How things went at the Muslim Lifestyle Expo
Alhamdulillah, our presence at the Muslim Lifestyle Expo in Manchester was a success!
In total, we attracted 59 new patrons that are now donating a total of £550 in recurring monthly donations. This will, insha-Allah, work out to £6,600 per year and a total of £33,000 over the next five years.
3 radio stations interviewed us and we networked with many activists doing work that Overcome complements.
We also found numerous ways to improve our F2F Fundraising Framework...
1. We improved our pitch to include "equivalents".
Equivalents give donors a more concrete picture of how valuable their donations are. A year of monthly £10 donations, for example, make it possible to produce an Overcome video.
Equivalents give donors a more concrete picture of how valuable their donations are. A year of monthly £10 donations, for example, make it possible to produce an Overcome video.
2. We purchased a table and 4 chairs.
Although we engage people outside of the stall, having a table and chairs is very helpful. We use the table to place our projector and tablets on (and to hide our supplies). And we use the chairs to discuss Overcome with potential partners and high value donors. In previous events, these came with the stall. But, at this event, we had to rent them. So, instead, we invested in our own set (at a similar cost) and we're now looking to buy a branded table cloth.
Although we engage people outside of the stall, having a table and chairs is very helpful. We use the table to place our projector and tablets on (and to hide our supplies). And we use the chairs to discuss Overcome with potential partners and high value donors. In previous events, these came with the stall. But, at this event, we had to rent them. So, instead, we invested in our own set (at a similar cost) and we're now looking to buy a branded table cloth.
3. We concluded the ideal stall set-up.
In July, we experimented with stall-free face-to-face fundraising. Although we did secure new donors, it was much more difficult than with a stall. After all, a well-presented stall goes along way in presenting Overcome as a credible organisation. So, for this event, we took 2 stalls to create a 3-sided stall, thereby giving us 3 sides to engage people on. It worked very well and the energy around our stall was awesome! We'll aim to repeat the same on future events, with 1 team leader, 6 fundraisers (2 on each side) and 2 canvassers who can give out the invitation cards to visitors as they reach the venue.
In July, we experimented with stall-free face-to-face fundraising. Although we did secure new donors, it was much more difficult than with a stall. After all, a well-presented stall goes along way in presenting Overcome as a credible organisation. So, for this event, we took 2 stalls to create a 3-sided stall, thereby giving us 3 sides to engage people on. It worked very well and the energy around our stall was awesome! We'll aim to repeat the same on future events, with 1 team leader, 6 fundraisers (2 on each side) and 2 canvassers who can give out the invitation cards to visitors as they reach the venue.
A massive thanks to everyone who volunteered. Thank you to our team leaders Antoine and Khadija who came from Jordan. And thank you to Dawud, Rasheed, Ziad, Kalthooma, Farheen, Victoria and Annabel for volunteering your time (especially Rasheed who came all the way from France).
And a super massive thank you to the patrons who funded this event. This simply wasn't possible without you.
And a super massive thank you to the patrons who funded this event. This simply wasn't possible without you.
