Fundraising Principles and Practice, 3rd Edition

CHAPTER NINETEENFUNDRAISING EVENTS

Karin L. Cox and Adrian Sargeant

Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Define the role of a fundraising event within an overall fundraising strategy.
2. Identify the four purposes of a fundraising event.
3. Determine expected event outcome(s).
4. Understand event-planning logistics.
5. Evaluate the performance of a variety of fundraising events.

Introduction

The realm of nonprofit events is varied and exciting and has even been likened to a high-wire act without a safety net (Allen, 2008). There are no second chances at a great event, so the best that one can do is to plan, prepare, and most importantly, be ready for the unexpected. It is important to remember that while an event will never be perfect, it has the potential to create a lifetime memory for supporters and significantly boost the quality of their relationship with an organization (ibid., 2008). Therefore, whether the event caters to 50 or 5,000 people, it must always be meticulously planned and implemented.

Fundraising events have become an increasingly important tool for nonprofit organizations, given the difficulty in recruiting (or engaging) donors through other channels. It has been argued that events can be valuable in driving awareness of the cause or its associated service provision. Furthermore, they can also be used to great effect in the context of ...