How to Promote a Fundraiser

Running a fundraiser is one of the most important ways in which to raise money for a charity. Once you have the initial idea in your head and have planned the event, it’s important to focus on PR and promotion as well as the development of marketing materials. After all, if nobody comes to your event, you won’t raise any money.

Promoting a Fundraiser

Promoting the event can turn into a very hectic and busy job in the final few days before it takes place. Get around this by putting someone in charge of PR or community outreach. It’s a good idea to appoint someone who has prior experience of marketing or sales. Talking to the press can be very daunting, and events can be a logistical nightmare when it comes to VIPs, so make sure the person you delegate is up to the task.

Develop quality marketing tools and build a brand for your fundraiser. Most of the time it’s possible to piggyback off the existing brand of the charity, but if your event can appeal to the community or if you can add a unique spin on the event, it becomes more than a simple fundraiser and people are more likely to attend. Draw up a timeline of marketing and PR details; book time for community radio interviews long before the scheduled date. You will also do well to set up a Facebook group and interlink with Twitter to promote the event; the Internet allows you to find larger numbers of people with shared interests, and social networking allows you to hone in on your target audience cheaply and effectively.

If everything goes to plan on the day (which it will if you prepare everything meticulously), then a sense of professionalism and class will shine through and make people more likely to respect your event and any others you host afterwards. The single most important aspect is that the fundraiser does its job, but it can’t accomplish this unless people inherently want to go to.

Tags: Fundraiser, Fundraising, MicroGiving