Making Fundraising Events Pay and Pay and Pay …

A dependable revenue stream that grows — ah, paradise!

Have a fundraising challenge you want to crack? Weary of doing the same old, same old yet hoping for different outcomes? Do you want the over-the-top results that come from superior strategy?

Email me with your particular problem, and I'll arrange a quick consultation offering you a practical solution you can implement. I may even use your situation to share with my readers. Names are changed, of course!

I spoke with Elizabeth recently, who was very forthright about her need. How do you make events "pay"?

Liz is the executive director of a youth charity in the Southwest. She has an events coordinator that works with her. Outside of a low-key annual appeal, events have been the fundraising mainstay of Liz's organization for as long as anyone can remember.

Over the years, she and her team have learned what "works" and what doesn't. They've had their ups and downs. Strong volunteers, weak ones. Good economic times and the not-so-good.

When Liz asked me what made these gatherings "pay," I was curious what she meant. Yes, the immediate money raised is important. They seem to have arrived at a steady level where that is concerned. Growth in dollars raised wasn't where Liz's eye was focused, however.

Liz wanted to know how you turn participation in a fundraising event into a lasting donor relationship built upon common goals. How do you take responders and turn them into investors?

My answer? It ain't easy. It can be done, however.

How do you start?

All of you event veterans already know what you're up against. Rational arguments such as high cost, low return and non-scalable cut no ice with those who are emotionally committed to event euphoria and "the way we've always done it."