It’s not the only goal, but the fundamental goal of any fundraiser is simple: to raise funds. But as every nonprofit founder, development professional and event planner knows, it’s more complicated than it sounds. One critical hurdle in the multilayered fundraising process is getting people to register.
The value of a single registration is sometimes underestimated, distilled down to just a way to capture credit card information so people can give. But a registration is worth so much more. In this post, we’ll discuss why you should aim for a 100% fundraising event registration rate for a variety of reasons.
You Can Increase Overall Silent Auction Profits
Once guests register for your Qtego event, they can easily bid on silent auction items. That’s a win! But it’s not everything. Registration also allows you to send these individuals messages about the silent auction.
Consider two big questions to help gauge how successful your silent auctions have been in the past:
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Has every item reached its minimum bid level?
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Did the majority of your items reach their projected bid levels?
If the answer to either of these is “NO,” consider how you communicate with your audience.
You work so hard to collect and offer the most enticing silent items, and you can help optimize every item’s ROI by communicating:
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When an item has no bids to generate at least a minimum bid amount.
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When an item has few bids to bring about more bids and possibly demand.
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When the silent auction is near closing or closing to create a sense of urgency and a flurry of bidding.
Engage your guests in the silent auction by sending targeted messages to be sure you don’t miss out on potential silent auction revenue.
Plus, it’s common knowledge that many couples who attend fundraising events often register only one of their party and one shared credit card. But when you can encourage every single person to register, you increase the chances that an individual who is moved to bid or give will do so.
You Can Empower Guests to Give When You Deliver Your Big Moment
Picture this: Your keynote speaker just delivered the most amazing talk — heartfelt, motivating, inspiring, direct. They made it crystal clear that giving is necessary to sustain and grow the impact of your organization. You look around the room. Guests are rapt. There are tears. The fund-a-need is announced! This is the moment you’ve been planning for!
So how do you ensure that guests take that next necessary step? (You make sure they are registered.)
Your fundraising event is wrapped up around activities, speakers, food and fun that are partly intended to warm up guests to give. You can’t predict with 100% certainty which part of an event will speak to a guest’s heart to make them open their wallet. And while you can guess, you can’t guarantee which guests will be moved to make major donations.
The best you can do is ensure that when that giving feeling hits them, they are capable of giving.
You Can Help Guests Feel More Connected to Your Cause and Fundraising Event
When guests register for your fundraising event, they instantly become closer to your mission and the event experience. They become a player as opposed to an observer.
Registration is the key to their participation!
Every gala, golf tournament, luncheon or other fundraiser has distinct nuances — some positive, some negative. In addition, each venue has its quirks that require accommodation. And then there are the unexpected hiccups that can be brought about by inclement weather, terrible traffic, catering mishaps and so many other factors.
For every one of these factors and for sharing general instructions, clear communication can help guests feel more comfortable and informed.
By registering, they can receive useful text messages from organizers, such as:
“Welcome to the 12th Annual Giving for Good Event! Please enjoy cocktails on the patio.”
“A wallet was found on the fourth hole. If it’s yours, please claim it at the registration desk. Thank you.”
“We have extended the silent auction by 30 minutes! Bidding ends at 10:30 p.m.”
“Our program begins at 7 p.m. Please enter the dining room through Door 2.”
“The 2nd floor restrooms are out of service. Please use the restrooms on the 3rd floor. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”
Guests want to feel confident they know what’s going on where and when. Their registration means they can navigate your event like a pro. When you let a Qtego text message guide them, it helps limit the number of repetitive questions you need to field.
How do you decide which tactics to use to maximize registration rates?
Are you ready to increase your registration rate? Great! There are so many ways to encourage giving, but no organization has unlimited resources to throw at one initiative. The following are four factors to consider as you develop your strategy to increase registrations:
- How successful has your registration been in the past?
- Which methods have your guests used to register in the past (e.g., preregistration through the Qtego ticket page, on-site self-registration, on-site check-in with volunteers)?
- How many people do you want to invest in this endeavor?
- How much money do you want to invest in this endeavor?
Every organization has different needs, but we can’t overemphasize the perks of preregistrations. Bumping up your preregistrations means you don’t have to think about how those guests will register on event day. What a relief!
Consider a real-life scenario: Let’s say someone bought a table of 10 at your event. When they made their purchase, they entered their name and their date’s name. Over the next few weeks, they added the remaining eight guests’ names and email addresses to their table via their Qtego ticket order. A week or two before your event, you can email these guests to welcome them and invite them to preregister.
For a person who has never attended your event before, preregistering not only saves you — the organization — from the task of getting them registered on event day, but it also helps this person already feel like a part of the mission and experience.
One of the most important reasons to get people to register is so they can give. But there are so many more advantages to making 100% registration rate a goal.
To explore how you can maximize your registrations, contact Qtego. We work one-on-one with our clients to understand and guide their fundraising.
