We'll be looking at a real event hosted on GiveGab that follows most of our best practices, with the "Excellent" category being the actual language they used! 

Example:
​You're hosting a bowl-a-thon to raise money for emergency shelter and support services for domestic violence survivors. 

Your Event Title should be something that reflects your organization, the event you're hosting, and the reason you are fundraising. The title should give specific information about the event and should sound exciting or interesting to the participants. 

Example

Your Fundraising Goal should be S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time Bound). Your Event Editor requires you to have a Specific dollar amount and reports on your progress to show how you Measure up against your goal, so all you need to worry about is creating an Achievable, Relevant, and Time Bound goal. 

When creating a goal, think about your overall fundraising needs in relation to the event. Why are you raising money? How can your goal tie in to the theme of your event and the reason people are registering? What non-monetary goals are you trying to achieve?

In our Example, the theme of bowling is used to highlight coming together to strike out and bowl over domestic violence. 

These are clear, identifiable, and thematic elements that highlight the fundraising efforts of these events. In other words, they are S.M.A.R.T. 

While an Event typically occurs on one specific date, the donation period typically spans between 30 Days and 60 Days. Your Launch Date is the date your fundraising period begins, and your End Date is the date this period ends. The End Date is typically the same date as the actual event, though this is not always the case. 

The length of your campaign should also be in line with your S.M.A.R.T goal and Event Story (Which we'll get to soon!).

First, think about what is Achievable in the time frame you have. Can you raise $50,000 in 30 Days? What about 60 Days? Have you raised that much in that timeframe previously? 

Continue on to Best Practices for using the Event Fundraising feature.