Sporting A Cause

Monthly Archives: November 2019

Fundraiser Dos and Don’ts

I hesitate to write this blog. People hate to be told or even advised about what they should do. I know. I’m one of them.

But write it I must,  because after two years of searching websites and social media pages for information and writing up over 400 sports-related fundraising events around this Tri-State area,  I’ve made some observations and come to some conclusions that you may find helpful.

So here is my list of Dos and Don’ts when you are organizing or promoting your event whether it is sports-related or not.

1  This should be an easy one – Decide on an event name and stick with it. I’ve seen the names of events vary so much across media that they are barely recognizable as the same event. This usually happens if more than one person is involved in promoting the event. Sometimes the name just morphs from year to year.

If there is a word like “Jogfest” in the title, make certain it is always used- it is a key word that readers will use to recognize your event.

Also, you don’t have to tell the whole story in the title. The longest event title on sportingAcause.com is eleven words – too long. Make it descriptive but brief.

2  When posting your event, especially on social media pages,  please, please write the date including the year and include the town/city and state in the lead sentence. Many is the time I’ve clicked through three-plus times to find the race is in Nebraska or the golf tournament notice was from 2012. And keep your website information current too. I swear some folks haven’t reviewed their non-profit sites in years!

3  Every event must have a contact- “For more information about XYZ  Golf Tournament call/email so-and-so”. But make very, very sure that contact person addresses all inquiries. Because, believe it or not, 10% of the inquiries that I’ve made go unanswered. Let me put that another way – one out of ten times that I seek information about an event, no one gets back to me.

That, my friends, is inexcusable.

4  If you have a successful, established, multi-year event, do not change the date. You will lose loyal patrons. If your event  has always been on the third Saturday in July, leave it there, or you will be sorry.

5  And finally (Yay) – If you are planning a new event for your non- profit, good for you! But think seriously about the date . Ideally, you should schedule your event on a date when not much else is going on. For example, do not plan your event during September. Weekends during the 9th month are already overflowing with fundraisers. Before you pick a date, check out sportingAcause.com to get a sense of when the event traffic is lighter.

So there. Had enough instruction for one blog? I thought so.

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