Finding the right mix of stories and programs to delight and move your audience is pivotal. If you are selecting 3 programs from within your organisation to pitch at the event, we suggest discussing internally which 3 programs would best fit the event. They should:
Be clearly differentiated from each other (different focus areas, beneficiaries, locations or stages of time)
Have a suitable presenting speaker who will be able to represent the vision behind the program after participating in TFN's pitch coaching workshops.
Presenters should be prepared to commit to the process entirely and should understand the time commitment required. Apart from the selection panel, pitch coaching workshop/s, event rehearsal and the event itself, presenters should allocate a minimum of 2 hours per week in the 4 weeks prior to the event for preparation and practice. Presenters will complete a 5-6 minute pitch (5 for virtual, 6 for in person) at the event.
Your audience are the people who have the means and inclination to make a difference, and guaranteed monetary support will leverage donations to take your event to the next level. Tips for building your audience:
Establish a cohort of key stakeholders: Board members, senior staff, high-net-worth donors, key clients, and corporate partners should all be engaged. Encourage all stakeholders to commit to making the event a success, by agreeing to bring guests to the event who have the capacity to give and an interest in doing so. See "Engaging your board" below for additional information.
Aim for 150+ attendees to create the right atmosphere: Allow for 30-50% no-shows (higher for virtual events) so aim for 300+ registered guests for a virtual event and 200+ registered guests for an in-person event. The next section of the toolkit explains the Marketing & Communications strategy TFN recommends to achieve these numbers
The 80/20 rule stands: You should be confident that roughly 80% of the audience can give in $100 - $300 amounts, and 20% can give in $1000 - $3000 amounts. This combination will create the right alchemy of leadership and accessibility to make the night a success and to reach your funding targets.
Aim to gather a matched funding pool of at least $10,000 per program. These funds can be provided by one or more event partners, who can be recognised and thanked by our MC and on event materials. This is a key part of the event as it gives the audience an exciting incentive to see their pledges doubled on screen.
Additionally, we recommend gathering proxy pledges from guests unable to attend to be called from the crowd at opportune times.
We follow a schedule of guest/donor communications for each event as follows (noting that in-person events require a longer lead up time for communications than virtual events):
Invitation #1 and other event promotion (4-6 weeks before the event)
Invitation #2 and follow-ups (2-3 weeks before the event)
Invitation #3 if needed (1 week before event)
Final event information email to registered guests (1 day before the event)
Thank you and payment instructions (1 day after the event)
Personal follow-up emails for payment (1 week after the event)
Short mid-year update on program progress (6 months after the event)
Formal impact story (12 months after the event)
If you are selecting 3 external organisations or programs to pitch at the event, you could run an open applications campaign. If you choose this process, you’ll need to add at least six weeks to your timeline. Please contact us to discuss further.
Address common questions ahead of time to save yourself an email.
Address common questions ahead of time to save yourself an email.
