Winning the Game in Your Post-Event Season
The spring fundraising event season is over, time to collect feedback and clean up your documents … then, celebrate! Alex and Carrie from the Synchronicity team share a laugh and a lighthearted moment. Photo by Tideway Creative.
Hey, nonprofit fundraising event planners! You’ve just pulled off a killer spring event—congrats! Now, it’s super tempting to pay those invoices, share your sizzle reel, send thank-you notes, jot down a basic report for your board, and then toss all your event stuff into storage, right? Hold up! Especially if you’ve got an annual event, now’s the perfect time to capture all the juicy details.
Events are big and important, but they are also fleeting and ephemeral! Let’s be honest, sometimes the only things left are the photos and the wild stories. So, let’s make sure you’re snagging all the qualitative bits and fine details to help next year’s planning process, so your event can grow stronger and more effective year over year.
1. Collecting LINEAR Feedback
Team Wrap-Up: About two weeks post-event, host a wrap-up sesh with your planning team. Get everyone to share their own views on the good (DO IT AGAIN), the bad (NEVER DO AGAIN), and the almost-good (NEEDS MORE WORK). No blaming—just a straight-up, honest debrief. Capture all perspectives - don’t spend time trying to get the group to agree on a detail - because events are complex and everyone’s experience matters.
Guest Survey: Send a quick survey to your guests within 24 hours of the event. Keep it simple and open-ended: “What did you love?” and “Any suggestions for next time?” Boom, done. The answers you get will help you understand the guest experience and what to tweak for next time.
2. Collecting NON-LINEAR Feedback
This feedback trickles in from various sources after your event. Keep an open document to capture all the praise, critiques, and random notes. Ask your staff and board to pass along anything notable. Record conversations from the event, interesting tidbits from guests, and any cool ideas that pop up later.
Some gems to capture:
New connections made at the event
Potential new board members
Recommendations for bands, speakers, or caterers
Strong critiques (you don’t have to act on them, but it’s good to note)
Guests who re-engaged with your organization
Offers to help with next year’s event
After a month, archive this document with the rest of your event files.
3. Leave True Records
Do your future self a favor and organize your files. Save the final versions of all essential documents including the floor plan, script, guest list, volunteer list, final permits, final budget numbers, and vendor contracts. Drop your event photos and videos in there too. Spend an hour on this admin work to leave a clean, usable record of your accomplishments.
When it’s time to plan next year’s event, these resources (linear and non-linear feedback, and your complete archive) will be your roadmap of what to keep and what to rethink.
And now, it’s time to step away from this year’s event, pour yourself a sparkling beverage, and enjoy some well-deserved downtime!
#eventplanning #eventprofs #seattleevents #nonprofitevents #teamsynchronicity
