Did You Do Your S.W.O.T?

My walk experience is focused around fall events, so once Septober (September/October… get it) came to a close it was time to email participants the post event survey, send out incentive prizes and complete the S.W.O.T analysis. S.W.O.T stands for Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats.

I have to be honest; I have love/hate feelings about S.W.O.T’s. I love them because it’s a great way to analyze your overall event plan, learn what was successful and where you have room for improvement. I hate, okay that’s a strong word, dislike S.W.O.T’s because it’s a wonderful reminder that the event has ended and it’s time to start over again with zero dollars in the bank.

But, let’s focus on love part of S.W.O.T’s. What are some take-aways from your 2010 S.W.O.T analysis? What are your strengths and what areas can you improve on for 2011?

One area I always looked at was zero dollar participants. How many people took the time to go online, sign up for my event, and then did nothing. Zero dollar participants were always my biggest challenge. Each year, I would wonder how can convert more zero dollar participants into fundraisers? Do you struggle with zero dollar participants? What are you doing to convert zero dollar participants into active fundraisers?

BTW – I know the picture for this post is a little of the mark, but I thought it was fun!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Amy Braiterman

Amy Braiterman, principal strategy consultant at Blackbaud, supports customers with their peer-to-peer fundraising events with a process she refers to as “data-driven strategy.” Amy’s data driven strategy analyzes how effective event participants are using online fundraising tools and takes those results to develop an event fundraising plan. Prior to joining Blackbaud, Amy earned her fundraising stripes managing events for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Alzheimer’s Association and Share Our Strength. She shares her fundraising know how here on npENGAGE, by hosting educational webinars and speaking at customer conferences

Comments (2)

Julie Lubinsky says:

Jan 24, 2011 at 4:45 pm

Clear, simple instructions on how to join, post, share and most importantly, DONATE!

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Mark Davis says:

Jan 27, 2011 at 2:23 pm

I would suggest that you reach out to those zero dollar participants and find ways to connect with them in other ways. Incentives are only one way, but making them understand how important your mission is and how passionate you are is probably the best way.

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