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. 

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. 

3 Books Non Profit Leadership Should Read

3 Books Non Profit Leadership Should Read

Events, Non-Profit

Leadership in non profits comes in many different ways. You can be elected to the position, you can be hired, or you can start the non profit yourself. No matter how you have come to hold a leadership position in a non profit, you have now been tasked to grow and nurture a business that will help and serve others. 

I have three books that I suggest to every non profit leader.

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber

This book is well known but when you think about the businesses from the lens of a non profit, you can see how to avoid volunteer burnout, how to systematize items, and allow the organization to grow beyond the leadership.

The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice by Todd Henry

I love this book because it shows you how to generate ideas for your non profit on a consistent basis. You cannot do the same thing over and over and expect better and better results. You need to shake things up and this book helps you do that. It will also help you balance your time between the non profit and other responsibilities.

Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality by Scott Belsky

I love this book because it helps to take the ideas you get from the others and put them into action. 

These books are not long or complicated and all come in audiobook versions as well. They are great business books but take the practices that they discuss and apply them to your non profit and your organization will thrive.

Once you are done with these books take a look at How Non Profits Can Eliminate the Lean Months.

 

5 Things You Need for a Great Corporate Tailgate

5 Things You Need for a Great Corporate Tailgate

Business, Events

College football is starting back up and that will hopefully include tailgates and fans in stadiums. A tailgate makes a great corporate event if done the right way. It offers you a chance to wine and dine customers outside of the normal “business” confines. People let down their guard and can be more open at a tailgate than a dinner or educational event. 

You need 5 things for a great tailgate and then are in order of importance. 

1. Good Food

Food is crucial for any event in my opinion but tailgates revolve around food. Your best bet is to find a local restaurant and have them cater it for you. If you have more than 50 people, ask them to come out to set up the food and keep it refilled. You do not want to have to be pulling food out of your vehicle all night – or have to find a place for the leftovers at the end of the night. 

When picking the caterer you should consider the following:

  • What is their reputation in the community?
  • Is their food portable? (Pasta does not work well at tailgates)
  • Do you want a full meal or just appetizers?
    • Some of my most successful tailgate caterers just had heavy apps that people could walk around with and enjoy.
  • What is your budget?
  • Do you have any customers or close business connections that cater?
    • I am a big believer that you should use your own customers to do business whenever you feel comfortable and it is in your budget. This builds greater loyalty from your customers and potential customers know that they have a better chance of getting your business. 

2. Drinks

Tailgates are often synonymous with beer but you should also consider bringing in wine and potentially mixed drinks. You also should always have water available. (I get the small water bottles because people will often drink half a bottle and then forget where they put it.)

When you are deciding what drinks to bring in you need to think about these things:

  • Are you going to card? 
    • I strongly suggest that you do if you have alcoholic drinks at your event. Even if you have a closed tailgate, carding people and wrist banding them keeps you out of the liability. 
  • Have a bartender. 
    • This can be some of your staff or someone you hire, but having the drinks behind a gate keeper helps to keep people from getting out of control. 

3. Tailgate Space

You need to have enough space that all the people you invited can fit comfortably inside your space, along with your food, bar, tables and chairs, and a tent. You can often rent a space for one game or you can purchase the space for a full season.

Know the rules of your space. Read the contract that you sign and the back of the parking pass you are given. 

  • Can you bring in glass bottles or kegs?
  • What kind of tent stakes are allowed?
  • What type of bbq’s can you bring in?

You do not want to have a major part of your event shut down because you did not know the rules. 

4. Event Staff

A good tailgate requires that you have people to help you. You need people to:

  • Mingle with the guests
  • ID the guests
  • Pick up after the guests
  • Serve food
  • Serve drinks
  • Set up and tear down

You can hire people or assign people from your team or do a mixture of both. I prefer the last option as it allows your team to really mingle with the guests which is why you are hosting the tailgate in the first place. 

5. Rentals and Decorations

You will need tables and chairs for you and your guests to sit at. I would suggest a mixture of banquet height tables and cocktail height tables. I like the look of fabric table coverings with a centerpiece on the bigger tables as it keeps the space from looking cheap.

You also need to think about:

  • Do you need shade or rain cover for the space?
  • Do you need to bring in a generator for anything?
  • What happens to the trash? Do you need to pack it out or are their trash bins for your area?
  • Who is bringing in the ice chests or buckets to keep the drinks cold?
  • Do you need cups for any of the drinks?
  • Do you need a bottle/ wine opener?
  • Who is bringing in the ice for the drinks?

If you have any questions about how to host a corporate tailgate, please reach out to me and I am happy to answer your questions. 

Best of luck to you and your team this season!

Bonus: Think about who you can partner with to do a better tailgate and get a better audience.

One Change to Increase Your Yearly Non Profit Sponsorship Raise

One Change to Increase Your Yearly Non Profit Sponsorship Raise

Events, Non-Profit

Sponsorships are often the main way to raise money at non-profit events. They are the high ticket items that allow you to get a higher dollar amount for less work. The biggest issue can be gaining sponsorships for multiple events a year and the businesses you solicit can feel that they are always signing checks. 

You cannot go to the same well over and over without it running dry. 

So what are you to do?

Create a Yearly Sponsorship

This sounds like an easy thing but it requires some serious planning.

You need to know the following

  • What events are you hosting for the next year?
    • The year period is 12 months, it does not have to be from January to December. Decide what 12 month period works for you the best.
  • How much do you want the sponsorships to cost for each event?
  • What else are you going to offer the sponsors?
    • Offer space on your website, email marketing, and social media posts. You want the potential sponsor to feel like they will gaining from the big check they are writing. 

Once you know the above things you need to set the following

  • What levels are you going to offer?
    • Will you have a “title” sponsor for the year? Will you have a three tiered system? 
  • How much are these tiers going to cost and what is included in each level?

The final thing you need is your goals and your plan to gain these sponsorships

  • How many of these sponsorships do you need to sell to raise your goal amount?
  • How many businesses will each person on the committee reach out to?
  • What are the deadlines?

Learn how to write the perfect sponsorship letter.

Best of luck as you serve your community!

 

5 Ways to Elevate Your Non Profit Golf Tournament

5 Ways to Elevate Your Non Profit Golf Tournament

Events, Non-Profit

Golf tournaments are a great fundraiser. It is often simpler than a gala and has the benefit of being run during the day. But golf tournaments are starting to be very routine. Here are 5 ways to elevate your next golf tournament. 

1. Custom tee boxes and flags.

There are companies that offer full packages of custom boxes and hole flags. They are inexpensive and make a great visual impact. Make this a sponsorship opportunity and have the costs covered for you. 

2. Ensure the drink and food cart is out and taking your tickets. 

This seems like a no brainer but so many times I have heard golfers complain that there was no refreshments on the course. Golfing is hard and you want to make sure your players are well hydrated and have snacks whenever they want. Do not make them wait 9 holes to get drinks again. It is also a way for you to make more money. 

3. Bring in retail vendors. 

Brands are always looking for demo day opportunities or a way to sell to their target market. By bringing them in you have given your golfers a chance to demo and even buy new items and they will always think of your tournament and charity when they  use that item. 

4. Have a great registration. 

You do not want to make it hard for people to give you money. Have a website set up where people can register, sponsor, and pay all in one space. Keep this site updated with all the information that your golfers and sponsors will need. This is really where your event starts. Make it a good start. 

5. Personalize wherever possible

Simple things like adding the players names to their carts can go a long way. Include gift bags with snacks, water, and a first aid kits along with any offers your sponsors or vendors are promoting in the cart. You can also get a tee, divit fixer, and ball marker that are customized to your charity. Adding these touches is a great way to make the tournament feel high end. 

Golf tournaments are a great way to raise money but you want to separate yourself from the crowd of all the other. 

Extra: Here is one way that you can raise money and elevate the experience as well. Pay the Pro – a local pro or the golf course pro is stationed at one of the holes and players can pay him to hit their tee shot for them. 

If you need help planning your next golf tournament, set up a 15 minute discovery call to see if our services are right for you.