How Can Not-For-Profit Organisations Benefit from Music Festival Partnerships.

The not-for-profit sector can include a mixture of large well-known recognised charities and a plethora of smaller organisations too. Most music festivals have relationships with one or more of these organisations but for a not-for-profit trying to obtain a new partnership it can be challenging given the competitive nature of securing these types of deals.

There are numerous benefits that not-for-profits get access to as a result of partnering with music festival entities. Whilst the festival entity will get mostly non tangible benefits these relationships can provide significant financial revenue for the not-for profit. What’s the criteria for the creation of these partnerships and what key benefits do the not-for-profits get by being involved with a music festival. 

Alignment and Ethos. 
A music festival entity is only going to consider partnering with a not-for-profit if there is an alignment in their overall ethos and that festival audiences can associate with that charitable organisation. The festival’s priorities can change over time so relevancy will be a key factor and not-for-profits currently trending may include those with a focus on sustainability issues, mental health, addiction and related topics. These topics should be relevant to both the festival entity and festival-goers and if sponsors and artists are aligned too the relationship can be even stronger. 

Enhanced Branding. 
A successful partnership with a music festival entity brings great branding and awareness building opportunities for not-for-profits because they get access to large audiences. This can help raise engagement with festival-goers who can learn more about a charitable cause and its mission. Being associated with a music festival can also increase the not-for-profit's credibility and visibility with other key audiences, especially corporate sponsors which can open up further opportunities for partnership deals. In addition, partnered not-for-profits can gain access to a wide range of performance artists who may also be aligned with their work. All these engagement opportunities can be further enhanced with collaborative campaigns, press releases and messages to target audiences. 

Fundraising Assistance. 
As well as raising awareness to a wider audience the not-for-profit's key objective is to raise funds for their organisation. The festival partnership allows fundraising initiatives to take place which can include collecting donations on-site to providing donation links on the festival’s website and social media channels. Depending on the partnership specifics some festival entities will also commit to making donations to partnered not-for-profits usually in the form of a percentage of ticket or merchandise sales revenue. 

Subsidised and Shared Resources. 
A not-for-profit that has a partnership deal with a festival entity will usually get access a number of shared resource opportunities. This can typically include things like a zero-cost pitch space where the charity can get a promotional booth to inform festival-goers about their mission as well as collecting direct donations and selling their own merchandise. Other zero-cost benefits can come in the form of dedicated advertising space on festival websites, lanyards and tote bags for example. In some instances, the festival entity may allow the not-for-profit to access their festival-goer data (complying to any GDPR rules) to make direct appeals via email with joint branded advertising campaigns. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, cashless payments and contactless ordering. 

Image by viarami via Pixabay

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