Combining the power of live music, celebrity influence, and community engagement to champion your cause is a great way to fundraise for your nonprofit. In this guide, we explore the impact benefit concerts can have on your fundraising goals, their ability to raise awareness for your mission, and how they can help you mobilize a broad base of supporters. Plus, we share seven fun benefit concert ideas.
When planning your fundraising activities for the year, benefit concerts might not be at the top of the list. But these events stand out because they are a great way to raise funds, and they generate invaluable awareness for your organization.
Hosting a killer concert requires careful planning and coordination. That’s why you have this guide to walk you through the steps you should take before, during, and after your event. Plus, we’ve included seven fundraising concert ideas to inspire your next event. By the time you’re done reading, you’ll be set up to start planning a concert that hits all the right notes!
Chances are, you’ve probably heard of benefit concerts before. Maybe you’ve even attended one. They’re remarkable events where music intertwines with celebrity influence to shed light on and raise funds for some of the most important causes of our time.
But do benefit concerts actually make an impact? Absolutely.
Benefit concerts are successful mainly because they leverage the attention economy as a tool to redirect our focus toward pressing issues that might – without the help of a big-name star – otherwise slip under the radar.
Let’s be honest, humanitarian crises often struggle to garner the attention they deserve. As highlighted in a report by CARE International in early 2023, media coverage of pop culture significantly outweighs that of some of the world’s most urgent crises. By attaching your cause to an event with mass public appeal, your organization will be able to reach a broad audience and raise critical funds.
While benefit concerts can be highly effective for nonprofit fundraising, it’s important to approach event planning strategically and to carefully evaluate the costs associated with hosting such events.
Keep reading to find out more about what to do before, during, and after your organization’s benefit concert!
Before you dive into booking bands and venues for your epic event, there are a few important things to consider. Think of this as your pre-planning checklist to help you lay the groundwork for a successful benefit concert.
Even though your benefit concert is likely part of your organization’s overarching fundraising plan, you’ll still need to set a clear list of fundraising goals before you begin planning. Here are a few things to consider:
Pro tip: When you sit down and consider your benefit concert fundraising goals, ensure they are SMART – specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-based. Here’s a great worksheet to get you started!
Your event budget is an important tool for ensuring your concert’s success. It helps you estimate and manage your income and expenses and understand how much you could potentially raise.
Be sure to evaluate the size of your event – a big concert with major headline acts will naturally need a more detailed budget than a virtual event featuring local artists.
A few other things to consider include:
Regardless of your benefit concert’s format – virtual, live, or hybrid – ticket sales will be one of your primary sources of income. Consider the initial fundraising goals and the milestones you have set to meet them. How can your ticketing strategy help you achieve these? For example, selling early bird tickets is a great way to kick off your concert’s marketing, generate urgency, and raise funds long before the event.
In addition to general admission tickets, you can sell group tickets, VIP passes, virtual passes, or attach a raffle or giveaway entry to certain tickets. Read more about event ticketing in this guide for more information to help you define your benefit concert ticketing strategy!
Did you know? Donorbox streamlines ticketing tiers and takes the guesswork out of setting up ticketing sales platforms for your events. You can set up an account in just a few minutes and get started planning an incredible event!
Check out this video to find out more about Donorbox Events and the incredible features that will help you sell more tickets.
Learn more about Donorbox Events
While it can be tempting to immediately reach out to your favorite artists when selecting the performers for your benefit concert, it’s a good idea to identify the following:
No matter the size of your event, you’ll need a comprehensive marketing strategy to promote it! A great marketing plan will not only help you increase ticket sales, but it will also help you secure sponsorships and in-kind donations – two incredibly useful tools that help you offset the costs of putting on a benefit concert.
Additionally, when planning your event marketing, consider:
For more great tips, check out this guide on how to raise money with events!
One of the main goals of hosting a benefit concert is to raise funds for your cause, but that doesn’t end with ticket sales. Your event is the perfect opportunity to speak directly to your audience, whether they’re new donors, long-term supporters, or potential volunteers.
Here are a few tips for maximizing your fundraising potential during your benefit concert.
Attendees might be at your concert because they love the music, your cause, or both! Whatever the reason, offering concertgoers easy ways to donate will amplify your fundraising efforts. The best way to leverage your in-person event so that it helps you meet your fundraising goals is to offer multiple donation options.
Donorbox stands out as a great fundraising option for events because it offers user-friendly, efficient, and effective features.
Some incredible Donorbox tools that make fundraising events a breeze are:
Take a look at how Hydrating Humanity used Donorbox Text-to-Give and QR codes at their Carolina Worship Nights benefit concert to encourage more donations in support of their cause.
The best way to drive donations during your event is to ensure that you are telling your nonprofit’s story in a meaningful way. An effective way to share your impact during a concert is by playing mission-centric videos on a loop on screens, such as in the venue entrance, at food courts, or inside the concert itself.
Use the benefit concert as an opportunity to cultivate relationships with attendees. Think of everyone as a potential supporter or volunteer.
Tap into your existing volunteer base to help spread the word during your event. While some volunteers can be tasked with fundraising, managing live kiosks, or ticket check-ins, assign others to network. Ensure these volunteers are placed strategically throughout the venue to share your organization’s elevator pitch with event attendees.
Once your concert is over and the fundraising income has been tallied, it’s time to turn those one-time event attendees into long-term donors. There are a few things you can do immediately after your event to make this process a lot easier.
In the lead-up to and during your concert, be sure to collect vital information about event attendees, specifically their email addresses. This invaluable fundraising data will serve your post-event donor conversion plan well.
Soon after your event, contact attendees who have supported your nonprofit before to thank them for their continued support. Share the success of the event and announce how much you raised. Also, provide them with deeper ways to connect with your mission.
Turning new donors into long-term supporters requires a different approach. After a positive first experience at your benefit concert, these first-time donors are primed to connect with your nonprofit in a more meaningful way. Share stories about your mission, your beneficiaries, your programs, and the fundraising success of the concert. Seeing a donation at work is a great motivator for repeat donations.
It truly takes a village! Putting on an event like a benefit concert requires a great deal of planning, coordination, and help. Don’t forget to thank your staff and the team of volunteers who helped you make this event a success.
Looking for some great volunteer appreciation ideas? We’ve got you covered in this article!
So you want to amplify your impact through fundraising concerts, but you’re not sure where to start? Here are seven innovative concert ideas to help you orchestrate an unforgettable event that resonates with your supporters.
Hosting a benefit concert to support your mission requires meticulous planning, creativity, and a deep passion for your cause. The steps outlined here will help you plan an event that attracts new supporters and raises funds.
Whether it’s an intimate acoustic night or a weekend-long music festival, Donorbox is with you every step of the way, supporting you with features that make hosting a successful benefit concert efficient and simple. Simplify your concert fundraising and planning with tools like customized donation forms and an incredible event ticketing platform. And, on the night of your event, don’t forget to leverage Text-to-Give and Donorbox Live™ Kiosk to make collecting donations during your concert quick and seamless!
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For more event planning tips and tricks, check out the rest of our Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter for a curated selection of blogs delivered to your inbox every month.
Nicole’s professional background is rooted in the nonprofit sector, where she’s honed her skills in communications, marketing, and fundraising. She has extensive experience in various fields, such as social media, content strategy, public relations, and more. Nicole has a deep passion for writing, editing, and gaining knowledge about the many causes that tirelessly advocate for essential societal change.
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Nicole Human