope, the year I fundraised the most was the year I made both the largest and the first donation that we received. This starts the fundraising process, builds momentum, and it makes it easier to ask others for donations. It’s a conversation starter when you’re talking with people because you can say you’ve already raised $xxxx dollars.

6) Spend Time One-on-One – As time passes and the event approaches you’re going to need to spend time with your individual team members one-on-one. There will always be people who don’t speak their mind during meetings and planning sessions. Some people have been taught it’s better to be nice and keep their opinions to themselves than voice their opinion if it might offend someone. There’s nothing wrong with this, but as a leader you need to seek these people out and find out how they’re doing and what is really on their mind. They more than likely have concerns and new ideas that they will only express to you one-on-one.

These are six simple steps that I hope you can implement as a leader of a successful fundraising event.

Comments

[Jason Curlee]

Great points Chris....#1 best point....the more you sweat in preparation, the less you'll bleed in battle.

[Christopher Scott]

Jason-

I love your quote.

Thanks for sharing, I'm going to file it away and use it in future articles and blog posts (giving you the credit of course).

Thanks!

[Michael Gibbons]

Chris your prep shows! -- I like the one on one point -- I believe there is a vast wealth of untapped volunteerism and donations just waiting for a charity to reach out in a genuine manner -- when will someone learn mass mailing are so yesterday --oh that's right in .004345% of the time they work --geessshhh --keep up the good work here Chris!

[Christopher Scott]

Michael-

I agree with you on the direct mail fundraising.