The financial success of your fundraising event depends largely on the attendance of your biggest donors. Chances are these top donors are patrons of other philanthropic organizations as well, which means you’ll have to compete for their attention. It’s crucial to give your most important guests a memorable experience to ensure they return to your event and contribute year after year. So how do you leave a lasting impression with your top donors? By treating them like the VIPs they are! Going the extra mile to make sure your VIPs have a special evening will let them know how important they are to your organization, helping you cultivate stronger donor relationships and counteract donor fatigue. Here are five ways to give donors the VIP treatment at your next fundraiser auction items event. 1. VIP Parking Small inconveniences like looking for a parking spot can start the evening off on the wrong foot – especially if you’re hosting a larger event where parking can be tricky. To prevent these little frustrations from ruining your guests’ evening, create a VIP parking section or offer free valet services to your biggest donors. You can also provide a separate VIP check-in line to reduce waiting time gaining entry to the event. The fewer hassles donors have to deal with, the better their experience will be. 2. VIP Reception Before your event starts, show how much you appreciate your biggest donors' contributions of time and money by hosting a pre-event reception, complete with cocktails and appetizers. At the reception, present plaques that donors can display at their homes or workplaces, or give out wearable recognition - such as lapel ribbons - for donors to wear during the event.

Acquiring new donors is tough. Before you can even begin convincing people to support your mission, you first have to find people to convince! There are many resources available for finding new donors, but they usually come in the form of a marketing initiative and a hefty price tag. Instead of taking out an ad in the newspaper or investing in a direct mail campaign, take advantage of an effective - and less expensive - resource you already have at your fingertips: your existing donor base. Referral based lead generation - or leveraging your existing supporters to refer new potential donors - is one of the most powerful ways to acquire new customers, donors and followers for your organization. Think about it—your supporters are the people who can testify to both your credibility and your passion for the mission. They’ve experienced it firsthand! People who hear about your Nonprofit through a friend, co-worker, family member or other acquaintance are much more likely to trust your organization and consider contributing. If you’re uncomfortable asking donors to help you find new supporters, consider this: your donors—especially your bigger contributors—support your cause for a reason. They are passionate about your mission and believe in your Nonprofit and its ability to efficiently put the money they donate to good use. Many of your current donors would love to help out in more ways than just contributing money. That being said, you should still consider the best ways to approach current supporters and how you can leverage them to acquire new donors. To start, you’ll want to focus on the state of your current donor relationships...

When it comes to Nonprofit fundraising, there is no such thing as having too many donors. Even after a couple of successful years, there is always room to grow. That means your organization needs to be constantly working to find and gain new supporters. During this process, the question that most Nonprofits ask themselves is: "Where can I find more potential donors?" Online is a good place to start. Millions of people use the Internet everyday, so optimizing your online presence will help you tap in to some of this traffic. While online networking is only one of several strategies you can incorporate into your donor acquisition plan, it should certainly be among your top priorities. The various websites and tools you can leverage online will help you to broaden your reach, share information and advertise events. Your online marketing strategy should focus on two things: 1. Review Your Website If your Nonprofit doesn’t already have a website, then it is time to create one. If your organization does have a website, take a careful look at it for areas that need improvement. The whole point of creating a website is to Excite, Educate and Acquire new donors. Think of your website as your physical storefront. As people walk by, you want to pique their interest enough to get them to walk inside.

Why do people contribute to Nonprofits? Well, that’s easy—because they feel passionate about making the world a better place and are emotionally invested in a Nonprofit’s mission. If that’s the answer, then why don’t all Nonprofits put the objective of building deeper connections to get passionate supporters at the forefront of their priority list?

One of the most important parts of running and funding a Nonprofit is also one of the most challenging: developing a solid donor base. The fact is, it takes time. If you’re struggling to gather supporters who contribute regularly, you just might need to fine-tune your strategy.

Nonprofits have a lot to accomplish. As a Nonprofit, you have to raise awareness, inspire people to be passionate about your mission, keep donors contributing and raise enough money to make a difference. This is no small feat. How do you form a strategy to accomplish all of these goals? One of the best ways to get the ball rolling is to host a fundraising event.