Event Management

It was a simple idea: A live bluegrass band would “pick” music from the back of a flatbed truck. But the choice of venue—San Francisco’s annual Gay Pride Parade—wasn’t. The California Bluegrass Association, a nonprofit founded in 1975, is supported by nearly 3,000 banjo-playing members. And as the twangy music has gained popularity on California’s…

If you are planning a capital campaign, you should develop your skills at managing conference calls. The success of capital campaigns will depend on your ability to recruit and manage great volunteers. And these days, pulling volunteers together for meetings is harder than ever...

Maybe it is time to accept that walk is dead. Maybe enough people have done walk that we just can’t attract enough participants. Maybe the digi-verse gives them a new way to fundraise, and they don’t need to face-to-face with each other. Maybe no amount of lipstick is going to dress up this pig...

I travel from time to time to Chicago for mandatory meetings, which I enjoy attending because I can interact with a variety of colleagues. During a recent trip, I had dinner with several senior peers where we thoroughly discussed special events. I have not been responsible for a significant special event for several years, so I listened intently. I am always interested in building new fundraising pipelines...

With the advent and extent of social media marketing, nonprofit organizations are able to spread the word about their fundraising events farther and wider than ever before. Year over year, fundraising events have increased the revenue of nonprofits across the board—smaller nonprofits especially. It’s no coincidence. Social media has opened up the doors and allowed…

While many nonprofit peer-to-peer programs have been able to connect with the Millennial audience based on school or institution structures, the audience often does not often transition to post-academia participation. Why is that?...

Nonprofit organizations always are looking for new ways to engage with their supporters and solicit donations. To be as effective as possible, nonprofits need to embrace 21st century realities and meet their potential supporters wherever they are. To do so, these organizations can look to some of the emerging technologies taking hold in the retail…

Years ago, I was a boy scout in Charleston, W.Va., for a relatively short period of time. I enjoyed the experience but was faced with the dilemma of either continuing in scouting or playing little league baseball. I must say that baseball won the day but the positive memory of my scouting experience has stayed with me through the years...

Most of us like to believe that we’d give to charity purely out of the goodness of our hearts. It’s also what we’d hope to be true of our donors. One-hundred percent altruism. Philanthropy without expectation of reciprocation. But the world doesn’t work that way. That’s why, as fundraising professionals, it’s a large part of…

If you’re stuck trying to figure out a special way to show appreciation to your donors, how about having an open house at your organization? If you can’t hold one on site, have it at a restaurant or other venue. You may be able to find someone to donate space. Invite other supporters, too You…