Welcome to Season 3!
Episode 54: Is A "Friendraiser" a Waste of Time?

Is A Friendraiser a Waste of Time?

Are you wasting time and money on “friendraisers” that barely generate any donors or volunteers?

In this episode, we are going to chat about the goal and purpose of a friendraiser.

What is a Friendraiser

Let’s first define what a friendraiser is. It’s a non-ask event. No request for funding. It’s a way to educate guests on the great work your organization is doing but in a friendly way, a casual way. And what I am about to say is really important, there is no cost to attend a friendraiser. It’s free.

However, while I’m suggesting to you that the event be casual in nature, they do serve a very important purpose for your organization. And there are specific reasons you want to host this type of event. Do you know what they are?

Well, i got good news. I’m going to tell you. There are 6 reasons you need to be hosting several “friendraisers” throughout the year.

But first let’s talk about what a “friendraiser” looks like in regards to how they are organized and logistics, etc.

A “friendraiser” is typically a small, intimate gathering held in someone’s home. Perhaps a board member or supporter host the event. The host invites friends, family and colleagues to attend. The list of attendees is usually small, 15 to 20 people. Maybe there are light appetizers, tea and coffee served. The event is about an hour in length. Fifteen to 20 minutes of the event is spent on someone from the organization, usually the Executive Director, addressing the crowd in an informal on the mission of the organization.

Now that we know the logistics, let’s dive into the reasons to host one that will clearly show why they are NOT a waste of time.

Reason #1 Build awareness about your organization.

I do believe with all my heart that this is the primary reason you should host this type of event. If you attempt to host one of these events with a greedy heart and mind, I think it will be evident to the guests. Your aim is to share your mission, stats, impact stories, and testimonials to those in attendance. The hope is the guests will learn about your organization and the values will be aligned.

The next reason has to do with capturing leads to convert leads into donors and volunteers. This leads me to reason #2

Reason #2 Recruit volunteers to help support your programs and services

This one is pretty straight forward. If your organization is volunteer run or heavily assisted, hosting a friendraiser can be a fantastic way to grow your volunteer base. During your presentation, you can talk about ways to volunteer and the impact volunteering has on the organization.

Tip: Have a way to capture names of those showing interest in volunteering. It can be as simple as a sign-up sheet that gets passed around the room during the presentation.

Reason #3 Recruit for board members

For this one, it’s not going to be easy to spot a potential board member in the room while hosting one of these friendraisers. For this, you’ll have to rely on the host to provide you information about each guest and ask your host to be sure to tell you if there is a guest that’s going to be present that’s an ideal candidate for becoming a board member.

Reason #4 Identify folks willing to host a friendraiser in their home

Something I believe strongly is people want to help! There’s no better or easier way for someone to help your organization then by hosting a friendraiser in their home. Again, during your presentation, ask who might be interested in helping to spread the word and host an event “just like this” in their home. Again, send around a sign-up sheet for those who are interested. Remind your potential host that the event they are attending tonight is a great example of how easy it can be and add that they may want to ask the person who invited them for tips and tricks on how to invite and host.

In fact, sometimes a host will introduce the ED of

Episode 53: Why Your Fundraising Event ISN’T Generating 6-Figures!

Year after year, you recruit volunteers, plan the party, rent the venue, send the invites, but for some reason you only seem to break even or come slightly under that goal of hosting a 6-figure fundraising event. What went wrong? Where did you fall short?

Like me, many of you are members of fundraising groups on Facebook. I think I’m a member of 5 or 6 for sure. And, I’ve noticed a theme in the kinds of questions being posted to the groups in regards to fundraising. This prompted me to create this episode to help YOU hear first hand what it takes to host a 6-figure event.

PREVIEW

If your new to hosting events be sure to check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.

SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY

If I know you! I know you did everything I just mentioned and likely you did a ton more.

I want you to know that hosting a 6-figure fundraising event is simpler than you think. Notice I didn’t say easier so let’s be clear about that. And for the next 30 minutes or so, I’m going to dive into three things you need to be doing in order to break that 6-figure ceiling.

Here’s the good news, these things are economy proof, doesn’t matter what season you’re in, these three things work for getting consistent revenue at your annual fundraising event.

Now, many of you know who I am and that’s why you tune in but for some of you, I’m new. For the newbies, I’m Lisa Clark and I’ve been raising money through fundraising events for over 20 years. Not only that, I’ve taught nonprofits how to host their very own 6-figure and high 6-figure fundraising events.

So, I’m very excited about what I’m about to share with you right now. I want to help you break that darn ceiling!

Step #1: Fundraising.

This means you need to be focusing on revenue generation. I mean really focus and have a strategic fundraising plan for your event in order to reach those fundraising goals. Really, Lisa?!? I know you think that’s obvious but if you’re not reaching that 6-figure goal then you aren’t focused ENOUGH on the fundraising. You’re likely too busy planning the party.

Now, I’m not sure if you have money blocks or think that simply because you sent out a few emails asking for donations for your event that the funds will appear. I’m not sure if you think because you’re raising revenue on ticket sales the funds will come in. But, I’m here to tell you that while you are focused on the party, money is changing hands all over the world for those who are doing their part to ask for it beyond just a few email invites, a few underwriting letters. There are 4 reasons the money isn’t coming your way:

1) You’re not asking in ALL the ways you can ask for it. Not enough revenue generators.
2) You aren’t presenting the right offer to the right people, the right donors.
3) You aren’t asking ENOUGH people. You are making some money cause you are asking some people but not enough people. If your issue is you don’t have enough people to ask, then stick around cause I’m going to get into how you can change that up. (pipeline events that lead to larger event)
4) You’re simply not asking for more; hence, leaving money on the table as we like to say in the fundraising world.

So, if I was to sit with you and if I was working on your event with YOU the first thing I would ask you is “What’s your fundraising plan, your fundraising strategy” for this event and the next question I would ask you is “How many revenue generators do you have for this event?”

Cause here’s the thing, let’s say you charge $50 per person for your event. That means you would need to sell 2,000 tickets in order to reach your goal of $100K. That’s ridiculous. If you truly want to reach $100k at your event, you are going to have to ask for more per ticket. $100

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

Episode 49: Help, My Board Won’t Fundraise for Our Annual Event!

Raise your hand if this is a problem in your nonprofit: Your Board doesn’t invite guests to the annual fundraising event, and they don’t fill a table. They don’t contribute to the auction by donating an auction item or purchasing an auction item. Worst yet, you schedule all of these fundraising event planning meetings, and they don’t even come!

They simply don’t do their part to help your nonprofit succeed.

Does this sound like any of you? Does this resonate with you?

If this is you, let’s hear it.

Now, I’m going to help you figure out what to do next.

Nobody is buying tickets to your fundraising event! Why?? Tune in to learn why no one is showing up and what you can do to turn that around!

What Comes Before The Ask? Tune in to learn about the 4Rs of the cultivation cycle and how much time you should be spending on each R!

There is tons of information out there in the vastness of the internet. There is so much free content out there that can really be helpful to get you started. But that’s the thing. It’s there to get you started. If you’re someone that is constantly consuming free content, you might just be addicted to the free swag. The free swag will only get you so far my friends. It’s time to think about if it’s time to invest in yourself and your organization!

But Who Am I?
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!

Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584

What Is Swag?
We’ve all received some sort of swag. From little stress balls, cooling packs, to pens, we’ve all gotten little freebies from different organizations or businesses. Companies push out swag in order to attract people to them. They want to attract you so that they can get to know who you are and pitch a product or service to you. Others use it as a thank you and they want to be the brand in your home and in your life. It’s a way to get their name in front of your face so it stays in the forefront of your mind. Sometimes you get things that are super useful and practical. Other times it’s just a bunch of junk collecting in a corner that you never look at. A lot of it just simply provides you very little value.

Soaking In The Free Content
I know there are a lot of you out there that are taking in a lot of free content or swag out there on the internet. You watch the free webinars, watch all the videos, but don’t commit to buying the product. The free content that people are posting online is to attract you to their community or product, where you’ll get even more tools. Something that will give you incredible value. This free content that you are consuming is great to get you started, but is it really the way to go?

Piecing This Together
Take all the free content in the world, can be beneficial. DOn’t get me wrong gaining knowledge is something that I can only commend. However, if you’re trying to piece together everything in your nonprofit from free content, it’s going to show. It’s going to be apparent that you’ve pieced this together, and while it has some value it needs more.

Investing in your Organization
If you’re stuck in this “free zone” within your organization, I have to encourage you to invest in it. Putting money into your organization to move it forward can result in a bigger payoff for your organization in fundraising, or just help you move the needle to make it better. Looking to the experts in this field will help you build strategies to continue to grow and become bigger and better! Also, it’ll take the stress off you feeling like you are missing that missing piece you keep searching for.

Look to the people that have been in this game for a while now. You don’t have to make the same mistakes. You can learn from them. You don’t have to keep feeling alone in this. You can invest in yourself and your nonprofit to take the next big step.

If you’ve been thinking about investing in my course “Fundraising Events that Deliver” now is the time to do it! The price right now is $497, but that is going to go up SOON! New material and resources are going to be added soon that you will get access to, but once it’s there, there will be an increase in price. Now’s the time to get access to my full system to create successful events, and have the opportunity to pick my brain when it comes to your specific event. I can’t wait for you to join me!

Click here for more info: https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/fed/

---

Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog!
https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog

Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well!

Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/