Looking for a professional event planner for your next fundraising event?
Public Relations
Fundraising
Digital Marketing
Direct Mail Marketing
Video Marketing
Website Design
A Trusted Event Partner with a Proven Track Record of Results
At Linear Creative, we understand that fundraising is vital to your organization’s mission, programs, and activities. If you are considering hosting a first-time, annual, or special event, we welcome the opportunity to make recommendations on how you can achieve the greatest impact.
By working with nonprofits for over 20 years, we have come to understand what works and what doesn’t. From venue selection and ticket pricing to silent auctions and more, we know how to attract a crowd and encourage them to give. Our clients repeatedly choose to work with us because they know we deliver on our promise of a stress-free experience and memorable events that guests look forward to year after year.
Did we mention that we extend a generous agency discount to nonprofit organizations? It’s part of our commitment to support agencies who serve vulnerable populations in our communities.
Ohio Cancer Research – Yoga On The Green
Wagnalls Memorial Foundation – Art At The Wagnalls
Our event planning and marketing capabilities
Linear Creative operates on the premise of doing anything and everything to help our clients reach their event goals. From initial concept to execution, our attention to detail and commitment to quality are unmatched. We can do as much or as little as you need, with flexible solutions tailored to meet your budget.
Event Planning Services
- Theme development
- Budget and timeline management
- Venue recommendation and sourcing
- Catering selection
- Talent sourcing and entertainment management
- Speaker engagements
- Comprehensive marketing materials, including branding, invites, graphics, attendee packets
- Video production for event
- Social media advertising
- Media relations
- Sponsorship fulfillment
- Mobile app coordination
- On-site photography and videography
- Ticket pricing strategy
- Rentals
- Live and silent auctions
- Attendee gifts
- Post-event surveys
What are the different types of nonprofit fundraising strategies we offer?
1) Form a fundraising committee. Define each person’s role, establish timelines for specific tasks and meet regularly to make sure any issues or questions are addressed in a timely fashion.
2) Establish your budget, setting limits for each line item and adding a little extra “padding” for unexpected costs. This will keep your finances in line and ensure that unforeseen expenses don’t sink your fundraising ship.
3) Determine your fundraising goal. What amount do you hope to raise, and from what source will the funds come: donations, ticket sales, raffles and auctions, grants?
Wagnalls Memorial Foundation – Fundraising Event
Ohio Cancer Research – Fundraising Event
Wagnalls Memorial Foundation – Traveling Gallery
4) Establish a theme—either for the specific event or for all fundraising events for a specified time period or for that entire year. Your theme should appeal to your target market—those most likely to support the charity and its mission—with all related events designed to appeal to that demographic.
5) Reach out to your network for support—financial, in-kind donations, direct assistance and networking. For your event to be successful, you need to involve as many people and groups outside your organization as possible: businesses, associations, individuals, educational facilities, social groups, foundations and government.
6) Develop a public relations/marketing calendar. One press release or social post won’t be enough. Coordinate all forms of communication—media releases, direct mail, phone solicitations, social media, in-person/virtual appearances—to maximum your outreach, monitoring the performance to gauge the results and adjust your strategy. Ask your network to help spread the word, providing them with appropriate images, social media posts and other content for their communications to their followers.
7) Decide how you will accept financial donations: by mail, through an online event ticketing platform, and/or through a payment app on your website. For in-kind donations, set up a tracking method that includes the source, the item or service, and the dollar value. (Check with your accountant or financial adviser for other requirements, especially if this is for a registered non-profit)
8) Select a venue that would appeal to your target market and be within your budget. The location, décor, menu and even giveaways should coordinate with the purpose of your fundraiser, reminding attendees that this is “all for a good cause.”
9) Do contingency planning. No matter how well you have coordinated the event, things can happen. An outside affair can be scuttled by an unexpected storm, or an in-person event may have to switch to virtual, as many groups learned this year when COVID-19 impacted arrangements.
10) Conduct an after-event review. Survey your committee members as well as attendees for their comments on the fundraiser. What worked well, and what unexpected problems had to be handled on-the-fly? If you exceeded your budget or didn’t meet your fundraising goal, what was the reason and how can this be addressed for future events?
Bonus Tip: Send a thank you to all who attended, donated or in other ways supported your fundraiser. This is not only a nice thing to do but helps build the connection with your network that you can rely on when planning your next event!
Cleveland Police Foundation – Fundraising Event
Wagnalls Memorial Foundation – Norman Rockwell Traveling Gallery Show
Recent successes.
Art at the Wagnalls Annual Outdoor Art Festival
Linear Creative developed and marketed this annual outdoor event that gives local artists and craftspeople the chance to sell their products to thousands of guests who come to enjoy live entertainment, food, and fun, with all proceeds benefiting the historic Wagnalls Memorial Library.
Providence House Annual Deck the House Event
Hailed as one of the biggest holiday parties in Cleveland, Deck the House is a signature fundraising event held each year at FirstEnergy Stadium to raise over $300,000 for Cleveland’s crisis nursery. Linear Creative has played a vital role in the event’s past success, supporting the Providence House team with event planning, marketing, and silent auction support.
North Coast Men’s Chorus
Everybody loves a big Mardi Gras celebration, and the North Coast Men’s Chorus annual fundraising event held at Cleveland’s Windows on the River is no exception. Linear Creative helps plan and market this magical evening fundraiser that continues to attract new donors and fans each year.