Special Events: Friend-raising, Fund-raising, or Both?

by Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting

Not long ago, we had a client seeking help with special events. It was clear early in our work together that the client saw special events as a main way of raising much-needed revenues for the organization. Individual and major gifts were nearly non-existent.

Delving in, we learned that in the past year the client held a golf tournament, a gift-wrapping program, and a dinner and auction gala. When I began to ask about revenue growth for each event over time, we ran into problems.

“Well, the year before, we hosted different events – a bowl-a-thon, a car wash, and a concert,” said the director. “We lost money on each, so we thought we’d try something new the next year to raise money.”

Many organizations fall into this trap – thinking special events are money makers that bring windfalls of cash from the get-go.

While almost nothing could be further from the truth, special events can and should play an important role in organizational operations. Rather than playing a fund-raising role, though, organizations are better served by thinking about special events as friend-raising opportunities that pay off to organizations over time, and very well if done right.

Generally speaking, it can take as many as three years for a well-run and well-organized special event to actually net revenues for an organization. Organizations who plan for a net loss the first two to three years are not admitting to failure those years–rather they are savvy investors taking a long-range view for pay-off down the road.

Back to our client. She explained that a board member wanted to host the car-wash and the bowl-a-thon a couple years ago. “She was high-energy,” explained the director. “She was very involved with her teenaged kids and their friends and drew them all in to pull these events off.”

“So why didn’t you do these events again last year?” I asked. She sighed and explained that the board member’s husband got transferred and the family moved. “No one was left who knew anything about the event and how to run it,” she admitted. “Plus, they didn’t bring in any money. I think we made about $200 off each – barely enough to cover the posters and other publicity items. Too busy washing cars, they didn’t hand out brochures or collect names. We relied heavily on raising significant funds from each event, and when we didn’t we had to cut programs and lay a staff member off as a result.”

After our assessment, she was convinced that their approach was too scattershot and unplanned: that donors, the community, and potential friends didn’t know what to expect from the events each year and that they had too much of an "ATM" (drive-thru donor) mentality dictating events. The end result was poor attendance, a lack of support, loss of money, and potential unraveling of the group.

While my client is convinced, her board isn’t yet on the same page. Staying focused on the short-term bottom line, they still seek the “holy grail” of events: the gala that will pay off big and attract the big names in town. They are still full of “you should” comments directed at staff instead of “we will” phrases aimed at themselves.

In our work with this board, we have our work cut out for us. We will be talking about diversifying fundraising from a wider array of sources, planning for the future, and involving all levels of leadership in the organization’s needs. It will be a tough journey that will require change, tough decisions, and risk. Done right, though, it stands to pay off big for this organization.

If you feel your group has fallen into this special event “holy grail” quest, try the ten tips at the right for bringing things back on track. If you would like to have do good Consulting’s fundraising and special event experts do an assessment of your organization’s special events or event plans, contact us at dogood@dogoodconsulting.org or 217-778-1687.

That Person

by Laura Huth, President & CEO, do good Consulting

In 1998, something extraordinary happened to me. I met “that person”.

It was a day like any other for me. I had been asked to speak to a local citizen’s group about urban design and sprawl and highlight my work with the Illinois Student Environmental Network and the Urbana City Council.

With over 30 people in the room, I took a deep breath to settle my butterflies and began. As I spoke, I scanned the audience. I recognized many faces. Others were unfamiliar. My clipboard – one of the most powerful tools of any grassroots organizer – circulated in the room. My hope was that I would soon know everyone in the room, for their very presence in the room that night meant opportunity to me.

Later that week, I received an email from a man who had been in the audience. We’ll call him “John Doe”. He wanted to help and we arranged a meeting. What happened next is the type of thing you read about.

John ended up being “that person”.

“That person”, you ask?

John was not a love interest – he sought neither a date nor my phone number.

But in that sea of faces the night I spoke, John – a person I’d never met before – ended up changing my life. He heard me speak and was motivated to action. He has worked alongside me now quietly for nearly 15 years since, gently providing help – financial and otherwise – all anonymously. He changed my career, was crucial to the growth of every organization I have been with, and helped me develop into the professional I am today.

The evening I spoke, I had no idea someone so powerful was in the audience. John is not rich, ostentatious, or well-known. If you saw him, you might think him a pauper, but he is one of the most important humanitarians I know. And was just a regular guy, sitting in the audience of one of the many talks I have given over the course of my career. For me, John is and was “that person” – the person we all dream about having enter our lives to change our work forever.

If you asked me the day before that talk I gave if such a thing was possible, I would have laughed and told you it was a thing of fairy tales, of fantasy. But it happened to me and it can happen to you, too...if you are prepared for and open to it.

So balance anticipation with authenticity, hope with realism, urgency with composure. Bring your clipboard, speak from the heart, never judge, and maybe, just maybe, “that person” will enter your life, too.

Q&A: What sorts of computer protection do I need?

Dear do good:
I already have an anti-virus program on my computer. Is that all I need to protect my machine from viruses and other such things or is there more I should be doing?
- Online but unsure in Mattoon

Dear Online:
Today there are three classes of programs that are harmful to you and your computer: viruses, spyware, and ‘malware’. A virus normally takes advantage of a "bug" in common software like Windows XP, Microsoft Office, or Adobe Acrobat to take control of your machine and either causes it to "crash" continually or become a "carrier" and tries to infect other computers on the same network. A virus is normally transmitted as an attachment in an email message that looks harmless but once you are tricked into to opening the attachment, the infection begins. Viruses, for the most part, are in decline and can be removed with a good anti-virus program such as Norton Antivirus or McAfee VirusScan at a reasonable cost, or the free version of AVG.

Spyware is a program or series of programs that secretly "watch" your web surfing habits and usually start creating a multitude of "pop ups" whenever you open a browser. You normally get "infected" with spyware by visiting a website that either pops up a message and you click on it or it takes advantage of a known "bug" with your browser to download itself to your computer silently. Once on your computer, spyware will slow it down and interrupt what you are working on every few minutes. This type of program is much harder to remove from a computer and requires specialized software and a good bit of time to remove. If the infection is bad enough, it is sometimes necessary to remove all information from your computer and reinstall all programs and data (wipe the computer). Two good anti-spyware programs are CounterSpy and McAfee’s spyware add-on for Virsuscan.

The last class of programs, malware, is the most dangerous. Malware (or grayware) is software that infects your computer through visiting a "compromised" website or through spyware. It is the most dangerous because it can record your keystrokes on the keyboard for banking sites, on-line shopping, etc. and in effect record your bank account or credit card numbers and passwords. Periodically, these programs "call home" with this information and give this data to criminals to steal money. Malware can also turn your computer into a "zombie" so that it can be directed to "attack" other computers on the internet. If your machine is infected with malware, you must remove your data and completely reinstall everything on the computer to be absolutely sure it is gone. Two good anti-malware programs include Counterspy and Norton Internet Suite. It is also a good thing to have regularly scheduled backups in case you need to restore your data due to infection.

All anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-malware software packages get weekly and sometimes daily updates and have an annual subscription cost, so remember to keep your subscriptions current; letting the subscription lapse is almost as bad as not having the software at all. One final note: the trend for this type of protective software is to make an “all-in-one” type package to protect you from viruses, spyware, and malware, all at the same time, which can make it easier to update.

To fully protect yourself, your information, and your organization’s network, do good recommends that you have regularly scheduled backups stored off the computer and that you regularly and reliably use anti-virus, anti-spyware, and anti-malware software on all computers in your organization. Training might also be in order for your staff to ensure the proper usage and understanding of these potential problems and the programs that can keep them at bay.

If you are having problems with your computer or systems at work, or would like information on protecting your hardware and software investments, contact do good Consulting at 217-778-1687 or dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.

Group Profile: Channing-Murray Foundation

Channing-Murray Foundation, the Unitarian Universalist Campus Center at UIUC, has its roots as a young people's organization which has combined its spiritual aims with a deep commitment to cultural diversity and social justice. Established in its current form in 1954, in its long-running history, Channing-Murray has been both an initiator and host to a variety of organizations and programs. From the weekly Red Herring Poets to monthly Social Justice Forums, at Channing-Murray writing, dance and arts workshops, poetry slams, and student theatrical productions flourish. Channing-Murray is known throughout the University of Illinois campus community for its music, great food, and the opportunity to engage in non-judgmental spiritual exploration.

One great staple of the organization is the Red Herring Restaurant, a small operation in the lower floor of the facility that serves delicious lunches during the school year from 8:30AM-3PM Monday through Friday. With large portions and alluring aromas, guests are treated to a true feast, and most would never guess their meal to be made only from vegan ingredients.

This fall is a time of celebration at Channing-Murray as they welcome their first Jane Anderson Intern. Elizabeth March will serve as Campus Ministry Intern in the next year. Her internship was made possible by the Anderson Family, who have established a trust fund with a goal of $120,000 to fund the Internship. To reach this aim, the Andersons have graciously offered a $60,000 matching challenge grant, which Channing-Murray is gearing up to meet in the coming year.

This fall also marks the revival of the Red Herring Coffeehouse. Created in 1967, the Coffeehouse has consistently been a site for social gathering and community organizing. Though largely dormant in recent years, it is now returning in full force, open on Fridays and Saturdays with live performances both nights as well as a number of other scheduled evenings. One particularly interesting upcoming show will feature internationally acclaimed Oscar and Emmy nominated producer and director Frederick Marx, best known for producing Hoop Dreams, Sunday September 7 at 7PM. The Coffeehouse is open 8PM-1AM Saturdays and Sunday.

Located on the corner of Oregon and Mathews Streets in Urbana in the heart of the University of Illinois campus, Channing-Murray has plenty to offer, and welcomes everyone to come "be yourself" regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious background. For more information, go to www.channingmurray.org or call 217-344-1176.