Event Financing: Why Apply for a SeatlabNFT Grant

~~The SeatlabNFT Event Creator Fund—Apply for event financing today.

Pulling off a great event is an incredible feeling, but we know it can take a lot of intense planning and hard work. Even the smallest, most intimate shows take a great deal of careful coordination and logistics.

With so much to take care of when putting on a show, the last thing you want is to find your finances running low or your budget drying up.

Events are expensive to put on; there are no two ways about it. More obvious costs like venue, acts and entertainment, marketing, food and drink come to mind immediately when budgeting. But there are other costs less often considered like insurance, staffing, security, ticketing and media (photos and videos).

For event organisers, these costs can quickly begin adding up, especially during the planning and organisation phase, which can be problematic. In addition, the money events require upfront is only recouped once the tickets go on sale. To deal with the significant financial outlay needed to put on a good show, it's not uncommon for organisers to turn to event financing.

Reaching out for help with funding an event doesn't have to simply be to cover expected costs, however. Receiving extra cash for your event can help pay for a bigger and better show, larger capacity venues, increased marketing and a boost in hiring acts. Transforming the fan experience in this way will also have a positive effect on ticket sales and revenue, which opens up several different avenues for funding.

Today, we'll look at some of the options available to organisers wishing to scale up their event and some tips for securing an investment.

Types of Event Funding

Those looking to receive funding for their event should consider what kind of funding is most appropriate for them. With several different types of funding available, it's essential to find one that will suit your event and that you can pay back if necessary.

Term Loans

Term loans are a common way of borrowing money. Customers borrow a set amount of money for an agreed period. The period of time the loan stands for will depend on each individual agreement.

There are plenty of term loan providers, but the unique nature of live events means that you may have to look for specialist providers that understand the costs involved in the industry. Interest rates can vary too, with short-term loans especially resulting in high fees.

Investment

While there are plenty of term loan providers, they are a generalised option, not necessarily suited to the individual needs of a business or particular event.

Another common form of financing for business is an investment. Investors come in the form of individuals or groups, and there are various websites out there that can help projects connect with them.

Of course, investors will want their money paid back and would definitely like to see a profit.

There are a few ways in which an investor might want to recoup their investment in a live event. Some investors will simply ask for a cut of the revenue or profit. Alternatively, they might ask for a percentage share of the event brand or shares in the company running it.

Investors usually have an industry or field in which they like to invest, so finding an individual or group with a history of financing successful live events will increase the likelihood of securing capital. The industry-specific nature of various investors can also be helpful for event organisers. Experience in putting on successful events means investors can potentially provide advice and guidance alongside a cash injection.

Given the potential of an investment to help an event scale up, the partnership can often be mutually beneficial, with investors keen to help an event grow if they see value in the project.

Sponsorship

Investment can be a great source of funding, but competition for that funding can be high.

Sponsorship can offer a mutually beneficial partnership for building an event, provided the proposal you have is well put together. Particularly in the world of sports, sponsorships play a huge role in helping fund sporting events, teams and leagues of all sizes.

Sponsorship will come with stipulations, most obviously, the prominent placement of the sponsor's brand around the venue and potentially in marketing material. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, though it's a good idea to make sure that any sponsorship comes from brands that align with your vision for your event.

DeFi Event Financing

This one might still be emerging, but Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (DAOs) are serious business already. The past few years have seen various elements of Web3 creep into more areas of life. For example, making a big splash in the investing industry are DAOs.

Hosted on blockchain networks, DAOs are investor collectives that use a user's stake (often the number of tokens they hold) to allow all members to vote on group investments. The vote of the DAO is carried out automatically by a smart contract, meaning strangers from across the globe can safely form a trustless investment partnership with each other.

As we mentioned, DAOs are relatively new on the scene, as blockchain technology is still emerging. Still, the ability for trustless collaboration has made investing groups extremely strong and proactive in their spending.

DAOs also sometimes give out their investment funds in the form of cryptocurrencies, as the groups usually collectively hold large quantities of various tokens. In this case, it's possible to swap the cryptocurrency for fiat (traditional) currencies at an exchange to pay for things!

DAOs usually want their money back at some point, with interest, so be sure you understand the conditions of any investment.

Grants

As a slightly different option, organisers will sometimes be lucky enough to come across a grant. Grants can be repayable with no interest; better still, they can sometimes be non-repayable entirely.

A non-repayable grant might sound too good to be true, and in fairness, they are rare. The ability to scale your event, cover up-front costs and concentrate on putting on a show without having to pay anything back is fantastic! Naturally, this means that event grants are often heavily oversubscribed, and it's likely that grant funding is prioritised towards events benefiting the community around them or non-profit organisations (though this isn't always the case).

Did you know that we offer non-repayable grants to event organisers? Find out more and apply today by clicking here.

How Do I Get Event Financing?

Whatever type of event funding you look at, securing capital will likely boil down to how successful your event is deemed likely to be. Talking to several of the available options will help you understand elements and ideas that are viable and areas which you might be able to improve upon.

However, there are a few things that you can do before meeting with anybody that will maximise your chances of securing an investment.

Get together some key details about your event. This might include any successful events you've run in the past and what you hope to accomplish with this one. In addition, you'll probably want information about the number of tickets you're hoping to sell, any artist or venue quotes, agreements or deposits, and details about how you plan to market your event.

If you're looking for funding to increase the scale or size of your event, you might want to have projected costs and subsequent expected revenue returns from the investment available for financiers to see.

It's essential to be transparent and honest with the information you are presenting when looking for funding for your event. Similarly, the more information you have at your fingertips, the more likely you attract interest and funding.

What is Event Funding Used For?

In the intro, we've covered various things that event financing can help with, but now you've got a clearer idea of the available options, it's worth looking at how you can best utilise the money.

Some event financing options will come with conditions around what you can spend the money on. More likely, though, you'll have some say initially about where the funding is best directed. In many cases, investors and grants will work with you to decide where extra money can be spent. Usually, this process will be collaborative, with input from both sides on how to best allocate finances for the event in question.

SeatlabNFT Event Financing

Here at SeatlabNFT, our staff have more than a decade of combined experience in the live events industry, so not only do we understand how badly event ticketing needs an overhaul, but we also understand that putting on a great show can be expensive.

To help cover some of the costs of putting on a live event, we've set aside £1,000,000 in $SEAT to give away as part of our Event Creator Fund. Grants are completely non-repayable, and any event is welcome to apply. Each application is considered case-by-case, and we only need a few simple details to get started.

You can apply for a SeatlabNFT grant here or read more about how we're redefining event ticketing.

Wrapping Up

There are plenty of options to help finance your event, and additional funding can transform the way fans experience your event.

Putting on a great show is at the heart of live events, and we're excited to help make that happen.