Fundraising events are the bedrock of many nonprofits’ budgets, but organizing events begins by spending money—reserving the venue, lining up the catering and entertainment, and marketing materials all come with upfront costs. Because every penny spent on the details is a penny that could be used for the cause, you need to find some smart ways to save money organizing a nonprofit event. To keep costs down (and revenue up), consider these nine tips.
1. Choose a Ticketing Platform Free for Organizers
Part of saving money when organizing a nonprofit event is simply not spending it in the first place. With Ticketstripe as your ticketing platform, you may pass on processing fees, collect customer data, and communicate with attendees, all at no cost to you.
Some event ticketing platforms charge all sorts of set-up and subscription fees just to use their services, and additional fees to create multiple events or sell tickets beyond a certain quantity threshold, and so on. Ticketstripe is free for organizers to use no matter how many events you host or how large they are. We automatically pass on our service fee of 1.50% + 50 cents per ticket for nonprofits—lower than much of our competition—to the buyer, so your organization collects the full value of the ticket purchase price.
Our platform also collects attendee contact info at no cost to you, and you can email ticket purchasers directly from your Tickestripe account or download the info to use in your own email platform of choice. (No matter what, we won’t use this data for our own marketing purposes.)
What’s more, Ticketstripe doesn’t hold onto your funds or even touch them at all. The proceeds of every purchase made are immediately deposited into your PayPal or Stripe account so you can apply the money from early ticket purchases immediately toward your organizing costs.
2. Consider a Small Administrative Fee to Cover Costs
As any event organizer knows, incidentals come up. For this reason, Ticketstripe offers the option to add an organizer fee to each purchase to cover things like venue fees, postage fees, and handling fees.
This fee is passed on to your buyer and bundled into a total service fee they will pay. The entire amount will be added to the face value of the ticket you are selling. Ticketstripe displays these fees transparently to the purchaser, so there are no surprises for them on checkout.
3. Request Donations on Your Event Page
Another way to cover event costs is with donations. Tickestripe encourages organizations to add donations to every event page. Many attendees prefer making a donation together with purchasing tickets, as this is a simple and easy transaction.
Ticketstripe’s donation options include fixed amounts or flexible donate-what-you-like, as well as the ability to tier donations at various levels. Additionally, you’d be surprised how many attendees will donate via an event page if you offer a “can’t attend, consider donating” option.
4. Tap Your Network for Supplies and Volunteers
Donations of the non-monetary type can also have huge value for saving money when organizing a nonprofit event. Recruiting volunteers to offer their time and/or services can save you from having to pay staff. Volunteers can be helpful both to staff the event and to help behind the scenes, from marketing to vendor outreach and more.
Requesting donations of goods, such as food or booze to serve or prizes to raffle, can also make a huge difference to a nonprofit event budget. You never know what you might get donated—unless you ask! Use social media, word of mouth, and mailing lists from previous events to put the word out. Once you’ve used Ticketstripe for an event, you’ll have a database of attendee data that you can use to target your requests.
5. Strategic Partnerships and Sponsorships
While you may do well with donations alone, sometimes you may need to approach higher-value requests with a more nuanced plan. Businesses may be more willing to donate or meet you part way if you offer them prominent placement in your marketing materials.
For example, if your greatest expense is the venue, approach the space to see if they will donate a room in exchange for being a named sponsor. If it’s food, see if a catering company or chef will cut you a deal—perhaps donated services but not food costs—for a similar offer; then see if local grocers will donate the food. Breweries are often happy to offer space and donations for every beer sold, assuming that guests will also purchase food while at your event.
6. Consider a Hybrid Event
While everyone loves an in-person nonprofit event, in some cases, folks may not be able to make it. With just a little extra effort, you may be able to sell more tickets—and make more money—by providing an online experience for anyone who is too far away or otherwise unable to attend in person.
Hybrid events are simplest when you have marquee entertainment of some kind: a speaker or lecture, a show, a musical act, or even a panel discussion. You’ll need the right A/V equipment and a trustworthy virtual conference platform, such as Zoom or Google Meet, and a reliable internet connection. If you go this route, save money by tapping your network for the know-how and equipment, either for free or as a part of a sponsorship, before you shell out for assistance and rentals.
7. Collect Attendee Preferences to Prevent Overspending
One of the bigger money-wasters when organizing a nonprofit event is having to over-order supplies or swag because you don’t know how many attendees to expect or you don’t have personalized attendee info—say, meal preferences or T-shirt sizes—in advance.
With Ticketstripe, you can customize the order form at checkout to include any questions you want your attendees to answer when purchasing. Meals and shirt sizes are only the beginning—if you plan to sell a variety of swag, you can have attendees “reserve” what they want and prepay for it.
Make sure you state on the event page the cutoff date for any customizations so you can place orders in time—and offer an incentive for folks to buy their tickets well in advance.
8. Tap Your Community for Free Advertising
Another way to save money when organizing a nonprofit event is to find ways to get the word out for free. Many community calendars and local media sites will promote nonprofit events for free—do the legwork to find them and get your info in front of them ASAP.
Social media is the most obvious “free” way to promote, but you can get the most for your efforts with more thoughtful posting. Create posts that encourage and even incentivize interaction and shares as well as garner ‘likes’. For example, a small ticket package giveaway for one lucky winner in exchange for tagging and sharing can pay off big as your network grows and new followers purchase tickets and donate to your cause.
9. Get Supporters to Help Sell Event Tix
Another clever solution to increase event ticket sales is to recruit more active supporters to help. Ticketstripe’s Promoter feature provides a customized ticket sales link that supporters share with their networks and get “credit” for ticket sales made via their links. This means you could even make it a friendly competition with a prize for the Promoter who gets the most attendees!
Organizing a nonprofit event on a budget may seem challenging, but with thoughtful planning and resourcefulness, it’s entirely achievable. By implementing these nine cost-saving strategies, you can minimize expenses and maximize the funds that go directly to your cause. Leveraging free tools like Ticketstripe not only cuts costs but also enhances your ability to manage the event efficiently. Don’t hesitate to tap into your network for donations, volunteers, and free advertising—they can be invaluable assets. Remember, every dollar saved is a dollar that can further your mission. With careful planning and community support, you can host a successful event that makes a meaningful impact without overspending.
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