Planning Your Event

Tips and tools for planning your fundraising event

Organising your own fundraising event is a fun way of raising money and is a good opportunity to get together with friends, family, colleagues and people from your local community. Thinking of ideas is the first step, but good planning is the second and most vital step for a successful event.

N.B. if you are planning an event in one of our churches, please speak to us first for important guidelines on using our churches for events. Please do not plan any events without referring our guidelines, for advice on performing rights, conservation guidelines, alcohol licensing laws and insurance.

Choosing your event

  1. Consider what type of event is right for your community and your church
  2. Keep in mind who you want to invite and make sure the event will be suitable for them.
  3. Keep it simple. A clear and straightforward idea and a bold message.
  4. Consider joining in with events organised by others to share costs and maximise potential attendees.
  5. Avoid re-inventing the wheel – if an event has worked before, try it again, and see if it's possible to make it even better.
  6. Remember that large events can be expensive, complicated to organise and may involve financial risks to you or safety risks for those attending. If you require guidance about any aspect of your event, please contact us.

Budgeting

  1. Make sure you work out a simple budget Simple Budget at the start. Include all the costs you expect to incur (promotion, venue hire, equipment, catering etc) and estimate how much money will come in (ticket sales, sponsorship, donations).
  2. Know your minimum break-even point and regularly review costs and income to make sure you are not spending more than you are raising.
  3. Don't forget to think about when costs have to be paid - before the event, or afterwards.
  4. Do you need a float at the event, and is there a secure place for the money to be kept until you are able to bank it?
  5. Can you reduce expenditure through donated goods or company sponsorship?

Logistics

  1. Make an event list Event Checklist well in advance of what has to be done, when, where and by whom. Consider for example, the sponsorship required, booking of venues, permission needed in advance, asking volunteers, printing promotional materials and on the day logistics. This will help you to spot pressure points, monitor your progress and delegate the work!
  2. Assemble your team – you will need people to help you
  3. Creating a ‘Things to Do’ or an ‘On the Day’ On the Day check list is a must, to help you to remember all the small but crucial details such as double checking equipment, briefing volunteers or planning refreshment breaks for those helping.
  4. Consider in advance how you would like to decorate the event venue so that people know who you are supporting. We produce balloons, bunting, banners and other resources that you can display at your event.  Please contact us for more information.
  5. If possible, announce the anticipated amount you would like to raise from the event at the beginning, reminding everyone why the money is being raised and say a big THANK YOU!
  6. Most importantly make sure that you enjoy the event!

Health & Safety

See the Legals & Financials section for information on keeping people safe at your event.

Ticketing your event

Whether you make your own tickets, have them printed, or they’re supplied by another method, they should be numbered. This helps you to keep an eye on where they have been distributed to (e.g. No. 1-10 at the Corner Shop, No.11-20 to Mrs Smith etc.), and you can tally the money and unsold tickets when they are returned.

Numbered tickets also provides a security element to check there are no duplicates.

If all of the proceeds are being donated to your CCT church, the CCT can offer an online ticketing system. Please talk to your Local Community Officer.

Post-event and evaluation

  • Return bunting or banners etc.
  • Thank attendees and sponsors
  • Evaluation
  • How to securely send or bank raised funds etc.

Evaluation

Once you’ve taken a well-deserved moment to celebrate your hard work, it’s also vital to evaluate the success of your event, so you and others can understand what worked brilliantly, what was less successful and how to improve future events. Evaluation will provide a handy record of things you might want to change if you host this or a similar event again.

Questions you might ask yourself:

  • Did we make a healthy profit?
  • Did enough people attend? How could we attract more in future?
  • Was the ticket price too cheap/expensive?
  • Could we involve other organisations to help us??
  • Did attendees have a good time? Were they happy with the quality?
  • Were the right refreshments available? Did people ask for drinks that weren’t available?
  • Were attendees and organisers safe at all times? Were entrances and exit ways clear and was the site accessible by emergency services if the need had arisen?
  • Were there other opportunity to have raised additional funds? Could we have got better sponsorship, or donated raffle prizes?
  • Did we have enough helpers? If not where could we get more help?

There are more questions that may arise from your specific event. Keep an open mind; chat to others who were involved with the event, and ask them their thoughts. You may be surprised with some of the ideas that others come up with!

Your Local Community Officer will be pleased to talk through the event with you.