GUEST POST // A Quick Guide to Nurturing Donor Relationships At Your Event
By Dominique Desmarais of CharityBids
Spending time with someone is an essential part of building a relationship, whether they’re a family member, friend, significant other, or even one of your nonprofit’s donors!
Nonprofit events present an opportunity to do just that—and spending this face-to-face time with your donors allows you to learn who they are as an individual, what motivates them to support your cause, and how they prefer to engage with your organization.
As you interact with donors at your events, you’re able to build a rapport with them, establishing the kind of trust that leads to further engagement down the road and strengthens your broader community of supporters.
To achieve stronger relationships with your donors, you may need to shift how you think about your events, viewing them as connection opportunities in addition to occasions for fundraising or celebrating.
That’s where this quick guide comes in. In it, we’ll walk through five tips for nurturing donor relationships that will help you prepare for your next nonprofit event. Let’s begin!
1. Set a positive tone during the event check-in process.
Your opportunity to connect with your donors begins right when they walk in the door at your event. Here are some ways you can set a positive tone as attendees check in:
Set up a streamlined check-in process. Whether you’re handing out lanyards, name tags, or table numbers, prepare these items beforehand so that checking in is quick and convenient for everyone.
Train team members to give warm welcomes to each attendee. Make sure each donor feels recognized for their decision to attend your event. Teach team members to offer a cheerful, personalized greeting as they help attendees check in or direct them where to go in the venue. If appropriate, go the extra mile by offering a complimentary coat or bag check to ensure your donors are comfortable as the event begins.
Provide clear event information. Don’t leave attendees out to dry after they check in. Provide a physical or digital copy of your event schedule and direct them where to go next. Have team members posted at different spots around the venue to answer questions.
A positive check-in process is a little thing that can make a major difference to the donors attending your event. Making a great first impression will showcase your organization’s professionalism and ensure your attendees are comfortable and primed to enjoy the occasion.
2. Design opportunities for thoughtful and genuine interactions.
If you don’t build opportunities into your event for thoughtful and genuine interactions and conversations, it’s easy to get too caught up in running your event to have time to talk with your donors.
To ensure you have a chance to build relationships, consider planning the following elements into your next event:
Meet-and-greet sessions. Try scheduling 15- or 20-minute blocks of time during your event for donors to meet your organization’s leaders, beneficiaries, or special guests. Not only will this give you a chance to get some face time with your donors, but you’ll also help them create new memories that can inspire further support for your organization.
Time for mingling. Build in some time for attendees to mingle and chat with each other. Your nonprofit’s team can then circulate and join in on conversations. If your event is virtual or hybrid, CharityBids recommends incorporating group discussions into your agenda, utilizing the chat feature on your streaming tool, and creating polls and surveys. You can also meet with attendees in groups or one-on-one in smaller breakout sessions.
Attendee lounges. Depending on the nature of your event, you may want to set aside space for attendee lounges where donors can unwind and relax. These environments can be the perfect setting for meaningful conversations.
To ensure your nonprofit is taking advantage of every opportunity to talk with donors, have members of your team circulate all throughout the event. You may even set a team goal for how many people you want to have conversations with, and celebrate together after the event when you’ve reached that goal.
Also ensure that you’re making note of the interactions you have with donors in their individual donor profiles. This will help ensure that you take the right next steps when reaching out to them after the event and beyond.
3. Design event elements with your donors’ interests and needs in mind.
In addition to making time to visit with your donors at your event, you can also design your event elements with them in mind. This will help communicate to them that your organization understands their needs and interests.
Consider event elements such as:
Entertainment. Some donors may enjoy listening to a keynote speaker or lecturer while others may look forward to a musical, dance, or dramatic performance.
Food. As you select food that you think your donors will enjoy, also consider the time of day when your event will take place. For instance, a light snack may be the best for a daytime golf tournament, while a five-course dinner would be more appropriate for an evening gala.
Fundraising activities. There are many different ways to fundraise at a nonprofit event, from hosting an auction or raffle to setting up dedicated donation kiosks or text-to-give.
To design these elements, rely on past event data. For example, you might know from last year’s event that many of your donors enjoy bidding on items in an auction to donate to your nonprofit, while others prefer buying your organization’s branded merchandise. To accommodate both of these preferences, you could offer a live auction and set up a merchandise booth at your event.
4. Recognize your donors for their contributions.
Gratitude is an essential component of a strong relationship with donors. Even a small “thank you” can make your donors feel like their contributions were well worth it and encourage them to give again in the future.
During your event, take the opportunity to thank your donors for their contributions. eCardWidget’s donor recognition guide recommends the following strategies:
Hand out awards to major donors or monthly donors.
Give gifts to show your appreciation, such as branded merchandise.
Thank your donors for their support during one-on-one interactions or meetings during your event.
Construct a donor recognition wall or add donors’ names to a recognition plaque.
Use what you know about individual donors to select the best recognition methods. Some donors may, for instance, truly appreciate the public recognition that comes with receiving a personalized award at a big event. Others may prefer quieter forms of appreciation, such as a one-on-one meeting with a board member who explains how the donor made a difference for your cause. Adhering to these preferences will show your donors you care about them and respect how they approach philanthropic giving.
5. Prioritize your post-event follow-up tasks.
Once your big day is over, you’ve said goodbye to your donors, and you’ve cleaned up the venue, it’s normal to feel ready to move on from the event you’ve been planning for months and onto other aspects of your nonprofit’s work.
However, you still need to cap off a great event experience for your donors by completing event-follow up tasks, such as:
Thanking your donors for attending. Send an eCard or thank-you note letting your donors know that you appreciate their attendance and support. Make your note even more meaningful by addressing each attendee by name and highlighting the impact they made by coming to the event or contributing a gift.
Asking for feedback on the event experience. Getting feedback on your event is critical for gauging your donors’ feelings about the experience and your organization overall. Send out a short survey with open-ended questions and encourage donors to fill it out by offering some sort of incentive, like getting their name entered into a drawing for a prize.
Share opportunities for further engagement. While it may leave a bad taste in donors’ mouths for you to immediately ask for another donation, you can still encourage them to engage with your organization in other ways. Let them know about upcoming volunteering opportunities, encourage them to follow you on social media, and invite them to read your blog or newsletter.
Carrying out your event follow-up tasks allows you to stick the landing with your donor relationship-building efforts. By leaving a great impression on your attendees after the event is over, you’ll develop a reputation as an organization that doesn’t just host events but makes people feel like coming to your events is totally worth it.
Cultivating strong relationships with your organization’s donors requires an investment of time and effort, and meaningful interactions during events are a great place to start. Use these tips to start strengthening your connections with your donors so that you can retain their support for years to come!
And, to make the process even easier, hand the heavy lifting of getting ready for an event over to nonprofit event planning and production experts so that you can focus your attention on your donors instead of logistics. You’ve got this!
This guest post was written by Dominique Desmarais.
Dominique is the Marketing Manager at CharityBids. She earned her Bachelor of Commerce from the Smith School of Business at Queen’s University, specializing in Marketing and International Business.
Over the years, Dominique has developed a strong passion for creative direction and strategy development. She brings a unique and artistic approach to marketing, rooted in her enthusiasm for the creative, entertainment and fashion industries, and their applications to establishing and growing digital presence. Having launched her own creative agency, Dominique was able to collaborate across cultures and bring creative visions to life through disruptive innovation.
When she’s not working, you can find Dominique hunting down the best food in the city, taking in an art exhibit, or capturing the beauty of her surroundings through photographs. She has a fire to create change and a drive to fuel success, while continuously striving to learn, grow, and prosper.
