Virtual Event Platform – Time to Take Your Nonprofit Event Global!

Posted on July 22, 2021

The nonprofit event management landscape has undergone a major transformation in the recent past. While several nonprofits were still contemplating to what extent they need to adapt to technology, in came the pandemic and left them with no choice! In today’s virtual world, nonprofits must adopt technological innovations to offer their audience a better experience. Organizing virtual fundraising events is one technology-based migration that nonprofits cannot afford to ignore!

Let me guide you on everything you want to know about virtual nonprofit events-what they are, how to create an event virtually, what virtual event platforms are, how to choose one, and many more!

What are online events?

An online event is hosted virtually. In other words, there is no direct/physical interaction between attendees, they meet virtually on a digital platform. Some common online virtual events that we have grown familiar with in the past year and a half are Zoom meetings, webinars, live events on Facebook, Instagram, etc.

With the COVID norms putting a stop to physical events, virtual events have become extremely popular among people of all age groups across the globe.

Why are virtual events becoming so popular?

They allow an opportunity for people who are stuck indoors to interact with like-minded people from the convenience of their homes.

Virtual events have facilitated bringing together a global audience.

Live events offer an opportunity for the members of the audience to interact by posting their comments to which usually the hosts respond. Unlike traditional events, such events provide a means for the audience to directly interact with the host, who might be a celebrity in some cases.

Virtual events like Zoom Meetings, etc. have come as a convenient means to replace meetings held in an official set-up. Zoom has been extremely popular for hosting family meetings as well. Well-structured Zoom meetings allow an opportunity for all members to participate and make their voices heard.

Webinars have also become popular among both the audience and the hosts.

You may be aware of such virtual events and may have even participated in some of them, however, you might still be wondering, “How do I host a virtual nonprofit event?”

Using similar concepts, it is possible to host virtual charity events such as online auctions, peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, and many more.

In fact, virtual events offer certain advantages over physical events:

Less Expensive

This is because in a virtual event you do incur costs such as that of a venue, arranging food and beverages, making travel or accommodation arrangements for guests in certain cases, etc. All this reduces a lot of money that is invested in organizing a physical event.

Convenient

Since the audience can attend it, it is convenient for them and most of them are likely to attend.

Wider Reach

Virtual events open doors to a global audience. You can leverage virtual events to spread the word about your nonprofit to people in different countries. This will help attract donations from remote corners of the world.

Besides these, there are several other benefits that virtual online events offer to both the hosts and the attendees.

However, keeping your audience engaged in a virtual event for the entire duration can be an uphill task. It requires a lot of creativity to organize events that engage your audience.

How to Create an Event Virtually?

Step 1: Establish your goals for the event. When you have a clear goal that you wish to achieve through your event, it gives a direction to your planning.

Step 2: Choose an appropriate event hosting platform. Event hosting platforms simplify the process of event management by offering tools and features that take care of all aspects of event planning and hosting.

Step 3: Decide on the date and time for the event. Make sure that you choose the timing that will be convenient for maximum attendees.

Step 4: Promote your event extensively through various online and offline channels.

Step 5: Develop an agenda for the event and share it with your attendees.

Step 6: Make sure that you have someone who moderates the proceedings during the event. This will help keep the proceedings in a focused direction.

Step 7: Make sure to include strategies that encourage audience participation.

Step 8: Ensure that you have a backup plan, it may be a backup platform in case of any issues with the existing platform.

Step 9: Conduct a post-event follow-up to gather information about how the experience of the audience was. This will help you while planning your future events.

How do I host a virtual nonprofit event?

The same concept can be extended for a nonprofit event. Nonprofit events are usually organized to raise funds. So, when you establish your goals for the event, you can set a target of the total funds you propose to raise through the event.

You could also consider using a fundraising thermometer with regular updates funds updated. This will attract your audience(especially existing donors) and motivate them to donate. Make sure that you use fundraising platforms that integrate digital marketing tools for social media marketing, email marketing, etc.

Hosting virtual nonprofit events has become easier thanks to the virtual event platforms!

What are virtual event platforms?

A virtual event platform offers you several tools that help streamline the event planning process. Virtual event platforms have multiple features that help manage different aspects of an event in a single platform.

Some features that virtual event management platforms include are:

• Attendee registration
• Payment processing
• Event marketing
• Attendee engagement, and many more!

There are different types of event management platforms with distinct features. Some platforms offer end-to-end event management tools as well. Therefore it is recommended that you compare the features of different platforms before choosing one for your event.

Next, we come to the question of “How do I choose a virtual event platform?”

While comparing different event management platforms, always look for platforms that are scalable and offer flexibility for hosting a variety of events. Another factor to be borne in mind is that you select platforms that are well-suited for hosting nonprofit fundraising events.

When you are looking for event management platforms, you need to ensure that they have some essential features required for hosting fundraisers.

Here’s a list of some basic features that any event management platform must have:

• The platform should facilitate creating an event-specific web page or portal.
• It must provide customizable forms and payment processing features for attendees and exhibitor registration.
• It must facilitate easy viewing and management of attendee lists.
• Must include promotional features such as branded event websites, social media integration, email marketing, and attendee satisfaction surveys.

Event management platforms offer a combination of the following software:

• Event registration and ticketing software.
• Event Planning Software
• Event Marketing Software
• Mobile Event Apps
• Lead Retrieval Software
• Conference Intelligence Software
• Audience Response Software

The pricing of the platform depends on the blend of features it includes. However, it is recommended that you choose the platform that offers the features best suited to the needs of your nonprofit.

One of the best platforms for hosting a virtual nonprofit event is iConnectX. This is because iConnectX has a long history of being a platform associated with nonprofits for fundraising and other purposes. Hence, the company is aware of all the features required to organize a nonprofit event. iConnectX is an all-in-one event platform that facilitates seamless event planning and organizing of nonprofit events.

This platform is user-friendly and is easy to use. You can host any type of fundraising event using this platform. It can easily be integrated with your nonprofit. It includes all the tools that simplify the process of organizing nonprofit events.

iConnectX is a platform that is easy to navigate and customize according to the needs of your nonprofit.

Call us Now to Take your Nonprofit Event Global!