In my experience, one of the best ways to fundraise money is to hold an event. That’s what all the big charities do. They have black tie events, gala balls and fancy dinners at 5-star hotels and they raise hundreds of thousands of dollars through their events.
Now before I freak you out completely, I’m certainly not suggesting that you go for that big a scale, but why not get a group of people to come along to a night of comedy, trivia, live music or a dinner?
Events = Perfect Solution with lots of benefits
If you want to raise $5000 or more, an event-based fundraiser is the perfect solution. Your guests have a fun night out, and you raise all the money you need in just 1 night.
The other benefit of events is that you have the chance to add in a few fundraising games or activities such as raffles and auctions that raise extra money.
And wait there’s more! As an added bonus with Events:
- There is alcohol involved.
- You have fun.
- Your guests are likely to be more generous if they are drinking.
- It feels less like work and more like a party!
Raising $5000 in 1 night certainly can be done. Recently one of my clients raised over $8,000 for the Variety Club Bash, and another client handed over a cheque for over $11,000 for a family to buy a car that would fit their daughter’s new wheelchair in it.
What sort of Event can I do?
There are all sorts of events you can do. The trick is to find something that is going to appeal to your circle of friends and contacts. You want to choose something that they’d want to go to even if it wasn’t a fundraiser, just because it sounds fun.
Some ideas of what sort of events you could do are:
- Stand Up Comedy Show
- Trivia/Quiz Night
- Live Music/Band
- Fashion Parade
- Cocktail Party
- Cheese and Wine Tasting Night
- Dress Up Party
Very simply, the main steps are:
- Decide what sort of event you are going to do
- Get a venue
- Sell tickets
- Do fundraising games and activities on the night
- Sell drinks at the bar
WHAT WOULD YOU RATHER DO TO RAISE $5000?
| Fundraiser | Chocolates | Wine | Lamington Drive | Event |
| Have to sell | 12 500
(250 boxes of 50) |
86-125 dozen
(1000-1500 bottles) |
2127 dozen | 100-150 tickets |
| Avg Sale
per person |
5 chocolates | 1 dozen wines | 2 dozen lamingtons | 1 ticket |
| How much they have to spend? | $5 | $144 – $180 | $21 | $40 – $50 |
| How many people do you need? | 2500 people | 86-125 people | 1063 people | 100-150 people |
My quick tip is, the easiest way to raise $5000 is to get 100-150 people to each spend $40 – $50 on a night out, and you’ve made it… you’ll hit your target easily!
But I’ve never run an Event before. Aren’t they hard work?
Well, there is a special skill set needed to run an Event Fundraiser, and you need to be well-organised and need to know what you are doing for your best chance at success. That’s why I’ve created a simple system for success called Hit Your Target.
