Ways to Strengthen Donor Engagement after canceling your Annual Event

I have connected with 4 nonprofit leaders today who are navigating the challenge of postponing or canceling their annual dinner fundraiser. For organizations, these events are critical moments for sharing their mission with their key supporters, inviting guests to invest financially in their cause, and strengthening relationships. 

Losing out on that shared experience to tell your story is deflating. Your staff has worked so hard and the event is a chance to celebrate a year of good work together with your key supporters!

How can you take that same energy and turn it into some new opportunities to reach the same goals? Let’s stay focused on the goals of strengthening relationships and raising money to sustain your mission. 

In this season of thinking differently, here are 5 ways you can strengthen your donor engagement after you cancel (or postpone) your annual dinner. 

1. Create a Compelling Video Message 

Record the speech you were planning on giving at your annual dinner and share it far and wide. Make sure you give your registered guests a personal message thanking them for their desire to engage the event. This video will help get your story out to people and will live beyond the single event. You may already have videos created that were intended for the live audience. If permissible with the participants, socially share those videos for additional traction. 

2. Host a Virtual (or “Live”) Auction

Many of your organizations already use virtual auction online tools for your live events. Keep the virtual auction open and invite more people to bid. Personally deliver the items for an additional donor touchpoint. Add a “Facebook Live” event for big-ticket items to boost participation. 

3. Pick up the Phone (or FaceTime)! 

Generations of people raised a lot of money with an old-school “phone-a-thon”. You have the ability with your leadership team, the planning committee, or volunteers, to call every single attendant and have a one-on-one conversation with them over the phone or video call. In this call, you can share your hopes for the year and make an ask to invest. Leaving a voice mail is completely fine with an invitation to follow-up for more information. 

4. Host a Peer-to-Peer Giving Campaign

Gear up your peer-to-peer or online giving campaigns and leverage those platforms to invite gifts from your attendees, and their friends and families. Invite your annual dinner guest to share the landing pages with friends and families to extend your reach and connections across geographic boundaries. 

5. Create small gatherings of trusted donors

With extended time on the books, host virtual meetup with small numbers of supporters. Like a Tupperware party, these small gatherings can give you the chance to learn about what your donors care most deeply about and give you a space for authentic storytelling of your deep impact in the community. 

Conclusion

You’ve put so much work into the annual dinner and we don’t want to lose the momentum and financial investment of donors through canceling or postponing your big day. These 5 ways to strengthen your donor engagement in this season may help you reach (or exceed) your goals for fundraising, relationship building, and storytelling you have set for the annual dinner. 

If you have more questions about your process, or if I can help in any way, feel free to reach out at mattv@designgroupintl.com. 

Matt V. 

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Matt Visser is a Senior Consultant with Design Group International. He has invested over 19 years in growing nonprofit organizations and his greatest joy is empowering adaptive leaders to tackle complex problems.

To learn more about Design Group International and its’ work helping leaders and organizations transform for a vibrant future, visit http://designgroupinternational.com.