What You Need To Consider When Planning A Charity Event

From grand, large-scale activities like bungee jumping days to a more peaceful occasion such as a local fair, fete or festival, running your own charity event can often be one of the most effective approaches to raising funds and awareness about a cause close to your heart. But if you’ve never done anything like it before, the whole process of planning and running said event can seem like daunting prospect. Not that it has to be.

Below, we list five things you should consider to help you run a successful event for your chosen charity, no matter what kind of activities you’re planning to include.

1) Put people first

By their very nature, charity events are all about the people involved. They’re about those brave souls willing to conquer their fears and take that big bungee jump leap, the crew who work tirelessly on the day itself to make everything happen, and of course, the very people your event is aiming to help.

At every stage of the process then, people should be at the forefront of what you do. Think about the people you have around you who are willing to help make your event a success. What specialist skills or talents do they have that your event could benefit from?

Think about the members of your community or workplace, how can you get them involved to make this a fully inclusive fundraiser?

2) Expect the unexpected

Though we don’t want to put a damper on things by trotting out that old saying that ‘anything that can go wrong invariably will,’ it still makes good sense to err on the proverbial side of caution and ensure you’ve got a plan in place for every foreseeable eventuality.

A few things you might want to ask yourself:

• If you’re planning to hold your event outdoors, what are you going to do if the heavens open?
• What will you do if an external company you’re hiring let you down at the last minute?
• What if there’s an accident?

3) Insurance matters

Don’t forget to consider the kind of insurance you’ll need when running an event, and any specific permits and policies you’ll need to have in place to work with a charity. With such a multitude of other things all competing for your attention during the planning stages, this one vital aspect can easily slip your mind, so it often pays to start thinking about it right from the start.

Consider how you’re going to pay for your Public Liability Insurance and other necessary coverage. If you’re not sure exactly what any of this means, consider consulting with a professional law firm specialising in either events or charity work. Seek out expert advice as early as possible and ask the fundamental question, is insurance necessary for my charity event?

4) Coming up with a fresh angle or idea means better press coverage for your event

Ultimately, this event isn’t about you and your team of volunteers, and if you’re launching a charity event for no other reason than to promote yourself or your business, you might be more successful doing so through other means. Still, your local media can play a big part in helping to raise awareness about both your chosen charity as a whole, and the event itself. To maximise the potential of getting positive press coverage and telling as many people as people that your event is happening, think what you can do to stand out from the crowd.

What can you do that’s different, that’s never been done before, and that will really attract attention your cause?

5) Don’t forget to say thank you

Don’t forget to think about how you’ll say thank you at the end of it all. We all like knowing our efforts are appreciated, so even if it’s nothing more than a post-event email with a hearty thank you and news about how the event went, consider how you can let those involved in your event know that what they did really made a difference.

Collaborative Post