Last week, I led another “Choosing the Right Fundraising Event” seminar at the Center for Nonprofit Management .   As always, we had an engaging conversation about multiple aspects of putting on a successful fundraising event.  Here are 10 quick tips from the seminar:

1.  Give yourself six months to plan a major fundraising event
2.  Engage your board and volunteers early on in the process
3.  Tailor your event to your audience
4.  The space you choose sets the tone for your event
5.  Write a budget and stick to it
6.  Think outside of the box
7.  Have fun
8.  Keep the event program to 45 minutes or less
9.  Thank and follow up with donors that attend
10. Connect fundraising events to other parts of your organization’s fundraising strategy

During our workshop, I also gave participants the opportunity to practice asking for money, which is something you can also do at your event.  We generated a lot of good ideas and based on our discussion, participants had the opportunity to share their successes and challenges with the rest of the group.  They also walked away with a number of articles on the subject.