One of the more interesting trends in the event fundraising space is the rise of third-party events — that is, events to benefit an organization that are managed outside of the organization itself. Such events, born from an increasingly self-motivated constituency, have attractive benefits. For one, their cost is relatively low. Perhaps more importantly, they can provide a truly donor-directed experience, in that the initiatives are created and managed by the donor participants themselves.

However, such programs have large potential pitfalls — lack of control, data collection challenges, difficulty in oversight and evaluation, and possible negative brand exposure to name a few of the largest. 

My colleagues at Event 360 recently teamed up with Blackbaud to research and document some of the best practices in this emerging field. The resulting whitepaper makes for an interesting read, and a good primer to how to get some of the basics in place so that you enjoy the benefits rather than suffer the headaches. 

I invite you to download it here.