The right venue is the cornerstone of any successful fundraising event/campaign. Once the space is secured, it is down to your team to fully focus on delivering the event to the audience you are trying to reach. This checklist mainly outlines the venue-finding stage, but is vitally important when preparing clear information for your fundraising team.
1. Define Event Needs
- Clarify the essentials: Our team works with you to define the size and type of space your fundraising event needs. We’ll advise whether an indoor or outdoor pitch location is best, and if so, we’ll also obtain information on the following essentials such as power, toilets, parking, and reliable Wi-Fi are available. By filtering out unsuitable options from the start, we save your fundraising team time and keep the focus on venues that can genuinely support your goals.
- Target group match: We help align the space to the type of fundraiser being considered. For example, a high-footfall shopping centre may be better suited to public engagement stalls, while a more prestigious space may be better suited to field marketers experienced in relationship-building, corporate networking, and high-value donor conversations. If you are unsure on what type of event location will yield favourable returns for you, be sure to speak to our expert venue sourcing team for more information.
- Accessibility: We check that the space can be used by everyone. Ramps, lifts and accessible toilets are not optional extras but essential considerations for any fundraiser.
2. Shortlist & Assess Multiple Venues
- Research options: At VST Venues, we cast the net wide by considering public spaces, community halls, retail areas, parks or private hire venues. A varied shortlist gives flexibility if the first choice isn’t available. You’ll be pleased to know that we’ve listed multiple venue spaces that we can secure a booking for, so consider any of these before finalising your space.
- Discuss potential challenges: Our team speaks directly with venue staff about any known challenges in the past or even more recently. This could be anything from restrictions on signage, limits on opening hours, or complaints about sound levels. Honest conversations at this stage avoids unexpected surprises later on down the line.
3. Confirm Booking Details
- Written confirmation: We handle the booking administration on your behalf and secure a formal written agreement with the venue. This includes confirming booking dates, access and departure times, key contact details, and any venue specific conditions that may be required such as public indemnity certification for example. All documentation is stored digitally and can be shared with you for easy reference.
- Permissions and licences: Our team also checks whether additional approvals are required, such as permits for shopping centres or private landlords. By managing these conditions, we prevent delays so that your fundraising activity can proceed without last-minute complications.
4. Prepare Venue Information
- Information sheet: Once your venue is secured, we prepare a clear, tailored information pack for your fundraising team. This includes the venue address, directions, parking instructions, arrival and setup times, and the main point of contact. By providing this in advance, we ascertain that your team arrives fully prepared and can focus on engaging supporters rather than worrying about logistics. We also provide you with our direct number for you to call should you have any other logistical challenges on the day.
- Share in advance: We share this information with your fundraising team well ahead of the event. Clear details reduce unnecessary back-and-forth and help the team prepare effectively on the day. We all know that the less distractions that a fundraiser has to contend with, the better fundraising day they will have.
5. Post-Booking Follow-Up
- Thank the venue: A short, professional thank-you message builds positive relationships and increases the likelihood of being welcomed back, and also strengthens our case when securing the same venue for you in the future. Some of our clients may even leave a box of chocolates to the community champion to share amongst the staff for example.
- Record notes: Our expert team records key takeaways from each booking process, including successes and any challenges faced. Maintaining a simple record of this helps us refine future venue sourcing and recommend alternative venues proactively to avoid similar issues. You will have an opportunity to leave us venue feedback via our client portal, which will also tell you where your next booking is.
Why Venue Outsourcing Matters
A well-managed venue sourcing process gives fundraisers a solid platform to succeed. By letting venue specialists, like VST Venues handle the sourcing and booking, your fundraising team can focus entirely on donor engagement and maximising impact. In addition, by handling the booking carefully and recording the lessons learned, every future event becomes considerably easier to plan and hopefully more productive than the last.
Thoughtful venue selection can also positively influence outcomes, increasing supporter engagement, maximising donations, and enhancing the overall return on investment for the fundraising effort.
If you need any help with booking a venue for your fundraising event, be sure to contact our highly trained and expert team at VST Venues today.
