Why charities should love third party events

If you’ve ever hosted, organised, sponsored, volunteered or participated at a major sporting event you will appreciate how much they depend on everything to go right for success. It is a highly detailed, resource-intensive, checklist oriented project that consumes anyone involved.

Then there are the compliance requirements – for example road closures, permits, equipment hire and insurances. We’ve already made our case right there and we didn’t even have to talk portaloos.

A third party event can take many forms but the most joyous aspect of it is that it is pre-organised, allowing you to introduce it to your supporter base and get on with promoting it as a new fundraising opportunity. Without the months of pre-planning, you can dedicate time, resources and effort to a better outcome through coaching and stewardship.

There are certainly costs associated with a number of these types of events, especially if you choose tiered or featured status through an event registration system. When weighing up these fees, it is usually apparent that they still present good value when compared with running an event yourself. Additionally, as the event marketing and promotion budget is bigger than most charities can afford, being a part of these third party events creates exposure to a new audience and potential donor base.

Some of these events have even become icons within a landscape or route. However, whilst they can attract huge numbers of runners, cyclists, etc, they may also present a different challenge in promoting your brand to a saturated audience.

But there are smaller events that can still have impact and participant demographics may be more targeted or relevant to your organisation’s message. Tour de Office is one such event that works specifically within corporates promoting health and wellness. It means people wanting to get involved do not have to be able to clock a marathon in under 4 hours or cycle every weekend, they are just able to have a go and feel good about their effort. This broader appeal event could present an introduction to the everyday person who may turn out to be your biggest supporter, and without needing to complete some athletic feat to prove it.