Turn One-time Event Guests into Retainable Donors

Your annual fundraising event is over. People came! You raised money! You worked hard. People helped. You planned well. Pat yourself on the back. Now, put your feet up, and - - . Oh, wait!

There’s still work to be done.

Events raise money. They raise awareness. But there’s a difference between a guest at an event and a donor, who cares about your mission’s assured success.

Take a look at your guest list. The people who came typically fall into one of four categories:

The Four Types of Guests

1. People who are passionate about your mission. For them all you need to do is ask, and they give.

2. People who are friends, family or coworkers of someone who cares about your mission. These guests may not care about your mission themselves, but they do care about their friend.

3. People who heard about your event and thought it sounded like fun. They were willing to pay for an enjoyable time.

4. People who were required to come. That’s folks who work for your nonprofit or are part of the program. They like the mission, but may be less sold on donating.

You will start a conversation with each person, but keep in mind that they are coming or from different places.

Regardless of what brought each person to your event, now they have heard about and seen the good your donors are making possible. Now, they know the good you could do, if only you had the resources. Now, they know you need them.

So, it’s time to get personal! This is an opportunity to deepen the relationship. You’ll need help. Enlist your administration, your board, your development committee, your communications committee, your community leaders, and a few beloved staff members. There’s important work for them to help with.

The Eight Steps to retaining event donors:

1. Use social media to share the fun. Post photos from the event. Tag attendees, and local celebrities. And while you’re sharing the fun, remind people why the event was held. For instance, you may show happy couples dancing, eating or bidding at an auction (or golfing or running – if that’s your type of event) and label the picture with something like, “Good food, good music, good company, AND new equipment for our ball teams and books for our library. Now, THAT’s a good night! Thanks to all who came to our Vision Banquet!”

Add a link to your donation page and say, “If you missed the dinner, it’s not too late to help”

Ask your committees to help you get the word out by liking, commenting and sharing the posts. It’s a nearly effortless way to keep your school in the feed and reach more people.

2. Call every donor within a week. Give committee members a script so they feel comfortable about what they are trying to accomplish. Have them thank the donor for the support. Have them recall touching moments from the event, like when a parent spoke about how your mission changed their child's life, or when a child shares what your mission meant to them personally. Have them mention the good the dollars raised at the event will do – like, “Thanks to donors, like you, our students will have new equipment in the science lab and we will be able to offer 10 more scholarships,” or ""The calico kitten now has a loving home." Have callers give the donor a chance to give feedback on the event. What they loved, what they think might be even better.

3. Put all the committees to work writing handwritten thank you notes. Again give them a script, because you want the note to make the donor the hero, while telling about the good the donors have made possible. Make sure the top donors are thanked by the Executive Director, the Head of School, or the Board Chair. Be sure speakers, performers, caterers, etc. receive notes, as well. Have these all mailed out within the week. You might consider having an “After Party” where note writers gather and get the notes done while you provide light refreshments and lots of praise.

4. A week after the event, send out a survey. Use something like Survey Monkey and send the same survey to two groups – people who gave at the event and people who didn’t. Being able to compare the data may give you valuable insights. Keep the survey short – not more than 6 multiple choice questions. Let one of the questions be, “Would you like to receive news about all the good things our donors are making possible?” and one that says, “If yes, how would you like to receive your news? Give them a list of choices, like email, texts, newsletters, phone calls. And then honor their wishes. Your data management system will help you utilize this information efficiently.

5. A month after the event, using the preferred method of communication for each attendee, thank them again for attending the event and give them an update on how the funds raised are being used.

6. Six weeks to two months out, share a story of an individual helped by the funds raised at the event. Always obtain permission before using anyone’s story, and offer to share the story in a way that doesn’t identify the individual, i.e. “One of our younger students told her teacher today that - - -“

7. Three months out, host a Thank You Event with light refreshments and a presentation about all the good the event’s donors have made possible.

8. Four months out, send out a donor profile about one or two of your donors and why they gave.

Is this a lot of work? Absolutely! But the payoff is deeper relationships with people who already loved your mission and new relationships with people who came for a nice meal, a night out, to make their neighbor happy and now actually care about your mission.