What are the challenges of organizing a charity event and how can you overcome them?

For charity events, as a moderator, pricing is a balance between aiding the cause and self-sustenance. Assess the value of your service against the charitable purpose. For high-end events, standard rates may apply, as they often yield higher donations. For community events, a lower fee or volunteer work may be apt to boost participation. Open dialogue about your fees and their rationale helps forge a fair agreement that supports the charity's mission while respecting your professional worth.

In my experience you just have to go for it! Don’t stress to much on budget, don’t look to deep into things! If you have a great event the rest will pan out. To start you can prepare a beautiful sponsor deck as with a charity event lots of business in the local community will be happy to support. Hit the pavement and start talking to business owners. The budget is compromised of sponsor dollars mostly anyways. The more sponsors you bring in the more budget you have. Talk to partners, volunteers and anybody else to see if they are willing to reduce costs or cut them completely to help the cause. Either way look for areas to open up revenue and bring in sponsors that’s my advice.

Identifying your sponsors is the key. What I did was wrote a list of 100 potential sponsors and I started researching their mission and values behind their philanthropic strategy. Once you narrowed that 100 down to a list of leads you start sending an emailing pitch to align their strategy with yours.

Audience engagement is everything these days. People want to leave with an experience! Make sure you work backwards. From signing up to buying a ticket to sponsoring what are they going to experience along every step of the way. Building a solid relationship with your customers or fans is the number one way to engage and keep them interested in your event

Incorporating promotional products that resonate with your charity's mission can significantly enhance audience engagement. Customized gifts or giveaways with your logo can serve as a tangible reminder of the event and cause, encouraging continued support and advocacy long after the event concludes. Utilizing these items in interactive ways, such as rewards for participation or as part of a social media challenge, can create buzz and deepen the emotional connection with your audience.

During Event: Interactive Displays and Booths: Set up interactive exhibits where attendees can learn more about the cause, participate in activities, or donate on the spot. Post-Event Engagement Follow-Up Communication: Send personalized thank-you emails, share highlights from the event, and provide updates on the impact of the funds raised. Survey for Feedback: Conduct a post-event survey to gather feedback and understand what resonated with the audience and where improvements can be made. Continuous Engagement: Keep the conversation going on social media and through email newsletters. Share ongoing stories of how the charity is making a difference, and keep the audience informed about future events.

The measurement of Impact, for an event was certainly my biggest enemy. Particularly since I worked for a company that thrived on ROI. How did I battle this? ?Ask questions in advance and understand what is expected. ?Once you know what needs to be measured, orchestrate your event strategically to capture those statistics. ?Understanding and being able to articulate that longterm measurement of impact is not always possible. ?If you are not skilled in capturing impact, ask for help from someone who is. ?Document and report out (Successes, Failures, Recommendations for next time). ?Celebrate and acknowledge those who worked with you or participated in some manner.