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How to turn one-off event engagement into a long-term donor relationship

This weekend is Scotland’s biggest (virtual) running event, the Edinburgh Marathon Festival. Raising over £30 million since 2003, every year thousands of runners take to the streets and raise sponsorship funds for more than 200 worthy causes. An important part of the charity event season, the Edinburgh Marathon is one of many running events open to charities (and supporters) across the United Kingdom. But with COVID-19 hitting sponsorship income hard, the pressure is on - not just to get event income up, but to use this opportunity to engage new, long-term charity donors.

For those of you familiar with the world of event sponsorship, you’ll know that converting one-off event participants into regular donors isn’t easy. But it does happen. Like all good things in life, it takes time. And if you want to cultivate a long-term donor relationship then you need to take a step back and think through the event management process as a whole. Starting with…

Posted 26/05/2021

Event recruitment

It’s hard to say ‘no’ to any would-be event participant, but if you want your donor relationships to go the distance you need to recruit as many potential ‘gold star’ fundraisers as you can. This means focusing recruitment on cause-led, rather than event-led participants. Of course, everyone is welcome. But increasing the lifetime value of your events means targeting individuals with a clear motivation to give – in other words, bringing in event participants with a tangible connection, interest or link to your cause. To do this you need to:

  • Pen the portraits of current charity donors, groups and potential event participants.
  • Mobilise existing networks and communities, and develop targeted communications to match.
  • Be clear about their individual fundraising target right from the start.
  • Link event sponsorship to your work and take every opportunity you can to remind people ‘why’.

Yes, they are running a marathon. But in doing so they are also taking an active part in the social change your charity wants to see. They are a charity donor, in every sense of the word - and that understanding is key.

Raising sponsorship income

Registration is only the beginning. From the minute they sign-up, you need to be thinking donor stewardship – delivering a journey that not only inspires them to raise those all-important sponsorship funds, but that also connects them to your wider cause and community. Not quite sure how to get started? Here are a few tried-and-tested tips to get your donor stewardship journey moving in the right direction.  

  • Think timing: Most people won’t fundraise until a couple of months before the event. Make sure you have a welcome pack ready, and plan your communications so that frequency increases with time. Be careful not to overwhelm people. Your job is to motivate, not annoy!

  • Offer help: The ‘ask’ can be daunting for first-time fundraisers. Rather thantelling people to get started, offer them help instead. Guidelines on ‘How to set-up your fundraising page’, sponsorship packs, photos, case studies and event ideas are all great ways to help people channel their inner fundraiser.

  • Make it easy: The easier it is for people to fundraise the more likely they are to do it. Whether you want their fundraising page to work through your charity website or a third party, make sure the process is simple, savvy and secure!

  • Mix methods: Don’t rely on blanket emails. Send personal messages and make the (occasional) phone call. People respond to people, so don’t be afraid to be human!

  • Celebrate your community: Use your website and social media to highlight top fundraisers, share links to fundraising pages, tweet training efforts and share photos of fundraisers in action. Get involved and build a movement people want to be part of.

  • Incentivise: A bit of healthy competition never hurt anyone. So why not add an incentive? It doesn’t have to be flashy, but a tangible ‘thank you’ for the person that raised £2,000 instead of £200 is an investment worth making.

  • Remind people why: People join events for any number of reasons. For some it’s cause-related, for others it’s event-led. Either way, case studies, stories and photos all bring people closer to the cause. You never know when you might strike a chord.

Create a positive event experience

When targets are high, it can be easy to focus on fundraising and forget about the event experience. Resist this urge! If people enjoy their time with you, they are far more likely to repeat it - so don’t make it all about the money. Get to know your team. Check in on people, ask how it’s going, and what their personal motivations and targets are. Support the training process. Be a willing ear if people are having trouble fundraising, or are nervous about the event. Make sure you send event collateral well in advance, and that plans for the day are clear. Some organisations hold pre-event meet-ups, or post-event celebrations, and why not? The more someone engages with your organisation the harder it is to say goodbye.  

TOP TIP: If you do nothing else, make sure you’ve got someone there on the day (even if ‘there’ is a virtual event). If someone can run 26 miles for you, you can cheer them on!

Inspire people to take the next step

The event might be over, but a fundraiser’s job never is. If you want people to become long-term donors, you need to treat event engagement as the first step in that stewardship journey, and that means:

  • Saying THANK YOU: Even if you’re never going to hear from them again, these two small words make a world of difference - so take the time to let people know you appreciate what they’re doing.
  • Sharing feedback: People love to feel valued, so show them that their hard work paid off, and how much the event raised. If you can, share stories and information on the work the event is helping to support, and the difference their fundraising is making.
  • Getting ready to ask: If you don’t give people the chance to stay in touch, they won’t. With the right consent in place, it’s more than okay to include a ‘soft ask’ in event feedback and follow-up. You could even include event alumni in your next direct mail, or digital fundraising campaign. Just be sure to tailor your ask and segment your audience appropriately!

TOP TIP: Remember, a long-term donor relationship doesn’t have to mean a regular gift. Some people might prefer to join more events, volunteer or bring in their corporate connections.

Do you have the right tools in place?

As with all things fundraising, life is a lot easier when you’ve got the right tools on your team. Sure, you could use Excel – but if you really want to deliver a gold-star donor stewardship experience, a charity CRM like Access thankQ will make it easy to:

  • Collect and store event participant data, communications preferences, and consent.
  • Track interactions, conversations, fundraising, and broader engagement.
  • Analyse data and give you a 360oview of your event income and star fundraisers.
  • Segment data and develop personal communications.
  • Build an evidence base to make data-driven decisions and improve your donor stewardship.

With the right tools, recruitment strategy and donor journey in place, you know you’ve done everything you can to engage, motivate and inspire your event participants. Not everyone will choose to stay with you. But for those that do, their first event experience could be the start of a beautiful donor relationship.