Events boost your public visibility and can increase community involvement. Tracking these events keeps you organized before the event and helps you improve next year's event. Tracking involves several steps.
Note: This example follows the process of tracking a 2018 Gala event with free registrations. Please customize the sample names and data for your event.
Prepare Your Bloomerang CRM Data
Set up a few things in Bloomerang CRM to track free events:
Interaction custom fields: Create new custom fields for interactions.
Create a Text Pick One Value custom field called "Event Name." Add values for the types of events you hold, such as Gala, Picnic, or Walkathon.
Tip: The Event Name field is helpful for new staff members. They may not be familiar with what has been tracked for events and where, but they can filter by the Event Name field.Create a Number Type It In custom field for Number of Attendees. This is especially useful if a registrant is bringing guests. In addition, you could also create a custom field for Guest Names.
Depending on the type of your event, you might also have custom fields for Dietary Restrictions for a gala or picnic, or Team Name or Distance for walkathons.
Custom confirmation email: Create an interaction email with a purpose of Special Event. Name the subject line something like "2018 Gala Registration Confirmation."
Create Your Free Event Registration Form
Create a Constituent Information Form from within Bloomerang CRM.
In Step 1:
Name the form something like 2018 Gala Registration Form.
Under Subject, type in 2018 Gala Registration.
Under Purpose, select Special Event.
Use your custom confirmation email.
Place Form on Website
Insert the constituent information form into your website.
Invite Guests
Invite your guests. Create a constituent-based email or letter in Bloomerang CRM and type "2018 Gala Invitation" in the Subject field. Link to your registration form or tell people where they can register. Filter it so it is sent to all your invitees. When you generate the email or letter, an interaction with a subject of "2018 Gala Invitation" is created for each invitee. It wouldn't hurt to add a call to action for those who can't attend, but may be interested to donate.
Track Registration
The registrations are rolling in! Each form submission creates an interaction in that constituent's account and an interaction from the confirmation email.
If constituents register by means other than the form, record the interactions with the same Subject: 2018 Gala Registration.
To track how many slots have been filled and who will be attending:
Create a new interaction report.
Set the report filters this way:
Include: Subject = 2018 Gala Registration
Include these columns:
First Name
Last Name
Date
Subject
Purpose
Channel
Number of Attendees
Other relevant custom fields
Save the report as "2018 Gala Registration."
This report shows the total number of registrations, as well as anticipated number of attendees if registrants are bringing guests.
Remind Non-responders
Follow up on invitees who haven't responded.
Create a new letter or email based on constituents.
Remove the default Exclude filter.
Set these filters:
Include: Subject = "2018 Gala Invitation." (Filter path:Constituent>Has Interactions> Specific Interactions >Include > Subject). This includes only the people you previously invited.
Exclude: Subject = "2018 Gala Registration." (Filter path: Constituent > Has Interactions > Specific Interactions > Include > Subject). This leaves out the people who have already registered.
Send the letter or email.
After the Event
Congratulations, your event was a huge success! Now you need to record who attended the event.
Track Attendance
To track attendance at your event:
Create a new interaction report.
Add these filters:
Include: Subject = 2018 Gala Registration
Include these columns:
First Name
Last Name
Account Number
Primary Email Address
Date
Click Save And, and then Export to Excel.
Name the report "2018 Gala Attendance."
Compare this spreadsheet with your check-in list. Remove people from the spreadsheet who didn't show up.
Add people who attended but didn't register, and add guest information. To avoid duplicates, add their email address and other contact info you collected. Also adjust your spreadsheet to include these columns and data for each attendee:
Date: Date of event
Subject: Attended 2018 Gala
Purpose: Special Event
Channel: In Person
Event Name, and other relevant custom fields
Save the spreadsheet as a CSV file.
Import this file as an interaction. Make sure you map the Primary Email Address column! This import creates new attendance interactions for all attendees and increases their engagement score.
Attendance import. Click for a larger image
Attendance interaction
Record Donations
If donations were made at the event, manually add a new donation for each constituent, or import the donations. Set the appeal as "2018 Gala."
Report on Events
You should run at least two reports to analyze the success of your event. Run a registration list before the event and an attendance list after the event. If donations were made at the event, run a transaction report to see how much money was generated and compare this to your event costs.
Registration List
Run the 2018 Gala Registration report.
Attendance List
To see the final attendance:
Create an interaction report.
Set this filter: Include: Subject = "Attended 2018 Gala."
Save and name the report "Final 2018 Gala Attendance."
Money from Event
To see how much money this event generated:
Create a transaction report.
Set this filter: Include: Appeal = "2018 Gala." This will include any gifts made at the event.
Save and name the report "2018 Gala Gifts."