It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year: nonprofit end-of-year fundraiser time!
Our love for supporting nonprofits and giving back to our community is no secret. As we’ve continued to specialize in community events over the past several years, we’ve seen a natural increase in the number of nonprofits we work with. This brings us immense joy. We love supporting the organizations who are working hard to make the world a better place.
Although we treat every client with the same respect, care and professionalism, working with nonprofits requires a different approach in some aspects. We thought we’d take this time to share how that approach might differ compared to a corporate event or ribbon cutting.
Every client has a budget, but when it comes to nonprofit events, we know their budget is stricter than most. Every nonprofit client is particularly mindful of how much they’re spending. Their goal is always to maximize the impact of their mission, and while an fundraising event will likely further that goal, they want to ensure the majority of their funds go to the work.
Additionally, nonprofits may be working with limited funds from sponsors and donors for the event itself. This means there’s less wiggle room than with other clients, who may be able to secure extra funds in a pinch.
With that, our goal as the event planner is to ensure the vision of the event is achieved while staying within that budget. This requires a little extra magic and work on our end, including working with our vendors to secure nonprofit discounts for our client and ensuring the nonprofit is on ToolBank, a program that allows nonprofits to borrow tools and other resources at low cost.
Another way we work with nonprofits within their budget is by offering our own nonprofit discount for our services. We believe our work is valuable, as is the work of the nonprofit. A discount is a small way we can say “we believe in your work” while still ensuring the folks we have working their event are getting paid fairly.
From there, much of our work with nonprofits looks similar to other clients. We organize with vendors, suggest creative ways to make an event shine, and go above and beyond to ensure the vision for the event is achieved.
With the emphasis on budget, you may wonder why an event planner is necessary for nonprofit events. And truthfully, a full event planner might not be needed! We’ve launched a new consulting package for folks who are looking for a little guidance on their event but might not need someone there the day of.
With our consulting package, we start with a 1-hour call to determine a client’s needs before we create a customized plan with venue and vendor research, a timeline, a budget breakdown and a mood board you can present to vendors so they can easily understand your needs.
The need for an event planner on site is dependent on the event and the client, but we’ve found with many of our nonprofit clients that they have enough on their plate when it comes to these events. Their focus needs to be on speaking to donors, building connections and educating guests on their work.
When they are also responsible for the event details, this can take away from that vital job. With an event planner on site, clients can focus on what they need to do while we can coordinate vendors and handle anything that might come up specific to the event itself.
Interested in learning more about our different services? Head here. If you’d like to schedule a call to chat about our work and how we might be able to help you, click here.
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