Nonprofit Organizations Need More Small, Intimate Events
Photo courtesy of Life Houses.
With how sparse nonprofit resources are, finding cost-effective ways to fundraise matters now more than ever. While the “cool factor” of a big gala fundraiser is hard to deny. The big, flashy event with the giant ballroom, tons of speeches, food, and the head honchos who support your nonprofit with gifts of all sizes can be more effort than they’re worth, especially for small teams with tight budgets.
Still, nonprofit leaders are under immense pressure to make money with their fundraising campaign.
When the return on investment for big expensive events just doesn’t make sense, it might be time to consider other options.
Enter, small events.
Another fundraising event that your organization can consider is an intimate outreach event. These are small, focused events usually with fewer than 50 attendees. In many cases, the groups are even smaller. They might not yield the same giant fundraising numbers as a gala, but they’re typically more sustainable, easier to organize, and usually expect long-term returns.
What is an Intimate Fundraising Event?
An intimate fundraising event is intentionally small to enable you to share your mission and build close relationships with donors and supporters of your organization. Unlike a large event encompassing as many of your donors as possible, small events are strategic and focused. They’re also easier to make happen on a tight timeline and budget with few staff members.
There are many differences and benefits of intimate or mission-sharing fundraising events compared to other types of fundraisers:
Location: Rather than a large ballroom or a massive theater, intimate events are at a familiar, perhaps even cozy location, such as a local library, a donor or board member’s house, or your nonprofit’s headquarters. Events can be virtual or in person, giving people flexibility to choose how they want to engage.
Budget: With fewer attendees, a smaller space (that you often have more control over), and fewer materials to distribute, hosting a small gathering shouldn’t take up as many resources from your nonprofit.
Attendees: Staff members, sponsors, donors, and high-value donor prospects are an easy choice for people to invite to a fundraiser, but with intimate events, you may go a different route, such as inviting community leaders to build trust with the people you serve or local partners who can expand your mission. Plus, because these are easier and more cost-effective to host, you can organize multiple events and strategically invite individuals and community leaders to encourage partnerships and collaboration.
The Benefits of an Intimate Fundraising Event
Small, focused events provide unique opportunities that other development-related outreach, such as galas and community events may not.
First, they provide a unique opportunity to market your nonprofit in a personal way. You’re face-to-face with potential donors, volunteers, or supporters of your nonprofit. This is a chance to share and connect them to your organization’s story and inspire them to action.
Next, it can build lasting relationships. Small, intimate events strengthen bonds and relationships because you actually have time to mingle with everyone and have authentic connections. So remember, take the time to speak with all of the people in attendance and encourage them to ask questions and learn more about your nonprofit.
Finally, intimate fundraising can increase conversion and retain donors. Because these events are sustainable and small-scale, you can host them more often, giving prospective donors, volunteers, and other partners a way to engage with your nonprofit more frequently and build community.
And, more importantly, create non-transactional interactions. While you may share a story about the impact of your work and include a gentle appeal at the conclusion, there are no other formal asks for money.
When cultivating relationships with donors and volunteers, it’s important that marketing and communications are mutually beneficial. Everyone dislikes feeling sold to every time they receive an email or attend an event.
Small gatherings are a good way to show people what's in it for them when they're part of your cause. And what’s in it for them is connection: To a community with like-minded people and a venue to help solve an issue in their community.
So, who do you invite to your first intimate fundraiser?
Fill Up Your Room
Intimate events can be as formal or informal as you’d like. Think about your organization’s brand feel, your audience, and the intention of your event when you’re setting a theme and selecting a space.
Thankfully, the world is your oyster when it comes to small fundraisers. Who you want to bring is entirely up to you and your nonprofit’s needs, but here are a few ideas that have been successful for Sprig clients:
Current donors: They’re already engaged with your mission, making them a strategic choice for more intimate events. You can ask for feedback to make them feel more involved. You can also share detailed information about the impact of your work. Additionally, you can encourage them to engage more consistently.
Volunteers: These are dedicated supporters of nonprofits who regularly donate their time and skills to help out.
Along with creating connections, mission-sharing events can be an amazing way to thank your volunteers for their service, connect them to donors to potentially convert them to loyal donors, too, and give them a venue to share their experience as speakers. Since they are already engaged, they are also most likely to host the BBQ for the block and tell someone about your nonprofit to motivate them to get involved with your mission.
Community members: People who care about your work. For example, a domestic violence (DV) shelter could invite the local sheriff’s office that handles DV calls to thank them for the work they do and engage employees in the mission of the nonprofit—assuming no conflict of interest exists. This may also include thought leaders in the neighborhood. People who serve on school boards, community outreach team members within foundations, and the library’s advisory boards, depending on your mission.
Community or civic leaders: They can help you build trust and create partnerships in the community. This group may not be seeking financial gain, but they can still be valuable allies. Building relationships with community leaders can benefit your organization by providing valuable insights, connections, and support for your initiatives.
Community leaders: Don't overlook the potential for collaboration with this group. These people are positioned to build community and coalition around your cause, and because they have a higher (10,000-foot) view of the community, getting them involved in your mission may mean new collaboration and cross-functional work to provide more benefit to the community.
Now that you know who to invite, let’s make it count.
Make the Most of an Intimate Fundraiser
Tailor your event to make it meaningful. With intimate events, personalization becomes easier because there are fewer people and less space to accommodate.
Personalize your invitations and follow-up messages to make people feel special and like an individual—not like a name on a list.
Communications
A great experience starts with your nonprofit communications strategy, which includes multiple touchpoints. Plan all the details of your channels and messaging in advance. This includes the invitation, follow-up, and social media posts. This will help ensure consistency.
A great experience starts at the beginning of the interaction. With events, this is your invitation or save-the-date. Personalize your message so people feel personally selected, and not like a name on a mailing list.
After the event, follow up. Thank people for attending, share photos on social media (with permission of attendees, of course), and tag them, too, increasing your organic reach as they share on their accounts. Tailoring serves an important purpose – it keeps people engaged after the event. If you miss out on the follow-up, you may lose the donor or supporter you just spent hours cultivating.
Branding
Fortunately, small events lend themselves to a cozy, intimate feeling, and depending on the location, can also have a unique vibe of their own. Remember, though that this is your event for your mission.
Adding a few extra touches like branded environmental displays such as visuals, balloons, and tablecloths; presentation materials, such as video or speakers; and marketing materials, such as brochures or stickers can help you ensure that the event still feels connected to your organization without going all out. This is a way to personalize the event to your brand, making it stand out from any other gathering in the same space.
The Experience
Ensure that the event is meaningful for attendees. Remember, attendees are taking time out of their day to be there. You can do that in a lot of ways:
Utilize a question-and-answer period to hear from your attendees about their concerns, wants, and needs for the community and the organization. People show more investment when they feel heard.
Prepare handouts and materials that people can take with them or browse. After all, while mission-sharing events tend to be more casual, you still want people to remember why they’re there.
Arrange your seating to make the event feel inviting and relaxed. Provide plenty of space to move around and make food and drinks easily accessible to take advantage of your location.
Storytelling
The last thing is arguably the most important, and that’s mission storytelling.
Build the agenda such that there will be opportunities for sharing, either from pre-arranged speakers or round-robin among the attendees. If you’re preparing speakers, find the stories that click with the people you invited and seek out speakers who will share those interests.
For example, a first-generation college student speaking about how your literacy program inspired their love for learning would be a great fit for a group of teachers and librarians. Whereas a speaker talking about the return on investment (ROI) of education would be better suited for an audience of policy-makers and economists.
Even though the organization and its goals are the same, the persuasive argument that connects with your audience will be different. So, know your attendees. Remember, storytelling doesn’t have to be overly complex. When finding stories, look within first. That might mean looking to staff or board members for testimonials, clients for success stories, or volunteers for their positive experiences.
You’ve learned the benefits of an intimate fundraiser—and some suggestions for how to set it up—now it’s time to try it! Consider building it into your ongoing strategy this year, if you haven’t already, to engage and sustain donors and volunteers. And if you remember, let us know how it goes!
