November 15, 2007

Need Funds? Go Jump Off A Building

By Marla E. Nobles
Raising money can be a real adrenalin rush

Easter Seals Canada latched onto probably the most ingenious way to tell your micro-managing, overbearing boss to go jump off a building -- and look all the better for having suggested it. Do it for charity.

"For sure, there's no other event like this that happens across Canada," said Lori Balharry, spokesperson for Alberta Easter Seals in Calgary, Alberta, of the rappelling event the charity annually hosts. "We're taking adults, and we're kind of pushing them to the limits of what they ever thought they could do." And, it's legal. "You can't always just jump off a building, you know, 360 feet in the air, 30 floors high, and receive the training to do it legally."

Since 2005, Easter Seals has had exclusive rights to the Drop Zone fundraising event, and has garnered more than 600 supporters in its exclusive Easter Seals Drop Zone Superhero Club. This year, 10 Easter Seals affiliates hosted the event, raising more than $500,000 (Can.) across Canada. (As of press time, the Montreal event had yet to run.)

According to Balharry, Alberta Easter Seals, the most successful of the affiliates, raised just less than $150,000 during its second annual Drop Zone event in 2006. This year, the event, held September 6 at the Sun Life Plaza in Calgary, Alberta, (and, notably, the highest Drop Zone building), raised more than $181,000.

The event raises money via participating Superheroes, adults 18 and over, ranging from company executives and their staff to college students to people like Bob "I actually did this" Hooey. The Canadian author and motivational speaker raised more than double Easter Seals' minimum pledge of $1,500, and said he will continue raising funds "even though I am now solidly back on the ground."

According to Paul Griffith, vice president, national business development at Drop Zone, the target market for a Drop Zone event are senior executives in the participating charity's community. "It's fun and exciting, and executives kind of get a rush out of it," said Griffith. "And, it's easy for them to do, because it's really only about two hours of their time since we structure it during the middle of the business day. It's not a golf tournament. It's not another dinner. It's not time away from their family."

For Alberta Easter Seals, the flood of media attention to the event has brought in "everyday kind of people," said Balharry. However, the target is senior executives. "They're the ones who are able to raise the kind of money we're looking for," she said. "If you can keep it in those executive circles, you can get colleagues pushing colleagues to raise more." Balharry cited this year's top Superhero, Garry Tanner, vice president of Calgary oil company Enerplus, who raised more than $22,000. Another vice president at the company was last year's top fundraiser at $25,000.

The road to Drop Zone's first-ever rappel started bumpily -- but ultimately went off without a hitch. "After convincing the property manager with a lot of arm twisting and a lot of insurance and some waivers and all that good stuff, he finally said yes," said Griffith about that first year. "So the Friday before the rappel, he said we should notify some of the tenants in the building. Well, he very jokingly told them if they want to do it they should just show up. He had about 30 to 40 responses to an email on Friday afternoon -- to rappel off the building."

For now, said Griffith, the strategy in the United States is first come first served. "Charities have a 30-day, no-cost, no-risk opportunity to sign up to learn about the event," he said. A nonprofit can expect to spend $22,500 the first year, plus start-up costs. Each year following is another $22,500 per event. Other costs include receptions, executives' gifts and shirts, which Griffith said can be covered by sponsors.

According to Griffith, promoting the event is the easiest part. Wouldn't you want to know if Bill Gates was rappelling down the side of a building? "You don't even have to get a media sponsorship," echoed Balharry. "They just flock to it."

***

This article is from NPT Instant Fundraising, a publication of The NonProfit Times.

Subscribe to The NPT Instant Fundraising eNewsletter or any of our other enewsletters and get the latest news and ideas related to fundraising delivered to your inbox.