What Message is Your Event Sending?

October 24, 2024 | By David M. Wagner


They did a few things right.

Some positives stood out to me at a recent celebration event for a nonprofit working in food insecurity:

  • The event showcased the organization’s operating space

  • Organization leaders greeted everyone at the door

  • The organization served food prepared in the same kitchens used for their services

And yet, I left the event feeling the organization had missed some big opportunities to meaningfully engage their supporters.

An arrow labeled "Your Words" points in the opposite direction of an arrow labeled "Your Actions" wit the caption: what message is your event sending about your organization?

Want to make the most of your next event? Here are 5 tips – with examples of how this nonprofit failed.

⮚ Design the event to be consistent with your identity

Make sure your event reflects your organization’s identity – your values, purpose, mission, and vision.

Fail: One politician who spoke at the celebration has enacted policies that run contrary to the organization’s identity by harming community members who most depend on their services.

⮚ Acknowledge systemic failures and your role in correcting them

If your organization serves a human need, point out steps you are taking (or planning) to ensure there is less need for your services in the long run, not more.

Fail: Several speakers and displays proudly touted the organization’s exponential growth. Yet, no one raised concern about the growing need for food assistance or suggested what the nonprofit’s role was in reducing chronic food insecurity.

⮚ Give supporters a visceral sense of the mission

Look for opportunities for supporters to get closer to your mission and understand it in a tangible, not just a theoretical, way.

Fail: Attendees of the celebration were served food – an opportunity for supporters to experience what it’s like to rely on this organization for your meals! But either the food served was of higher quality than what their clients receive, or the nonprofit failed to proclaim the quality of their client meals

⮚ Connect supporters and supported

If your organization serves people in need, connect supporters with the people you support to elevate to supporters’ visceral sense of your mission, reinforce the dignity of your clients, and break down class and other barriers.

Fail: Not invited to speak or attend was anyone currently suffering from food insecurity or who had benefited from the organization’s work.

⮚ Communicate a vision for the future and call supporters to action

Share what’s next for your organization and what steps event attendees can take to support that vision. Channel their energy in a productive direction!

Fail: There was no discussion of the organization’s future and no invitation for attendees (including many donors in the room) to help contribute to what’s next.

 

Leverage events to communicate your organization’s identity, the scope of the need, the real work you do, the real people you serve, and opportunities to support your future direction.

While I’m not an event designer, I frequently assist clients with strategic stakeholder engagement. Schedule a free consult to explore how I can help you meaningfully connect your stakeholders with your mission.


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