Events: Inspirational Tours & Site Visits
“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them.”
Inspirational tours and site visits can be a powerful way to engage supporters, raise awareness, and build support for your nonprofit organization. Providing a firsthand look at your work is key to creating a lasting connection between your organization and your audience.
Here are a few tips for making sure your tours inspire your audience.
1. Choose the right site.
Your site should be a place that is both relevant to your mission and visually appealing. It should also be accessible to your target audience.
2. Develop a clear purpose.
What do you want your visitors to learn and experience during their tour? If a specific funder has requested a site visit, be sure to include the aspect(s) of your work they are interested in. Make sure your purpose is clear and communicated to all staff and volunteers involved in the tour.
3. Create a memorable experience.
Your tour should be more than just a walk-through of your facility. Incorporate interactive elements, such as hands-on activities, storytelling, and Q&A sessions.
4. Train your staff and volunteers.
Your staff and volunteers are the ambassadors of your organization. Make sure they are knowledgeable about your mission and prepared to answer questions from visitors.
5. Debrief.
After your tour or site visit, take some time to evaluate how it went. Collect feedback from visitors and use it to improve your tours in the future.
An example:
During a capital campaign, we hosted many donors and prospects to a multi-building campus. Our purpose was to demonstrate the need for a complete rebuilding of all facilities–not only were they run down and out of code, they no longer supported best practices in the work that we were doing.
We worked with key staff in each location to clearly define what should be highlighted and why, and settled on the best days and times that would be least disruptive to our team and our clients. We then created a run of show (detailed agenda of how the tour was going to proceed, key talking points, and who was speaking when), which included gathering in a conference room at the beginning for a brief introduction, walking through all the buildings, and ending at the same conference room for Q&A and debrief (once our guests left).
Inspirational tours and site visits can be a great way to connect with your supporters and build support for your organization. By following these tips, you can plan and execute successful tours that will leave a lasting impression.
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