23 Feb 2012 No Comments

Part 4: Post event: Review, Thank yous, & Post event donations

 

The final step in our Grassroots Fundraising Event Series culminates in the campaign’s final touches. It’s important to look back on what you did well and what you could do better next time. Thank you emails, post event donation appeals, and the event’s summary are all important components to smart fundraising.

Don’t forget to say thank you

Your contributors willingly supported your event and cause and for that, they deserve a heartfelt thank you. Whether its via email, social media, or even a hand written letter, be sure to keep it personal, sincere, and relatively short. Try one of these creative ideas to show your gratitude:

  • Record a video of you personally thanking everyone who donated, post it on your fundraising page, and share it via email to all your donors.
  • Sending segmented emails to certain contributor categories, based on relation to yourself or their donation amount.
  • Shout outs and general thank yous on social media are always appreciated and can easily reach your entire network.

Ask for a post event donation

Just because your event is over, doesn’t mean your fundraising campaign has to be. You wouldn’t imagine the donations we have seen come in after a 5k run, a benefits concert, or even a dinner party has taken place. See how the Cerebral Palsy K.I.D.S. Center’s Walk and Roll back in March of 2011 leveraged post event donations.

Review and report

Receiving feedback is critical. Look over the course of your campaign and see what worked well and what didn’t. Try to understand where the bulk of your donations came from and see how next time around, you can be smarter about targeting your appeal.

Part of good post event communication has to do with reporting. While you thank your contributors and simultaneously ask for post event donations, it’s important to produce your donation results in an easy to understand fashion. Not only are you learning for next time but it’s important that your supporters know how much you’ve raised, how it was done, and what cause their money is supporting. Show them the impact they are making and the results of your hard work!

Conclusion

With a pretty solid foundation, you should feel comfortable holding your own grassroots fundraising event from start to finish. Not too scary now is it? It doesn’t have to be a complicated operation, just one where you can intelligently leverage your community for the sake of your cause. Tomorrow we’ll highlight some great examples to get those ideas pumping!

Download Webinar: Make the most of your Grassroots Fundraising

 

 Photo Courtesy pasukaru76 2009

by Dan Fonseca in Grassroots Fundraising Tags: ,