This is an episode called a Planner Pep Talk or PPT. Planning fundraising events is not easy. These pep talks are designed to build your confidence and let you know you're not alone. Whenever you need a little encouragement, check out any of the PPT episodes.

Today's PPT topic is about doubt and not letting others make you feel "less than".

“How do we utilize board members most effectively at events? How can we train them to know they need to be our best ambassadors instead of guests at the event?”

There are two big mistakes nonprofits make when it comes to planning a fundraising event. One is not leaving enough time to plan the event. Second is not having an event planning timeline. In this episode, host Alicia Baraga talks about how to avoid making these two mistakes.

Technically there’s nothing wrong with calling your gala a gala. The problem is that ‘gala’ has become a generic term, like Kleenex. It is now used to represent almost any kind of fundraising event that isn’t a golf tournament or 5K.

In this episode I talk about why it’s important to have a unique and compelling brand name for your event along with my 6-step process for creating one.

Setting specific goals for your event is SO important. I’m not going to lecture you about SMART goals.  You can find tons of resources on how to do that with a simple online search.  

What I am going to talk about are FAST goals.  These are goals that should be set for any and every nonprofit fundraising or awareness-building event.  Learn about what they are and how to define those goals.

If you’ve ever worked or volunteered at a nonprofit, you’ve likely heard this statement…”We need to raise some money. We should host a_____” and then fill in the blank.

It could be a gala, 5K, golf tournament or any other type of event. And then the planning just begins. This type of planning is backwards. Find out why and what you can do about it in this episode.