Fundraising strategy for charities: where events fit, and where they don't

A good fundraising strategy treats events as one income stream among several, not as the plan itself. Events are brilliant at some jobs and poor at others, and it is easy to lean on them too hard or write them off too quickly.

I’m Kevin Durham, a professional charity auctioneer, and I work 60 to 80 events a year. So you might expect me to tell you to run more of them. I won’t. Here is where an event earns its place in your plan, where it doesn’t, and how to build the year around the one night that matters.

What is a fundraising strategy?

A fundraising strategy is a written plan for how your charity will raise the money its work needs over the next few years. It names your target, the mix of income you will chase, the activities and dates, the budget, and who is responsible.

NCVO suggests matching it to your organisation’s plan, usually two to three years, with SMART objectives and a review built in. The Charity Commission is blunter: trustees should plan the approach, and must identify and manage the risks that come with it.

A strategy is not a calendar of nice ideas. It starts with a number, a real one in pounds. If you have not set one yet, start with setting a target and work backwards.

Where does UK charity income actually come from?

Just under half of UK voluntary sector income comes from the public. NCVO’s Almanac puts it at 48% of £69.1bn in 2021/22, with government at 26%, other charities and foundations at 12% and investments at 9%.

“The public” covers a lot of ground: donations, legacies, membership, charity shops, and events.

So events are a slice of a slice.

The public slice is also under pressure. CAF estimates the British public gave £14bn in 2025, and one in five people say they cannot afford to give. CAF’s own consultant writes that the sector has lost around 600,000 donors a year over the past decade.

That is the honest backdrop, and I’d rather you planned with it than around it. How to fundraise in 2026 comes down to the mix. There is no magic method.

Where do events fit in a fundraising strategy?

Events fit in a fundraising strategy as the place where you raise unrestricted money quickly, meet new supporters face to face, and give a campaign a moment people remember. They work best as a few high points in the year, with steadier income streams doing the daily work.

Here is roughly how the main streams compare:

CAF’s March 2026 analysis gives two useful examples. A small Sussex charity found community fundraising events among its most effective tools, both for income and local ties. And Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity grew events, trading, major gifts and individual giving together on the back of one capital campaign. The event was part of the story. It wasn’t the whole story.

Where events don’t fit

An event will not give you reliable monthly income. It happens once, and a wet weekend or a clash with a big match can dent it.

Events also cost more than the venue invoice. Staff time, volunteer hours, ticket sales, lot sourcing and follow-up all come out of the same small team that should be stewarding donors. The Charity Commission notes there is no set amount a charity must spend on fundraising, but every pound and hour has to be in the charity’s best interests.

There are tax limits too. Fundraising events can be exempt from VAT, but HMRC caps it at 15 events of the same kind in the same place each financial year. Hold 16 and all of them become taxable. HMRC also says an event should be out of the ordinary, not business as usual.

Put simply: if your events are plugging a gap that regular giving or a grant should fill, the problem is the strategy, not the event.

How do you write a fundraising plan that includes events?

You write a fundraising plan by auditing what you raise now, choosing your income mix, setting objectives, then putting activities, budgets and owners on a calendar. Events go into that calendar after the steady streams, not before.

1. Audit last year. What did each stream raise, and what did it cost in money and hours?
2. Check the mix. NCVO warns that relying on a single source of income puts you at risk.
3. Set objectives per stream. A number, a date and an owner for each.
4. Choose your channels. The CIoF guide for small charities lists events, online campaigns, direct mail and face-to-face as options to weigh.
5. Build the calendar and budget. Place your flagship event where it supports a campaign or a key date.
6. Review quarterly. Add event risks to your risk register.

If you want a second pair of eyes on where the event sits, that is what my fundraising consultant work is for. Most of the extra money is made before the night, in the planning.

How many fundraising events should a charity run a year?

Most small and medium charities are better off with one flagship event and a handful of light community fundraising activities than with a packed events diary. One big night done properly usually beats six done tiredly.

The flagship might be a gala dinner, a ball or an auction evening. Around it, supporters run their own community fundraising: bake sales, sponsored challenges, quiz nights. Those cost the charity little and keep people involved between the big moments.

Spacing matters. Put the flagship where it does a job, such as launching an appeal or closing a capital campaign, and keep at least a few months between big asks to the same crowd.

Getting more from the one big night

If you are going to run one main event, make it count. This is my patch, so here are the opinions I hold most firmly.

Most charity auctions underperform not because of the lots, but because nobody is managing the room’s energy. Bidding momentum is a skill, not luck. Whoever holds the room holds the total.

The live pledge is the most underused tool in the room. At a Jigsaw Trust event, the charity expected £14,000 from the live auction. The auction raised £27,000, and a live pledge they hadn’t even planned added another £30,600. That was a powerful team behind a powerful charity, not me, but the lesson stands: the live pledge is where the real money lives. It’s a serious moment, but it’s not a funeral. The excitement builds as the money comes in.

There is a tax reason too. HMRC treats auction wins and raffle tickets as purchases, not gifts, so they cannot carry Gift Aid. A genuine donation on top of a ticket can, if it is clearly optional. A pledge is a straight donation, so collect Gift Aid declarations on the night.

And source your lots in-house. A commission-based lot supplier who rolls in with 50 to 100 lots is mostly serving itself. Ten great lots and a room driven to compete will keep far more with the charity. For more on the night itself, see how to raise more money at a charity event.

What do the rules say about fundraising events?

The main rules are the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice, which has an events section, plus your trustees’ legal duties and HMRC’s tax rules. The new Code came into effect on 1 November 2025.

Section 10 of the Code says you must carry out a risk assessment before an event, have the permissions and licences you need, and be clear in your promotion about how the money raised will be used.

Under CC20, trustees must make sure fundraising complies with the law and protects the charity’s reputation.

Fundraising tips to build the year around

A few fundraising tips that hold up whatever size you are:

• Start with the number, then pick the streams that can reach it.
• Give each event one job: new supporters, unrestricted cash, or a campaign launch. Not all three by accident.
• Plan the follow-up before the night. Every guest is a possible regular donor. CAF’s advice is to cherish the supporters you have, and that starts with how you thank donors.
• Count the hours, not just the costs.
• Judge the event against the plan. Last year’s total is the wrong yardstick.

If you’d like to talk through where an event fits in your own fundraising strategy, call me on 07596 851647. The first consultation is free, and I’d rather talk it through properly than trade messages.