Source Event Funding to Grow Your Business

As any event organizer knows, running an event can be costly. The best way to balance the books is to secure funding. Extra budget can help you to alleviate cost pressure, reach a wider audience, and delight your attendees with a better event experience. Whether you’re running a crowdfunding campaign or sourcing corporate sponsorship, discover key strategies to secure funding for your next event. 

Key takeaways

• Begin your event funding journey by identifying potential funding avenues — such as crowdfunding, sponsorships, and partnerships — and crafting a compelling pitch

• Increase your chances of securing funding with engaging storytelling and narrowing the pool of funds to apply for  

• Secure extra funding before the event with ticket incentives, such as early bird discounts and value-based pricing

Unlocking financial support for your event

After creating your event budget, it’s time to get creative with boosting your funds. To kick-start your journey, you’ll need to identify key funding avenues, craft a compelling pitch, and research the relevant application processes. Want to stay organized? Try compiling different funding sources, deadlines, and notes in one spreadsheet. 

Identifying potential funding avenues

When it comes to securing event funding, there are a number of avenues to explore — from crowdfunding to sponsorships. Make sure to begin your funding journey by researching all of your options, and then narrowing your search to those that best suit your event. Your options might include: 

• Crowdfunding: Crowdfunding is a great way to raise funds using your existing audience and their extended networks; each person contributes a small donation to help achieve a bigger monetary goal. 

• Specific funds: Many arts organizations, charities, large companies, and social enterprises have industry and location-specific funds that businesses can apply to in order to boost their funding.  

• Fundraising events: Fundraising events can be a popular option for charities and non-profits to generate funds for future events. 

• Partnerships: Partnerships — where both brands take equal responsibility for the running of an event — can be a useful way to double your funds and have more hands on deck. 

• Sponsorships: Whether these are sponsorships from global brands or local businesses, event sponsorships offer direct funds to help you cover the costs of your event. 

Crafting a compelling pitch

The secret to success: your elevator pitch. As with many elements of event planning, securing funding from external sources is all about your pitch — in other words, how you tell the story of your event in a concise, compelling way. A great pitch can increase your chances of securing funding, and should be focused on three key elements:

• USP: Your Unique Selling Point (USP) should be front and center of your pitch, and should help guide the storytelling and mission sections below. What makes your event unique? 

• Storytelling: How can you tell the story of your event in one compelling sentence? Consider how your event started — your origin story — and focus on adding a human touch. 

• Mission: What’s your event’s purpose, goal, or mission? Think of your ‘why’: why did you begin your event in the first place? Why is it important?

Understanding the application process

To secure funding, you will likely need to make an application, create a pitch deck, or submit a proposal. Each funding avenue will have its own process — for instance, funding from a large governmental organization will typically have a more rigorous application process than approaching a local business for a partnership — so it’s vital to do your research. You may want to consider the following when preparing to secure funding:

• Deadlines: Make sure to take note of all deadlines for funding so you don’t miss out on the application cycle for your event.

• Use of funds: Many applications will ask you to account for the funding you’re applying for, so ensure that you have a clear idea of how much funding you’re asking for, and the exact resources you’ll be spending it on.

• Eligibility criteria: Many funds will have strict eligibility criteria (for instance, some funding may only be available to non-profit organizations, or for businesses less than a year old) so it’s essential that you read these guidelines carefully before applying. 

Tapping into community and local business resources

The most effective funding strategies are based on value: how can you gain value from others, and what can you offer in return? Reaching out to your community can be a great way to make valuable contributions to your local area, boost your fundraising efforts, and tap into existing networks of potential attendees. 

Building partnerships with local businesses

Creating relationships with local businesses is an excellent way to boost the success of your event for several reasons. Whether you’re partnering with local brands who share your values or whose audience matches yours, these relationships can:

• Boost your funds: You can boost the budget for your event by securing sponsored partnerships with local brands. This might be direct funding or partnering on sales of products or services. 

• Promote your event: You may choose to partner with a local business on a promotional level, doubling your marketing efforts, reaching a wider audience, and boosting your ticket sales. 

• Pool resources: Whether this is supplying food and drink or sourcing equipment, partnering with local businesses can be a great way to share resources and save costs. 

Engaging with community organizations

Partnering with community organizations can be a great way to raise money for local causes and make a meaningful impact — while also tapping into a valuable network of local people. Whether this is your local community center or non-profit, many community organizations often have funding to run events or partner with event organizers. 

To engage these orgs, consider the value you can offer them in exchange. You might choose to use your event to promote community organization services or products, and offer discounted tickets to encourage local groups to attend your event. 

Innovative crowdfunding campaigns

According to Kickstarter’s most recent data, of 613,987 crowdfunding projects launched on their site, 41.14% have been successful. That’s a lot of campaigns to compete with — so it’s essential that yours stands out from the crowd. Here’s how to find the right platform and create a buzzworthy crowdfunding campaign that really resonates with your audience.  

Selecting the right platform

To raise your funds, you’ll need the right tools at your disposal — and this starts with the right crowdfunding platform. First, make sure to consider its functionality and features. Does the platform allow tiered rewards that scale with donations? Can you customize your fundraising page with videos and photos? How easily can potential backers find your project?

You’ll also need to consider the platform itself. Kickstarter, for instance, is popular for organizers bringing creative projects (like films and music) to life, while GoFundMe typically tends to be used for charitable causes, so it’s a good idea to consider where your crowdfunding campaign would be best placed — and how it can find the right audience. 

Creating a buzzworthy campaign

Successful crowdfunding is reliant on one key thing: an exciting campaign. To do this, keep your event’s USP at the forefront of your fundraising storytelling, and give backers a reason they should be excited about your event. You may want to consider the following: 

• Content: Add intrigue to your campaign with creative content in the form of compelling marketing, videos, and photos — and use this content to make it clear how your attendees would benefit from funding your event.  

• Human stories: Make it easy for your audience to connect with your event by adding a human touch, whether that’s attendee testimonials, crowd photos, or the personal story of your founders.  

• Rewards: Incentivize attendees to pledge to back your event by offering prizes for different donations, such as free tickets to the event, free merchandise, or exclusive products. 

Engaging and updating contributors

Once your audience backs your project or donates to your campaign, make sure to capitalize on that connection by keeping them updated as the campaign progresses. 

One of the best ways to do this is personalization — whether that’s sending out personalized update emails, merch, or thank-you notes as you hit specific milestones. This will help you to maintain good relationships with your existing audience, and build loyalty with new customers. 

Strategies for attracting sponsorship

Event sponsorship is an effective way to increase brand awareness. And that’s not all: sponsorship deals can help you reach a much wider audience — and skyrocket your event funding. 

Aligning with sponsors' interests

Whether you’re crafting the perfect event sponsorship pitch deck or sponsor package, the most crucial part of any pitch is appealing to your sponsors’ interests. This can be wide-ranging, from sector-specific work (sponsors might, for example, be interested in art projects to engage local youth groups) to demographic-focused projects (they might be particularly keen to hear from women-led organizations, for instance). 

Show sponsors that you align with their interests by making your values and mission statement crystal clear in your pitch. You may also want to consider showcasing any other instances where you align, such as your target audience, brand partnerships, or social outreach projects. 

Finally, add extra power to your pitch by demonstrating your interests via qualitative or quantitative evidence (such as the percentage of young people you have connected with in the local community, or positive feedback from attendees). 

Offering value to sponsors

The key to all successful sponsorship packages is value exchange. Show sponsors how your event can help them to achieve their own goals, whether that’s marketing objectives or widening their customer pool. 

Want to catch your sponsor’s attention? Get creative with your event sponsorship ideas. You might choose to offer digital swag bags, TikTok collaborations, or QR-code bracelets as valuable ways for your sponsor to connect with your audience in virtual and in-person settings. Think outside the box in terms of what you can offer to sponsors in exchange for funding — and increase your chances of success. 

Maintaining relationships post-event

Once you’ve completed the hard work of building a relationship with a sponsor, you can take steps to ensure the success of future events by maintaining that relationship. 

If they’re happy to stay in touch after the event, make sure to let them know about future events they may be interested in sponsoring, as well as any other collaboration opportunities — they may become lasting partners instead of one-time donors. 

Leveraging advanced ticket sales

When you’re searching for ways to maximize your funding, ticketing is easy to overlook — but it can play a vital role in helping you to increase your revenue, and begin to funnel that profit back into your event to create a joyful experience for your attendees. 

Setting strategic pricing

The most important tactic in boosting ticket sales and generating funding: a ticket pricing strategy. There are several key components in making sure you set the right ticket price for your event, such as:

• Competitor research: How much are your competitors charging for their tickets? Can you match this price, or offer better value?

• Basic costs: Make sure you set your price so that you can meet the basic costs and expenses of running the event, such as venue hire, catering fees, and so on. 

• Value-based pricing: Value-based pricing is based on your customer’s perceived value of your event, the actual ticket price, and the per-ticket cost to you for putting on the event. Put simply, if the customer’s perceived value is higher than your ticket price, then they will decide to purchase. And if your cost per ticket is lower than that price, you will make money.

Implementing early bird specials

One of the best ways to incentivize ticket sales? Tiered ticket types — and especially early bird pricing. Early bird tickets are typically offered at a discounted rate for a specific period of time, encouraging attendees to purchase early and avoid FOMO. 

Once other attendees see that early bird tickets are sold out, they’ll be keen to snatch up the others before they’re gone. Early bird pricing, then, can help to generate a buzz around your event — as well as extra funding before the event takes place (so you can use this to funnel back into your event). 

Exploring grants and non-profit support

Another funding avenue to explore is in the form of grants and non-profit support. Here, discover actionable tips on how to narrow your search to find the right grants for your event and prepare your applications to boost your chances of success. 

Researching applicable grants

To increase your chances of success (although it may seem counterintuitive) the best strategy for securing funding is to narrow your research as much as possible. There are a few different ways to search for the right funding for your event, but you may find it helpful to filter by: 

• Industry: Many funds will be industry-specific, such as theater grants, festival funding, or arts support. If you’re running a film festival, for example, there may be funding available for new filmmakers.

• Location: Many funds operate on a location or community basis. If you’re running an event in a specific city or state, you may want to look into programs and grants offered by local organizations or charities. 

• Objective: Many organizations offer grants based on a specific outcome or objective. These aims may be based on education, engagement, or social inclusion, so you may want to research organizations whose goals align with your own objectives. 

Preparing grant applications

Once you’ve narrowed down the grants you’ll be applying for, the next step is to prepare your applications. Again, the best way to increase your chances is to be as specific as possible — clearly demonstrate specific goals, expenses, and evidence. Consider: 

• Objectives: What is the objective of the grant? Does it clearly fit with your own objectives, and can you demonstrate this with a clear mission statement and USP?

• Evidence: Do you have evidence that your event can meet (or has met in previous events) the criteria for the grant? 

• Accuracy: Can you clearly show how the funds would be used, and how they would benefit your audience?

Partnering with non-profits

Whether you’re partnering with brands or non-profits, the same rule — that there must be an exchange of value — applies. Consider how your event can benefit non-profits; this might be through increased exposure, profit splits, or promotional content. 

When partnering with non-profits, you might want to consider the following when conducting your research:

• Values: Does your event share the same values as the non-profit, and is this reflected in the event itself?

• Audience: Does the non-profit have a similar audience to yours? Will the non-profit’s mission and purpose resonate with your target audience?

• Location: Does the non-profit have a local branch where your event is being held, and will the partnership work logistically?

Financial planning and budget management

Finally, it’s time to fold your funding into your event budget. This will help you to ensure you can cover all of your costs — from non-negotiables to desirables — and stay within budget to maximize your ROI. Here’s how you can build funding from partnerships and sponsorships into your budget. 

Creating a detailed budget

In your budget you’ll need to factor in a range of costs, including: venue fees, catering charges, staffing costs, marketing materials, and ticketing software costs. These then need to be categorized as a fixed or variable cost, and a non-negotiable or desirable cost (for instance, venue hire would be a fixed cost, while the cost of refreshments per person change depending on the number of attendees). 

With these expenses listed and categorized, you can then begin to strategically factor in any additional funding to your budget. 

Allocating funds wisely

Once you secure funding, whether via crowdfunding or sponsorship, the next step is to allocate it. Make sure to prioritize essential expenses first, and once these are covered, take a look at your desirable costs. 

For instance, perhaps you wanted to book a specific catering company or hire add-ons like photo booths, but these may have been categorized as non-necessities. With extra funding, you can begin to build these into your event. Allocate your new funds as wisely as possible by prioritizing attendee experience: what would make the biggest impact on your attendees’ enjoyment of the event? 

Contingency planning

As with all elements of event planning, a contingency plan is essential. When it comes to factoring in external funding to your budget, it’s important to pay close attention to your funding schedule. 

For instance, you may need to pay a deposit on your venue hire by the beginning of the month, but might not receive sponsorship funding until the end of that month — so it’s vital to make sure you balance your accounts accordingly. 

To do this, it might be useful to create a timeline of income and expenses on a spreadsheet — with clear notes on when invoices and funding transfers are due. To cover certain expenses arriving unexpectedly early, you may want to build a back-up contingency fund. 

Whether you’re running a film festival or a food fair, securing funding for your event can go a long way to help you cover your costs, build valuable long-lasting partnerships, and — most importantly — channel those funds back into your event to create a great attendee experience. From buzzworthy crowdfunding campaigns to meaningful non-profit partnerships, there are a range of funding avenues available to help you make your event a success. 

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you fund an event?

Funding an event can be achieved in a variety of ways, including crowdfunding campaigns, pre-sold tickets, sponsorships, partnerships, investments, and grants. Using one (or a combination) of these methods is a great way to reduce your basic costs and spend strategically to maximize attendee enjoyment. 

How do you get sponsored for an event?

To get a sponsor for your event, identify potential companies you may want to work with. Next, craft a compelling pitch for them — explaining the goals of your event to these sponsors and offering incentives for funding. Clearly demonstrate your interests, goals, and mission statement, and how these align with those of your sponsor. 

What do sponsors get in return?

In exchange for funding, sponsors typically receive business exposure and opportunities to connect with new customers via sponsored content or communications, merchandise, discounts, and more. The exact sponsorship deal you create can be tailored to benefit both you and your sponsor. 

What are some effective crowdfunding strategies?

In order to be successful with crowdfunding, it is important to choose the right platform, craft an interesting narrative, offer enticing rewards, and keep your audience involved by providing updates. By taking these steps, you can connect with your target audience and achieve your fundraising objectives.