Successful Follow-Up is the First Step to Planning Next Year’s Event
As a fundraising event planner, your ultimate goal is to create a successful and memorable event that not only raises funds but also leaves a lasting impact on your attendees and donors. While the actual event is undoubtedly important, what happens after the event is equally crucial. Post-event follow-up plays a vital role in maintaining donor engagement, expressing gratitude, and maximizing your fundraising efforts. In this blog post, we will explore why post-event follow-up matters and provide you with effective strategies to do it right.
Gathering Data for Informed Decision-Making
Measuring Fundraising Success
Evaluate the total amount of money raised and breakdowns of different revenue streams such as ticket sales, sponsorships, and donations. This data helps identify the most effective fundraising methods and areas for improvement in future events.
Understanding Attendee Profiles
Collect demographic information like age, gender, and occupation, along with data on how attendees learned about the event (e.g., social media, word of mouth, email marketing). These insights aid in refining your marketing strategies and tailoring events to specific target audiences.
Attendee Feedback Priorities
Assessing Likelihood of Referral
Ask attendees to rate, on a scale of 1 to 10, how likely they are to refer the event to friends or community supporters. Allow for comments explaining their rating, which can uncover areas of improvement and highlight successful aspects of the event.
Identifying Event Highlights
Provide an open text box for attendees to share what they enjoyed most about the event. This feedback reveals the aspects that resonated with attendees, helping you replicate and build upon those elements in the future.
Seeking Suggestions for Improvement
Ask for suggestions on how future events can be enhanced, including feedback on package quantities, values, and prices, marketing and communication effectiveness, preferred dates and locations, and theme ideas. This input allows you to address concerns and put a plan in place to make changes.
Methods for Collecting Event Follow-Up Feedback
Greater Giving Online Bidding Solutions includes messaging capabilities that will allow you to send a text to attendees post-event. You can choose to email or text message guests with a follow-up message and link to a video or survey. Utilize platforms like Survey Monkey or Google Forms to create surveys that can be collected anonymously or include attendee email addresses. Share the results with the board, volunteers, and planning committee. The gathered data becomes a valuable resource for planning future fundraising campaigns and events.
Expressing Gratitude
Remember to extend your gratitude to everyone who contributed to the event’s success, including attendees, volunteers, sponsors, and donors. Demonstrating appreciation helps nurture strong relationships and encourages ongoing support for future endeavors.
Event follow-up is a vital part of our fundraising efforts.
By gathering data on fundraising outcomes and attendee profiles, as well as soliciting feedback and expressing gratitude, you gain valuable insights to enhance future events. Utilize the collected information to make informed decisions, improve attendee experiences, and refine your fundraising strategies. Remember, event follow-up is an opportunity to learn, grow, and build stronger relationships with your supporters, ultimately leading to greater success in your fundraising initiatives.
