Non-Profit Virtual Events: Sign-Up Vs Turn-Out

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Non-Profit Virtual Events: Sign-Up Vs Turn-Out

Key Takeaways

  • About 39% to 54% of those who register for a virtual event attend the live event.
  • Research by One Cause showed that 19% of nonprofits held hybrid events (virtual blended with in-person events) in 2020.
  • About (58%) of virtual events are small, with organizers capping at 300 live attendees.

Introduction

Insights on nonprofit virtual event registration, percentage of registrants that attend live events, the popularity of hybrid events, among others have been detailed below.

Nonprofit Virtual Event Registration

  • While data on nonprofit virtual event registration rate is unavailable, 76% of virtual event marketers say that email is the single most effective way to drive registrations.
  • The infographic below shows the best ways virtual event marketers drive registration to their page:

Percentage of Registered People That Attend Virtual Event

  • While data specifically for nonprofits is unavailable, research by Instrado found that the percentage of registrants that attend live virtual events is 39% to 45%.
  • However, a different study in 2020 by Bizabbo found that 50%-54% of those who register for a virtual event attend the event.
  • In addition, about 20% of attendees view the event on-demand.
  • About 10% of "those registered and did not participate live, attend on-demand."
  • In addition, 17% of those that attend the live event also return to view on-demand.

Hybrid Events

  • One Cause surveyed 1,997 nonprofit professionals in the US and found that 19% of nonprofits held hybrid events (virtual blended with in-person events).
  • The study also found that hybrid events are becoming more popular, with 42% of nonprofits planning to organize a hybrid event in 2021.
  • The infographic below summarizes data on the percentage of nonprofits that organize or plan to organize a hybrid or virtual event in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

Seat Cap vs. Unlimited Seat

  • While data specifically for nonprofits is unavailable, a survey by Bizabbo shows that most (58%) virtual events are small, with organizers capping at 300 live attendees.
  • In general, small events are the most popular types of virtual events.
  • The planning for large virtual events typically takes more time, and organizers need to take that into account while offering unlimited seats.
  • According to data from Markletic, "for small virtual events, most planners need between 3-6 weeks to promote the event successfully. For large virtual events, 65% of marketers need more than six weeks to promote the event and drive the desired amount of registrations."

Nonprofits Use Free Events to Drive Registration and Attendance

  • A survey of 1,142 nonprofits, associations, clubs, and other membership organizations found that 29% of the organizations that ran a virtual event in 2019/2020 said that they didn't charge for the event despite the fact they typically charge for the same in-person event.
  • In addition, 27% said all their events are free, or they charged much less for virtual events compared to in-person events. The graphics below provides additional details:
  • The above suggests that nonprofits sometimes make their event free to increase registration.

Research Strategy

To find 4-6 qualitative or quantitative insights about non-profit virtual events, our research team searched through industry reports, media reports, marketing databases, statistical databases, and interviews/surveys of nonprofit industry professionals. While we found some important insight specific to nonprofits events, we were not always able to find data specific to nonprofits, as most objective research and surveys about virtual events in general. Hence, where data was unavailable, we have provided data on the virtual event industry in general for the specific insights requested.

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