Event Planning Basics

The first thing to do when planning an event is to surround yourself with dedicated, reliable, and talented individuals. Form a committee of 3 to 5 to make decisions and own tasks. Additional volunteers can be recruited to help with the major tasks. Include people from several local congregations and have a brainstorming session to decide what type of event you will host.

Assign tasks such as venue, food, sponsorships, auction items, decorations, registration, etc. to different individuals. 

Create an overall event task list and calendar that details out all of the activities that need to be completed and the date they need to be completed by. Include the owners of the activities, and any additional people who need to be involved or ask to volunteer for specific jobs, especially the day of the event for set-up. 

The options are endless on the type of event your chapter can host. You want to think about your community and what will get the most engagement. 

 Some of the most popular chapter fundraisers are: 

• Dinner and Auction

• 5K 

• Trivia  Night 

• Carnival 

• Concert 

You can find a brief overview of hosting a trivia night here.

Think about the type of event you want to host and when it would be best to host this type of event. Consider both time of year and time of day. As soon as the type of event, general time frame, and possible venue has been determined, please contact Liz Wunderly to see if representatives of the organization are available to attend. Note that some chapters hold their events the same weekend every year and dates go quickly because of this. 

Venues should be booked a minimum of six months to a year out. Consider the distance your audience will need to travel and the general ambiance of the venue. All event costs will be paid by Sacred Selections. Contact Tami Tacker at tami.tacker@sacredselections.org to pay for the venue.

Choose a food option that works best with the event type you are hosting. If you are hosting a sit-down dinner and have chosen a venue that does not supply its own catering, check with local restaurants and caterers and compare prices and menus they may offer. You may need to offer options for those with special diets. Tami Tacker will pay catering bills directly. Email her at tami.tacker@sacredselections.org 

Once a good estimate of the costs for the event has been calculated, decide how much to charge for tickets. 

• The ticket cost should cover the cost of the meal. Event sponsorships should cover the cost of all other expenses. Several chapters set the ticket price to cover all event expenses. 

• Ticket price should not prohibit those in the area from attending.

• Tickets typically go on sale four to eight weeks prior to the event. Most organizers find that over 50% of attendees buy their ticket in the last 2 weeks, just before the event.  

  • Consider early bird pricing. One of the most difficult parts of having a meal at an event is "guessing" the number of guests that will attend. Encourage attendees to register early to combat this ticketing life cycle and get an accurate head count.

  • Consider offering a small discount for a purchase of multiple tickets versus single tickets. This guarantees groups will be assigned to the same table, too. 

Weigh the costs against potential earnings. First-year event organizers will not have any data to work from. For experienced events, expenses should run about 10-12% of revenue.

People love attending events that benefit a great cause and are fun or interesting to attend. You are more than welcome to utilize the theme Sacred Selections has chosen for the year. For 2024 the theme is "God Gives the Increase". Creative fundraising ideas don't necessarily need to be expensive to engage your audience and get people excited about attending. Decide how you will incorporate the theme into the event and the social media campaign to get people excited and engaged. 

Will there be a stage? Does it need to be decorated with your theme? Will you have centerpieces? Will you use banners? Will you have an area for photo taking? Do you need/ have a photographer? Some themes that have been done are "This little light of mine", "Here am I, send me", "Growing the family tree", "Heirs of the Kingdom", "A seat at the table", "The fields are white for harvest", and "Go into all the world". There are also party themes such as "Bluegrass and BBQs".

GiveSmart Events is a mobile bidding platform with systems to help you manage your auction. Sacred Selections has a contract that allows us to run an unlimited number of events, so there is no cost to your fundraiser to use the software. You're welcome to use as many of its features as you'd like! We will create a chapter event page and give you administrative access. Here are some of the features of GiveSmart Events:

• Sell tickets

• Assign seating 

• Communicate via text/email with registered participants

• Bid on silent auction items

• Track live auction winners

• Track instant buy purchases

• Collect donations 

• Allow guests to checkout with credit cards on phones (3.5% processing fee)

• Check out guests using checks and cash

• Collect contact information

If you are hosting an event that does NOT involve an auction, GiveSmart Fundraise is the program you will want to utilize. Through GiveSmart Fundraise you can do the following: 

• Sell tickets

• Receive donations

• Sell items (t-shirts etc.) 

• Collect contact information

GiveSmart Fundraise has been utilized for drive-thru dinners, t-shirt sales, field days, and generic days of giving.

If you have questions, would like to know more, want to see a demo, or would like to set up your event, please contact Liz Wunderly

Getting donations from Event Sponsors can mean the difference between making your financial goal or not. Contact local business owners, especially Christian business owners, that might support the cause. These may include your dentist, hair stylist, doctor, coffee shop, favorite restaurant, bakery, or florist.

Here are some important things to consider about event sponsors:

• What will the sponsorship levels be? We recommend 3 to 4 levels of sponsorship.  

• What perks are you offering for each level of sponsorship? This could include the business logo on printed materials, a shout-out during the event presentation, and free tickets.

• How will you thank them during/after the event? Most chapters send out thank you cards after the event to thank local event sponsors.

An example of a local event sponsorship form can be downloaded and edited here.

• Edit the levels, dollar amount and benefits  

• Add the name and contact information for the chair

• Add your local logo, etc.

Should you have a live auction, a silent auction, or both? 

If you are having an auction, solicit donations for the auction early. Meet with your donation committee member to brainstorm auction items you want to receive. Most chain restaurants and stores have online donation request forms for nonprofits like Sacred Selections to use. Other ideas include gift cards to local activities, vacation rental access, handmade items, seasonal items, bundled items/baskets of items, etc. Vary the items to appeal to women, men, children, and babies. Look for donations of service, like dinner in a respected Christian's home, lunch with the local preachers/elders, and lawn or handy-man services. 

• Written Request for Auction item here. 

• Use this form to stay organized: Fundraiser Template - Detailed Sponsors and Auction Items

Be sure you have all the necessary audio-visual equipment for your specific event. Some venues allow the use of their technology for a fee but renting equipment might be necessary.

Sacred Selections provides a looping PowerPoint to be used as your guests are arriving containing information about the organization.

Consider using videos during the presentations. Engaging the audience as well as educating the audience can lead to higher donations.  

If you are having a live auction, we highly recommend you use one of the professional auctioneers that SS works with on an ongoing basis. These men are not just taking bids. They are entertaining, reading the room and making adjustments, and doing their best to raise the most money possible because they believe in the cause. They will remind the audience that this is not bargain shopping. 

You can see the full list of auctioneers available for your use here. Some of the auctioneers have specific availability. Please check with Liz Wunderly on who you would like to use.

Auctioneers meet with chairs 30 days before an event and again 2-3 days before an event to discuss and rehearse any last-minute changes. 

One of the swiftest ways to help your attendees determine whether they can attend your event is to inform them. Answer the basic who, what, where, when, and why on your event page or brochure so attendees will have all of the information they need to make a decision on ticket purchase. Post information about the event at least 6 months before the fundraiser. All chapters with an official Sacred Selections address have access to Canva, which is a professional and easy-to-use program to create social media posts and other items for the event. Be creative and use fun and inviting graphics.  

Build an informative event page on Facebook that includes information on parking and dress code. If there is a speaker, include photos and bio(s) of the speaker(s) to get people excited. Answering the "why" on attending is extremely important. Share how an attendee can directly affect our Christian families to encourage readers to attend. Advertise the event with a preview of the live auction items and possibly some silent auction items to drive interest.  

Send this same information to past attendees' and donors' emails.

Use this guide for more suggestions and guidance. A loom link on the guide walks through how to post.

Email:

Send one (from the GS page or using exported email addresses with your chapter email address) in the day or two before the event. Make sure to include:
-Location
-Any special parking info that's needed
-Time doors open and time the meal is served, encourage them to come early to claim a seat (if needed) and peruse auction items
-Dress Code
-Reminder to bring a charged phone
-Link to items if sending through GS

Texts:

Through the GiveSmart admin hub you can create and schedule texts to go out on a certain date and time.

Auction open announcement - this can be one or two days before event!
"The auction is now open! View items here (insert items link)"

A request to find seats a few minutes before you plan to begin the program
"The program is about to begin! Please begin to find your seats"

A generic reminder to bid with links to items
"It's polite to be on your phone during dinner!" or "Keep bidding to support our families!"

Post-event balance (schedule for the next afternoon)
Template on the GiveSmart hub

Other template messages you might want to utilize through the night 

Items with no bids

Auction closing announcement

Payment Instructions

A link to preview live items 

Donate now template, but adapt to say, "If you prefer to give privately...." and send after pledges

Contact Liz Wunderly to find out what local family(s) have been approved for grants and encourage them to attend the event. Ask if they would like to be involved in the fundraiser, even if it is just inviting their network of people to the fundraiser and asking them to support.

Having the prospective families speak at the event can have a very powerful impact on the audience and donations. If they agree, meet with the family and discuss what they are going to say at the event. Use our suggested interview ideas to help them connect with the audience. If they are uncomfortable speaking on stage, make a video of them in a comfortable setting. Don't underestimate the impact this can have on donations and bidding.

Consider using a video from past families that have received SS grants and express what the donations meant to them.

Please read Grant Approved Families for details.

Create a schedule for the day of the event so that nothing gets missed. List absolutely everything that needs to be done and who will do each activity when. What needs to be done for SET-UP and who will do it, when? Who needs to do what DURING the event? Do you need tools, extension cords, etc. Expect the unexpected – be ready for last minute changes.  

Ensure you also have a detailed order of events for the actual fundraiser. The example provides ample amount of detail everyone assisting in the event can benefit from. 

Appreciate every donation and send a thank you when possible.

When individuals purchase tickets and/or auction items, they may be entitled to submit as a charitable contribution on their taxes (subject to IRS regulations).

Sacred Selections will send out tax donation letters in January for those donations made directly to Sacred Selections via check. The IRS requires Sacred Selections to send tax letters on donations over $250, but Sacred Selections will send out tax letters for all donations if there is contact information available. Duplicates can be requested by sending an email to accounting@sacredselections.org.  

Donations at events using GiveSmart are not tracked directly by Sacred Selections as funds do not come immediately to Sacred Selections. Receipts are sent directly from GiveSmart at the end of an event. If a donor encounters an issue downloading a GiveSmart receipt, please ask them to email accounting@sacredselections.org.

Congratulations! You did it!

After the event, ask everyone involved about their experience. Have a committee meeting post event and discuss what went well and what could have been improved upon. Document details for future planning.   

Sacred Selections will set up a meeting with you and your team within a month of the event. During this meeting, we want to hear from you. What worked well? What would you change? What did you learn? 

Send a list of event sponsors to Liz (liz.wunderly@sacredselections.org) so thank you letters from the organization can be sent in a timely manner.

And, lastly, make sure and give thanks to all those volunteers who worked so diligently to have a successful event. 

Thank you for your hard work and thank you for supporting Sacred Selections!