As a small not for profit organisation, running events is an important activity that you should consider undertaking throughout the year.  There are many benefits of running events and some of these include the raising or your profile and boosting awareness of your organisation.  As an example, if you run a sporting club or community group then an event can be an ideal way to get the general public to actively participate.  This can result in the recruitment of new members.

Events also provide a great way to highlight the quality of the services you provide.  For example, if you run a kindergarten then having an open day so parents can meet the teachers and support staff, see that facilities and even have the children show their work can really showcase the services and gain more enrolments.

In addition, running events also is an excellent way to recruit new committee of management members or volunteers.  Especially for small not for profit organisations this can be a real challenge and in some extreme cases not being able to get board members can result in the organisation not being able to operate.  Also, even if people may not to become committee of management members they may be willing to assist in other ways as a volunteer.

Furthermore, the benefits of running an event also can be to raise donations.  Donations may be just for a general cause or the event may specifically relate to an actual fundraising activity such a new building, renovations or even new equipment.

The main focus of this information was to discuss the benefits of running events.  While the above points tried to highlight some of the benefits there are so many more that could be obtained depending on the size of your organisation, the resources you have available as well as the objectives that you are trying to achieve.

The next series of posts will discuss the importance of being clear about the objectives of the event and planning your event.