Episode #51 The Weirdest but Coolest Fundraising Event I ever planned!

What I’m about to share with you on today’s episode is NOT about ANOTHER GALA ( insert eyeroll )

Let’s face it, trying to come up with a cool and unique fundraiser to help your nonprofit raise funds can be challenging.

And if you’re like me and you’ve been in this game for a while, you’ve likely hosted or at least attended a big Gala, or a casino night or golf tournament. Am I right!

You and I probably agree that there’s nothing wrong with these types of fundraising events. Done well, they can be quite fruitful.

But, when I decided to add a second fundraising event to our annual fundraising goals, planning the "go to" gala or casino night didn’t feel quite right.

So, what type of event did I come up that was weird and cool and different?

Hold UP! I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU

Before I dive into the weirdest fundraising event I ever hosted, I have a gift for you. If you’re trying to build up that pipeline for new donors, I have a free guide to help you get started. I’ve included a link for you in the show notes.

https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/

THAT’S RIGHT NOT ANOTHER GALA BUT INSTEAD A GOLF TOURNAMENT OR SO WE THOUGHT..

So here’s how the story goes. It was decided that our organization would tack on a second fundraising event during the second half of the fiscal year. I had presented a strong case for the organization being able to host a second event and assured the board we had the budget, the time, and the staff support. I had sold them on hosting a golf tournament. We had a board member who was a member at a very prestigious private golf club. And, he was willing to allow us to use his membership to host the event.

I did my due diligence and spoke with the golf course organizer and was able to come up with an entire budget. It would include 90 golfers, lunch and dinner in the private dining room.

I convinced the board that it would be easy for them to recruit for foursomes and highlighted the opportunity get sponsorships and have a silent auction. They got VERY excited! The approved it with a very enthusiastic YES!

I CHANGED MY MIND

That’s right. All the time I was trying to “sell” the board on a golf tournament, something wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t connect how we would educate golf foursomes about the work we do.

There was no connection between golf and at risk youth.

Something felt off so I started to try to understand how or why a golf tournament was a good fit. This involved me asking myself and others some critical questions.

I asked myself these questions:

1) How would I educate golfers about the work we do?

2) Would our donors and volunteers even be interested in underwriting for a golf tournament?

3) What does golf have to do with incarcerated youth?

If I feel a strong disconnect between the event and our organization, would others feel it too?

And, just because I know how to plan a golf tournament that could likely do very well, doesn’t mean I should. It doesn’t mean it’s right for the organization.

COOKING, 49ER SOUS CHEF’S, VOLUNTEER AWARDS, SILENT AND LIVE AUCTION, PROGRAM EXPO

So privately, behind the scenes I began masterminding another fundraising event option.

And I came up with a list of things that were important to the organization, important to the values of the organization and were aligned with fundraising goals. In line with our donors and volunteers.

I also intervIewed some of our closest funders.

I needed to learn what made these funders attend fundraising events they had been invited to in the past. What was their “why” for attending? I also wanted to know what a successful event looked like and what it didn’t look like for them.

Their input and guidance helped me to create the weirdest but coolest event I had ever planned.

Here’s one thing I knew for sure, we had donors and volunteers and foundation supporters that got invited to some very cool fundraising e