Nonprofit organizations and the average person planning a small party have a lot in common. They are both working on small to non-existent budgets while trying to make a big impact. This means a lot of our tips for creatively keeping costs down applies to both parties, hopefully making this site useful for nonprofits and individuals alike.
Nonprofits do have both unique challenges and unique opportunities in event planning:
- Event Type: The majority of nonprofit events are an interesting mix of marketing and event planning. This is because they fall into the categories of a) fundraising or b) education and outreach. Knowing your event’s purpose can definitely guide your event planning.
- Sponsors & Donors: When you don’t have a large budget, you can either get creative or get items and services donated. Nonprofits in particular can use this to their advantage BUT it is a tricky line to walk. If you ask for a donation for this event, will it cost you that donation in actual services provided to the community later? As any nonprofit will tell you, it is important to make sure that any donations are put where they can make the most impact.
- Volunteers: Nonprofits tend to have a ready pool of volunteers they can assemble for helping plan, organize, set up, manage, and take down events. This is a HUGE help in saving costs for services and labor, especially if any of the volunteers have special skills they can donate to the event. Just don’t forget to thank and celebrate your volunteers so they return for future events!
We wanted to be a resource for nonprofits looking for an easy event planning resource, and we hope you will find this site helpful.
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