Over the last few weeks we have seen an explosion in the number of people taking part in solo fundraising events. Captain Tom has raised a staggering amount of money for NHS charities by completing 100 laps of his garden in the days running up to his 100th birthday. There have been many more examples of people taking the time out that we have at the moment to raise money. After life begins to return to some sort of normality charities and voluntary organisations are going to need our help more than ever. It is thought that many large fundraising events will be created to help these charities raise some much needed money.
If you are thinking of planning an event in the future, here are some things that you need to consider.
- Location – picking your location needs some careful consideration and you will want to choose one that is within a reasonable travel time for those people that you are hoping will attend the event.
- Event Medical Cover – in case anything happens you might want to consider event cover that means you have a medical presence at your event. Look at the new Outdoor Medical site to review its event medical cover
- Marketing – to get the most number of people seeing your event and contributing you need to think carefully about how you are going to market it.
Purpose, venue and a written plan
A common mistake with fundraising events is treating the purpose as simply holding a ceremony or collecting money. A successful event has a clear mission, along with objectives and goals that can be used to measure how well it went. The better you understand why the event is happening, the easier it is to plan and to judge the resources it needs.
Choose a venue that links the reason for the event with the people you want to reach. Think about the type of event, the space available, how it needs to be laid out, and how accessible and convenient the location is. Then put an agreed plan in writing, well ahead of time. It should cover objectives, a step by step outline of activities, site details and the budget.
On the day, include at least one moment that grabs attention and reminds everyone why they are there and why their contribution matters. Plan a clear beginning, middle and finale so the event flows. A muddled sequence leaves people disengaged and can affect how much is raised and whether they come back.
