Planning an Event for a Charity or Nonprofit
Although event planning can be glamorous, even in the nonprofit world, what is rarely realized is the amount of event planning that happens outside of the public eye. While fund-raising events are often a crucial, if expensive, way for many charities and non-profits to raise funds, the majority of non-profits often have a whole range of special events which are rarely advertised or considered fun' to attend by the general public.
Providing a Service
Non-profits exist to provide services. Whether this service is acting as a third-party supporter (and fundraiser for or funder of) other charities, working with marginalized groups (the homeless, mentally ill, GLBTGTS community, illiterate or other), or helping charities develop the skills they need to keep their doors open, we all have the same fundamental reason for existing. As such, the majority of our actions are around events, whether it's an after-school drop-in group, a seminar on managing volunteers, or a workshop on alcohol abuse recovery.
With many of these service events the expenses are not something that you will recoup through raising funds - the majority of these sessions will be offered for free, and there is little chance of finding an external funder if there is little to no opportunity for you to give them free advertising or promotion in return for their 'charitable' deed. These types of events are often referred to as 'internal' or client' events, and frequently, the funding has to come from internal sources - namely, the charity's operating budget.
As such, any good charitable fundraiser needs to be highly flexible, highly patient, and capable of making miracles occur with miniscule budgets. I'll use a personal example to illustrate this. Two current events I am planning for my charity are learning seminars. In both cases, I'm lucky enough to have partial government funding, as we are promoting services for them, instead of having to entirely rely on our events budget. But in both cases, my budgets are well below what is necessary to deal with such regular event costs as room fees, food and staffing.
Fitting your Budget to your Attendance List
Regardless of how big or small your event's budget is, the number of attendees you expect will always impact what you will be able to get for your money.
In the case of the first event, which 35 people are attending, I'm lucky enough to have what can be considered in the charitable world as a very generous budget of $600. For the second, my maximum expenditure is $400, and I will have 60 people attending. In both cases, these funds must also cover taxes and gratuities. The average room rental in my city starts at $100 hour, with a minimum fixed rental rate of $250 to $500. Both events are free to those attending, which means that, as the money we receive is solely for room costs and catering, our own operating funds will have to cover event advertising, printing costs, name badges, the fees for running online registration processes and both the transportation costs and wages for the staff involved with the event.
At the first of these two events, which is a full day long, we will be able to offer attendees cookies and juice along with coffee and tea both in the morning and afternoon sessions. However, the attendees must buy or bring their own lunches. At the second event, which is only two hours long, only water, tea and coffee will be available, as our rental of a microphone and projection screen is not included in the room rate rental (we always bring our own projector, computer, and flip charts to help cut down on costs).
This is less than glamorous, if highly contentious, event planning. You may think that dramatic confrontations would be more likely with large budgets at stake, but that simply isn't true. With events like this, every penny literally counts, as blowing budget risks alienating powerful government bodies (which provide the majority of funding for all charities). Nothing could be more banal than haggling over the amount of service gratuity to be paid, but this can literally involve 20 phone calls between caterer and charity before all parties are happy, including the funders.
Keeping Within your Budget
Another way to keep to your budget (other than bringing your own supplies if necessary and always haggling with your service provider) is to always ensure that you order catering for less people than you expect. Many caterers will charge for how many people they see show up, but if they demand numbers in advance, undercut your expected attendance by 10%. Most events have a no-show rate of 10%, especially if attendance is free or it is hosted by the non-profit sector. As most caterers tend to be generous with their portion sizes, you'll probably still have plenty of food. This keeps your costs down, as you usually pay for what you order, not what you consume!
Event Attendance
A good charitable event planner also has to be ready to deal with other problems outside of event expenses. Attendance is a crucial concern. If you are receiving funding, then your funders want results - how many people actually attended this event? Is it worthwhile for them to fund it? You may not lose money directly if people don't show up, but you've spent your funder's money on them, and they'll be mighty anxious to know why.
In the voluntary sector, many people will not show up for an event - especially if it is free. They feel that they are not losing money by being 'too busy' and often believe there is an informality about events offered by charities (versus businesses) which doesn't make it such an offense if they show up without registering, or fail to show up at all!
So how to get the numbers your funders demand, or the numbers you need to cover your expenses if there's an attendance fee? And how to get the word out about the event when it's a service which isn't glamorous or of wide enough appeal for the media to cover? How do you get the people to actually show up at an event once they've indicated they'll attend, so you're not left with 10 people and food for twenty?
The first step is to always be honest when quoting potential attendee numbers (and related costs) to your funders. Tell them what you honestly think you can achieve, not what you think they'd like to hear. As a charity or non-profit providing a specific service, it's unlikely you'll lose the funding to another group, as there's a reason this funder wants to work with you. You will earn their mistrust however, if you say you can get 120 people to attend an event that will probably only appeal to about 50 people.
So how do you find those 50 people? When it comes to promoting an event, you want to be on best terms not only with your own charity's communications department (if you're not it), but also those of other charities and nonprofits in your community. Post event details on your website, in your organization's email newsletter, and set up a quid-per-quo agreement with other charities wherein they provide these services for you.
Make simple posters (black and white, letter sized) and insert them into print newsletters going out your contacts. Hang them in the elevators in your building, ask other charities to put them up in their reception areas, and circulate them like mad.
Contact media venues that provide free event listings, and ask them include a short (two to three sentence) description of your event. If you're still low on numbers, consider sending a specific, time sensitive email to your contacts. They're busy people, but a short, direct 'Event Alert' email (sent as a high priority) will usually get read, and get your events the registrant numbers it needs.
Now your concern is ensuring that, on the day of the event, your registrants all attend. While this is impossible, the best way to get people to show up is to charge an attendance fee for an event, if only a small amount. People hate not getting their money's worth, and that certainly happens if they don't show up! But what if your event is free - how do you compensate for the likelihood that between 10 and 20 percent of your registrants may not attend?
The first is to overbook. Unless your event's topic is very 'hot' (and you'll be able to determine that by how rapidly people register), you will always have empty chairs. So if you have room for 60, keep registration open until 65 to 70 people sign up. It's very unlikely you'll even have 62 attendees. This is an especially useful gambit when you are being funded by an outside party - you'll get the numbers your funders wanted, with the chance that they'll see your event as 'extremely successful' if you wind up with more people than were 'expected'.
Another policy, which my charity has implemented, is charging a 'no show' rate for events where we will be out of pocket if people do not attend, such as breakfast sessions. $10 may seem like a tiny amount, but for a charity, knowing you'll have to pay for not showing up at an event tends to ensure the majority of attendees arrive promptly.
Be Prepared!
Once it comes time for the event, always make sure you're as prepared as possible. Issues will always come up, so make sure everything is as ready as far in advance as possible. Any paper or promotional materials (newsletters, signage, banners) necessary for an event should be ordered at least a week in advance, and all attendee packages should be ready 48 hours in advance. Have everything ready to go in boxes or suitcases (or in the back of your car) before leaving work the day before the event.
If you think it will take you 30 minutes to set up, make sure you're at the venue at least 45 minutes before you expect the attendees. Expect your attendees to start showing up about 30 minutes before an event begins, as many of them will want to get a good seat or network before the event begins. You need to be ready to accommodate them! Also, make sure you leave additional time for traffic problems during travel - if it takes 10 minutes to drive there, leave the office 20 minutes before you wish to arrive! This may seem like investing a lot of time in an event, but it will inevitably seem like very little once you arrive at the event and discover that your caterer wishes to speak with you before you can start setting up the reception area, or your first attendee is already there.
Try to bring as many staff as possible with you to the event (ideally, one more person than you think you'll need). You need to be able to oversee and liaise with the catering staff, set up technology and promotional displays, run a registration/reception area, hand out feedback forms at the end of the event, troubleshoot, take photos and keep notes, and ensure the event is running to time (always wear a watch when organizing an event that is set a few minutes fast. This gives you time to alert the speaker to wrap things up without running behind schedule). You'll also have to handle your speakers and facilitators, making sure all their needs and concerns are met, properly introducing them, and winding up the session on time. The more complicated set up is, and the more people you have attending, the more hands you need on deck!
That's a Wrap!
Even when the event is finally over, your work isn't. You'll need the attendance lists kept by the staff at the registration area, to know who didn't attend, who paid at the event, which attendees need invoicing, and what your final numbers were for your funders (and also for your annual report). You'll also have to ensure that the invoice you receive from the caterers not only matches the quote you were given, but that it involves a highly detailed break-down of your expenses. You can always be sure when handing in the bills for your event that the accounting department will want more details than "Food: $500".
Despite these inconveniences, and the amount of detailed work that goes into planning an event of such small scope and little glamour (be prepared to spend 24 hours organizing a 2 hour workshop), this is rewarding work. Whether you're seeing a child's eyes light up while playing a game of basketball, helping someone stay sober for another week, or ensuring a charity has the resources and knowledge to continue providing the services that get these results, there is a thrill to not only knowing that you pulled off your event, but also that your work has benefited others.
It's why we're all in 'the sector' in the first place.
