Today, anyone can raise money online for a cause they care about. It’s empowering… but it also creates a lot of noise.
Audiences are overwhelmed with opportunities to make donation choices.
So what’s the solution? Using innovative fundraising strategies that capture attention and help you build a personal connection with potential attendees.
Why should you trust us on this? At Eventbrite, we’ve worked on fundraising of every sort — from nonprofit galas to corporate fundraisers to community events. So it’s fair to say we know a thing or two about raising funds through events.
In this article, we’ll reveal 61 fundraising strategies that deliver results and how you can use key marketing and goal-setting tactics to expand your reach and increase revenue.
Skip to the best fundraising strategies
Develop a strong case for support
Prioritize donor stewardship and enable recurring donations
Optimize your social media marketing strategy
Look into partnership and sponsor deals
Build an email marketing campaign
Set fundraising goals
If you have a clear direction, you can devote your time, budget, and team to creating an event that will appeal to your target audience and drive a specific action.
How to determine clear fundraising goals:
- Examine your previous event data: Review your past event performance to see what type of event has generated the most profit. You can use Eventbrite’s organizer app to see key metrics, such as attendance numbers and ticket sale numbers.
- Host a brainstorming session: This will help you determine everything you want to achieve with your next event.
- Categorize your ideas: Review them and group them into two to three main sections. For instance, if you’ve listed “get more signups,” one category could be “increase donor base.”
- Select the most important goals: Once you have all your innovative fundraising strategies laid out in front of you, assess their importance against the overall goals of your charitable organization. For instance, gaining new donors with recurring donations may be more important than a one-time boost.
When you’ve chosen a core focus area, convert it into your key performance indicator by choosing an action word like “increase,” then an exact outcome and the action that’ll get you there.
6 examples of actionable vs unhelpful fundraising goals
Focus on specificity and measurability to ensure your goals are actionable and not vague. Clear and actionable goals provide a concrete target and a plan to achieve them.
Clear and actionable fundraising goals:
1. Increase major donors by 20% through targeted marketing campaigns
2. Recruit 100 new volunteers through community outreach events
3. Raise $50,000 from ticket sales and silent auctions at the gala
Unhelpful and vague fundraising goals:
4. Get more donors
5. Make a lot of money
6. Find more volunteers
Once you’ve set actionable fundraising goals, the next step is to choose a unique and engaging event idea.
Create engaging events
To get the most out of your nonprofit fundraising strategies, you want to create a unique and exciting experience that’ll attract the major donors you’re looking to target.
The best way to do this is by conducting some research:
- Analyze previous event data: Look into your previous event attendee data. Identify who engages with your content and what age groups and other demographics attend your events.
- Review social media marketing campaigns: Examine your most successful fundraising campaign by determining which posts and materials generated the most interest. This can tell you a lot about your audience and what they value in an event.
- Focus on key demographics: If you find that people aged 18–24 are the most engaged and frequent attendees at your events, for example — focus on this demographic. Then, use Facebook analytics to dive deeper into their interests, hobbies, and preferences.
Once you have a good idea of who you’re targeting, the next step is to choose what event idea will resonate with them the most and stand out from the competition.
For instance, Pamela Robins hosts animal therapy and sound healing events, where participants can meditate with animals, snuggle with pigs, and hug mini-donkeys. This unique fundraising event idea drives higher attendee rates and recurring attendees, and it aligns perfectly with the mission of their fundraising strategies: helping animals.
To help attract your target audience, organize an event that is creative and clearly related to your organization’s objective.
10 unique event ideas
At Eventbrite, we believe that the more creative and unique your experience is, the better your chances are of attracting attention and leaving a lasting impression on your audience.
Here are a few creative ideas to get you started:
1. Throwback 80’s disco: Organize a retro-themed dance party with classic 80’s tunes, funky costumes, and cheesy decorations like a giant disco ball.
2. Wilderness adventure: Plan an overnight outdoor glamping adventure with activities like live music and carnival rides.
3. Auction event: Host a mystery auction, during which participants bid on boxes containing surprise items while sipping glasses of champagne.
4. Haunted House party: Create a spooky haunted house experience with themed rooms and a creepy virtual reality ride.
5. BBQ block party: Set up a casual BBQ event with delicious food, a silent disco dancefloor, and classic games, like ruck-sack races.
6. Outdoor movie night: Host a movie screening under the stars with a large projector screen, free-flowing popcorn, and cozy seating for a family-friendly event.
7. Food festival: Arrange a food festival featuring live cooking demonstrations from local chefs and food trucks.
8. Outdoor art exhibit: Showcase local artists’ work in a beautiful park setting and allow attendees to bid on them throughout the event.
9. Community workout event: Organize a group workout session with fitness instructors, music, and healthy snacks.
10. Animal costume contest: Host a fun parade where participants dress up their pets in costumes, with prizes for the most creative outfits.
Now, you have to choose an idea that suits your target audience, develop an event plan to bring it to life, and then do what you do best — create an amazing event experience.
Next, consider how you’ll get people to care about your event and encourage them to participate through innovative fundraising strategies.
Develop a strong case for support
As a recent study points out, effectively engaging your audience through storytelling can significantly boost their connection to your cause.
To get people to support your cause, you need to tap into the emotional element of your narrative. Why should an attendee buy tickets to your event and not another? What impact will their investment in you make on the community or the issue at hand?
The best way to achieve this is to build a strong brand voice and collect social proof to demonstrate your impact.
“Storytelling is one of the most powerful fundraising strategies,” says former GoFundMe Growth and Marketing Director Gary Wohlfeill. “When someone spreads your mission through their own experience — saying here’s why I’m passionate, here’s why I care — people are more likely to donate to a cause.”
For example, Citizens’ Climate Lobby uses funny memes and piece-to-camera videos on their Instagram account to engage their audience. They also share stories of their milestones, which helps build a community around their cause.
4 ways to encourage your audience to share heartfelt stories
There are a few innovative fundraising strategies you can use to help encourage supporters to tell poignant, heartfelt stories about their own experiences with your nonprofit or brand.
1. Include a checkbox on your registration form: Allow attendees to mark if they’ve been personally affected by your cause so you can follow up with their stories and use the collected data to highlight the impact on your website.
2. Host a social media challenge: Encourage your supporters to share their personal stories and experiences with your cause by hosting a social media challenge. Offer a small prize or recognition for the most impactful stories.
3. Set up a story submission page: Create a page on your website where supporters can submit personal stories, photos, and videos about their experiences with your cause.
4. Create a dedicated hashtag: Develop a unique hashtag for your event or cause and encourage attendees to use it when sharing their stories on social media.
Once you’ve collected these social proof points, turn them into short videos for social media or create blog posts for your website to showcase these stories and highlight the impact of your cause. For instance, you can make an Instagram montage of attendee testimonials using video clips or quotes from the comment section of your posts or surveys.
Set up online donations
Smaller nonprofit organizations are seeing great success with online donations. In fact, 17% of donations in 2023 were made online. To maximize your fundraising strategies, you’ll want to take advantage of this opportunity before, during, and after your event.
Essential things to keep in mind:
- Guarantee a secure payment process: Cyber-attacks are on the rise. The average cost of a data breach is now $0.5 million, so attendees must know their information is safe when donating. To help instill confidence, partner with a reputable payment processor, like PayPal, and highlight your security measures on your donation page.
- Limit page redirects: The fewer steps attendees have to take when donating online, the better. To make the process quick and easy, we suggest embedding your checkout directly onto your Instagram and Facebook pages so donors don’t have to leave the app.
With Eventbrite, you can easily embed your checkout directly on your event registration page. Plus, we’re PCI compliant, so you can be confident that your attendees’ information will always be secure.
Incorporating online donations before and after your event is straightforward, especially with Eventbrite. But during the event? That’s a bit trickier.
2 online donation methods to use during your next fundraiser
To encourage attendees to make online donations during your event, you need simple, effective methods because the more steps donors have to take, the less likely they are to donate.
Here are two easy donation methods we suggest:
1. Text-to-donate: Set up a text-to-donate campaign to make it easy for attendees to contribute. Provide a unique keyword that they can text to receive a direct link to your donation page. This allows them to donate quickly and conveniently via their mobile devices during the event.
2. QR codes: Place QR codes around your event so attendees can quickly scan them with their smartphones and donate online. Then, use Eventbrite’s organizer app to track donations in real time.
Want to track your donations easily and much more?
Prioritize donor stewardship and enable recurring donations
At Eventbrite, we believe it’s more important to reconnect with past attendees and build loyal supporters than to focus on one-off donations.
Think of it this way: how much money do you spend on innovative fundraising strategies to convince new and major donors to support your mission? How many hours does it take to build enough trust for them to donate and attend your event?
With long-term supporters, this effort is cut in half. They already trust you — the bar for convincing them is much lower.
So how do you build long-term donor relationships with your donors?
A recent study based on 40,000 potential donors found that enhancing donors’ sense of control and impact over how their contributions are used boosts fundraising revenue by 42%. So instead of asking for money for a general cause (like “help animals”), ask donors to support a specific cause (such as “help tigers fight extinction”).
For example, the Peninsula Humane Society & SPCA builds long-term relationships with their Bark n’ Brewfest events that focus on pet adoption and care.
Another benefit of building long-term relationships with your fundraiser attendees is the boost in recurring donations.
4 ways to encourage recurring donations
Did you know that the average nonprofit raised $15,470 in recurring donations in 2022 and that this was a 144% increase from 2018?
The increase in profits shows the value of emphasizing building long-term relationships with their donors rather than just seeking one-off donations.
A vital part of this process is reconnecting with your donors after your event wraps up. The event is just the beginning of the relationship, but how you follow up keeps them coming back.
Here are four effective ways to prioritize donor stewardship after your event:
1. Send personalized thank you notes: Make sure to send thank you notes to each donor within 24–48 hours of receiving a donation. Mention specific details, like the amount they donated, to show that their contribution truly matters.
2. Share regular update reports: Keep your donors in the loop about how their contributions make a difference. Use your social media presence, direct mail, or email newsletters to share updates on ongoing projects and highlight the impact of their donations.
3. Offer “favorite-effective” bundles after your event: Using an innovative fundraising approach like “micro-matching,” create bundles of donation options that match donor preferences and include an expert-recommended highly effective charity. This personalized touch can encourage recurring donations.
4. Including recurring donation options in your event registration process: Make it easy for attendees to commit to ongoing support by including recurring donation options when registering for your event. For example, add a checkbox during registration that lets donors contribute a monthly donation.
You can use one of these innovative fundraising strategies or all of them — it’s totally up to you. Just stay genuine and don’t come across as too pushy, always keeping your donors’ interests in mind.
A big part of this will be how you market your fundraiser and engage with your audience.
Pop Pop / All In This Together / Seattle, WA
Optimize your social media marketing strategy
The key to promoting your fundraiser is to avoid coming across as “desperate” — you don’t want to seem like you’re always asking for money. Instead, optimize your marketing fundraising strategies to connect with the desires and preferences of your target audience and build a brand around your cause.
The first step is to choose the right platform to promote your fundraiser. While social media marketing is essential, not every platform works the same.
The platform you choose depends on your target audience. For instance, if you’re targeting a younger crowd, 18–24 years old, platforms like Snapchat or TikTok would be effective. But if your audience is an older demographic or you’re promoting a corporate mission, LinkedIn or Facebook might be a better fit.
From there, you can craft your message and use unique and creative ideas to engage your audience and encourage participation.
7 effective fundraiser marketing tips
Promoting your fundraiser effectively requires a strategic approach that resonates with your target audience. Here are eight tips to help you boost engagement and visibility:
1. Use micro-influencer marketing: Partner with micro-influencers who are active in your community space or the type of event you’re creating. For example, if you’re organizing a 5k fun run and you’re a nonprofit focused on health and wellbeing, collaborating with fitness micro-influencers who specialize in running techniques would help you reach more relevant people.
2. Post on community platforms: Discuss relevant topics and post answers on platforms like Reddit or Quora. This shows that you’re adding value, and you can then link to your event or related content to promote your cause.
3. Create funny and relatable promotional content: Develop memes, GIFs, or stitch trending videos on TikTok. This highly shareable content increases your chances of going viral and spreading your message across different platforms.
4. Conduct A/B split testing: Craft different versions of your social media ad copy and images and test them to see which ones lead to more engagement or clicks on your event page.
5. Distribute your ads across platforms: Create an ad on one platform, and then redistribute this content across others to maximize your reach. For instance, if you’re promoting on Facebook, you can also share the ad on Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn.
6. Tap into your audience’s sense of FOMO (fear of missing out): Use words like “limited time” or “only a few spots left” to create a sense of urgency around your events and encourage quick action.
7. Offer exclusive discount codes: Promote special discount codes on your social media platforms for things like early registration or group bookings to incentivize attendance and boost ticket sales.
One way to ensure your marketing efforts make an impact is to use Eventbrite’s new “Share on Social” tool.
This feature lets you easily share your event on social media platforms like TikTok and LinkedIn. Plus, you can do A/B testing, copywriting, and scheduling in one place, with real-time updates on your engagement results.
Promote your event on TikTok quickly and easily.
Look into partnership and sponsor deals
Strategic partnerships can help boost your event’s appeal and increase how much you charge for tickets. For instance, with the right sponsors, you can offer VIP experiences or introduce different ticket tiers, like bronze, gold, and silver passes, each unlocking different event experiences.
There are four types of sponsors:
- In-kind: They provide goods or services instead of money. For example, they might offer catering, venue space, or auction items for a fundraiser event, reducing your overall costs.
- Financial: They contribute money, which you can use to cover event expenses or enhance its features, making it more attractive to attendees.
- Promotional: They help spread the word about your event through their channels. They can boost your event’s visibility and attract more attendees.
- Media: They provide media coverage, helping to increase awareness and credibility for your event. They can promote your event through various media outlets, reaching a broader audience.
Keep in mind that your choice of sponsor directly reflects your brand and values, so it’s important to choose one that aligns with your message and mission.
8 ways to find the right fundraising event sponsor
Finding the right sponsors to fit into your fundraising strategies can be challenging, but with the right approach, you can secure partnerships that enhance your event and align with your mission.
Here are eight tips for finding fundraising event sponsorship deals:
1. Take to social media: Use social media platforms to connect with potential sponsors. Share your event details, tag relevant companies, and engage with brands that align with your cause.
2. Use online tools: Use online tools like Sponseasy to search for potential partners. These platforms can help you identify companies interested in sponsoring events like yours.
3. Look at competitors: Research your competitors’ events to see who their sponsors are. This can give you an idea of which companies might be interested in sponsoring similar events.
4. Construct a great sponsorship email pitch: Craft a compelling pitch that highlights how the sponsor benefits from partnering with your event. Personalize each email and clearly outline what sponsors will gain from the collaboration.
5. Network at industry events: Attend industry events and conferences to meet potential sponsors face-to-face. Building personal connections can make it easier to secure sponsorship deals.
6. Offer unique sponsorship packages: Create customizable sponsorship packages that cater to different levels of involvement and budget. This can attract a wider range of sponsors.
7. Highlight mutual benefits: Emphasize how the sponsorship will benefit both parties. Show potential sponsors how partnering with your event can enhance their brand and reach.
8. Utilize testimonials and case studies: Share testimonials and case studies from previous sponsors to demonstrate the positive impact and return on investment that other sponsors have experienced.
Once you’ve secured an event sponsor, treat them with the same care as your current donors. Keep them updated with regular progress reports and ensure your communication is consistent and transparent. This builds a strong relationship with supporters not just for this event but also for future collaborations.
Build an email marketing campaign
Building an email marketing campaign is a great way to target your community exactly where they’re at. For example, this is how you can build an email marketing campaign before and after your event.
4 Emails you can send before your event:
1. Create a welcome series: Send a series of emails to new subscribers introducing them to your organization, telling them the story behind your cause, and explaining why it matters.
2. Share sneak peeks: Build excitement by sharing behind-the-scenes content, such as your event agenda or live event photos.
3. Send reminders: Send timely reminders leading up to the event with important updates and links for donating to your cause before the event.
4. Provide value: Offer tips that attendees might find helpful, such as how to prepare for the event or what to expect.
4 Emails you can send after your event:
1. Thank your attendees: Send a thank-you email for their support and participation
2. Share highlights: Provide a recap of the event’s success, including funds raised and the impact made, and share photos and stories from the event.
3. Facilitate feedback: Ask for feedback to learn what attendees enjoyed through post-event survey questions.
4. Encourage ongoing engagement: Invite attendees to stay involved and keep up-to-date on your progress by subscribing to your newsletter or following your socials.
One of the easiest ways to master email marketing is using Eventbrite. Don’t believe us? Matt Orlove, founder and CEO of ORLOVE, saw a 20% rise in deliverability when using Eventbrite’s email platform: “I know the platform so well, and it’s very user-friendly. I love the backend!”
Don’t complicate email marketing
12 fundraising email subject ideas for before and after your event
You can craft the best email in the world, but if your recipients don’t click on it and open it, it won’t matter. The industry benchmark for event and entertainment is a 37.3% opening rate. That means the other 67% go unread.
So you need to create punchy email subject lines that grab attention.
To do that, you want to balance being descriptive and adding some personality to your subject line. For example, Emojis can be eye-catching, but they lose their impact if overused — plus, they can send your email straight to the junk folder.
Think of your email subject line as the hook of your social media post — short, snappy, and engaging.
Here are 12 email subject line templates you can use before and after your fundraiser:
Leading up to your event:
1. “🎉 Don’t Miss Out! Grab Your Tickets for [Event Name] Now!”
2. “Join Us for [Event Name] – Limited Seats Available!”
3. “Excited for [Event Name]? Here’s What You Need to Know!”
4. “Countdown to [Event Name]! Are You Ready?”
5. “Last Chance to Be Part of [Event Name]!”
6. “Get Ready for [Event Name]! Secure Your Spot Today”
After your event:
7. “We Loved Having You at [Event Name]! Relive the Highlights”
8. “Your Voice Matters! Tell Us About Your [Event Name] Experience”
9. “Miss Any Moments? Catch the Best of [Event Name]!”
10. “Stay Involved! Here’s How You Can Continue Supporting Us After [Event Name]”
11. “Your Impact Doesn’t End Here – Learn How to Further Our Mission Post-[Event Name]”
12. “We Hope You Had a Blast at [Event Name]. Check Out What’s Next!”
Well, that’s all, folks. You have the keys to organizing a killer fundraising event that drives engagement, raises funds, and builds support for your mission. Now, all that’s left is to put them into action.
Ready to start using pro fundraising strategies?
The best fundraising strategies focus on building strong relationships, creating engaging experiences that resonate with your audience, and using data-driven tools.
That’s where partnering with Eventbrite comes in handy. We can help you track your event data, analyze your audience demographics, and gain insight into areas like ticket sales and attendance rates.
Now that you have the know-how, all that’s left to do is put it into action. We know you have what it takes to create a killer event and hit your fundraising goal.
