To Event or Not to Event - Part 1

Tips for Making the Decision for your Nonprofit

A good friend of mine worked for a large, complex nonprofit with multiple big programs. And unfortunately for her, every one of them had a “sacred cow” event. A golf tournament, a poker tournament, a high-end gala, a bingo benefit. And the program departments that didn’t have a dedicated signature event wanted one. At some point, she had to draw some boundaries and dive into what these events were really doing for the organization. How much did they raise? How much time, effort and money did they take? In what ways were they advancing the mission and growing the donor base?

She uncovered a spectrum of answers. And as well as she thought she knew the programs and donors, the truth she discovered wasn’t what she’d expected. By sheer numbers (investment in and net profit out alongside audience involvement), a beloved poker tournament was a better value to the organization than one of its signature formal gala events. The tournament’s long history and a core group of sponsoring donors meant it was highly attended and the funds raised went to the mission. 

In this blog series, we’ll share some of what she learned - including how to evaluate your existing events, when to consider adding an event, and when to help one have a dignified death. 

Let’s start with evaluating your current events. In the next blog, we’ll talk about things to consider when adding or changing an event. Events can be tough ways to raise money, especially if you don’t structure them correctly and plan for what it takes to make them profitable and impactful. 

Here are three things to consider as you discern if your current fundraising events are valuable.

(1) Financial metrics matter. Do an honest evaluation of the actual cost of your event. This is not just the hard expenses, but include the staff time needed to pull it off leading up to, during and post- event. How much gross and net profit are you making? How much is going to your mission once your hard and soft costs are accounted for? This can be a very eye-opening exercise. If the numbers aren’t what you’d hoped, take heart. There may be some small tweaks you can make to improve your fundraising within your existing event. We’ll talk more about that soon.

(2) Non-financials matter too. Events can be an amazing way to grow your base of supporters and donors. They are often the best “on ramp” for acquiring new donors who will be passionate about your mission. Do a deep dive into your years of attendance and assess if your signature event is serving the same - or a shrinking - audience, or if you’re seeing new and different faces each year.

(3) Avoid friendly fire. Events can be a drain on staff and volunteers…but they also can encourage, energize and bond those same folks. The line between those two outcomes is thin: navigating it is very much a matter of how you set your culture for your event planning and how you delegate roles. If you haven’t, survey or ask your core event staff or your volunteer leadership a few key questions about their roles, their satisfaction with the event, and their view of how it’s serving the mission. Their attitudes can help you revise, recast and re-envision if you need to change course.

In our next blog, we’ll unpack some key advice for considering a new event, tweaking an existing one, and yes, closing the chapter on one whose time has passed it by. 

- Tim Smith