Fundraising Ideas     |     22 September 2025

Inclusive Fundraising: Everything You Need to Know to Make Your Event More Accessible

Simple ways to open your fundraiser to more people without making things more complicated for your team

7 minute read

If you’ve ever looked around the room during a fundraiser and thought, "Where is everyone?" you're not alone. It’s easy to focus on the basics, such as the food, silent auction tables, and the guest list, and forget to ask whether the event is truly welcoming to a wide range of supporters. Accessibility isn't always top of mind when planning starts, especially when you're stretched thin and balancing volunteer duties with, well, the rest of your life. Creating space for more people to show up and participate doesn’t have to mean reinventing your entire event. Often, it’s about making thoughtful tweaks, asking better questions, and using tools that do the heavy lifting for you.

Let’s take a closer look at how to make events more inclusive, which can lead to more support, great funds raised, and an overall better experience for everyone. 

Why inclusive fundraising matters more than ever

Inclusive fundraising might just be a nice idea on paper, but it directly impacts the success of your event. Many people want to support your cause but can’t attend the traditional gala, navigate a loud venue, read a confusing website, or afford a ticket that costs more than their weekly grocery bill. Those aren’t rare edge cases; those are real, recurring barriers that leave money and goodwill on the table.

Creating accessible events helps attract more donors, strengthens community trust, and ensures that everyone feels included in giving back. When people can see themselves reflected in your event, whether that means seeing captions on a screen, being able to get in the front door, or knowing there's a quiet corner where they can regroup, they’re more likely to stay, give, and return next year. Isn’t that the goal?

Building a more inclusive fundraising mentality

Start with your team and planning mindset

Making space for more people starts behind the scenes. Your planning committee doesn’t need to have all the answers, but someone should be asking early: Who might not be able to participate? What parts of our event are unintentionally exclusive? These are important questions, especially when you’re designing something that relies on community involvement.

When you can, bring more voices into the planning stage. That doesn’t mean creating more work for already busy volunteers. Even short check-ins with past guests, parents, or community members can help reveal barriers you may not have noticed. You can also set a more inclusive tone by normalizing accessibility requests. Add a simple line on your ticketing form asking if guests need accommodations. 

Look for local organizations that can help. The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities (CARD) at USF, for example, offers free training to help organizations be more inclusive to Autistic individuals. The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) offers a certificate program in making accessible events. Your local area may have advocacy groups or educational programs that can offer training or resources to help you get started. Of course, just acknowledging different needs from the start goes a long way.

How to make events more inclusive from the ground up

You don’t need a giant budget to make events more inclusive. Start with the venue. Is it wheelchair accessible, entrance, restrooms, and table spacing included? Will the lighting or sound make it difficult for guests with sensory processing challenges to stay? Is your signage clear and easy to read?

Think about food: Are there dietary options? Are they labeled in a way that people can understand without having to guess? Consider offering a quiet area for anyone who needs a break from the crowd. If your event includes speakers or performances, microphones and captions (even real-time apps) can make it easier for everyone to stay engaged.

It’s not about trying to solve everything. It’s about removing just a few friction points that keep people from participating fully. If your fundraiser feels more like a party people want to stay at and less like something they have to endure, you’re on the right track.

Designing accessible events online and in person

More and more events include a digital component, and that opens new doors. Of course, this only works if you plan for access. Someone using a screen reader or smartphone should be able to navigate your event page without frustration. That means clear formatting, high contrast, and descriptive text for images. Use buttons that make sense (skip the vague "click here"), and don’t overload your landing page with too much info in one spot.

Silent Auction Pro makes this easier by letting organizers customize their fundraising sites to match their own branding and clarity goals. Want a custom banner and logo that feels like your group? You’ve got it. Do you need to create a ticketing page where guests can select dietary options, manage their group, or sign up for a raffle, all in one place? It's all there.

The platform’s mobile bidding option is a major help for inclusive fundraising, as well. Not everyone can stay for the full event, and some guests may prefer to participate from a quieter spot or even from home. Mobile bidding means no one has to be elbow-to-elbow at a table or stuck waiting around. Add text notifications for outbid alerts, and guests can stay connected without hovering over their phones.

Silent Auction Pro also supports group bidding, which is especially helpful when caregivers or parents are managing the process for someone else. Everyone on the team has access from their device, so family members or helpers can assist without technical headaches.

Make communication easier for more people

Good communication is key to any fundraiser, but especially one where you’re trying to meet a wide range of needs. Whether you’re promoting an event or walking guests through registration, how you share information matters.

Start by using multiple channels. Not everyone is on email all day, and not everyone checks their social media. Silent Auction Pro’s built-in marketing tools let you schedule emails and texts ahead of time and even personalize them to each guest. That can make the difference between someone feeling informed and someone feeling left out.

Keep the tone clear and friendly. Avoid using complicated language or instructions that assume technical knowledge. Include images and readable font sizes. Add event FAQs or brief how-to guides that explain what attendees can expect, especially for first-time attendees. If someone can picture the flow of the night (what they’ll see, how they’ll check in, how they’ll bid), they’re far more likely to show up and feel confident participating. 

While you can’t always change elements of your event to make it quieter, less crowded, or with better parking, you can communicate enough details that participants can properly prepare. For example, you might think that it’s common sense that a gala will have music, but it’s still worth mentioning in an accessibility section of the FAQ on your website so that those with sound sensitivities can bring headphones. 

Consider financial accessibility without sacrificing your goals

Affordability is a part of accessibility, and it doesn’t mean lowering your fundraising goals. It simply means providing people with more than one way to contribute. Some guests might not be able to purchase a premium ticket, but they still want to help.

You can offer a range of ticket options at different price points, or experiment with sliding scale admission. Some events include pay-what-you-can raffles or merchandise sales that let people participate at any level. If your platform supports online donations, text-to-give and recurring donation options, you’re set up for easy wins.

Inclusive fundraising also means remembering that participation can take non-financial forms. Offer ways for supporters to amplify your message, share your event, or volunteer. Not everyone has money to spend, but many people have time, energy, or connections to offer. Let’s face it, there’s no shortage of work to be done, so extra hands are a great way to bring others in on your cause. 

Train your volunteers and prepare your tech

Inclusive events rely on thoughtful people behind the scenes. Volunteers don’t need degrees in accessibility; they just need a heads-up and some prep. Provide simple guides on how to assist guests, how to spot common access needs, and who to call if something isn’t working.

Using a tool like Silent Auction Pro is also helpful here. Volunteers can quickly check guests in, print out paddles with assigned seating, and track donations in real-time. No scrambling to decipher spreadsheets or correct handwriting on paper forms. If a guest experiences a technical issue or needs assistance with check-out, the event coach and support team at Silent Auction Pro are available on-call, even outside of regular business hours. That kind of fundraising support can be a lifesaver when you're juggling multiple tasks simultaneously.

Keep track of what worked and what needs work

Once your event is over, the inclusive part shouldn’t stop. Follow up with guests and volunteers to see what helped and what didn’t. Short surveys or feedback forms can help you spot things you missed, and they show people you’re still listening.

With Silent Auction Pro’s reporting tools, you can also look at event data through a new lens. Did your mobile bidding numbers go up? Did guests stay longer or bid more than usual? Were there certain activities or features that saw a lot of engagement? Data provides a solid foundation to build on for next time.

Better for everyone, not just a few

Inclusive fundraising doesn’t need to be perfect to be powerful. The goal isn’t to tick every box. It’s to create a space where more people feel like they belong, where they can show up as they are, and where supporting a cause is easier, not harder, because of the way you planned.

The good news is that you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. Silent Auction Pro was built for volunteer teams just like yours. With features designed to reduce effort and increase access, plus a real support team that doesn’t disappear after setup, you’ll have tools that work with you, not against you.

Want to see how it all comes together? Request a free demo of Silent Auction Pro today and take the next step toward a more inclusive (and less stressful) event.