How to Plan an Event with AI

Planning an event can be time consuming and requires a lot of work. Artificial Intelligence is a modern tool that your organization can leverage to assist you throughout the planning process. 

AI helps simplify and accelerate the planning process to make the best use of your resources and time. Let’s explore how to plan your next event with the help of AI. 

Establish Your Event Goals

Before investing time and resources in planning your fundraising event, it’s important to determine what a successful event will look like for your organization.

Brainstorm ideas on awareness and engagement goals with ChatGPT. For example, if you’re a humane society, your prompt can be as simple as, “Goal ideas from a fundraising event for a humane society.”

Some of the ideas Chat GPT will generate include:

  • Boost Volunteer Sign-Ups: Establish a goal for recruiting new volunteers during the event, providing opportunities for attendees to become involved.
  • Achieve Adoption Goals: Set a target for the number of pets adopted during the event, creating a sense of urgency and excitement.
  • Engage Local businesses: Create a target for the number of local sponsors or partners to participate in the event, fostering community connections.

Once you have a sense of direction with your event’s purpose, your organization can then set strategic goals following a SMART framework:

  • Specific: Choose concrete fundraising objectives.
  • Measurable: Set relevant key performance indicators that you’ll use to track your progress.
  • Achievable: Ensure your goal makes sense based on your nonprofit’s past performance.
  • Relevant: Pick a goal that will promote your fundraising success.
  • Time-based: Create a timeline for completing the tasks associated with your goal.

Ask ChatGPT for ideas on this, “Goal ideas following the SMART fundraising event goal framework.”

A few generated examples include:

  • Boost Volunteer Sign-Ups: By the end of the fundraising event on [insert event date], we will sign up 30 new volunteers to assist with shelter operations and community outreach, utilizing targeted incentives to encourage participation.
  • Achieve Adoption Goals: By the end of the fundraising event on [insert event date], we will facilitate the adoption of 15 pets, providing special promotions to encourage attendees to adopt.
  • Engage Local businesses: By one week before the fundraising event on [insert event date], we will secure 10 local business sponsors to participate in the event, enhancing community involvement and support for the humane society.

Determining your goals will provide motivation and direction for the event team, volunteers, and stakeholders. Everyone will have a shared understanding of what success looks like and work together to achieve it.

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Outline Your Fundraising Event

Now that you’ve chosen a few attainable goals and can focus your efforts on what needs to be achieved, it’s time to organize your event.

Types of Fundraising Events

Interact with a couple of AI chatbots to gather a variety of ideas throughout your event planning process. For instance, try asking Google Gemini, “What are some fundraising event ideas to [insert determined goal].”

Following the previous goals for a humane society, Google Gemini generated these ideas:

  • Volunteer Appreciation Dinner Gala: Host a dinner to honor current volunteers and highlight their contributions. Recruit new volunteers by showcasing the positive impact of volunteering and incorporate a silent auction to raise more.
  • Paw-liday Party: Host a holiday-themed event with pet-friendly activities, such as a Santa Paws photo booth, a costume contest, or a raffle for a free pet adoption to encourage supporters to adopt.
  • Pet-Themed Charity Auction and Raffles: Partner with local businesses to donate items or services with a pet-themed focus. Motivate organizations to commit some of their employees to volunteer at your event.

Fundraising Event Name Ideas

Elevate the name of your fundraising event with ideas from AI. Let’s say your organization is a humane society looking to plan a charity auction, ask ChatGPT, “What are charity auction event name ideas for a humane society?”

This simple question will generate a few options, including:

  • Paws & Claws Silent Auction
  • Love Unleashed Live Auction
  • Hearts & Paws Auction Night

Remember, be as specific as you want with your prompt. For example, “What are auction event names for a humane society looking to motivate supporters to adopt hamsters and fish?”

  • Wheels & Waves Charity Auction
  • Furry & Fishy Fiesta Night
  • Little Lives, Big Heart Auction

There is a wide range of AI chatbots that can provide you with different options specific to your needs, simply by asking the right questions.

Details of Your Event

Shorten your to-do list in the event planning process by getting an AI chatbot to help with your research. This includes asking for ideas on the following:

  • Venue selection: Pick an adequate location that will comfortably accommodate your expected attendee capacity.
  • Catering menu: Select a variety of food and drinks to appeal to a wider audience and consider any potential allergies.
  • Volunteer outreach: Decide how you will reach out to potential volunteers and attract supporters to help with your event.
  • Auction item ideas: Gather item ideas that could be provided by sponsors or donated by existing supporters.
  • Theme and decorations: Brainstorm theme ideas for centerpieces and signage to follow along with a color palette to help choose decorations.

Choose Your Fundraising Event Software

Once you have your goals and a fundraising event plan set, it’s time to bring your event to life. Investing in the right fundraising software will help you efficiently allocate resources and save time throughout the rest of your planning process.

The best fundraising solutions have useful AI tools built within the software to assist with your planning. OneCause Fundraising Platform equips your team with Event Readiness – a tool that creates a roadmap of tasks as you build your event and milestones to celebrate checkpoints throughout your planning process.

Tasks and milestones are automatically prioritized by:

  • Site promotion date
  • Ticket sales date
  • Raffles date
  • Silent auction date
  • Event date

Tracking key actions will enhance your organization’s experience in planning a well-executed fundraising event.

AI Guide is another user-friendly tool that provides real-time assistance using the OneCause Fundraising Platform.

The AI Guide is an important feature to have because it…

  • Learns and adapts with each interaction to best serve you
  • Offers 24/7 support for all your event software needs
  • Helps you with any troubleshooting issues
  • Acquires information from the OneCause knowledgebase articles and video courses to have the latest updates.

Regardless of the fundraising event software you invest in, be sure to prioritize donor experience and user flexibility.

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Promote Your Fundraising Event

Once your event site is set to go, you’re ready to start selling your event tickets. The right event fundraising software will maximize your ticketing processes with no manual work necessary.

Allocating time to marketing your event will boost your ticket sales and build excitement leading up to the event day. If you’re stuck on how to market your event, ask ChatGPT for ideas!

A potential prompt for ChatGPT would be: “What are some creative marketing ideas for a humane society’s fundraising event?” A few responses generated include:

  • Pet Spotlights: Share stories and photos of adoptable pets leading up to the event to draw interest and encourage donations.
  • Press Releases: Send press releases to local newspapers, radio stations, and TV channels about the event, especially if it features notable speakers or unique activities.
  • Creative Design: Create eye-catching flyers and posters to display in community centers, pet stores, cafes, and veterinary clinics.

Beyond providing ideas, AI content and graphic generators can create some of your other marketing needs. When using any type of AI, be mindful of ethical standards to maintain trust among donors.

Diversifying your marketing channels is also key to spreading awareness for your event. Here are some places to share your event site link:

  • Email
  • Newsletter
  • Direct mail
  • Social media
  • Home page on your website

Be sure to also leverage the social networks of your volunteers, current donors, board members, and other impactful supporters to amplify your event.

During & After Your Fundraiser Event

Your event software should provide a seamless experience and allow your organization to enjoy the event you worked so hard to plan! Following your event, thank donors for attending and supporting your organization.

There are online templates to follow up with your donors or an AI chatbot can offer appreciation ideas. Your goal is to elevate their giving experience to inspire them to continue to support you.

Explore other ways AI can help your nonprofit succeed:

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