Fundraising for Social Change, 8th Edition

chapter SEVENTEENSpecial Events

The Landmark Theater chain has a wonderful tagline: “Film: the Universal Language.” The same can be said of special events. The most common fundraising strategy in every town and every country is the special event. One can imagine that the first cave person who looked around and said, “We need a place for the children to play without worrying about saber‐toothed tigers” was met with the suggestion: “Let's have a barbecue fundraiser.” In this chapter we look at when to use events and how to organize them.

First, a definition: special events are social gatherings of many sorts that can expand the visibility of an organization; bring your different constituencies together; give those attending an amusing, interesting, or moving time; and possibly make money for the organization sponsoring the event. Events help build a community of supporters who may then express their affection for your organization through other kinds of giving, as well as tell their own friends about you. We learned during the COVID lockdown that events can be held virtually and meet most of the same criteria as events held in a physical space. The variations among special events are practically limitless, as are the possibilities for money earned or lost, amount of work put in, number of people participating, and so on. Because of their variety and flexibility, special events are excellent strategies for acquiring, retaining, or upgrading donors, and organizations that are serious ...