Leveraging Events To Raise Money for Social Impact

Sometimes we end up in rooms that feel like: 'Ah, I've found my people! I love it here.' I found myself there last week.

I was in a room of social impact leaders fired up to talk about strategically leveraging events to raise money and build their communities. I was one of a couple of events firms there who serve as partners to this community. Association of Fundraising Professionals - New York City Chapter (AFP-NYC) hosted this awesome gathering.

Some of my favorite conversations were about...

💸 Fundraising at an event can be the sexy thing to do - 'we raised $XXX last night!!!' - but it's not always the most strategic.
🌀 Thinking about the overall guest experience from before the event, at the event, and after in a really meaningful way that builds and deepens connection to the organization's work.
👏 Event committees must focus on outreach not the logistics of the event and it's up to the organization to keep them centered and focused on outreach and nothing else.
😴 Events are a great way to engage lapsed donors and there are easy and effective ways to do so.

💥 But, alas, the part that really spoke to my soul was about WHEN and WHY an organization brings in outside firm (ahem, Gather Co. ):

A typical trajectory would be an organization feeling they don't have, or don't want to spend, the budget on external help. Many in the room shared how big of a toll it takes on the team to manage a major event internally. Those who got to the point of investing in external partnership said resoundingly that they've never turned back. They said:

"It means freeing up your team to do the work they should be doing." 💫

"It's an investment that will allow you to see a trajectory of success that would otherwise go unrealized. That added capacity leads to really meaningful outcomes in money raised and the community of supporters it builds." 💫

"They're (external event support) like assassins - they come in, they kill it, they leave. They add this crucial expertise and capacity when it's needed and then leave. It may feel expensive but it's not as expensive as adding additional staff." 💫

"When you work with them for a long time they have crucial institutional memory. They know your guests, your team, what has worked well, what hasn't. They're able to train our team as they turnover." 💫

"Over time you can decrease their scope, as your team starts to absorb what they've learned from the external expertise." 💫

I mean, need I say more?? 😄 It left me fired up to work with more teams, offering our skilled capacity and partnership to produce events that will propel their work forward