Charity Event Tips: Going Green for Ticketing to Your Charity Event

In an era in which snail mail is looked down upon and "going green" is the new fad, it is important for charities to stay aware of what types of event invitations their attendees are hoping to receive. Regardless of the age of those invited or the organization doing the inviting, surveys show that online invitations are becoming most the most popular, fastest, and efficient way for charitable organizations and event goers to communicate.

Recent polls indicate that email or electronic invitations are the preferred means for receiving event invitations; however, this is not always the case. A significant number of respondents prefer receiving a paper invitation for events priced at over $150. In other words, "going green" has a threshold-and this should not be overlooked. Many charity event attendees like to get a traditional paper invitation for tickets that reflect a higher investment of their funds. The good news is that there are gray areas charity organizations can play in. Nice invitations are costly to print. So, you have the option of communicating the positive benefits of paperless event invitations in a clear message to your constituents. For instance, 'This year, our charity has chosen to issue electronic tickets and announcements for our event. Though it's a slight change from previous years, this switch allows us to shepherd more money to our cause, and help more people in need.'

Going green benefits your organization's core mission, the environment, and pleases your attendees as evidenced by a recent market research report. If you choose to go green, we urge you to supplement communications with popular electronic social community building tools, like Facebook or Twitter to ensure your charity event is staying buzz worthy and selling tickets. But, ultimately your organization should consider "going green" and utilizing online ticketing services. Who has ever run across an event goer who insisted on a glitzy invitation when it was clear that a simpler notification meant more money to do the good work their charitable organization has pledged to do?

Justin B. is the founder of the official master calendar of charity events and CharityHappenings Ticketing, online ticketing software for non-profit events.