Fundraising events are a popular way to raise money and bring attention to a cause, however while they can be a great money maker for an organisation, they can be time consuming and expensive to host. With so many businesses and charities competing for donations these days, it’s important to make sure your fundraising event stands out from the rest. At Pages Event Hire, we supply many organisations with a wide range of hire equipment for fundraising events, so here’s our tips on how you can create successful fundraising event.
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Set a Budget
Setting a realistic budget is the first step in planning a great event. The budget should include all of the expenses that will be required to run the event, including venue hire, staff, marketing, catering, entertainment, security, event hire furniture and anything else required to make the event a success. Once you have your budget amount, you need to be confident that you can raise an amount over and above all expenses, because if you can’t, no funds will be raised for your charity and you may even end up out of pocket. Also ensure you have a contingency amount just in case you run into any unexpected expenses!
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Have a Plan
Organising an event can be hard work, so seek help from others. Form a committee of people willing to help out and ask the below questions:
- Who is the target audience?
- How many people should we expect?
- Where and when will it be held?
- Are we having a theme?
- Do we need to hire equipment?
- How will we market the event?
- How can we seek sponsors?
Start planning well in advance and create a schedule to which all parties must adhere. Delegate different parts of the organising to members of the committee and any other like-minded people. It might be a good idea to hold regular meetings to ensure everything is on track and running to schedule.
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Safety is Important
At any event, whether a fundraising event or not, safety is of utmost importance and should be a high priority. Take into consideration all aspects of safety – fire hazards, food safety, first aid, and general hazards, and make sure you have a plan of action for each.
As a committee, ask yourselves this important question: are there any hazards that may potentially cause harm to guests? If so, identify the risks and determine how you can mitigate them. You may need to hire temporary fencing to keep people in the right areas. You may need consider other event hire options such as non-slip flooring and signage. You may also need to hire a security team and have a first aid officer on standby. Ensuring safety is up to scratch will lead to a safe and successful event that is memorable for all the right reasons.
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Choose the Entertainment Wisely
You need to keep your guests engaged and happy. By making your function interactive and fun there’s more chance of receiving a high amount of donations. If guests are bored and disengaged it’s likely they will leave early, they may hold back donations and they will be unlikely to attend another event you host. Any speakers should be enthusiastic about the cause and be familiar with your organisation, and speeches should be inspiring and not drag on for too long. Live bands can create a party atmosphere and get the crowd up dancing, comedians make for a great laugh, while live auctions and raffles keep guests engaged and interacting all day or night long. You could also consider some unique options such as roaming magicians or circus performers for added wow factor, and even make catering fun by including food trucks, ice cream stations or a chocolate fountain – the options are endless.
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Understand the Important of Marketing
The event needs to be aggressively marketed to your target audience, after all, convincing supporters that your event is worthy of their time and money is the main aim. Just like marketing a new product, you should draw up an entire marketing plan which includes all ways you can spread the word of your event including: mailed invitations, emails, local newspaper ads and social media, which is a cost effective way of reaching a large audience, and allows you to engage with guests during and after the event.
If you are planning a fundraising event, one of the main aspects of your plan will be equipment you need to hire for your event. At Pages Event Hire, we can help with affordable solutions to help make your event a success. From furniture to fencing, we have all your event hire needs in one location. Contact us today and browse our extensive range of hire options perfect for your fundraising event.