Fundraising is essential for any nonprofit organization, and events are a great way to fundraise.
Fundraising events are one of the most tried-and-true ways to raise more money. But effectively selling tickets is key to making your fundraising event a success. Not only will you earn revenue from selling tickets, but you will also have more people at the event who can give. As a result, you’ll maximize fundraising and put on a great event!
The best way to sell tickets to fundraising events is by using a ticketing system. You’ll be able to easily manage attendees, track revenue, access advanced metrics, and effectively sell tickets.
In this article, we explore how to start ticketing for fundraising events and tips for selling tickets.
How to sell fundraising event tickets
To maximize fundraising from events, you must first understand how to start ticketing. A ticketing system, which is a digital platform, can help you throughout the process. You’ll have seamless procedures that save time and maximize your fundraising revenue. Here, we look at essential steps for event ticketing and how a ticketing system can help.
Download a ticketing tool
The first step for effective ticket sales is downloading a tool specifically designed to offer event tickets. When searching for this tool, here’s what you need to keep in mind:
- Total fees: Consider fees associated with the platform, such as payment processing or activation fees.
- Sales and attendee management: Think of how you will be able to track RSVPs or the total amount of attendees. You should also consider if the platform will allow you to see total revenue and sales.
- Ease of use: It should be simple for you to set up tickets and offer them to people. It should also be easy to purchase tickets.
If you have a website, try to pick a tool that allows you to sell tickets directly on it. This is super easy with WordPress! Simply download the free Event Tickets plugin to start selling tickets right on your WordPress site. Alternatively, you can use a third-party platform such as Eventbrite.
Create tickets
Next, you’ll need to create your first event ticket. Be sure to include essential information about the event, such as:
- Event date and time
- Venue or location
- Event or organization name
- Attendee name and other information
- Type of ticket
You can also include a QR code for check-in and customize the design, like adding a picture or colors. Use a user-friendly tool like Adobe Express or Canva to create tickets, or just use the Event Tickets Plus plugin.
When creating your tickets, remember to think about attendee capacity, sale duration, and ticket price. Your ticketing tool should be able to offer these options.
Manage tickets and attendees
To effectively sell fundraising event tickets, you’ll need a way to manage tickets and attendees. This process can be done using spreadsheets or pen and paper, but the easiest way to manage fundraising event tickets is by using a digital tool.
Ideally, your ticketing system will have a dashboard or something similar. For example, if you use Event Tickets, you can use the WordPress admin dashboard to access all of this information. View attendees, track sales, and check out who’s coming to your fundraiser. You can even choose to collect additional information from attendees by adding custom fields in Event Tickets Plus.
Execute the fundraising event
On the day of your fundraising event, make it as easy as possible for your attendees to sign in. You can speed up the check-in process by doing the following:
- Offer a QR code for check-in
- Provide printable PDF tickets
- Allow attendees to save tickets to their digital wallets
By making the sign-in process convenient and simple, you’ll encourage attendance and provide a better event experience. Simply use your ticketing system to offer these additional formats and make day-of management easier for you!
Build reports
Post-event management and reporting are essential to the overall event planning process. This analytical process uncovers insights and allows you to measure the event’s success. With this information, you can refine your ticketing, marketing, or sale strategies to improve future fundraising events.
Consider the following data for your report:
- Total tickets sold and associated revenue
- Total attendance and audience demographics
- Total donations
- Event expenses and net revenue
You can also highlight major donors, attendee feedback, marketing campaigns, partners, and the total impact of the event (other than fundraising revenue).
Most ticketing systems, like Event Tickets, make running reports super easy. You’ll see the most important data and access additional information from custom fields if you have any on your tickets.
Tips for selling fundraising event tickets
Ticketing systems and tools are just the tip of the iceberg for effective ticket sales! There are many more tactics for selling event tickets. Fortunately, many are free and integrate with what you’re probably already doing.
Event page
Use your website to promote your event by creating a responsive, accessible event page. This landing page will show all the essential details about your event and an easy way to purchase tickets. To set one up, consider using a template or free website builder like Kadence Blocks.
You can share the link to this page through emails, social posts, and marketing materials.
Donation forms
Depending on your donation platform and ticketing system, you may be able to add event ticket options directly to your donation forms. For example, if you use GiveWP for WordPress, you can use a beta version of the Event Tickets block to sell tickets via donation forms.
Incentives and discounts
Special offers are a great way to sell event tickets fast and effectively. These strategies can help you maximize fundraising:
- Offer early-bird discounts. Entice attendees and donors with steep discounts when they sign up in advance. Limit the number of tickets and create urgency with a deadline.
- Offer additional incentives. Give away swag, BOGO tickets, or other exclusive rewards with the first 50 tickets or within a specific timeframe.
- Offer presales. Reach out to past attendees, current donors, or other partners with early ticket access.
Email marketing
Email marketing works for many nonprofit organizations. Use your current email marketing platform, or get started with a free tier. Create a campaign specifically for your fundraising event and include event information in your email newsletter. Be sure to include a clear call to action for buying tickets!
And if you want to really streamline event planning, check out Promoter from The Events Calendar. It’s an email marketing tool specifically designed for events.
Social media
Social media is one of the most effective, no-cost channels for marketing and communications. Post images, graphics, and videos about the fundraising event on your social media accounts. As the event date approaches, post more often and consider scheduling posts in advance to save time. You can also:
- Create an event hashtag
- Host a giveaway or contest
- Join and post in groups
- Post countdowns
- Share content before, during, and after the event
No matter how you promote the fundraising event, be sure to include a link to purchase tickets or donate!
Sell fundraising event tickets with Event Tickets
To start maximizing fundraising, follow the essential steps for selling tickets and implement a robust ticketing system, such as Event Tickets from The Events Calendar. Follow our tips for selling tickets, too, so you can execute a great event and raise more money!
If you’re ready to get started for free, get Event Tickets. It’ll allow you to create and manage tickets and attendees and make event execution a breeze. For more advanced capabilities, Event Tickets Plus has you covered. We also offer a discount just for nonprofit organizations as part of our nonprofit program. Check it out in our demo, or download Event Tickets for free now.
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