Fundraising Made Easy: Promotions 

Fundraising events are fantastic opportunities to kick-start wreath sponsorships for your yearly location goals. But after you’ve found the venue, planned the event, and set your goals, you still need your community to show up! In our last spotlight on fundraising, we want to give you the tools to better promote your Wreaths Across America Fundraising Events throughout the year.

Word of Mouth 

The old adage about word of mouth being your best marketing tool still, in many ways, holds true. Particularly when creating events within your communities and sharing news about fundraising, an old-fashioned save-the-date can work wonders. As soon as the who, what, where, when details of your event are set, you can give your audience plenty of time to plan ahead by sharing that information early and often with friends, family, and colleagues. A friendly reminder about your event, at about two weeks out gives your audience a chance to cement those plans on their calendars. A final note about a week out with any additional event highlights will ensure your friends and family are excited to attend, and may even invite a few other folks looking for something fun to do.

Use your network. In our last spotlight, we talked about building your team and sharing event and venue responsibilities with other organizations or individuals. That same principle can work in promoting your event, too. Encourage the individuals and groups helping with your event to share the information with their network, and watch your audience reach grow.

Get Social

Thanks to the ubiquity of cell phones, so many of us are online and on social media constantly. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are all great platforms for promoting your fundraiser. The key is to keep your content upbeat and always keep your audience in mind.

Stay active but not spammy. Use the same rule of thumb as word of mouth. Create and share an initial push when you have the key details set for your event. Add a few posts two weeks out. And finally, share your event with some fun highlights one week or a couple days before your event to make sure your attendees have marked their calendars

Hyper Local Press

You know best what you are reading or what your friends and family are watching. These are the outlets that will be most interested in promoting great local events and news about individuals and groups doing good work in their own community.

Use our location and fundraising group resources from the Wreaths Across America website to build your own media kit. And remember, we’re here to help.

Press releases, op-eds, and photos are great resources to pull together well in advance of promoting your specific fundraising events throughout the year. The press moves so quickly these days. It is important to promote your event to your local media outlets, but be aware that one- or two-week notice is more than enough to ensure your event is added to any community calendars or weekend outlooks. Emailing or calling an individual reporter or producer with whom you’ve established a working rapport, instead of a news desk will also help ensure your pitch is seen and considered fully. Having all of your resources and information in one place will simplify your pitching process.
Promoting your Wreaths Across America fundraising event doesn’t have to be complicated. Armed with the resources and the right tactics you can reach a wide audience within your community. Use your network, speak from the heart, and share your passion for our mission – Remember, Honor, Teach.

Looking for event ideas? See suggestions from other location and group leaders around the country.