5 Creative Ideas To Make Your Fundraising Banquet Memorable
As any event coordinator will tell you, knowing how to engage donors meaningfully within your budget is an art form. Fundraising is the lifeblood of every non-profit, and an organization’s annual banquet is often the best time to engage donors. Here are five creative ideas to make your next fundraising banquet the most memorable.
Idea #1: We Are Family
A fun theme that creates a different feel from traditional banquets emphasizes that donors and the organization are a family. Consider seating attendees at rectangular tables rather than round. Serve the food family-style and make sure the menu is family-friendly with fried chicken, hot dogs, baked beans, cole slaw, etc.
Perhaps choose a different type of venue, like a barn or farm. Decorate with images of families you have served. Suggest your attendees wear comfortable, “picnic-table” attire and cover the tables with checkered cloths instead of plain white linen.
“First comes thought; then organization of that thought into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination.”
From Idea To Reality
Too often, banquet planning relies on past traditions. The standard banquet fare is a stage, round tables, a speaker, and a call to action. Why not think outside of the box? Create a genuinely memorable fundraising banquet that surprises and delights your attendees. All it takes is a little imagination.
Pull your team together for a brainstorming session. Everyone should throw out ideas, no matter how crazy they sound. Your next banquet theme could hit you like a lightning bolt.
A stress-free banquet is a well-planned banquet. Nothing is worse than using spreadsheets and post-it notes to organize your event. Once you have your banquet theme, set your goals and begin planning.
Give yourself all the time you need. Pick your start and end dates, a venue that matches your theme, and create a content calendar.
As you outline your event and secure a venue, it’s time to research potential speakers or entertainers, meet with caterers, and begin discussing your marketing.
You need reliable event attendance software to keep your information in one place online. Choose Attendance software that tracks registration, seat requests, and table sponsorships.
Attendance by FundEasy is complete event management for in-person and virtual events. It allows each table sponsor to add or change the names of those attendees sitting with them and prints name tags directly from your registration list.
“A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety.”
Idea #2: They Couldn’t Be Sweeter
Rather than planning a full sit-down dinner in a large hotel ballroom, choose an unusual location such as a museum, botanical garden, or historical building. Make it a dessert and champagne (or non-alcoholic sparkling juice) evening.
Ice cream socials aren’t just for kids. Recruit a local ice cream shop or grocery store for donations of ice cream and toppings. Have a pastry and pie bar or a s’mores-making station. Be sure to include desserts for attendees with dietary restrictions. Decorate with large poster images of babies and children, and add sweet-treat gift bags on each table.
Marketing Your Banquet
Obviously, the key to a successful event is getting the word out. Use every avenue to your advantage. Engage your donors and prospective donors through email, social media, and your website. From beginning to end, your communication should be professional, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate.
Take into account the demographics of your donors. According to AARP, the average age of an American donor is 64, which represents Baby Boomers who account for 43% of charitable giving. Boomers need to know the organization is well-respected and uses their gifts wisely.
However, it’s also time to begin reaching younger generations of donors. Generation X donors research an organization carefully before deciding to donate. They prefer online giving in response to a social media appeal from a source or person they know. Solid testimonials and the fact that their gifts are tax deductible are compelling motivators for giving.
“If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time - a tremendous whack. ”
By sending personalized email invitations, you show donors and supporters how important they are to your organization and the community. Your invitations should tease the event and build excitement. Use fundraising email best practices that allow you to send personalized invitations to everyone on your email list.
Customize an email specifically for your top 25 to 50 donors. Encourage their participation by letting them know how valuable they are to your organization.
Begin your email campaign with a strong subject line and preview text. Use phrases like “Countdown to…,” “Mark your calendar,” or “Make your reservations now.” As you get closer to the banquet date, heighten the urgency with subject lines like “Don’t miss out,” “It’s not too late,” or “Last call.”
Whenever possible, add a personal story to your email that highlights the impact you are making. Offer statistics of your organization’s success and outline the specific accomplishments made with the funds raised previously. Now’s the time to let everyone know your targeted fundraising goal and what you plan to accomplish with the donations in the coming year.
Segment your donor list between regular monthly donors and one-time donations. By segmenting, you can target emails more specifically. Have one main call to action. For instance, your fundraising banquet email should have a “Register Now” button.
With effective event attendance tracking software, the “Register Now” button takes them to a landing page on your website to sign up immediately. Invite those who can’t attend to donate directly.
Social Media
Social media provides the perfect outlet for peer-to-peer campaigns and increasing awareness of your event. All social media fundraising platforms have the potential to tap into a different audience and expand your overall reach, but you need to choose the correct medium for donors.
Facebook and YouTube are the top platforms to reach Boomers. Keep your branding the same but design a different message for each one.
Idea #3: You Are The Reason
A memorable banquet focuses on celebrating first. Instead of concentrating on soliciting your donors, why not focus on celebrating them? Create a selfie station with your logo and the phrase “I Am The Reason” displayed over angel wings. Encourage guests to take a photo before the backdrop and share it with their social media friends.
Rent a photo booth that lets attendees use fun props to remember your special event with photographs. Decorate the room with large photos of participants in previous fundraising events.
Set up a large chalkboard and have attendees add their names for a “wall” of honor. Celebrate the goals you have reached, the impact you have made, and the individuals whose lives have changed because of your donors.
Facebook is the perfect platform for peer-to-peer campaigns. Encourage your most loyal donors to set up personal fundraising pages in support of your organization. Each supporter shares the nonprofit’s mission with their network and spreads awareness to a broader audience to raise money for the cause.
Peer-To-Peer Software
With FundEasy’s Peer-to-Peer software, your supporters can easily set up a professional online fundraising page. They can register for your event and add photos, videos, and updates. Peer-to-Peer is powerful software that equips others to fundraise on behalf of your organization. Here are a few of the many benefits of using Peer-to-Peer:
The easy setup wizard walks you through starting your fundraiser.
Allows your supporters to do the fundraising for you
It makes it easier to engage more donors, raise more money, and ultimately, change more lives.
Control the branding and language of a supporter’s page to match your organization.
Donated funds are directed to your bank account immediately.
Since most donors prefer online giving, you reduce the risk of handing cash on the event day.
Get real-time registration data.
Capture participant data online, and import it into your donor management system
Provide a personalized fundraising page so your supporter’s friends and family can give directly to your organization from anywhere.
YouTube
Use the power of video to promote your event and raise donations. A record 67% of Baby Boomers watch YouTube, and 44% say they visit YouTube daily. In fact, of YouTube viewers, Boomers represent 24% of total views.
Although not as popular among older users, Twitter allows you to create your unique event hashtag that’s added to every tweet and Facebook post. Also, add local tags for your city, the venue, and your organization.
Idea #4: A Legacy of Life
Bring in women and families who have benefitted from your services and have them mingle with guests or share their experiences as speakers.
For your silent auction, seek out anything that is a great memory or makes a new one, such as signed sports and music memorabilia, hot air balloon rides, antique heirlooms, family vacations, or tickets to theme parks.
Think big, and by all means, publicly thank donors as soon as you receive their generous donation. They'll want to attend when your followers see the fabulous items they could receive at your auction.
Decorate your venue with greenery to represent the growth of your organization. Tap a local nursery to lend you fig trees and giant palms in pots in return for a plug at your event, or choose a botanical garden or park as your venue, depending on the weather or location. Create a large “family tree” and invite attendees to add their names on leaves for a donation.
Share your vision for the future. Make the goal big!
“Remember what I call the three Ps of success: passion, planning, and perseverance.”
Idea #5: Our Future Is Bright
Make a memory by filling this banquet with bright colors, twinkle lights, and fun activities. Fill colorful helium balloons with paper coupons and ask donors to pay $5 or $10 a balloon. When they pop their balloon, they can redeem the voucher for a prize. These can range from a $1 bill, a gift certificate to the Dollar Store, a fast food restaurant, or other donated items.
Scatter a few fun games like Corn Hole, Disc Golf, and a Football Toss around the venue. Decorate with brightly colored tablecloths, or go for a carnival feel with red and white. Choose a comedian rather than an inspirational speaker, and highlight your many successes over the last year.
The Right Software Is Essential
Every event mantra is always: simplify, simplify, simplify. FundEasy creates software that makes events and fundraising simple for nonprofits. By partnering with the latest technology, the FundEasy team is ready to improve your plans, reach communication goals, and take care of the details.
Attendance Software
Get complete event management with FundEasy’s Attendance software. It’s designed by event planners for event planners. Attendance is complete event management for in-person and virtual events. Choose Attendance software, and you’ll receive:
A Customized Registration process, including seat requests, meal choices, food allergies, and more.
A Table Chart Wizard that lays out your banquet room and assigns guests to tables in seconds.
Our Guest List Manager provides group hosts with a private page to manage their guest lists.
The Live Check-In App lets you efficiently check in your guests and quickly make adjustments.
Integrate with other systems like Quickbooks, Constant Contact, TextMagic, and more.
Create mobile-friendly event web pages for registration.
Send professional, branded email invitations.
Respond with automated confirmations, reminders, and thank-yous.
Use the built-in name tag and mailing label tool.
Get fast, secure deposits straight to your organization’s bank account.
With over 17,000+ events made easier for nonprofits, FundEasy has a proven track record. If your goal is to simplify your event planning, don’t wait to add FundEasy. Custom plans are available depending on your fundraising needs. Schedule an appointment to speak to a representative today.
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Madison Hull
This article was inspired by our customers and written to encourage your fundraising efforts. Although we work with nonprofits and events daily, our team members are not Event Consultants. We encourage you to consult with your event consultant, executive team, and/or affiliate organization before making any major changes to your events.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
