Events are one of the most effective ways to engage your community and raise support for your cause, whether it's a charity 5K, swanky gala, or laid-back gathering to cap off your latest peer-to-peer campaign. But ensuring everyone’s safety, from guests to volunteers, adds a crucially important layer of planning.
Creating a thoughtful safety strategy for your event means considering all the possible risks, developing strategies to prevent as many as you can, and having a plan ready in the event of emergencies. In this guide, we’ll cover five key steps your nonprofit should take to prioritize safety (and protect your peace of mind) at its next event.
- Build a Comprehensive Event Safety Plan
- Use Digital Waivers
- Ensure Venue and Vendor Compliance
- Train Volunteers and Staff on Safety Protocols
- Prepare for the Unexpected
1. Build a Comprehensive Event Safety Plan
As Funds2Orgs’ guide to event planning highlights, your plan should outline your nonprofit’s goals, budget, target audience, ticket sales strategy, timeline, and post-event follow-up. In addition to these core logistical elements, plot out key safety considerations, including:
- A risk assessment: Identify potential hazards such as weather, crowd size, equipment, etc., by reviewing past incidents and surveying the venue. For instance, summer fundraising events that occur outdoors can pose health risks like dehydration, sunburns, and even heatstroke.
- Risk control measures: Based on the results of the risk assessment, develop a plan for preventing and controlling risks. Returning to the summertime event example, you can mitigate risk by setting up tents and fans, offering plenty of water and snacks, and having a backup date or indoor location if the heat index climbs too high.
- A designated emergency response team: Select a team of your most responsible staff and volunteers to serve as leaders in the event of an emergency. Train them on how to respond to various safety issues. They’ll be the ones to take charge and make the next steps, like directing attendees or calling emergency services.
Make sure your staff and event volunteers are all on the same page when it comes to safety. Consider conducting a meeting prior to the event to cover these guidelines and answer questions. You might also create printed or digital “safety reference cards” with quick references like contact information for emergency services or breakdowns of key safety protocols (e.g., steps to take if there is a fire).
2. Use Digital Waivers
As mentioned above, almost every event poses some level of risk to the organizer, staff, and/or attendees. This is why it’s so important to use event waivers to inform staff and attendees of risks and protect your nonprofit from legal liability.
However, it can be a hassle to print, distribute, and collect paper forms, especially for large events. Digital waivers, on the other hand, offer a simple, streamlined, and accessible alternative. For secure, legally-binding forms, choose waiver software that features all of the essentials outlined in Smartwaiver’s buyer’s guide:
- An intuitive form builder
- Flexible customization options
- Driver’s license scanning capabilities
- A waiver kiosk app
- Auto photo capture abilities
- A secure database
- Offline functionality
- Integrations with the rest of your tech stack
Consult a lawyer when drafting your waiver, considering any local regulations. To account for the different risks various groups will face, you’ll likely need to create separate waivers for attendees and those who will work the event.
3. Ensure Venue and Vendor Compliance
Let’s say you hold a year-end fundraising auction at your town’s community center each year. You should know that they have all of the required permits and insurance, follow accessibility standards, and have functional sprinklers and fire extinguishers—but are you actually asking those questions?
Rather than remaining in the dark regarding your venue’s safety practices, take the following steps to ensure they are offering the safest environment possible:
- Check for venue insurance, accessibility (ramps, clear signage, etc.), and clearly marked emergency exits.
- If applicable, confirm that the venue's contracted food, entertainment, and equipment vendors are licensed and insured.
- Create and share your event safety expectations with all third parties, ensuring the event space is compatible with your plans.
- In the case of corporate partnerships where a business has donated event space, remember to discuss and agree to safety requirements early in the partner relationship.
While it will take a bit of extra time and communication, double-checking these standards will only make your event safer for staff and attendees.
4. Train Volunteers and Staff on Safety Protocols
Next, prepare your on-the-ground team of volunteers and staff members to put your careful planning into practice. Host pre-event training sessions or briefings to review key protocols, ask questions, and get feedback. Experienced staff members who have worked events before might have ideas for making your processes more efficient.
Establish clear lines of communication for the day of the event, like using walkie-talkies, your volunteer communication platform, or a group text. Give event staff designated roles, such as security liaison or first aid lead, and outline their responsibilities.
Don’t neglect your event staff’s safety and well-being—they’re just as vulnerable to risks as your attendees. Have each of them carefully review your volunteer waiver to familiarize themselves with those risks, build time for rest and breaks into their schedules, and offer food and drinks for longer shifts.
5. Prepare for the Unexpected
Despite your best efforts, unexpected incidents will happen. The only thing you can do is prepare for these eventualities and respond quickly. Consider these tips for staying flexible and responsive in the face of the unexpected:
- Prepare an emergency kit. Considering the specific risks you might face at your event, create a kit that will get you through the most common issues or emergencies. This might include a first aid kit, chargers or backup batteries, ponchos or rain covers, etc.
- Have contingency plans. In other words, have a backup plan in case something like inclement weather impacts “plan A.” Plan for incidents like power outages or internet issues, particularly if your event involves digital processes for activities. If you use kiosks to collect digital waivers at the event, for example, choose an app that can still collect forms offline.
- Set up a central command. For larger events that are at higher risk for safety issues, consider setting up a dedicated booth or tent to serve as your safety command center. Use this area to track threats, manage ongoing problems, and share updates if needed.
Remember to evaluate and reflect on your performance after the event is over. Did any issues come up? If so, what could you do to prevent or better address those problems in the future? Document these lessons to make each event safer than the last.
Event safety protocols shouldn’t be an afterthought. Putting on a safe event demands foresight, preparation, and technology that makes executing safety measures easy. Additionally, you’ll show attendees, staff, and other key stakeholders that you value them just as much as their support.
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