When it’s mid-August and your event series starts in two months (or less!) it can be easy to throw up your hands when it comes to trying to boost your fundraising results and say, “Maybe next year!” But if you’re below your goals, or at goal and want to stretch, there are still things you can do to maximize your event’s performance in a limited time that don’t require reimagining your entire strategy or outreach plans.
Your staff is pulled in a lot of different directions in the final weeks or months before your event, so it’s important to put their focus where they can make the greatest impact. There are a lot of common pitfalls that nonprofits succumb to when time gets tight. Here’s how you can spot them and avoid them.
Pitfall 1: Chasing registration numbers at the expense of revenue. When registration numbers are looking low, many organizations put their attention solely on getting more people signed up. They discount registration fees, start paying for ads, or widen their marketing circle beyond their core audience. But the later someone registers for your event, the less time you have to build a relationship and cultivate a fundraiser. And the looser their connection to your cause, the less likely they will attempt to fundraise at all.
These week-of registrants will end up just being numbers and may not contribute to your fundraising culture or develop into a longer-term supporter. Now if your organization’s priority is for the event to be a vehicle for awareness and visibility in the community, a marketing event for your brand, focusing on late recruitment may fit in with that strategy. But if you want a true peer-to-peer fundraising event that adds to your nonprofit’s development portfolio, instead of focusing on building your participant numbers in these final weeks, focus on activating those who are already registered.
Pitfall 2: Trying to get everyone off $0. While the percentage of your participants who activate as fundraisers is an important metric, it’s not always the most important one to focus your time and energy on, especially in these crucial final weeks. Here at Event 360, our fundraising strategists know: It’s easier to get someone doing something to do more than it is to motivate someone doing nothing to do anything. Your zero balance participants may make up the bulk of your roster, but the largest segment isn’t the same as the best opportunity.
For this zero balance group, use channels that don’t take staff time, such as broadcast emails and text messages rather than focusing on personal outreach. Instead, use your staff’s precious personal outreach time to connect with the participants who are already in motion.
Pitfall 3: Assuming activated participants don’t need to be nudged. It can be tempting to let your best fundraisers be self-sufficient in these final weeks because they’ve already activated and you assume they’ve maxed out their capacity. However, this audience can actually be the most fertile ground when it comes to boosting your event’s fundraising overall.
Here’s who you can focus on for additional touchpoints:
- Participants within striking distance of a fundraising reward or major milestone. Be specific. Don’t just say “keep fundraising.” Tell them exactly how much money they need to raise before they earn the incentive and name what it is! “You’re $85 away from earning a branded tote.” An open-ended ask makes it much harder for a participant to cross the threshold.
- Participants who’ve hit their fundraising goal (ask them to raise it!). When a donor gets to a page that is already at 100%, they may give less than they intended — or not donate at all. When you reach out and invite your participants to change their goal, you should congratulate them first — sincerely and specifically. Then ask them to change their goal so donors have a reason to give.
- Top 5–10 fundraisers and teams. Let them know their current standing and when the deadline is. A text or call from a name they recognize is going to land best. This can foster a healthy sense of competition in people who have already proved their level of commitment. Don’t underestimate how the promise of recognition or a prize can motivate someone to try to be number one. Give them the real numbers. Telling them “You’re in fourth place, and third is $200 ahead” will give them all the information they need to go after it in a way that “You’re in the top 10” doesn’t.
- Participants who have made a self-donation but haven’t gotten any other donations. This is an encouraging action that tells you the participant is invested. But we want them to embrace the true spirit of peer-to-peer fundraising by inviting their friends and family to support them. Ask them to send out at least one group fundraising email/text/social post, inviting their networks to match the amount of their donation. We all know the momentum that can build with just one donation secured!
- Participants who have gotten a donation but haven’t made their own. Ask them to donate to their own fundraising account. Not everyone will be able to, but every participant should be asked to. If there’s a meaningful statistic you can tie to a specific amount, even better. For example: “[Name of Organization] is celebrating 35 years of impact. Would you consider making a $35 donation to solidify your commitment and honor this milestone?”
And finally, if you allow for post-event fundraising (and you should!) remind all participants that they can continue collecting donations. When the event is over, after thanking them for participating in the event and everything they’ve done so far, encourage them to share their experience, including photos and impact, via email, text and social media, with a post-event fundraising ask.
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Joann Buckley Collins & Molly Fast
