How to Boost Donations With Your Fall Fundraisers

A successful fall fundraiser leaves donors excited and connected with your non-profit or community organization and, in turn, primed for donations! Though we’re enjoying the warmest weather of the year, I’m here to be your gentle reminder that the fall event season is only a few months away.

Now is the perfect time to get planning with these easy fundraiser ideas for happy guests and a positive donation fund.

Choose a theme first, as this will spark ideas for the food, decor and entertainment. It creates a roadmap for your event and keeps planning on track. Ask yourself, ‘How does this tie into the theme?’ when booking your venue and vendors.

Here are some theme thought-starters:

Centre fundraising ideas for nonprofits around storytelling. You want new guests to discover what your organization is about and how their money can help. For existing donors, it’s about reminding them of the powerful story you have to tell and why their continued support means so much.

At the IRC Force For Change Fundraiser, we used an image gallery and personal stories from refugees to connect guests with the individuals they would support.

Nature provides endless inspiration and the chance to work with the seasons. When planning a fall event, choose warm colors like yellow, gold, and orange and create a bold statement with an ever-popular monochromatic color theme. Work with local florists to decorate the venue with seasonal flora and see if your caterers can create a menu inspired by the season’s abundant produce. This ‘tick’ for sustainability credentials will further impress your guests.

Becca’s Tip: As we near the end of the year, your fall fundraiser planning might creep into Christmas party planning and holiday fundraiser ideas. Fir trees and warm lighting — even better if there’s a fireplace — keep guests cozy and keen to nestle into an evening of fundraising. Think winter wonderland.

My event planning ideas for non-profits and community organizations always include experiences to keep guests entertained at your fall fundraiser. At the Playworks Get In The Game Fundraising Gala, we built the event with activities at the core rather than adding them as an afterthought. Playworks help kids to stay active and build life skills through play, so what better way to give donors a taste of the organization’s work than to turn them into big kids for the day with giant jenga, hula hoops and foursquare? And an adult take on the lucky dip ‘spin the wheel’ wall of wine really hit the spot. Other ideas could be circus games or a casino night.

Once you’ve decided on a theme, think about how to convert intrigue into donations. As we all know, inflation has lowered discretionary income, reducing the dollars donors can give to nonprofits; this means getting creative with how to continue engaging your donors and cultivating a loyal and supportive base.

With a few months left before Fall, now is the perfect time to reach out to existing donors to encourage involvement. Knowing this in advance will give you a budget and a list of jobs to outsource.

Consider these non-financial ways that donors can donate:

• Their time — Can their staff volunteer during the setup, on the day or during pack down?
• Their skills — Their graphic designer may have the capacity to help you create eye-catching marketing material for the upcoming event, or a web developer can make site updates to optimize ticket sales.
• Introductions to key stakeholders/partners — Ask if they know any other individuals or organizations interested in your work and set up an introduction.
• Give a stock gift — Donate stock directly to a nonprofit with no capital gains tax for the donor
• An auction item — Auctions are a fun way to hold your guest’s attention and raise funds without feeling like a donation. Ask your donors if they have an experience or company product they could add to the auction.
• Chairing or organizing a fundraiser — This is perfect if your donor isn’t able to help out with your fall fundraiser but still wants to help spread the word. A workplace bake sale, clothing sale or fun run can work wonders.

With these tips, I hope you’re inspired to plan an event with donors keen to invest in your nonprofit. You don’t want to feel like you’re doing a hard sell or using your best persuasive strategies, so mix it up with some of these activities and solutions to inspire.

Get in touch to learn more about how we specialize in event planning with purpose.