Hosting a charity event for your organisation or cause is pretty par for the course. Loads of organisations do it, possibly because they are relatively easy to organise and they’re relatively straight forward.

In the grand scheme of things, it’s not all that hard to think up a theme, hopefully a relevant one!, and build an event of some sort around it.

Essentially, the structure is there already, and there’s little you can do to stray from it. You choose a venue, a theme or plan for activities, food and beverage, who you’ll invite along, and how you’re going to raise funds.

Quick and Easy Fundraising

Many NFPs see events as a ‘quick and easy’ way to raise funds. Relatively speaking, they are.

They also generally require months, if not a year or more, to plan and pull together.

A lot of manpower is required, and your board members, employees and volunteers are often required to take time off their day-to-day tasks, or other fundraising initiatives, to focus on the event.

Raising Profile 

Sure, events take time, but don’t they also raise awareness of your cause, or your organisation?

Well, yes, they do. Think, though, are you targeting your audience appropriately? Are you getting a heap of people along, because you’re selling tickets cheaper if groups of 10 or more book?

Unless the participants are genuinely interested in your organisation, or what you stand for, you can guarantee the attendee’s memory will fade quickly. They’ll move onto the next ‘thing’ and might remember your name.

Connection 

Events do give you an opportunity to connect with potential sponsors and donors, and to tell them about your organisation. They can also be a fun or memorable way to connect.

As with raising profile, targeting the right people is the key, and it takes time and effort. There’s a tendency to hit mid-to-high profile celebrities; people who are emailed several times each day to attend similar things!

Return on Investment 

ROI isn’t just about how much your event costs, in the financial sense, to organise and run.

Do consider, of course the financial cost versus the financial gain. Particularly consider the net funds raised. Is it worth the effort?

Also factor in the time spent on the event; could your board members and volunteers have used their time more effectively for raising funds?

Your ROI is also about how much time, effort, dollars and more you’ve put in, and how far the word has spread about your organisation. More than that, how much of that profile raising has turned into donations or sponsors?

How many of the people at your event have gone on to be ambassadors or advocates of your cause?

Consider your return on all of these factors. If you’re arguing that you’re doing it to raise awareness for your cause, then what is the ROI on that?

Ultimately, hosting events shouldn’t be ruled out entirely. They need to be thought out and well planned, and the all the costs considered. Events need to be viewed as a component of your entire fund- and awareness raising strategy.

Basically, plan your event for the right reasons, not the wrong ones.