Substance and Style

When planning a fundraising event, it’s important to choose the venue early on. After all, some places fill up rather quickly, especially at certain times of the year. You cannot reasonably expect to start planning a June event in April and think you’ll be able to secure a venue, especially one that does weddings. You will need to decide why you’re having the event, what your budget is, and possibly your theme first. After that, the venue should be the first thing you finalize. Here are some things to consider when making that decision: 

1. Cost. Presumably, you’re planning this event in order to make money. For most events, sponsorships bring in the most dough. Donations, auctions, and raffles may also be money makers. It is also typical to charge for tickets. You want to be thinking about the costs before committing to a ticket price. While there will be other costs involved, the venue (and food and drinks, if they are not included) will by far be the biggest one. Make sure you aren’t going to lose money on the cost of the venue. Don’t get a venue that is charging you $50 per head and has a 100 person minimum if you can only charge $50 a ticket and you don’t know how many people you can get to attend. If you have the same event every year and can reasonably predict how many people will show up and how much money they’ll spend, you’ll be in a better position to take a risk with venue cost. For a new event, keep the costs as low as possible.
   
2. Food and Drinks. Does the venue provide food and drinks or do you need a caterer and alcohol? Make sure you understand all the costs associated with providing a meal and an open bar or soft drinks.
   
3. Size/Capacity. How many people can the venue accommodate? Make sure you get something large enough to hold all the guests that will be attending, but not something way bigger than the amount of attendees warrants.
   
4. Location. Will this be convenient to most of the people who want to attend? Are there nearby hotel accommodations for people who travel to the event? Is the venue close to a major highway?
   
5. Audio, Visual, and Wifi. Make sure the place has everything you need to run a successful fundraising event. If you need to make a speech or show a presentation, you don’t want last minute snafus. If you want your guests to be able to make donations online, make sure they have free and reliable wifi. Don’t assume these things are in place; get confirmation from the staff in advance.
   
6. Tone. Make sure the venue reflects the theme, your goals, and the personalities of the people you’ve invited. If the event and attendees are casual, don’t have it at a super fancy location. If the event is fancy, don’t have it in a very low brow venue.