by Booster

 

Whether you’re planning a benefit concert, throwing a fundraising carnival, or hosting an annual gala, this essential event checklist should help you from beginning to end (and beyond).

 

Regardless of the type of event you’re planning, this comprehensive checklist should guide you through the complicated process of planning, executing, and following up before, during, and after a fundraising event.

The checklist is broken up into timelines.

 

6 Months Before the Fundraising Event

• Recruit committees.

  • Before you can get started planning an event you need to form your team.

    • The planning committee should consist of staff, board members, and volunteers who are willing to do all of the behind-the-scenes planning work before the event.

    • The event/host committee should comprise those who are comfortable with doing the bulk of the actual fundraising work (selling tickets, sponsorships, etc.).

    • Staff and volunteers should prepare to do the day-of work, such as setting up the venue, greeting guests, and making sure everything goes off without a hitch.

• Establish goals and objectives.

  • Goals should be defined early.

  • Draft a list of all of the objectives you’d like to accomplish over the next 6 months.

  • Review the draft with the entire committee.

  • Take a second, third, or fourth pass at your goals and objectives.

  • Come up with an actionable plan for pulling it all off.

• Segment into subcommittees.

  • Deciding on different subcommittees is optional but recommended if you have a large number of volunteers or members who want to be involved. Examples include:

    • Social media subcommittee.

    • Catering subcommittee.

    • Ticket sales subcommittee.

  • Again, splitting out into subcommittees is optional, and if you do choose to separate yourselves in this way, there’s no wrong way to divide and delegate tasks.

• Create a budget.

  • Once you’ve established your goals, it’s time to start solidifying a budget. Plan for every imaginable cost you could incur, including:

    • Venue costs

    • Catering expenses

    • Invitations

    • Promotional items

    • Marketing

  • Of course, your budget will vary depending on the size of your organization and the type of event that you’re planning. A small nonprofit hosting a 5K will have a very different budget than a larger organization throwing an elaborate gala.

• Find a venue.

  • With your budget in mind, you can start shopping around for a venue. You may be able to find free venues. Then again, venues can also go for thousands of dollars a night.

• Select a date.

  • You can select a date after you’ve shopped around for venues and figured out their prices for certain seasons, or you can select a date beforehand if that suits your organization’s needs.

• Negotiate prices.

  • A crucial step in the planning process is price negotiation. It’s an ongoing step, so feel free to add it to your list more than once and check it off as you go.

• Develop an overall plan.

  • The whole purpose of the planning committee is to plan. At this point, you should have a fairly clear notion of the direction your event is heading.

  • Check this item off your list if you have a concrete plan that everyone on your committee can adhere to.

• Brand your event.

  • Establishing the branding for your event is critical for its ultimate success. In order to check this item off the checklist, you should have a functional one-pager that details specific branding standards, such as:

    • Logos.

    • Go-to fonts.

    • Banner designs.

    • Suitable decorations.

    • Appropriate colors and when to use them.

    • A one-pager can be incredibly specific, or you can use it as a set of general guidelines to keep everything cohesive.

• Create a publicity plan.

  • Promoting your event through traditional media outlets, like newspapers, magazines, television, and radio will take some real know-how. That’s why it’s important to have a firm publicity plan in place for those instances.

  • A standard publicity plan will include:

    • An overview.

    • A list of goals.

    • Strategies to achieve goals.

    • Target audiences.

    • Key target media.

    • An action plan for next steps.

  • Your publicity plan will look different depending on your goals and the type of event you’re hosting. It will also depend on the type of media you’re targeting.

• Delegate PR tasks.

  • Assign different public relations tasks to various members of your planning committee.

  • Decide on promotional items.

  • Pick out items to sell:

    • Before the event.

    • During the event.

    • After the event.

• Confirm speakers/entertainment.

  • If you’re having speakers or live entertainment at your event, you’ll want to seek out and confirm them before you recruit your sponsors. Securing these special guests before you seek out a sponsor will strengthen your sponsorship proposal.

• Identify and recruit sponsors.

  • Finding sponsorships for your event will take research, planning, and practice before execution. You can learn more about securing event sponsorships in The Ultimate Guide to Planning a Fundraising Event.

3 Months Before the Fundraising Event

• Speaker or Presenter Checklist:

  • Finalize speech topics.

    • Have a board or staff member approve the message. Make sure that it lines up with the image you’re trying to portray about your organization.

  • Get bio and photo.

    • This photo will be used in programs and promotional materials; make sure it’s appropriate and professional. The bio should also be professional. Have someone proofread it before approving it.

  • Firm up travel plans.

    • This is only applicable if your guest of honor or speaker is coming from far away. If it’s reasonable for them to provide their own transportation, they absolutely should.

  • Sign contracts, if needed.

    • You might want your speaker or entertainment to sign a contract so that they can’t back out last minute and leave you hanging at your event.

• Administrative Checklist:

  • Figure out registration fees.

    • Event registration fees are optional but highly recommended.

  • Set up an online donation form.

    • Give guests an easy way to donate before, during, and after your event.

  • Purchase promotional items.

    • You will have already chosen the types of promotional items you’re featuring. Now is the time to go ahead and purchase them.

  • Determine sponsorship levels.

    • Make sure you have a set list of sponsorship levels and what those levels correspond to, benefits-wise.

• Venue Checklist:

  • Look into permits/licensing.

    • The sooner you start any licensing or permit processes that may be involved with your chosen venue, the better.

  • Arrange logistics (parking, menu, etc.).

    • Confirm details with the venue, caterers, and any other outside event staff.

  • Finalize security plans.

    • Familiarize yourself with the safety procedures of the venue and get to know any security protocols that might be relevant to your event.

• Publicity Checklist:

  • Develop publicity materials.

    • The extent of your publicity materials will depend on your budget, but you may want to arrange any:

      • Newspaper ads,

      • Magazine spots,

      • Radio scripts,

      • Social media copy,

      • Or other publicity materials you may have!

  • Request logos from sponsors.

    • In order to properly promote sponsors, you will need their logos and colors to incorporate into publicity materials.

  • Create and send invites and tickets.

    • Design your invitations.

    • Have them printed up (if they’re digital, send them out right away).

    • Mail them (if they’ve been printed).

    • When you’ve received payment or confirmation, you can:

      • Create tickets, virtually or physically.

      • Have them printed or send them digitally.

      • Send tickets and receipts to attendees.

  • Set up a social media strategy.

    • Have a plan, copy, and photos for:

      • Facebook,

      • Instagram,

      • Snapchat,

      • Twitter,

      • And more!

  • Film a promo video.

    • It doesn’t have to be professional videography, but it should reflect well on your organization. Short, heartfelt video content is the best for promoting an event.

  • Update your website (or create a specific website for your event).

    • Many nonprofits choose to create specific webpages for their events. But you can also opt to highlight the event on your existing main page. Including the video you created is a great way to boost engagement with your event page.

 

1-2 Months Before the Event

• Send out reminders.

  • With the event coming up quickly, it’s important to send out reminders to those who’ve RSVP’d affirmatively (and nudge those who have yet to respond!).

  • You can send reminders out online, or if you so choose, you can send out printed messages.

• Presenters:

  • Get copies of speeches.

    • The topics should have already been approved. It’s time now to review the actual speeches.

  • Firm up travel plans, if any.

    • Again, if your speakers or presenters are coming from far away, you may be providing them with transportation. In that case, 6 weeks ahead of time is the ideal time to book plane tickets and hotel rooms.

  • Follow up with sponsors.

    • Now is the time to reach out to your sponsors once again. Make sure that you’re still on the same page with them about promotions and their role(s) in your event.

  • Send out press releases with notable attendees.

    • If you have any notable guests on your list, now is the perfect time to announce their attendance. You can write up a short story for the local paper or submit a piece to your city or town’s magazine.

    • Advertising well-regarded members of society that are coming to your event is a great way to attract more attendees and donors.

  • Post news releases on your event website.

    • In case some members, donors, or attendees don’t happen to pick up the paper, you can also post any news releases about your event on the website that you created or on your main page.

 

6 Days Before the Event

• Gather committees to confirm final details.

  • The event is less than a week away now. It’s time to reconvene any committees that haven’t met in a while. Make sure everyone is on the same page and has everything they need to feel prepared for the event.

• Approve final event script.

  • At this point, you’ve got a pretty good idea of the way the event will flow, but it’s a good idea to draft up a script and get it approved by all of the committee chairs.

• Let volunteers know duties and timelines.

  • With the event so close around the corner, it’s a good idea to clue in your event-specific volunteers about their precise timelines and duties. Give them direction for when to show up, where to set up their stations, and how to deal with their responsibilities.

• Approve final seating chart, if applicable.

  • Your guests will be arriving in under a week. Make sure you have the seating chart and guest list perfected. You might also want to check to make sure you have enough seating for everyone who’s interested (and anyone who may decide to come last minute!).

• Create place cards, if applicable.

  • You might not have a seating chart or a need for place cards, but if you do, now is the time to whip them up. By this point, you have finalized your guest list (and you’ve checked it twice!), so it’s fair to create personal place cards for every guest.

• Figure out photo opportunities.

  • Photo ops are a special way to commemorate a fun event. Now that the event is roughly a week away, you can speak with your event photographer (or enlist the help of a volunteer with photo skills) and give them more specific instructions for the day or night of the event.

The Day Before the Fundraiser

• Confirm media attendance.

  • The day before the event, take the time to confirm that you’ll have some sort of media coverage, regardless of whether it’s a small local paper or a larger publication.

• Make sure signs are helpful and in place.

  • When people show up to your event, you don’t want them to get lost. Make sure you have proper signage to point people toward parking, the event space, and the registration table.

• Set up venue with necessary items.

  • Depending on the size and nature of your event and your event space, you may want to use the day before to get fully prepared and settled. If there’s a lot to set up, you don’t want to wait until the day of the event to scramble to put things together.

• Ensure that promotional items are in place.

  • If you’ve got T-shirts or other items that you’re selling at your event, you’ll want to make sure that you have them in place at the venue for the following day.

During the Fundraising Event Itself

• Have copies of event timelines.

  • Pass out copies to everyone who needs to know the rundown of the day’s events: volunteers, staff, and anyone else who’s involved with the event.

• Know directions.

  • In case anyone calls one of your team members, you’ll want to ensure that everyone knows how to give a lost guest directions to the venue.

• Have extra parking permits.

  • Again, you never know who might show up last minute, wanting a ticket to your event. You don’t want to have to turn them away because of parking issues. Talk to your venue and make sure that you have enough permits for everyone (plus a few extra!).

• Check in with committee chairs.

  • Perform one final check-in with your committee chairs. Ask them if there’s anything they need or if there are any glitches they’ve encountered. Address any concerns they might have, and then check this step off!

• Double-check guest lists.

  • Before people start officially arriving at the venue, it’s a good idea to double-check your guest list and confirm the spellings of names on place cards.

• Have seating charts on hand.

  • It’s important to be able to direct your guests to their seats quickly and efficiently. Your volunteers can do this if you give each of them their own copies of the seating chart.

6 Hours After the Event

• Gather receipts.

  • Process payments and deliver digital and physical receipts as soon as possible.

• Collate registration data.

  • You’ll have a lot of info to sift through; collect it together and organize it all as soon as possible.

• Compare budget to actual spending.

  • It’s never too early to start trying to calculate your expense-to-revenue ratio.

• Start writing thank-you notes.

  • The sooner, the better!

• Draft a post-event survey to be sent out.

  • The best way to gauge the success of any event is to ask its participants. Ask only the questions you want honest answers to; don’t overload your recent guests with too many questions!

1 Day After the Fundraiser

• Send out thank-you notes to:

  • Volunteers

  • Sponsors

  • Donors

  • Speakers/presenters

  • Media members

• Email out post-event surveys.

  • Email is the best option for this kind of communication.

  • It’s faster and more convenient for your event’s attendees.

6 Days After the Event

• Review post-event surveys.

  • By this point, you will have received the majority of the responses that are coming your way. Now is the time to sit down and review them, look for patterns, and assess how you can do better next time.

• Follow-up communication with event attendees.

  • You’ve thanked your attendees and donors at least once by now. You can thank them again and update them on the progress of your fundraising efforts and any pertinent project updates that may interest them.

• Conduct prospect research.

  • You’ve likely got a veritable ton of donor data at this point. It’s time to put it to good use and conduct prospect research to figure out who among your attendees is a major gift candidate.

6 Weeks After the Fundraiser

• Create stewardship plans for potential major gift prospects.

  • Stewardship is one of the most crucial aspects of the entire major gifts process. In the wake of your fundraising event, it’s important to craft a well-thought-out plan for stewarding major gift donors.

• Send out another round of acknowledgements.

  • You can never thank your contributors, volunteers, and event attendees enough. If you want to make sure that your donors and volunteers feel appreciated, you must demonstrate your gratitude.

• Update participants with any news on projects/mission.

  • In addition to thanking them, you’ll also want to update your attendees, donors, and volunteers once again on the progress of the project you were raising money for. Be as specific as possible, and make sure that contributors know how much their efforts and funds mean to your organization.