SPECIAL EVENTS

The Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Fundraising Dictionary (2003) defines a special event as “a function designed to attract and involve people in an organization or cause.” Where in this definition does it say anything about raising money? Yet there is a perception that events are a quick and easy way to do just that. Experience has shown, however, that events are neither quick nor easy. Research indicates that most events, when reviewed as stand-alone fundraising vehicles, are not cost-effective considering the staff and volunteer time invested (The Center on Philanthropy, 2008a). So why do people insist that events are a good way to raise funds? No matter what the size of an organization or the problem to be addressed, someone will suggest doing an event. As it turns out, events are neither a panacea nor a curse. They are merely one tool to help donors build a meaningful relationship with a cause.

Three key aspects of a fundraiser’s work are cultivation, which seeks to engage and grow the interest and involvement of a donor; solicitation, in which a donor is asked for a gift; and stewardship, in which the relationship with the donor is further strengthened through acknowledging the donor’s gift and informing the donor of its impact. Special events are best viewed through these same lenses. Too often, events are seen only as solicitation tools and, frequently, as a passive solicitation or one with little or no mission focus. Fundraisers can identify new measures of success if they use special events as a strategic means of building and strengthening donor relationships.

Cultivation Events

The goal of cultivation is “to engage and maintain the interest and involvement of a donor, prospective donor, or volunteer with an organization’s people, programs and plans” (AFP Fundraising Dictionary, 2003, p. 35). It is interesting how well the definition of an event fits with the cultivation definition. Optimizing cultivation requires integrating strategies at all levels of the organization for different types of donors.

New prospective donors are on a fact-finding mission when they attend an event for a charity to which they do not currently contribute. Any one of a number of factors may have drawn them to the event:

• An activity, such as golf

• An invitation from a friend

• An honored guest or speaker who may hold interest for them

What portion of a cultivation event should engage the prospective donor in the work of the organization? If the purpose is to cultivate, then part of the post-event review must include how successful the cultivation element was. If a prospective donor had a wonderful time but cannot remember how the organization makes a difference, one might liken the event to an artistic commercial that sticks in the mind but leaves no memory of the actual product that was advertised.

Cultivation events for former and current donors are focused on re-energizing the bond to the mission that exists or once existed. It is the opportunity for former and current donors to share with others why they got involved with the organization and what difference they can make through their involvement, including their charitable gifts.

Once again, what portion of the event will engage the donor in reaffirming the work of the organization? If the purpose is to strengthen the relationship to the mission, what was in place to encourage that process?

Here’s how one nonprofit addressed that issue. As part of a dinner/auction, the organization set a small wooden box at each place setting. Prior to beginning dinner, the host asked each guest to open the box. Inside was a wish from one of the clients (in this case, service recipients) of the nonprofit. Each guest was asked to read her client’s request aloud. The prospective donors, who had come to the event only to hear the speaker, were introduced to eight lives that the nonprofit was working to change. Those current and former donors were reminded, in a very personal way, why they had become involved with the organization. During the dinner, much of the conversation centered on the dreams of the clients and personal experiences with the organization.

Solicitation Events

Solicitation events are those in which someone asks the guests for “a contribution of money, resources, a service, or opinion” (AFP Fundraising Dictionary, 2003, p. 111). Research has shown that the most effective way to raise money is face-to-face, so one might think that solicitation events can be very effective. Indeed, they can be, if they are approached with the same general principles that apply to personal, face-to-face solicitation.

The event must include a social time for exchange of pleasantries. This time allows attendees to get comfortable and to focus on the organization and the mission. Because donors seek positive feedback from other donors or trusted friends, this time can be crucial and must be well orchestrated. The organization’s leaders, especially volunteer leaders, play an important role in meeting, greeting, and introducing guests to one another. This inclusion leads to the involvement phase of the event. Hosts share their own stories and invite others to do the same. Questions such as, “Did you hear about . . . ?” or “Have you heard about the difference that ABC program has made?” invite participation. Hosts must be prepared to share information or know where the answers can be found at the event. Staff and hosts must be clearly identified. Name tags for all are a must.

It is during the presentation that an event really differs from one-to-one solicitation. Visual aids, expert witnesses, and those who have benefited from the organization accentuate the need for financial support and embody the results of a gift. However, there must be an opportunity for prospects to engage and ask questions. This must be orchestrated to enhance success. Hosts can be strategically placed to lead discussions and answer questions prompted by the presentation.

With these steps completed, most attendees will be ready, and even expect, to be asked for a financial commitment. Many will be anxious to hear how they can be involved, having witnessed the difference they can make. The challenge is determining the right amount to solicit from each attendee. There are a variety of ways in which this can be resolved:

• Each prospective donor is given a customized pledge card with the prospective donor’s name and a suggested amount.

• The host recommends a range of gifts that is appropriate for the group around the table. This works well when prospects are grouped by ability.

• A suggested minimum gift is presented by the featured speaker or another trusted representative of the organization.

In each case, the host also completes the response device and collects the responses of those with whom the host is working.

Another approach combines the best aspects of events and face-to-face solicitations. The donors join others for the presentation and the excitement of the event, but a face-to-face solicitation occurs before the end of the event or follows the event in a very timely fashion. For this approach, donors must be carefully matched with a designated solicitor already identified. This is a particularly good approach for capital or endowment campaigns.

Stewardship Events

Stewardship is “a process whereby an organization seeks to be worthy of continued philanthropic support, including the acknowledgment of gifts, donor recognition, the honoring of donor intent, prudent investment of gifts, and the effective and efficient use of funds to further the mission of the organization” (AFP Fundraising Dictionary, 2003, p. 113). In other words, stewardship events are an opportunity to demonstrate to donors the prudent use of their financial contributions.

Stewardship events are about the donor, not about the organization. According to Penelope Burk’s Donor Focused Fundraising (2003), donors report that the most attractive things about donor recognition events are

• Learning more about the charity’s work (28 percent)

• Seeing others who support the same cause (20 percent)

• Socializing and networking with other guests (19 percent)

That donors want to learn more about the good work the organization is doing should be no surprise. Donors may be viewed as investors or stakeholders, eager to learn how their contributions or investments make a difference. They want to understand the outcomes of the nonprofit’s work. They want to build on the connection that has developed. Attendees will share stories, learn new aspects of programs, and hear testimonials that are part of casual conversation. Donors find it reassuring to be in the company of peers who are committed to a cause with no vested interest. Just being at an event with others interested in the mission builds community.

Consider the excitement and feeling of community created by alumni events and homecoming activities for universities. Or watch the excitement in the eyes of a donor who meets the student his scholarship helped. Those stewardship events are critical to building and growing the donor’s belief in the mission.

What is the effect on the staff ? Are events helping to build community among them? In any organization, special events can be seen as either a rallying point or an unwelcome distraction that diverts energy and resources away from the mission.

Seven key elements contribute to a successful event experience for donors/ prospects (The Fund Raising School, 2009b):

• Clear purpose for the event

• Recognized organizational need

• Invitation to participate from others

• Unique opportunities

• Connection

• Tradition

• Value

What if we apply those same elements to the internal event participants—board, management, staff, and volunteers?

Clear Purpose for the Event

Integrated events clearly define what is to be accomplished for all levels of the fundraising team. Team members know the expected outcomes and recognize that this is the logical way to accomplish the goal of the event.

Recognized Organizational Need

What does the organization need from the event? Internally, there may appear to be an easy answer to this question: money. However, that may not be the real answer. As stated earlier, events do not necessarily generate substantial money. The need may have to do with something other than solicitation; it may instead be cultivation or stewardship. Based on this realization, with all the members of the leadership team in agreement, special events can be woven into the entire fabric of a donor-focused fundraising plan. Fundraisers can plan their strategies for donors around the internal need.

Invitation to Participate from Others

Rather than taking it for granted that all hands are on board, the invitation to participate can go a long way to build the fundraising team. Encouraging team members to view events as an extension of their own areas of expertise whether that is the annual fund, major gifts, or planned giving can place the opportunities presented by events in a new light.

Unique Opportunities

Events provide unique opportunities for interaction with donors and prospects. Carefully orchestrated introductions and guided conversations can enable the staff members or volunteers to learn more about donors and gain new insights into donor interests. Post-event activities should be designed in a way that continues the community feeling. Follow-up activities must be included in the original plan. Team members can weave these post-event steps into their overall plans and establish these expectations as part of early planning.

What happens post-event? The obvious tasks include thank-you notes to volunteers, sponsors, and others involved in creating a successful event. But that is just the beginning. There should be a debrief of those involved in the inner circle of the event as well as summaries from hosts, boards members, and other key volunteers engaged in conversations with current and prospective donors throughout the evening?

Donor records will reveal that many of the same donors will attend events. This raises the question: what about the other donors? They share the same commitment to the mission. They may send a gift with their RSVP but do not attend. What could be the problem? Maybe they simply don’t care for special events.

If the development officer feels that a donor would be excited about the programmatic portion of the event, perhaps the speeches, the testimonials from those served, and other aspects could be brought to the donor in another fashion. This provides another opportunity to be donor-focused. Asking donors about their event preferences can stretch an event into other venues. Perhaps they would be more comfortable in smaller gatherings. A video presentation of the original program can be brought to the donors and their friends.

Connection

Events can reinforce the connection donors feel to the mission in ways that staff alone cannot. Personal stories of experiences, benefits, and histories with the organization draw others closer to the case for support. In a social setting with peers, the prospective or current donor may be more open to engaging in a way that deepens the attendee’s knowledge and commitment.

To maximize the connection, hosts need guidance. They can seek pertinent and critical information that may be missing from a prospective donor’s profile. Through casual conversation, a host can learn values, family history, and other involvements. But to be effective, the host must know where to steer the conversation. A report to staff, either verbal or written, helps to make sure that the information gets into the prospect file.

What traits might you look for in a host? The answer is simpler than one might think, for they are the traits of a good volunteer:

• Active supporter

• Effective advocate for the cause

• Reliable and dedicated

• Connected and respected

• Has the time to help plan and attend the event

• Willing to identify, cultivate, and ask prospects to attend event

• Represents the organization without appearing to have a vested interest

• Willing to make a gift at the event, if required

Tradition

A strong tradition of philanthropy is a valuable asset to any organization. Special events can be a part of that tradition, but tradition is not the only reason to continue an event. Staff will appreciate a traditional event if they are aware of the current benefits and how the ongoing tradition contributes to their success as fundraisers and to the success of the organization’s mission.

Value

Is there a more effective/efficient way to accomplish the organization’s goal besides hosting an event? If the answer is no, internal staff should see the value of proceeding. With the other key elements of a successful event clearly presented to the staff, the value to personal and organizational work will be clear.

The value will be reinforced if a review of hard and soft goals is conducted in a timely fashion and shared with the team and leadership, including volunteer leadership. The evaluation should be based on the original event plan and on the benefits to other fundraising activities. These might include the following factors:

• Did the annual fund acquire more possible contacts?

• Did the major gift officers feel that donors were brought closer to the case for support?

• Were relationships strengthened?

• Werefinancial goals met?

• Was the investment of time by staff and volunteers well spent?

• Do board, management staff, and volunteers still believe that this event is the most effective and efficient way to accomplish the goal?

Integrated Events

What makes integrated events different from other events? The difference between integrated events and events that happen in a vacuum can be seen from the earliest planning stage. As a part of annual and strategic planning, dates, times, locations, themes, target audiences, and objectives are reviewed and endorsed by the development team defined by The Fund Raising School (2009b):

• Chairman of the board

• Executive director

• Chief financial officer

• Development director

• Chairman of the development committee

There should be no surprises at such events. The integrated special event is clearly recognized, along with other strategies, for what it can bring to the entire fundraising plan. It is one more tool that all team members can use to evaluate and determine how the event best helps reach fundraising goals.

So what might this mean to an organization? For teams that view fundraising as a holistic and donor-centered calling, events become avenues to accomplish the mission, with the support of the team and volunteers.

For organizations struggling with competitive cultures and tight budgets, events may mean resources expended that would have been more productive as part of another solicitation process, and the result being lost opportunities. As fundraising has gotten more sophisticated, many nonprofit organizations are experiencing

• Inter-team competition

• Silos developing

• Territorialism concerning donors

One or more of these dynamics may be in play if

• Development team members refer to donors possessively as “ours.”

• Donors are “protected” or “shielded” from invitations.

• Major gift officers work with their prospects in a vacuum.

• Principals of corporations are viewed as “hands off ” for annual fund solicitation.

• There is a feeling of unhealthy competition between different fundraising teams or within teams themselves.

If one of these dynamics appears in a fundraising department, there’s a good chance that there are others, even though they may not be blatant. The result will poor staff morale, which is very detrimental to the donors, especially those donors transitioning to a major gift.

Consider, for example, the annual fund that has been working with a donor to upgrade to a major donor level. The donor may be transitioned to a major gifts officer and the annual fund may lose the “right” to remain in contact. The major gift officer already has a full plate. A new donor, at the lower end of the major gift range, is added. The officer may not get around to contacting the original donor in a timely fashion. Now the donor is no longer receiving annual fund information and is not being contacted by the major gift officer. But the silos prevent anyone from watching to make sure the donor is not overlooked and that potential which the annual fund has established is not lost.

Coming together for an event, reviewing the target audience, and accomplishing the goals as a team can help to rebuild morale and, with further work, reinforce bonds within the team.

Conclusion

Many of the tasks of a leader, as set out in John W. Gardner’s treatise On Leadership (1990), clearly apply to building a successful, integrated event, both internally and externally. The leader must be able to

• Explain the purpose

• Envision the goals

• Affirm the value

• Motivate staff and volunteers

• Manage all aspects of the event

• Achieve a workable level of unity internally and externally

• Serve as a symbol of ethical fundraising

• Provide for a review that allows for renewal

All of this will result in an event that helps staff at all levels reach the ultimate in successful fundraising—getting all the “right things” in place that lead to a gift that reflects the values of the donor and meets the needs of the community served by the organization: the right person asking the right prospect for the right gift for the right program at the right time and in the right way.