When was the last time your organisation had an open day?

Whether you are a kindergarten, sporting club, community group or a charity, having an open day provides an excellent way to promote your organisation. It’s also a great opportunity for prospective members to see exactly what your organisation does, meet key staff as well as view the facilities.

The open day could also be linked to a fundraising event or maybe to recruit new members, volunteers or new board members.

When you run an open day try to have some of the people who use the services of the organisation available to meet the public as well.  The main reason for this is that it allows people to discuss directly with them and share experiences, not just deal with the administrators.  Depending on the organisation these people may do a presentation or they may do tours of the facilities.

It is still important to have the administrators there to discuss other issues that relate to their role which, for example, may include membership issues, the types of volunteering roles and what is required as a board member.

When you run your open day make sure it is easy for people to obtain information about the organisation.  

Create and share information sheets, brochures or pamphlets.  In addition, consider preparing some goody bags that contain membership forms, brochures, maybe a pen and contact details for your organisation.  These can be prepared in a very cost effective manner and can be a very effective way to promote the organisation, even well after the event has occurred.

Again, the main purpose of the open day is to promote your organisation.  By opening the doors to the general public it may result in more participation through volunteering, donations or increased membership.