Why Your Non Profit Should Plan for the Entire Year

Why Your Non Profit Should Plan for the Entire Year

Events, Non-Profit

While getting your committee of volunteers to plan for a whole year seems daunting it has many advantages and allows you to focus on fundraising and helping those you serve.

Here are the 4 main advantages and what you gain from each.

1.You can focus on help people, not the fire drills of planning or last minute fundraising

This is probably the biggest way to sell yearly planning. You are a part of the non-profit to help those you serve, not to be on a continuous merry-go-round of last minute planning and scrambling. 

Knowing when you will fundraise and what your goals are, allows you to plan ahead. You can write emails and social media posts early. You can create banners, flyers, and packets ahead of time. All of the tasks that need to be done for normal fundraising can be scheduled out with plenty of time in between to ensure that you can still be helping your constituents. 

Outside of fundraising, you can plan on the activities to help those you serve and let them know. You can ensure that you are able to help more people by planning ahead and letting them know early what type of help and when you will be giving it. They can then plan around the times that help may not be available. 

2. You know when you need volunteers and can let them know

Obtaining volunteers is sometimes the hardest part of fundraisers or other events. If you know a year in advance, your volunteers can put it on their calendar and plan around those events they want to attend. 

You can also reach out to other organizations such as your local fraternities and sororities and have them put it on their calendars as charity work. 

3. You can get yearly sponsorships

This is something I am big on doing. You cannot go back to the same well over and over without drying it out. If you know the fundraising events you are doing for the year, you can then sell yearly sponsorships. Learn about them in this blog post. 

4. You can start to think long term

So many non-profits I come across are not thinking long term. They think from year to year but not two or five years out. If you can start thinking in year long terms, you can then start thinking in longer terms. Can you start putting 20% of your profits away into an endowment fund to grow so that your organization will have money in the long term? Are you looking to build a facility? What would your organization look like if you had half a million dollars to spend? 

Non-profits need to plan for the long term and plan beyond the current members. You need to be thinking about the future and this is the first step in that process. 

Trade Shows in 2022

Trade Shows in 2022

Business, Trade Show

What will 2022 bring for trade shows? 

Honestly, that is up in the air and changes constantly. With mandates changing on a daily basis, new variants of the sickness that shall not be named, and budgets still being tight, the predictions are all over the place. 

Here are a few of the major things that I do predict.

Businesses will be much more intentional about their trade show spend. 

Unfortunately, this may mean fewer vendors and sponsors at the local and regional shows. That does leave the door open for the local companies, or the companies that have the budget to attend the national shows and the regional ones to grab a larger market share. 

It will also mean more targeted messages and after events. Many companies are limiting the people who will attend the shows as well. I would always be ready to go to a hybrid or totally virtual event until the end of 2022. 

It can not be just about the trade show floor

You need to be exhibiting, speaking, and setting up client and prospect meetings while at trade shows. You also need to use social media and your website to extend the life and reach of your booth. 

Follow up will become more important than ever with smaller numbers of vendors being able to target and personalize messages to their ideal client. 

A table cloth and pop up banner probably won’t cut it. 

As technology advances and it becomes harder to gain peoples attention, booth design must evolve as well. Interactive booths, augmented reality, and immersive experiences – even in a 10 x 10 will become the norm. 

Be flexible

Anyone that tells you that they know 2022 will turn out like x is crazy. The world we live in is very fast paced and can change in the course of two days. Be flexible as you go about planning your 2022 trade shows, know when to roll with the punches and when to pull the plug. 

What are your plans and goals for the 2022 trade show season? I am excited to hear about your plans. 

Top 3 Trade Show Scams

Top 3 Trade Show Scams

Business, Trade Show

Trade Shows are big business and that always brings the scams out. People looking to make a quick buck can ruin your show and have a negative impact on your business cash flow. Here are the top 3 scams you need to watch for. 

1. Housing / Hotels Scams

This is the most common scams that I have seen and have personally had hundreds of calls about “special deals” for hotels at trade shows. They will attempt to scare you by saying that the room blocks are filling up fast and you need to book and pay now. They request full payment (rather than the normal one night) and when you arrive at the hotel you will not have a reservation. These people scrape the companies that are listed as vendors on the show website and you will most likely receive 2 – 4 calls per show. Tell them what they are doing is illegal (they hang up very quickly), track the number, and pass it on to show management. There is not much that they can do but it does help. 

Where do you find the legitimate room blocks for the show? In the Exhibitor Package that is sent to you. This will most likely be an email. You can often find it on the show website, under an Exhibitor tab. Some shows do have a housing authority that they ask you to book through but again, that information will be listed in the Exhibitor packet. 

If you go outside of the show housing authority or with a third party vendor, please make sure it is one that you know and trust. The good part about going through the show housing authority is that they make deals with the hotels that any booking through them cannot be moved to another hotel if the hotel is oversold. They can also act as liaisons between you and the hotels for any issues. 

2. Fake Shows Scams

This is harder to pull off but can be more lucrative for the scammers. They will create a website and information that looks legit and then ask you to come. There may be a “discounted rate” because it is the first year the show is running or they are looking for companies just like yours to be a part of it. Sadly, when you arrive at the venue to set up, there is no show and you are out the money. Always do you research on the show before signing up. I am wary if a show is a first year show, is not on the venue website, and it seems like too good of a deal. 

If anything seems off to you, call the venue to confirm that the show is happening. (Please get the number for the venue from the venue website and not the person trying to sell you on the show.)

3. Outside Vendors Scams

When you are shopping around for show vendors, especially for an out of town show, please do your research. There are plenty of people out there who are willing to take your money and never show up. This can happen for print items, rentals, and even services. 

If someone calls you up offering the deal of a lifetime for the show, be wary. 

One other note on outside vendors, many shows require you to get special permission if the vendors will be on the trade show floor at all. Read through your rules so you know what you can and cannot do. 

Trade shows are expensive but you need to be wary of people offering you ways to cut costs and corners. Do you research before signing any contracts and be wary of the people who require full payment upfront that are not a part of the show itself. 

Looking to save some money on your shows? Check out this blog post. 

 

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

by | Jan 24, 2023 | ,

I have been blessed to travel a lot and to travel for work to different trade shows across the country. It is fun and exciting but it can also be tiring and even scary. I am often traveling by myself and have learned the following tips to keep me safe.

A Perfect Non Profit Sponsorship Ask Letter

A Perfect Non Profit Sponsorship Ask Letter

Events, Non-Profit

Your sponsorship letter is an important part of your event and the P.R. of your organization. A good letter will increase your raise and allow you to make a larger impact in your community. 

Here are the 6 parts of your perfect ask letter.

1. Personalized Introduction

Your salutation should always include the name of the company you are reaching out to. If you know the name of the person who handles sponsorship requests then add that as well. There is no excuse for generic letters with todays technology. Show people that  you care enough about them and their business to use their name. 

2. Organization Introduction

Give a brief, two sentence explanation of your organization and who you serve. This should be no more than 4 lines long and needs to be impactful but short. 

3. The Ask

Get to the point in what you want. You are asking them for money or in kind trade for your organization. If an event in a part of the sponsorship you need to include the event details. 

4. The Impact

People like to know how their money is impacting the community so tell them. How many people are you helping? How many dogs will be saved? Put this in a bullet point list of 3-5. 

5. How to Donate

Here you give the information on how people can donate to you. I would suggest having an online portal that people can use and see what sponsorships are still available if you have limited quantities of each. Work with your bank to see about credit card processing online. 

6. Thank you and a Wet Signature

Sign off by saying thank you and then ensure that the signature is actually signed in pen. I know that they can take a while but it shows that you put in the extra effort and that you care. 

The letter should be a page long and on letterhead. You can include the sponsorship packet with the letter but that is not a part of the letter. If your organization does not have letterhead, you can make one using the header and footer portions of any document creation software. 

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

by | Jan 24, 2023 | ,

I have been blessed to travel a lot and to travel for work to different trade shows across the country. It is fun and exciting but it can also be tiring and even scary. I am often traveling by myself and have learned the following tips to keep me safe.

5 Things Your Trade Show Staff Should Know Before the Show

5 Things Your Trade Show Staff Should Know Before the Show

Business, Trade Show

Staffing a booth is hard. There are long hours and hard concrete to stand on but there are ways to help your staff make the best of the show and ensure you reach your goals.  You need to ensure your booth staffers know these 5 things.  

What are the goals of the show? What should staff be focusing on? 

When your staff knows the reasons they are there and the show goals, they can really help to push the show in the right direction. This is especially true if your company has many product/ service lines and the show is only focusing on one of them. The staffers know to focus on that item while also having the other lines in their head if show attendees ask for them. 

Your staffers should also have realistic goals. You want quality leads and sales, not pushy people who are scanning anyone who walks by to hit a quota. 

Where and when is the show?

    • You should also include
      • Where is parking
      • Is there a fee to park?
      • Where is the booth
      • What times they need to be at the booth. 
        • I often will overlap the shifts by 15 minutes because people rarely factor in time for parking (and the lines to park) plus walking to the booth. 

What is the booth layout?

You want your staff to know where they can find items and what they can bring into the booth. I normally ban backpacks and refuse to hold the large “trick or treat” bags that people gain as they walk around the show. My booths and designed in a specific way and it does not include storage. If you do have storage in your booth you need to make sure who has the keys and let people know what they can bring in. 

What should they wear?

If you have branded gear, I am a fan of wearing that. If not, set a dress code that your company is comfortable with. You can also have some fun with it. I have seen everything from prom dresses to hula skirts to lime green suit jackets. Whatever your choose, make sure you are not asking people to buy clothes outside of the normal office wear. 

They will hear “No” a lot

This is the hardest one for those on the sales team. They can normally call maybe 100 people in a day or see maybe 20 if they are really hustling. At trade shows, you will hear no 200 – 500 times a day. You want to ensure that the booth draws people in and then the booth staff can qualify if people need what you are selling so that they can move to the next person if not. 

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

Staying Safe at Out of Town Trade Shows

by | Jan 24, 2023 | ,

I have been blessed to travel a lot and to travel for work to different trade shows across the country. It is fun and exciting but it can also be tiring and even scary. I am often traveling by myself and have learned the following tips to keep me safe.