Blog Post by: Krista Elmore, CFRE
We are thrilled over here at STUDIO 4Forty that so many events have been coming back in-person. We had a great summer with incredible responses from charities and guests alike. Although many events looked different in guest capacity and spacing, the return of events has been met with increased excitement and increased revenue for those lucky enough to have launched. Fingers crossed we continue to see the return of more and more events into the fall and with the start of a new year. Go away, Delta variant!
With the return of in-person events, the revenue generators and entertaining moments we all love have popped back into the forefront of our charity partners’ planning brains, and we’re seeing a common plea: Charities need more help!
After a year and a half of lockdowns and COVID-caution, once reliable volunteers have shifted their priorities and fallen off the face of the earth (at least the charity’s “earth”) and that has created a HUGE gap in support. Charities are once again finding their footing with events and are excited to dive back in, but the anxiety of rallying support has many stalling.
It’s time to LEVEL UP the expectations of a working committee and really find the best, most appropriate volunteers to support your fundraising event. While everyone is exhausted and feeling drained in their own way, most individuals NEED a place to plug in and contribute, a real way to fill their love tanks! Now is the opportunity to really dig into your charity’s reach, reflect on the mission, and outreach to the individuals that can help support you best.
In our upcoming digital course on Thursday, September 2nd, “Forming Your Perfect Committee,” my coworker Jennifer Downes and I explore the who, what, how and why questions of building a committee (when and where are in there, too, but those are really your questions to answer). We are often asked in the planning calls with our partner charities about finding the right members, how to keep them engaged and motivated, and what it is that they are actually looking for. We want to help answer all of those questions and more for you!
Not to give away too much of the secret sauce, but I want to share a tiny bit of the magic that can happen with the right people on your side:
- Relief on the charity staff with extra hands to guide the ship… er, event!
- An opportunity to expand the charity’s network with each committee member and their extended networks
- New potential sponsors, donors, and in-kind donations through the connections of each committee member
- New ideas and a fresh perspective to keep the event relevant and exciting year after year
As a reader of our blog (we know there are a few of you out there!), we wanted to extend an opportunity for you to participate in our digital course on Thursday, September 2nd to join us in the pursuit of “Forming Your Perfect Committee.” As a thank you for reading, investing in yourselves as a fundraiser, and as a charity doing good in the world, we wanted to give you a 50% off discount code. Please use code ATTENDEE in the coupon code at checkout and we’ll see you online!