We help you open doors! Be it a capital campaign or an annual event, That Irish Girl is equipped to help organizations of all sizes with their fundraising goals.

Here are several reasons why our fundraising services are in a league of their own:

• We work with our clients through each step of the development process to identify, cultivate and approach donors.
• We consistently help our clients meet and exceed their fundraising goals.
• Our extensive network helps us expand our clients' prospects.
• Our development experience helps cultivate first time donors into long time friends.
  

To help you ensure that your fundraising event is a winner, here are ten major components that you must incorporate into your event plan:

1.  Purpose:
Decide what the purpose of your event is, before doing anything else.  What are the goals?  Is it truly fundraising?  Often fundraising events are hoping to raise money, but the main function could be to gain publicity or to educate the public.  Many events have more than one goal.  So figuring out the details for your event will really depend on knowing what your goals are.

2.  Fundraising Goal:
Set a financial goal – how much money do you plan to raise at the event.  If it is truly a fundraising event, then everything in the plan will be geared to raising this specific amount of money.  The amount chosen should be what you expect to net, in other words, the amount raised after expenses are paid.

3.  Budget:
Every fundraising event plan should contain a complete budget listing all of the expenses that will be required to hold the event.  The budget should include staff, invitations, space rental, catering, entertainment, transportation, security, utilities, and anything else that will be required to make the event a success.  Your budget should take into account your fundraising goal, ensuring that you raise that amount above and beyond all expenses.  Be sure to leave a little extra room in your budget for unforeseen costs.

4.  Leadership:
As part of your fundraising efforts, your event will most likely have a “host committee” and one or more “host committee chairmen.”  These people are responsible for contributing substantial amounts to the event and encouraging others to do the same.  The host committee is generally composed of wealthy donors, business leaders, or local political celebrities.  The host committee and chairmen are not responsible for actually running the event, but are integral to ensuring that you reach your fundraising goals.  Your campaign should designate an event director and event staff / volunteers to organize the event.

5.  Target Audience:
Who is the target audience for your event?  Is this a general fundraiser where everyone will be invited?  Or is this event geared towards a specific group like business people, parents, or educators?  In short, you must decide whom you will invite to your event.

6.  Set – Up:
Your event staff should plan the event set-up well in advance.  The set-up includes all of the particulars of the actual event:  Where will it be?  Will food be served?  Will there be entertainment?  What kind of dress will be required?  What is the itinerary for the event?

7.  Marketing:
Just like a new product, your event needs to be aggressively marketed to your target audience.  You need to convince your supporters that your campaign and event are worthy of their time and money.  Draw up an entire marketing plan for the event.  Possible methods of “getting the word out” include: mailed invitations, direct mail, phone banks, word of mouth and the event host committee. 

8.  Sales:
Once you market your event, there must be a procedure in place for making the actual ticket sales, or accepting donations for the event.  You must decide whether there will be different contribution levels for the event (such as a flat ticket charge, an extra charge to be invited to a V.I.P. reception in addition to the event, etc.).  You must decide who will sell the tickets, how they will be shipped or delivered, and who will be responsible for organizing the incoming information.

9.  Practice:
While you probably won’t need a full run-through of your event, it is essential that everyone who is working the event know, ahead of time, what their responsibilities are, where they should be during the event, and how the event is going to “flow.”  If you are having a large or unusual event, the key event staff may want to have a practice run to make sure that your operation is running smoothly.

10.  Thank – You:
One of the most oft heard complaints from contributors to fundraising events is, “They never even said ‘thank-you.’”  Ditto for event volunteers.  Make sure that your event takes the time to send thank-you notes to everyone who is involved in your event, including contributors, volunteers, staff and vendors.  Keep your contributors happy… you’re probably going to be asking them for another donation sometime down the road.