How to Increase Attendance at Your Next Event

Hosting an exceptional fundraising event can help your organization not only reach its fundraising goals but also foster long-term relationships with donors. But how exactly do you get supporters to attend in the first place?

Mike Wilkinson, Deputy Director of Events at the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), an LGTBQ+ civil rights organization, shared how nonprofits can use current headlines to inform future fundraising strategies by offering exclusive ticket opportunities on the Turned Up Raise Series Episode 1.

With thirty events hosted each year, Mike keeps busy traveling and improving HRC’s fundraisers. We’ve highlighted a few of his tips on how to generate interest to boost your next event’s attendance.

Let’s dive in!

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Invite Supporters to Your Event

As you plan your organization’s event, leverage your donor data to identify supporters ready to advocate for your cause.

Identify one-time or monthly donors who have yet to attend one of your events and who you think would enjoy doing so. These supporters have already made a commitment to your mission, so offering them a way to make a bigger impact is a simple way to boost your number of attendees.

Here are a few easy ways to invite current supporters:

  • Personalized emails: Send tailored emails to major and longtime donors or consider sharing the invite with your newsletter subscribers.
  • Social media posts: Promote your event to an audience that already follows what your organization is doing and allow them to reshare your post with their networks.
  • Formal invitations: Mail printed invitations or save the date cards ahead of time so supporters can mark their calendars early.

Don’t let your loyal donors miss out on your event! Be sure to send friendly reminders through your donors’ preferred methods of communication. And remember, reaching out to recent new donors with a personal invitation could spark a closer connection.

Mike shares an interest form is an effective way to engage existing supporters who have yet to attend one of your events. Asking potential first-time attendees if they would be interested in joining may help answer any initial questions and encourage new engagement.

Strategically Market Event Ticket Prices

Economic changes are certainly affecting nonprofits’ event budgets. As a result, many organizations are increasing their event ticket prices. But that doesn’t have to stop you from inviting more guests to attend your next event! “Expenses are going up and we need to keep pace,” Mike says. It’s all about how you present those higher prices that matter.

People are price-conscious right now, so incorporate discounts to attract more attendees. This works great for groups that are purchasing multiple tickets at once—like a table, for instance.

Mike breaks down how to strategically announce event ticket price increase in 3 steps:

  • Offer pre-sale pricing: Present the new prices but also provide a discounted price for those who decide to purchase event tickets early.
  • Entice loyal supporters: Emphasize the impact your long-time donors have on your mission and give them early access to discounted ticket sales.
  • Create a frenzy around ticket sales: Leverage the discounted tickets sold to build excitement around attending your event.

Your approach to discounts can build a sense of demand for fundraising tickets regardless of higher prices. A strategy around excitement will help you retain past attendees while attracting new supporters.

Diversifying the backgrounds, age range, or gender of your guests will help you expand the sense of community at your event. The Giving Experience Research Study reports that 59% of social donors find an inclusive and welcoming atmosphere very important when attending an event.

Tap into new communities to meet the growing expectation of catering to diverse audiences. Your fundraising event should be accessible to all attendees – both physically and culturally. Identify key communities where your organization can offer a few tickets at little to no cost. Inviting a new group of individuals will also help you develop new connections for future events.

It’s important that you not only speak about inclusivity but also show the efforts of your organization. Sixty-six percent of event donors cited inclusivity and a welcoming atmosphere as key motivators to give. Inclusivity can drive event attendance, boost participation, and strengthen your relationship with diverse donor groups.

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Create a Seamless Event Registration

The key to increasing your event attendance is providing a quick and seamless way for guests to register anytime, from anywhere. Partner with a fundraising event software provider that offers a mobile-optimized ticketing experience and digital wallet options.

With the OneCause Event fundraising solution, your organization can:

  • Sell tickets and manage fundraising all in one platform
  • Build your event with custom ticket packages, questions, and promo codes
  • Create personalized ticket types for in-person & virtual guests

Optimizing your ticketing process encourages more donors to instantly register the moment they feel compelled to attend and eliminates the possibility of them getting frustrated and abandoning the page.

Keep your registration forms simple to focus your supporters’ attention on their impact on your mission. Most importantly, provide a frictionless process with the digital wallet feature in the OneCause software. This eliminates the need to swipe out of your event site and risk forgetting to purchase tickets.

Build an Engaging Social Media Campaign

“The headlines from today can be a fundraising opportunity for you tomorrow,” suggests Mike. Now more than ever, it has become important to maintain an active social media presence, so lean into the trends happening in the world around you.

Your organization can reach supporters that are not yet on your email list through a social campaign. Plan a strategy to announce when and where your event will take place, then start sharing photos or videos from previous years to get your audience excited about it.

The best part of using modern event software is that you can share your event registration link alongside your photos and videos on social media.

Consider asking these groups to share the link to your event site on their socials:

  • Volunteers
  • Board members
  • Long-term donors
  • Your nonprofit’s leadership team

When your supporters have a fantastic experience with your organization, they’ll be eager to share their enthusiasm and spread the word about your next event. Engaging and keeping these groups happy will help you attract a wider audience.

If your members continually have pleasant engagements with your nonprofit, nothing is holding them back from interacting with your organization in the future, so it’s important you keep these connections alive!

Start Selling your Event Tickets!

With a detailed plan, your event attendance will grow in no time!

Check out additional fundraising resources to best prepare for your next event:

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