A successful skills clinic requires some planning in advance to ensure that your participants walk away with a productive and memorable experience. Use these steps to guide your efforts:

1. Recruit volunteers.

Reach out to your organization’s committed volunteers to see if any of them have expertise in a particular skill that they’d like to share. In addition to teaching at the clinic, you can also recruit volunteers for roles such as welcoming participants, photographing the event, and more.

Consider providing some incentives to inspire your volunteers and show your appreciation. For instance, you can provide branded volunteer t-shirts for them to wear at the clinic or even gift cards for those who have offered to share one of their skills.

2. Find a venue.

Depending on your volunteers and the skills offered at your clinic, you’ll need to find a suitable venue for participants to gather and learn. If your clinic is focused on athletics, then an ideal location could be an open field or an indoor gymnasium. Additionally, be prepared to provide any necessary equipment or supplies that your volunteers and participants will need for the clinic.

3. Promote your skills clinic.

Once you’ve secured your volunteers and venue, it’s time to start selling tickets for your skills clinic fundraiser. Create a dedicated event page on your organization’s website and link to it in your promotional materials. To reach as wide of an audience as possible, share your upcoming skills clinic in:

• Your email newsletter
• Social media posts
• Flyers

In your communications, emphasize that your skills clinic is the perfect opportunity for people to both learn something new and contribute to an important cause.

4. Follow up with your participants.

After your skills clinic fundraiser, be sure to follow up with participants to strengthen the connections you’ve built with them and secure their long-term support. Send them a prompt thank-you after the event and notify them about additional ways they can get involved with your organization.

For example, you could direct them to a post-event survey to share their feedback. This demonstrates that you care about their experience and allows you to identify areas for improvement in your next fundraiser.