Events fundraising can feel like one of the hardest areas to get right.
High admin. Tight budgets. Supporters who sign up full of enthusiasm, then quietly disappear. And for smaller charities, the risk can feel huge. One wrong decision on event places or marketing spend can wipe out months of work.
So when we hear about a charity growing its events income from around £100,000 a year to over £630,000, it’s worth paying attention.
In a recent episode of the Fundraising Everywhere podcast, Simon Scriver sat down with Georgia Akers, Head of Events at Spinal Research, to unpack what’s actually driven that growth. No silver bullets. No “overnight success”. Just thoughtful strategy, relationship-building, and a willingness to change what wasn’t working.
Here’s what events fundraisers can learn from Spinal Research’s approach.
Starting from uncertainty, not a perfect plan
Like many charities, Spinal Research came out of Covid facing a lot of unknowns.
Some supporters were desperate to get back to events. Others were hesitant. Many had been financially affected. And internally, teams were smaller, stretched, and cautious about risk.
Rather than charging ahead with the same events programme they’d always run, Georgia and her team took a step back and asked some hard questions.
- Which events were actually worth the time and admin?
- Where was the demand genuinely strong?
- What could they stop doing without harming income?
This wasn’t about doing more. It was about doing fewer things better.
Some events were removed entirely because they required heavy admin with little return. The focus shifted to events with proven demand and clearer supporter appetite.
That clarity created the space to grow sustainably.
Using mass participation events as a gateway, not the end goal
One of the most important insights from Spinal Research’s approach is how they think about mass participation events like the London Marathon.
For many supporters, the event comes first. The Charity is secondary.
Instead of seeing this as a problem, Georgia’s team leans into it.
London Marathon places are often taken by people who have never fundraised for Spinal Research before. Some have no existing connection to spinal injury. They simply want to run.
The strategy is not to convert them instantly into lifelong donors. It’s to focus on experience and relationships.
That includes:
- Early phone calls to introduce the charity
- Regular, supportive stewardship emails
- Clear fundraising guidance and encouragement
- Opportunities to meet the team and each other, including pre-event meetups
What they’ve found is powerful.
Even when supporters don’t start with a strong cause connection, a positive experience brings them back. They sign up for future events. They recommend the charity to others. They become advocates, not just participants.
Why stewardship matters more than the event itself
A consistent theme in Georgia’s approach is stewardship.
Not flashy campaigns. Not endless incentives. Just solid, human relationship-building.
Supporters are contacted. Checked in on. Encouraged. Thanked properly.
And crucially, expectations are clear from the start.
Spinal Research introduced a first fundraising target across all events. If supporters don’t meet it by a certain point, the charity reserves the right to remove them from the event.
This change alone resulted in a six-figure income increase year on year for their flagship event.
It protects income. It keeps things fair. And it ensures places go to people who are genuinely ready to fundraise.
It also removes a lot of the awkwardness that events fundraisers know too well. When expectations are clear, conversations become easier.
The role of zero-risk events in portfolio growth
One of the biggest challenges for small and medium charities is expanding an events portfolio without taking on too much financial risk.
Spinal Research tackled this through what they refer to as a zero-risk model.
By working with third-party suppliers such as Run for Charity and Realbuzz, they can offer places on hundreds of events without paying upfront for unused tickets. The charity is only charged once a supporter hits a fundraising threshold.
This approach has allowed them to:
- Test new events without major financial commitment
- Offer events across the UK and internationally
- Replace income lost through reduced London Marathon places
- Learn what their audience actually wants
Whilst there is admin involved. These participants are spread across different events and timelines. But with clear systems, trackers, and reminders in place, the return has been worth it.
For charities with limited budgets, this model can be a game-changer.
Marketing when your audience is “everyone”
Spinal Research’s audience is broad. A spinal cord injury can affect anyone, at any time. That makes targeting tricky.
Their approach reflects this reality.
They use Meta advertising for both brand awareness and event promotion, knowing it’s often cold traffic. They experiment with different platforms, test what works for specific events, and keep a close eye on return on investment.
Not every channel works. Some campaigns perform better on Facebook and Instagram, others elsewhere. Offline marketing still has a role too.
The key lesson here is not perfection. It’s flexibility.
Test. Learn. Stop what isn’t working. Double down on what is.
What other events fundraisers can take from this
You don’t need a huge team or a household-name brand to grow events income.
What Spinal Research shows is that growth often comes from:
- Saying no to events that drain capacity
- Being clear about fundraising expectations
- Treating participants like people, not numbers
- Reducing risk wherever possible
- Building systems that support consistency
None of this is glamorous. But it works.
Final thoughts
Events fundraising is demanding. It’s admin-heavy, people-focused, and rarely predictable.
But with the right foundations, it can also be one of the most powerful ways to bring new supporters into your charity and keep them coming back.
If you want to explore more real-world case studies like this, our Events Fundraising Conference brings together fundraisers who are doing the work, testing ideas, and sharing what’s actually helping them raise more money.
Because learning from each other is often the most valuable resource we have.