Making the Most of Special Events for Charities

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TRANSFORM YOUR EVENTS Making the most of your special events Presenter: Sandra Luther @sandraluther sandra.luther@blackbaud.co.uk

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WHAT DO EVENTS LOOK LIKE TODAY?

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Across the UK, USA, Italy, Germany and NZ special events are rated as the most effective fundraising tool – especially for

driving individual donations

Social Networking and P2P fundraising are the fastest growing method of fundraising

https://www.blackbaud.com/SONI

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H O W C A N W E R A I S E T H E B A R ?

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• Accurate data = mailing house savings

• Every year in the UK: - Over 6 million people move house - 600,000 people pass away - Half a million addresses are changed by the Royal Mail - 250,000 people sign up to The Mailing Preference Service - 5.7 million company and individual details change

• Be sure to screen your mail file before paying for that postage!

MAKE SURE YOUR INVITATIONS ARE RECEIVED

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• Targeted segmentation - Previous attendance - Interests - Communication preferences (direct mail vs email)

MAKE SURE YOU ARE TALKING TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE

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• Promote your event EVERYWHERE!

• Make your content portable and easy to share

• Find out who your biggest advocates are and ask them to promote your events (#Hashtags & shortcodes for text)

GO SOCIAL

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BE MOBILE

1/3 of all UK

website views are

from a mobile device

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• Make sure you allow online registration - People are comfortable with this - You can collect registration fees instantly!

• Keep registration short and simple

• Make sure it’s branded

MAKE REGISTRATION EASY

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• Manage your event in one place - Keep your event details in a central location - Know who you’ve invited and what their response is - Manage your “extra” info – tshirt sizes, meal requests,

dietary restrictions, etc

• Get your seating right without the headaches and wasted post-its! • Have your communications/actions all in one place

HAVE A 360O VIEW

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• Have a photographer on site to take nice photos to publish on your Facebook page - Looking at photos from an event is top

activity on Facebook!

• Consider live posting as well (runners at an event?)

• Use a #Hashtag and Tweet about your event (before, during and after)

LET’S PARTY!

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ADD SOME EXCITEMENT WITH IMPULSE GIVING • Use a short code for your campaign

• Consider table ambassadors & MCs to

encourage participants to give that little bit more to support the campaign or cause!

Text GIVE to 70004 make a £10 donation!

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• Events are a key part of your stewardship • A timely thank you encourages more support and

participation in future events

• A recent study found those who received a personalised thank you within 48 hours of participation are 4x more likely to engage with your organisation again

THE POWER OF THANK YOU

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• Major benefits of a centralised system:

- Easy reporting! • Was there an increase in participants? • Number of repeat vs new participants?

- More complete view of revenue and expenses

MONITOR SUCCESS

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W H AT A B O U T C H A L L E N G E E V E N T S ?

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Empower your

supporters to do more

Grow your supporter

base

Attract a younger audience

WHY CHALLENGE EVENTS?

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• Charity branded pages - Reduce drop off rates, increases conversions - Increases gift size - Keep the connection with your organisation

KEEP YOUR BRAND

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• Multichannel fundraisers raise 40% more than their peers

• Every time someone shares an event it drives £2 in additional revenue back to the organiser

• Each share drives 27 clicks back to your event page – Most popular device for raising the profile of an event is

Twitter

LEVERAGE SOCIAL AND EMAIL

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• Fundraisers given tools and encouragement raise 10x more than their peers

• Your supporters are not natural fundraisers – they need your help! - Suggest goals and activities like storytelling, email and social

sharing

• Keep your supporters motivated - Lack of initial support and response can deflate an otherwise

engaged supporter - Stay in touch and keep the communication lines open across

all channels - Reward successes and incremental achievements

PROVIDE ENCOURAGEMENT

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WHAT TO DO TODAY

• Make sure your are leveraging ALL your resources: - Relationships - Champions - Social Networks - Website - Marketing

• Technology should support – not hinder

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HOW CAN BLACKBAUD HELP?

Blackbaud NetCommunity

TeamRaiser

Heroix

Data Enrichment

Services

Social Scoring

Blackbaud Mobile

Import O Matic

Find out more at www.blackbaud.co.uk, or speak with your Account Manager