How to Sell Tickets for Nonprofit Events (Virtual or In-Person)

For many nonprofits, events are the backbone of financial success. Fundraising like ticket sales, auctions and food service tends to fall into place more easily when everyone comes together for the cause. But the Coronavirus pandemic has certainly altered the way we do many things. Nonprofit events are no exception. A recent survey from Kindful revealed that while 87.6% of people plan to host an event in the next few months, 97% of them have changed their event plans in some way.

For many nonprofits, that adaptation is key to success. For some, that means moving fundraising events online. For others, it means modifications to the event. Here are some ideas for adapting fundraising events for nonprofits:

• Going virtual
• Reduce group sizes
• Using masks
• Go outdoors
• Plexiglass separators
• Maintaining 6 or more feet of distance
• Making it a drive-in or drive-thru event
• Think about things in reverse (such as a reverse parade)
• Move the event to something people can do with their own family unit, such as a virtual 5K run
• Live stream entertainment

Promoting Fundraising Events for Nonprofits

Whether your event is virtual or in-person, your event is only as good as the people in attendance. There are only two rules for promoting your nonprofit event. First, make sure the event is appealing and has a memorable title, theme and details. Second, nobody will attend if they don’t know about it! So let’s talk about some methods for promoting your events to maximize fundraising revenue.

1. Go Traditional | It never hurts to paint the town with the news of your event! Contact the local television and radio news to find out what your options are. Cover every bulletin board from the library to the grocery. Submit your event to the local paper.
2. Social Channels | Start with an event on Facebook and a square event card on Instagram. Next, create a short, 30-60 second video that can be shared on all your channels. Make all your collateral clear and compelling so it will be shared.
3. Email Blasts | It’s never too late to start your email list if you don’t have one. Collect emails of interested parties at every event you hold, and soon you’ll have a great group to share your news with.
4. Partnerships | Think of local businesses that could help their own reputation while promoting yours. A grocery store or auto dealership will win over customers by promoting nonoprofit events with a solid mission behind them.
5. Influencers | Are there people in your group or community that have a little more sway than others? Think about people with social media clout, popular blogs, local sports heroes or musical talent. It can’t hurt to ask if these folks will attend or help spread the word about your event.

Fundraising Event Email Blast Gallery

Ticket Sales for Nonprofit Events

So, you’ve got your event detailed out. Your promotional plan is in place. Now how do you sell tickets? MoneyMinder has a new feature that can help sell tickets without a lot of hassle. Here are a few of the benefits of selling tickets with Store from MoneyMinder:

1. No app required for you or the attendee
2. No website needed – set up a payment page in minutes
3. PCI compliance – securely collect payments without having to think about technical or fiduciary details
4. Each page has an easy way to share on social media
5. Schedule automatic reminders and follow ups for payment
6. Set up discount codes to encourage early ticket sales
7. Add a countdown timer to your event start
8. Withdraw funds directly to a bank account
9. Sync with MoneyMinder for easy bookkeeping
10. No monthly fee required, just processing fees when transactions take place.

In addition to using MoneyMinder Store to sell tickets, there are dozens of other ways to use the tool for fundraising.

Learn more about MoneyMinder Store and pricing for selling tickets and more.

As always, we wish you luck during these interesting times.