How to Organise a Charity Event

We understand the idea of organising a charity event can seem a little daunting at first, so we’ve pulled together our handy tips and tricks in charity event planning, helping you turn your dream charity event into a reality!

organise a charity event

This step-by-step guide is designed to help you organise a successful charity event to raise vital funds for Prevent Breast Cancer, so we can continue building a future free from breast cancer.

We’ve had 29 years’ of experience guiding hundreds of supporters to create memorable and impactful events. For more support, give our friendly team a call at 0161 291 4400 or email us at info@preventbreastcancer.org.uk

Why Organise a Charity Event for Prevent Breast Cancer?

Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity committed solely to predicting and preventing breast cancer. Unlike many cancer charities, rather than finding a cure, we’re entirely dedicated to preventing future generations from ever being diagnosed. We’re making a huge difference in the future of breast cancer, from funding ground breaking research to building a national breast imaging academy – we use science to save lives.

Organising a charity event isn’t the only way you can get involved, from jumping out of planes and running marathons to organising a bake sale, you can find an array of ways to support Prevent Breast Cancer.

How to Organise a Charity Event

Organising a charity event is a great way to give back to a cause close to your heart. The Prevent Breast Cancer team offers tools and support to help make your charity event planning easier. No matter how big or small your event is, we can’t thank you enough for choosing to support our mission.

organise a charity event

Step 1: Choose Your Charity Event Type

The first step is to decide what type of event you would like to run. Perhaps you’re in the mood for a themed gathering, community fundraising activity, or a group 30-day challenge? Take a look at our A to Z of fundraising for a whole host of ideas!

Top tip – It’s always best to select an event based on the interest and demographic of the audience you expect to attend. For example, if you are organising a fundraiser with your local church, an ideal time could be the 40 days of Lent – you could ask your group to pledge £10 to add a further incentive to keep to their lent sacrifices.

organise a charity event

Step 2: Set Your Fundraising Goal

It’s important to set an achievable, yet ambitious goal, to motivate you and your event attendees. You’re in it together! Knowing how far away the goalpost is can really help you get past the finish line. This can also create a subtle way to remind people about the event in person or on social media. For example, saying or posting ‘We’ve reached 50% of our target – who will help us smash our goal?’

organise a charity event

Step 3: Plan the Logistics

Grab your favourite pen and notepad – it’s time to make a list of what is involved in your event to make it happen. Make a timeline, of what is needed before, during and after the event.

Before the event, you’ll need to plan how the day will run. What do people need to do to participate in your event and how will you collect their donations – we can support you with a collection box and setting up an online fundraiser to gain even more visibility of your efforts! Then you’ll need to let everyone know what you’re planning – perhaps preparing some invites, a poster, a social media post, a WhatsApp message – whatever your audience is most likely to use.

During the event – Run through the event in your head from start to end – make a list of the things you may need to acquire to make it run smoothly. For example, if you’re running a cake sale, you will probably need a suitable table, plates for the cakes, perhaps a table cloth and some cake labels to help people identify any allergies and dietary requirements.

After the event, share the success of your event, don’t forget to share photos and the grand fundraising total on social media, in appropriate WhatsApp groups or on a notice board to remember the wonderful day!

organise a charity event

Step 4: Promote Your Charity Event

Once you have planned your event, it’s time to share why you’re hosting the charity event with your friends and family. Don’t forget to get in touch with our team, so we can help you paint your event pink with Prevent Breast Cancer merchandise!

We can post you an array of things to spruce up your event, balloons, bunting, leaflets and more. That way you can raise as much awareness of breast cancer as possible.

organise a charity event

Step 5: Keep Your Audience Engaged

We highly suggest posting your event on social media, so more people follow your progress. Bring your friends, family, colleagues and community along on the journey with you, let them know how preparations are going, countdown the days, share some behind the scenes preparations and post some highlights from the day!

Top tip – Add a link to your fundraising page in every post, to make it easy for people to show their support!

organise a charity event

Step 6: Share the Donations Raised & Say Thank You

Once the event is over, it’s important to share how it went! Thank participants, donors and volunteers (if necessary). If you have an online fundraiser set up, you can often continue taking donations after the event for a limited time – call for a final push for donations for anyone who still would like to support your efforts.

Get Involved with Our Charity Events

Just like that, you’re ready to run a successful charity fundraising event! You super star. We hope you find this guide useful, and we can’t reiterate enough that we’re here to support you every step of the way! Thank you for helping us make a difference in the future of breast cancer.

For more information about our upcoming fundraising events, please email info@preventbreastcancer.org.uk or call our friendly team at 0161 291 4400.

About Prevent Breast Cancer

Prevent Breast Cancer is the only UK charity entirely dedicated to the prediction and prevention of breast cancer – we’re committed to freeing the world from the disease altogether. Unlike many cancer charities, we’re focused on preventing, rather than curing. Promoting early diagnosis, screening and lifestyle changes, we believe we can stop the problem before it starts. And being situated at the only breast cancer prevention centre in the UK, we’re right at the front-line in the fight against the disease. Join us today and help us create a future free from breast cancer. If you have any questions or concerns, email us today.