I’ve always found fundraising events to be a good time. I meet hundreds of people, and really get to use my fundraising skills to collect money for a good cause. One of the most important things I always remind myself of, though, is that it’s not all about having fun; there’s a lot of work involved.

Your fundraising event could create a foundation for many successful fundraisers in the future. Running the fundraiser event so your guests have the best time possible will not only entice them to donate more to your organization, but also interest them in future events.

From the fundraising events I’ve held, I’ve created this checklist of things you need to do during your fundraising event.

Make It a Successful Fundraiser

1. Plan the event down to every last detail, and then follow the plan deliberately during the event. The more you plan the lower the chance that something will go wrong.
2. Keep the event organized. There’s nothing more aggravating to guests than a poorly organized situation, which makes them wait in line, wait for food, or wait for the next presentation to start.
3. Be considerate of your guests. Think about the time of day of the event, and which refreshments they would appreciate. Making them comfortable keeps them in good spirits.
4. Provide entertainment during slow times in the event to keep people interested and happy.
5. Avoid long, uninteresting speeches.
6. Give guests a break from presentations with something fun to do. This can be the entertainment, dinner/lunch, and/or refreshments.
7. Encourage guest participation often to get guests really involved in the event. For example, allow guests to ask questions during a Q&A session.
8. Offer additional ways for guests to donate money, such as a raffle.

Prep for Future Fundraising Events

Each fundraising event is your chance to gather information from your guests, so you can continue to hold successful events in the future. Here’s what you should do during your fundraising event to start a successful path to many future ones:

1. Ask guests to sign in to the event with their name, address, phone number, and email address. This way, you can keep them informed of what is going on with your organization, and invite them to other fundraising events.
2. As you mingle with guests, ask them how they are enjoying themselves, and ask what exactly they like about the event.
3. At the end of the fundraising event, ask guests to fill out a short form about what they liked, and what they would be interested in seeing at future events. Offer a small gift to encourage more guests to complete the form.
4. Mingle with guests to create relationships with them. Relationships are important to fundraising because they increase the chances people will donate, and increase the amount of money they will donate.
5. If you have another fundraising event already scheduled, tell your guests about it, and give them a chance to buy tickets, or sign up for it.
6. If you see anyone not having a good time, speak to that person to find what is wrong, and try to please them. This might mean making special arrangements, or inviting them to a future event to improve their view of the organization, which could increase the chances he or she will donate later.

Now that you have many tips to follow to increase the success of your fundraising efforts for your organization, put them to good use. While you may see some benefits of implementing these tips right away, you will see the full potential of these tips as you use them regularly. Remember, fundraising is about building a trusting relationship with donors, and you do this by holding fun, informative, and highly guest-centered events.