By Craig Causer, Jeff Jones and Matthew Sinclair

Events don’t need to raise $1 million to be a success

When attempting to unearth new and successful fundraising ideas, it’s often wise to adjust one’s sight from the well-worn path. The fundraising road less traveled has resulted in innovative events and twists on old standbys for nonprofits in locations such as Waconia, Minn., Port Everglades, Fla., and the Wyoming towns of Cody and Jackson Hole.

Reaping significant revenue while keeping costs low, these ideas all have something else in common -- they are events that appeal to the conscience of local communities.

It often takes a creative touch to wed a fundraising event with an organization’s mission. The Reading & Radio Resource (R&RR) in Dallas utilized its creative touch to produce a play that was a two-tone success, raising $4,000 for the small nonprofit.

A local playwright wrote a black and white murder mystery specifically for R&RR. It featured an old-fashioned radio format with sound effects and actors who were huddled around microphones.

Each of the actors and the set design were all made-up in varying shades of black, white and gray. About halfway through the play the audience had the chance to guess who the murderer was and win free tickets to a future production.

“This is very much like Charlie Chan,” explained Betty Hersey, executive director at R&RR. “It’s based on the 30s and they all wear the old clothing. Of course you have the guy who is the bumbling detective, his incredibly bright sidekick, the ridiculous police chief and all these stereotypes that are built into the play. But it was all about a radio station, which was really appealing to our people.”

The play tied in perfectly with the organization, which runs a radio station over which newspapers, magazines, serialized books are read for people who are either visually or physically disabled or learning differenced (print impaired), Hersey added.

The sold out, one-night-only play filled the local Pegasus Theatre. Counting standing room attendance, about 370 people turned out. R&RR charged $35 per ticket and paid the theater $8 for every ticket sold. The organization saved on other costs by getting local businesses to provide food and liquor for the event.

In the future, the organization could exponentially increase funds by including dinner, moving to a larger theater and charging more for tickets, Hersey said.

“It was a natural for us simply because of what we do,” Hersey said. “We’re just strange people. We have people here who read -- they’re literate. We can’t say we’re just having a fundraiser. It’s got to be something different. Our people have been to them all. They’ve seen them all. And quite frankly, who wants to go to another fundraiser out of obligation?”

R&RR is a traditionally small agency with six full-time and three part-time staff members. It has operated for 33 years with United Way backing, but has admittedly done little fundraising, according to Hersey. The black-and-white play was the first time the organization had to plan and execute an event, she said.

Adding a little color to its fundraising, The Ridgeview Foundation’s event is strictly ballroom. The Waconia, Minn.-based nonprofit held a gala during 2002 that coupled the healthy practice of the dance with its fundraising goals. In 2003, the organization hopes to waltz away with more than $500,000.

Paul David, development specialist for the fundraising arm of the Ridgeview Medical Center, said the organization’s Founder’s Society, a new group of donors of at least $10,000, proposed the idea of teaching ball room dancing, and held its first affair this past December. The event, which cost between $600 and $700 for the instructors and the food, was a break-even affair, with couples paying $40 each, David said.

It impressed the foundation enough to turn it into “a recurring event that can build momentum, stay fresh and interesting, while continuing to attract new members,” David said. “We received such positive feedback that we decided to research the interest level and the possibility of making it a monthly event that would culminate with a gala benefit.”

The plan for 2003 is to hold monthly sessions in Chanhassen, midway between Waconia and the Twin Cities. Those students and other prospects will be invited to a ballroom gala affair in December. David hopes to net $50,000 through the gala and to close out the year with 50 new members of The Founder’s Society.

“(The gala) will be held in a private ballroom located at the home of a Minnesota couple who are icons in the ballroom dancing world,” said David, adding that food will be the primary expense. “They have agreed to donate their ballroom as well as put on a show for those in attendance.”

In addition to the dancing atmosphere, gourmet food, live classical music and possibly a performance by a “nationally known pianist who lives in Minnesota,” the organization will also conduct a silent and a live auction, David said. “We are also producing a marketing video for Ridgeview Medical Center and plan to debut it that evening,” he said. “In a sense, what we’ve done is found a way to build momentum for the event and get people talking about it.”

David said, “We are developing new relationships with community members and, in many cases, reinforcing existing relationships.”

The relationship between man and nature is a bond that has driven nonprofits for years. And, numerous artists have found a special attraction to Cody, Wyo. Maybe it’s the proximity to Yellowstone National Park (53 miles) or those pretty blue skies and inspiring mountain scenes just waiting to be translated to paper via the paintbrush.

Whatever the reason, the town of roughly 8,800 people gets to reaffirm itself as a go-to place for western art each September when the Buffalo Bill Historical Center holds its annual art show and sale.

“I think Cody is a natural spot for Western art,” said Diane Ballard, director of the Buffalo Bill Art Show and Sale. “It’s always attracted artists. The scenery is just inspirational in terms of subject matter, and so Cody’s art community has always just thrived.”

Last year, the art sale netted nearly $126,000, which was split 60-40 between the historical center and the Cody Country Chamber of Commerce. The historical center chalked up $75,480 from the event. The chamber of commerce takes care of event planning and costs through an agreement with the museum. The nonprofit historical center receives its check after the event.

The art sale is part of a week-long event known as the “Rendezvous Royale,” which includes a patrons ball and western design conference. The show features approximately 100 artists each year, and usually a dozen or so hang their hat in Cody year round.

The art show has been held for more than 20 years, and usually attracts some 750 people from across the nation. “The big draw is western art collectors,” Ballard said.

A volunteer committee helps coordinate the event. The committee includes gallery owners or others involved in the art industry. It’s a “visionary” group, willing to look at the big picture and take risks rather than be territorial about market share, Ballard said.

All told, some 200 volunteers help out with the event.

“I think what has made it successful is tapping into the strengths that we have here,” Ballard said. “This is an event that is just a natural match for our community because of the niche we have with art.”

Fun and games

Many nonprofits are searching for that niche, or to identify the “inner-self” of their communities. Reminisce about this: Can you recall the child-like joy, and not so innocent pain, brought about by playing the classic game Twister? Or, how about the ecstasy felt when you threw that egg like a frozen rope, right smack into Old Man Cooter’s garage door?

Yes, kids can be delinquent on occasion. One nonprofit has recreated some of these joys of childhood and done so with the best intentions and effective results.

The Creative Discovery Museum (CDM) in Chattanooga, Tenn., is geared toward children and having fun. Its event, titled “Amuse” Um, has become the organization’s signature fundraiser. The event is a chance for grownups to act like kids, playing games among all of the museum’s exhibits.

“We have a different theme every year and that keeps the event fresh,” said Sharon Huber, director of development at CDM. “It’s almost like a new party every year. We really want to get the adults to experience the exhibits like kids do every day. We plan wacky activities in each exhibit area to get them to be doing some hands-on activities.”

There’s also food, drinks and a silent auction. But, it’s really different because of the activities. “We have them playing Twister. And, we always have an egg drop off of our balcony into our center atrium,” Huber explained. “So, it gets a little messy -- especially after you’ve had enough to drink, it gets really messy!” she laughed.

Last year, “Amuse” Um’s sixth, netted $90,000 -- a sizeable growth from its $50,000 debut in 1997. Revenue increased each year until 2002 when a change in the format of the auction resulted in a 5 percent dip. CDM had approximately 300 auction items in the past, but it became a space issue within the museum, according to Huber. The number of auction items was cut in half and refocused on kid-friendly and family-oriented items.

Expenses run about 16 percent of CDM’s gross revenue, Huber said. The gross income was $111,000, with $20,000 in expenses this past year. That expense total included the $10,000 for food. But luckily, a donor took care of that with a check.

“Amuse” Um annually sells out its 500 spots and receives strong support from more than 30 local sponsors, including BMW, Verizon Wireless and First Tennessee Bank. Sponsors attend a pre-party along with patron ticket holders. CDM offers childcare at the museum while the parents mingle off-site at a pre-party the night before the big event.

The idea of ditching that black tie in favor of some Nikes is one that is beginning to spread. “We’ve found that other local organizations are trying to make their events more casual and fun since this has been such a success,” Huber said. Another museum even calls theirs “Amuse” Um now. This is all about making it enjoyable for the guests. We want them to have fun and be able to play.”

Clean air, green grass, blue lips

“Go jump in a river” might be just an old phrase grandma said. At Special Olympics Kentucky (SOKY), it’s a great fundraising idea.

Each year several hundred people from across the state take part in the SOKY’s “Polar Bear Plunge.” People raise a minimum of $50 just to jump in the chilly Ohio River or a pool in the winter frost. Participants in the Louisville, Ky., event jump off the back of a boat into the river, explained Mark Buerger, spokesman for SOKY.

SOKY raised roughly $155,000 from three plunges last year. Most of the money is from individuals soliciting sponsors. Corporate sponsors account for approximately one-third of proceeds, Buerger said.

This year the organization added a fourth event in London, Ky.

Waters are usually in the 40-degree range, although three years ago organizers had to chip ice off the water because of a sleet storm that day, Buerger said.

Heated tents are placed near the plunge area so people “get out of the water and run to the tent as fast as they can and dry off,” Buerger said.

“We’ve never had anything happen, knock on wood, at any of these functions,” Buerger said. “There’s a lot of safety features built in to make sure no one goes cold for too long or hits the water and panics.”

The fun goes beyond jumping in limb-shrinking water. Each event includes a costume party. The Louisville crowd, which has had an event for five years, has the market cornered on elaborate and wild costumes, according to Buerger. For example, one bearded man chewed on a cigar and dressed as Cleopatra.

“That was the one that you really just kind of turned your head and said what just went by me,” Buerger said.

After everyone defrosts, they head to a sponsoring restaurant where plungers get a discount on food and drinks.

This year SOKY hoped to have between 900 and 1,000 participants. The fundraising goal is a little more than $215,000. It costs roughly $50,000 to put on all four events, Buerger said.

Special Olympics in other states hold similar events. “Our polar bears have it easier than the ones in Wisconsin I’m sure,” Buerger said. “But, it’s still very cold when you jump into the water.”

The Chief Seattle Council of Boy Scouts of America, in Seattle, has an outdoors fundraising effort without the worries of “shrinkage.” The Condit Campout brings two dozen businessmen together for a four-day camping trip where they can relive their scouting past. “It’s sort of a fantasy scout camp,” said Brian Redmond, development director for the council.

Phil Condit, the chairman and CEO of Boeing and a Distinguished Eagle Scout, created the event and has served as senior patrol leader throughout its four-year history. The Condit Campout raised more than $100,000 each of the past two years, each man donating $5,000 to participate.

Initially, participants donated $2,500 and the campout was held in the council’s Camp Parsons, on the Hood Canal. But now they have taken it on the road to Philmont Scout Reservation in Cimarron, N.M., and this past year to a dude ranch in Jackson, Wyo.

The $85,000 or so the event nets supports the Scoutreach program, which provides at-risk youth opportunities to participate, as well as uniforms and equipment.

The expenses, Redmond said, run around $20,000. “It’s rustic setting, but we do try to dress it up and make it special,” Redmond said, mentioning cabins and fine meals, as well as transportation.

Redmond and four patrol leaders recruit participants, who are mostly former scouts and include several Eagle Scouts. On site, the patrols compete with each other in such events as skeet shooting, archery, a tomahawk toss.

In Jackson, there was an egg launch where patrols worked to slingshot an egg protected in packing materials as far over a pond as possible without it breaking -- with the potentially intimidating prospect of engineer Condit predicting which egg rockets won’t fly. “There seems to be a strong bond and a lot of camaraderie,” Redmond said. “That’s what keeps them coming back.”

The experience also attracts them to do more for the council to serve on the board and lead event committees. “I’d say it’s a good fundraising event, but it’s a better cultivation,” Redmond said. “It’s a good way (for me) to get to know these guys in an informal setting, where you’re not in the office or the corporate setting … to be able to look for support and help in fundraising (later).”

If an informal event is the goal then a house, kayak and numerous works of art racing down the street certainly qualify. Onlookers will never mistake Old Bill’s Fun Run for the Boston Marathon. The costumed participants in the annual event in Jackson Hole, Wyo., may not be your traditional athletes, but they are running up the dollars for local nonprofits.

Since its inception in 1997, the Fun Run has grown every year. The event raised more than $5 million in 2002, approximately $1.6 million of which came via matching funds from the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole (CFJH).

To place the event’s success in proper perspective, Jackson Hole is home to a scant 8,000 people. The entire county only totals around 18,000. But those people have produced an average gift that has exceeded $100, while choosing the specific charities they wish to help.

“I’ve never seen an event like this that can raise $5 million in one fell swoop,” said Clare Payne Symmons, CFJH’s executive director. “The main difference with our fun run is that it is about the community and all of the nonprofits. All of the nonprofits are working together to raise the money to put the event on to make sure that it is successful rather than competing for different events.”

Donors specify which nonprofits will receive their money. CFJH keeps those records while providing a matching pool of money. The foundation provided almost a 50 percent match last year.

Nonprofits receive 100 percent of what donors designate plus a flat percentage match from CFJH. Money is matched up to $25,000. So, if an organization raises $50,000 in contributions, they will get $50,000 plus a percentage match on the first $25,000, Payne Symmons said. While the foundation does not comment on individual totals, Payne Symmons confirmed that in the past some nonprofits have come away with more than $100,000 from the event.

All funds are distributed through CFJH and the foundation institutes rigorous rules to ensure that the money stays in the local area. Nonprofits have to be incorporated and operate in Jackson Hole. The money raised must be used in Jackson Hole for the area and its people and it must be a nonprofit in good standing. They must also agree not to conduct a box holder mailing, which would invariably inundate the community.

“We conduct the box holder mailing so everyone gets an entry form and a donor form,” Payne Symmons explained. “We create the posters that list all of the nonprofits. We get the word out and publish those lists in the newspaper. Even if a nonprofit did absolutely no mailing, their name would be out there. But we have suggested that they do targeted approaches.”

CFJH makes the process more cost efficient for the charities by covering brochure and promotional costs. In turn, the nonprofits lower their costs and retain more money by participating in the fun run. Add to the mix the idea to allow costumes and the free advertising and promotional opportunities. “Everyone knows the Habitat For Humanity house,” she said.

Said Payne Symmons, “The community truly appreciates it. They are sick and tired of nonprofits competing with each other for the same charitable dollar. They would much rather see collaboration and this is really the embodiment of that.”

If you’re more Magellan than marathoner, The Seafarers, an ecumenical organization devoted to assisting the needs of cargo and cruise ship crew members, can show you what can happen on a three-hour tour. Yes, a three hour tour.

Its seventh annual Broward (County) Business Leaders Luncheon, aboard the good ship Amsterdam, attracted 360 people and raised nearly $58,000 in net revenue this past November. After three years of netting between $23,000 and $27,000, the event was able to more than double its catch, keeping expenses less than $11,000.

Rev. David Mesenbring, executive director of the Port Everglades, Fla., organization, said the key to the growth was recruiting volunteer leaders who wanted to take the event to the next level, through retaining the existing sponsorship levels and adding more. Until this past year, the Gold level sponsorship, at $1,500, was the event’s biggest. The new committee established Platinum ($2,500) and Titanium ($5,000) and later attracted a $10,000 sponsor to establish a “grand benefactor” level.

“I think of (the cruise luncheons) as friendraising first and fundraising second,” Mesenbring said. “We were very clear (that they’re about) introducing us to the community.”

The organization also holds a luncheon of religious leaders and planned giving professionals, as well as a membership cruise.

The business luncheon event is held on one of Holland America’s cruise ships each fall. “Labor, beverages, food, and an exquisite venue are all comped,” Mesenbring said. “Others (organizations) can do that too, but not necessarily on a cruise line.”

Mesenbring said the organization’s biggest challenge is that its clients, mostly foreigners whose immediate needs are fund exchange and phone connections, are generally invisible to the wealthy community surrounding the port city. Initially the organization’s fear was “Nobody’s going to come to our event, nobody can figure out why we exist,” he said. The volunteer chairs succeeded by using the luncheons to honor business leaders, which attracted others who wish to show their support. “This year we did a more elaborate program, and I think it’s going to grow in the future.”

Once on board for the festive affair, “we have a captive audience to introduce what we do.”

The programs and invitations grew to more than 20 percent of expenses, but the return seemed to justify the increased expense. Ads in the program “can sometimes account for 50 to 60 percent of the revenue,” Mesenbring said. “People who can’t come to the event sometimes can’t afford not to be represented in the journal.”

The ivory toad of Shanghai

Everyone is familiar with the local garage sale and its endless clutter of hula girl lamps, third generation hand-me-down clothing and some sort of barely functioning item always described as “vintage.” The Atlanta Community Toolbank has taken the term “garage sale” and bolstered it by offering the public the opportunity to buy building materials it has amassed.

Last year, the third annual Super Duper Garage Sale netted the nonprofit just less than $18,000, according to Mark Brodbeck, executive director of the Toolbank. Couple that with the fact that it only costs around $1,000 to hold and it results in freeing up room in the organization’s warehouse, and you have a means that reaches a number of ends.

“The Super Duper Garage Sale dovetails so nicely with what we do, which is we’re a materials redistribution program,” explained Brodbeck. “We get building materials donated to us from corporations, like Lowes, and individuals, who will, for instance, donate all their cabinets if they’re renovating their kitchen. We then redistribute those materials to nonprofits and whatever does not move quickly basically gets put into the garage sale. So it really helps to clear our floor from slow-moving merchandise.”

The event is held in a warehouse owned by the ToolBank. The organization came up with a plan that incorporates both its Rescue and Reuse program and the Super Duper Garage Sale. Everything that is donated is allocated either to the Rescue and Reuse program, the nonprofit’s Tool Lending Library or into an area marked for the garage sale. The Toolbank often receives items that are not appropriate for nonprofits, for example a Jacuzzi and chandeliers. Those items do well at the garage sale, Brodbeck said.

The event traditionally takes place the Saturday after Labor Day and lasts from 7 a.m. until 2 p.m. Brodbeck described the first few hours as “a free for all” and that later, if it looks like materials aren’t moving, 25 percent is knocked off of everything. “By doing that we end up with an empty warehouse,” he added.

The money-making sale is preceded by a volunteer and donor recognition kickoff event called the Round Up. The ToolBank sent out approximately 400 invitations with the goal of showing donors what Brodbeck considers to be its greatest asset -- the warehouse. More than 100 people participated in the event, which possessed a western theme along with the live music of a band called “Possum Supper” and a silent auction for items ranging from a helicopter ride to artwork.

Brodbeck is thankful to all of the corporate sponsors that make the Super Duper Garage sale possible.

“Home Depot has been our sponsor for three years running and corporate sponsorships were not easy to come by last year as you can imagine,” he said. “But in-kind sponsorships were not hard so to those that were supportive we really rang their bell.”

Folks at Presbyterian Outreach in Omaha, Neb., wanted a money-making year-end event that would leave a good taste in their donors’ mouths. Cinnamon and spice cookies and gingerbread men helped them get it done.

Presbyterian Outreach held a Cookie Walk fundraiser the week before Christmas and sold the bulk of 400 dozen cookies in less than eight hours. Unlike the Girls Scouts, the unofficial empire of packaged cookies, these sweets were homemade.

“We wanted to do something at the end of year that not only was a special event to bring a little money in, butalso was an opportunity to show our programs and to bring more people into our organization,” said Pat Billings, outreach coordinator for Presbyterian Outreach.

Donated cookies went for $5 a pound and candy sold for $8 a pound, raising approximately $2,000 to support the organization’s Respite Connection, a Faith in Action program. The program gives relief to full-time caregivers of chronically ill or aged people, Billings said.

“We found that no one really balked at that pricing,” she said.

Cookie Walk’s return on investment was excellent. Costs to hold the event were only $200.

Close proximity to the headquarters of insurance and financial services provider Mutual of Omaha, where some 5,500 people work, helped keep foot traffic heavy and sales brisk. “We opened the doors at 11 (a.m.), and they came rushing in,” Billings said.

Presbyterian Outreach saved some cookies to sell the following Sunday at church and proceeds went to them as well.

By day’s, end some 200 people signed up to win a door prize, which instantly increased the group’s mailing list. The group also compiled recipes for donated cookies and sold 75 recipe books at $3 a pop. The event also added to the Presbyterian Outreach’s volunteer base.

The organization, which has a budget of roughly $300,000, plans to hold a similar event next year. “It gave them the opportunity to purchase their Christmas baking, and it also gave us the opportunity to showcase our program,” Billings said. “We’re making some money, (and) we’re also bringing people in.”

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