That Sounds Like a Plan!

There are three key areas where you should have firm deadlines when planning a fundraising event; sponsor deliverables, auction donations and event registration.  When you don't have deadlines, or worse yet, when you don't stick to your deadlines, you're adding extra work and stress for yourself and the planning team. 

Find out why these deadlines are important, why I often get pushback on them and how to kindly but gently stick to your guns on them.  

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

This is an episode called a Planner Pep Talk or PPT.   Planning fundraising events is not easy.  These pep talks are designed to let you know you're not alone with some of the frustrating aspects of planning an event. Whenever you need a little encouragement, check out any of the PPT episodes. 

Dealing with difficult people is one of the most challenging aspects of planning events.  Sometimes it’s not even difficult people, necessarily, but times when people can be difficult.  Unless you want to run the event by yourself, you’re going to have to learn to find a way to work with difficult people at some point.  

In this episode I share my strategies for dealing with difficult people. 

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

You pulled off a successful event.  Now what?  What do you do with your list of donors and supporters?    

Jennifer Dieter has spent most of her fundraising career as a small shop generalist with a love/hate relationship with events. As a fundraising consultant, Jennifer wants to help fundraising professionals develop sustainable solutions that generate the highest return on investment. 

In this interview you'll hear Jennifer and I discuss:

• The pain she felt and why when hearing, "We need to raise more money. Let's have another event!" 
• The right way to incorporate events into a small nonprofit’s overall development plan. 
• Where nonprofits fall short regarding using events as the gateway to building long-term relationships with donors and supporters.   

LISTENER ACTION ITEM

• Track the time you spend on events and use it when calculating event ROI.  Could you outsource the logistics part and focus on sponsorships and reaching out to donors to make sure they’ll raise their paddle during your fund-a-need? What is your real role as the development specialist? 
• Dig into your event database and see who gave during the fund-a-need at your last event - what actions can you take before your next event to deepen their investment in your organization? 

LET'S CONNECT!

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Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

Many planning teams get stuck on finding THE perfect date.  They either overthink it or just don’t know where to start.  

It doesn’t have to be that complicated.  There are 6 factors you need to take into account in order to narrow it down to find the best date options for your event.  

After listening to this episode you’ll understand what those six factors are and how they affect your date options.

LISTENER ACTION ITEM

• Go to thatsoundslikeaplan.net/episodes/8 for a free downloadable chart that includes all six factors that determine the best date for your event.  
• Need some help with your event planning timeline or one of the tools I mention in this episode?  Join my private FB group to ask questions.  

LET'S CONNECT!

• Please consider rating & reviewing my show on Apple Podcasts
• Follow me on Facebook or Instagram

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

Are you looking to get more people to register or attend your event and think that PR is the best way to do that.  PR is a great way to tell your story and build awareness for your organization.  Every nonprofit wants PR around their event.  But what's the best way to do that?

Kari Logan spent her career in the media and is now focused on helping small senior services organizations to tell their stories.  For over 25 years, Kari has helped her nonprofit clients reveal words and images to educate, promote, inspire, and call their target market to action.

In this interview you'll hear Kari and I discuss:

• Overcoming obstacles to getting PR for your organization and event
• Why events aren't newsworthy and what to do instead
• How to pitch stories to the media that will include promotion of the event

You'll want to listen closely, and take lots of notes, because Kari has great tips and information for how to use PR for your organization and your event.   Here's a glance at this episode:

• [1:50] The biggest obstacles nonprofits face when it comes to marketing and PR and how to overcome them
• [4:45] Pitching stories to the media around your event
• [6:56] What is an advertorial and how to use them to promote your event
• [7:25] Who to pitch your stories to and how to pitch them
• [10:48] Do you need to create a press release?
• [11:25] How to research reporters
• [17:00] The process for finding stories within your organization
• [19:24] Listener Action Item
• [22:57] How to "use the news" as part of your fundraising efforts

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

This is an episode called a Planner Pep Talk or PPT.   Planning fundraising events is not easy.  These pep talks are designed to build your confidence and let you know you're not alone.   Whenever you need a little encouragement, check out any of the PPT episodes. 

Today's PPT topic is about doubt and not letting others make you feel "less than".  
   

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

Today's question comes from Steve from Anoka, Minnesota.  Steve asks, "How do we utilize board members most effectively at events? How can we train them to know they need to be our best ambassadors instead of guests at the event?"

This is a question I know many nonprofit leaders struggle with so I'm thankful Steve brought it up.  

In this episode you'll learn

• The three ways in which board members can support your event
• How to ensure your board members know what's expected of them
• Why you should keep expectations realistic 
• How to set your board members up for success.

Thanks, Steve, for this great question!  I hope it helped you and anyone else struggling with a similar situation.  

Want to ask me a question I'll answer on the podcast?  Go here to submit your question.  If you'd like to remain anonymous, simply check the button on the form. 

You can also ask a question in my private FB group 

Please consider rating & reviewing my show on Apple Podcasts

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Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

There are two big mistakes many nonprofits make when planning a fundraising event:  

1) Not leaving enough time to plan the event.  This leads to all kinds of stress, things getting rushed, teams becoming burnt out which can impact your goals.    
2) Not having a planning timeline which can lead to things falling through the cracks.  

I talk about both of these mistakes and how to prevent them. 

In this episode you’ll learn:  

• The five factors to determine if you need to add MORE time, leaving enough time to plan your event.
• The best way to create an event planning timeline
• How to save time and minimize stress
• What you need to do once your timeline is done
• The tools I use to create an event planning timeline and where to get a whole bunch of freebies! 

LISTENER ACTION ITEM

Pick a freebie from today’s episode.  Download the template or watch a one of the videos, heck you can watch them all.  Select which method you’re going to use for creating an event timeline and put a date on your calendar to create it.  Make sure you select a time when you’re at peak mental capacity and have the least amount of distractions or other looming deadlines.   If you have ANY questions about creating a timeline, you can post them in the private FB group.  You’ll find today’s show notes, the links to all the freebies and the link to the FB group at thatsoundslikeaplan.net/episodes/4 

• Go here to find all four (4!) freebies from this episode
• Need some help with your event planning timeline or one of the tools I mention in this episode?  Join my private FB group to ask questions.  

LET'S CONNECT!

• Please consider rating & reviewing my show on Apple Podcasts
• Follow me on Facebook or Instagram

Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

Gala used to refer to a certain type of event.  You can probably picture it…Tuxedos, long gowns, champagne and fancy appetizers.  Today, the term gala has become generic.  It can refer to any type of fundraising event for nonprofits.  The term has become generic, like Kleenex. 

Nonprofits have a lot of competition when it comes to fundraising events.  The first way you can stand out is through your event brand name.  

Here’s my 6-step process for creating a unique and compelling brand name for your event.  

1. Know your target audience.  If you haven’t already, go back and listen to Ep. 1 - Are you planning your event backwards? and download my target audience worksheet
2. Outline all the details of your event.  You’ve already determined the ‘who’ in step 1.  Now fill in the rest.  Always plan your event around your target audience.  What type of event will appeal to them?  When will it take place?  Where will you host the event? 
3.  Make a list of action words associated with your event and audience. 
4. Start brainstorming event brand names.  If you’re doing this solo, make sure you have a few people who fit your target audience profile that you can run the event name by and get feedback.  Create a list of 10 name ideas. 
5. Walk away.  After a brainstorming session it’s important to walk away and give your brain a break. Clear your head so you can tackle the next step with fresh perspective
6. Pare down your list.  After you’ve stepped away for a bit, you should be able to get your list down to 3 names.  If you’re doing this solo, this is when you need to tap into your ‘focus group’ of people who fit your target audience.  

No focus group?  See the Listener Action Item below. 

Struggling tonarrow down your event name?  Join my private FB group to ask questions about your event brand or anything else!   

If you’re asking a question about your event brand name, be sure to include a brief description of your target market.   

Go here for more information about Event Brand Bootcamp

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Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.

If you’ve ever made the statement “I want to lose weight” you realize how extremely difficult that nebulous goal is to achieve compared to setting a goal for the number of pounds you want to lose by a specific date.  Adding those two simple details helps you start to formulate a plan for how you will get there.    

Setting specific goals for your event is equally important. Now, I’m not going to lecture you about SMART goals.  You can find tons of resources on how to do that with a simple online search.  

What I am going to talk about are FAST goals.  These are goals that should be set for any and every nonprofit fundraising or awareness-building event.  

You can’t improve what you don’t measure.  Am I right? 

But let’s back up a bit…all goals start with a vision.  A vision of the you you want to be once you’ve lost the weight.  A vision of how your event will look and feel.  You first need to tap into that vision before you create your event goals.  

Once you have your vision and have defined your goals, you need to make sure that the goals are in alignment with your target audience.  You’ll hear me say it over and over…everything revolves around your target audience.  Make sure that the goals you’ve set make sense for your audience. 

Lastly, there’s no sense going through the work of setting your goals if you’re not going to track them.  How do you know you’ve lost weight if you don’t step on the scale once a day or once a week?  

My mission for this podcast is to teach small nonprofits how to start and grow successful fundraising and awareness-building events.  You can’t grow if you don’t know where you’re starting.  This means setting up systems to track your success.  

This short episode is jam-packed with information.  I hope it sets you on the path to success with your event.  

For more podcast info go to thatsoundslikeaplan.net

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Questions about this episode?  Join my private FB community where you can ask me and the members anything.  We’re here to support you! 

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Text me with a comment, question or topic you'd like me to cover in a future episode.