Running a summer fundraising event presents unique challenges. You can expect that a number of your donors will be vacationing out of town, and attendance at any summer season event is certain to be competing with a busy calendar of weddings, graduations and family get-togethers. Yet the "downtime" of the summer season also has its upside for event planners. 🌞 The leisurely pace of May to September provides the perfect opportunity to engage with donors and to organize some exciting outdoor events.

With fall fundraising season around the corner, it's important nonprofits put themselves in attendees' shoes and focus on improving the guest experience. Smoothing out the experience at your event, from start to finish, ensures not only this year's success but long-term sustainability.

Looking for a straightforward, effective way to raise money for charity? How about a raffle? If raffles are allowed in your state*, hosting a raffle is a reliable, low-cost fundraising strategy to engage supporters - and they take a whole lot less planning than a full-fledged event.

With the economy on the up and up, "chari-tee" golf tournaments are growing in popularity. They're a fun way to freshen up your approach to summer development, take less planning than the annual gala or charity ball, and provide a distinct angle to reach and engage new supporters. Best of all, it's simple to cover costs through golfer registrations and sponsorships.

At fundraising events, it's smart to focus your efforts on the live auction. They haul in the majority of your funds and are the evening's entertainment highlight to boot. That said, employing a variety of revenue enhancers - mini fundraising opportunities and games - keep your agenda exciting, entertain guests and add tens of thousands of dollars to your bottom line.

A big part of successful charity auctions is strategically leveraging the auction items themselves. We recently hosted a free webinar all about best practices to procure auction items, maximize bidding during the auction, then raise even more money after the event.

While putting on fundraising events can (and should) be a lot of work — after all, you get what you put in — they are incredibly rewarding when successfully run. Best of all, the number of potential fundraising event ideas are as endless as there are potential donors. If you're looking to try something new with your fundraisers, a great place to start is developing a list of donor personas. Who is your ideal donor? Where do they work and live? How do they like to spend their free time? What are their other interests and hobbies? Answering these questions will help you create a list of event ideas that target their interests and are thus more likely to be successful.

With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma battering the Gulf over the past couple weeks, you might be wondering what to do in the event your event crosses paths with Mother Nature. A sudden heat wave, downpours, storms and even accidents on the highway can derail your plans in a moment's notice...sending months of hard work down the drain. In today's post, learn 5 strategies nonprofits can adopt to protect themselves from significant losses in inclement weather.

Ever considered hosting a 5K, "Fun Run" or Walk for charity? If you've relied on the same black-tie galas and golf tournaments year after year, putting on a race can be an effective way to raise awareness of your organization, loop in new members of the community, gain event sponsors and more.

Spring may have only begun last week, but it's already time to start thinking about fundraising ideas for the summer. Thanks to a slew of holidays and more relaxed schedules, summer is the perfect opportunity to engage donors with smaller events and short giving campaigns. Even better, you'll be competing with less competition from other nonprofits to stand out in a crowded space. One strategy is hosting a charity golf tournament. Why are they so popular?

To keep the focus on fundraising at your event, you want to employ fresh and exciting income streams. One that has generated plenty of interest in our webinars: the Wildcard Auction™. This is an entertaining, fast-paced revenue opportunity that can raise tens of thousands of dollars for your cause—without requiring any extra time or resources to procure items!