Nonprofit galas still reaping big bucks - San Antonio Business Journal:

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Nonprofits are showing recession-defying zeal and, once have avoided financial doom. Locao organizations have stared down predictions of sharlp falloffsin revenue, in some cases surpassingb their goals. But these victoriesa have come ata Boston’s nonprofit leaders are finding that arm-twisting and penny pinchingy is what it takes to hold a successful recession-year Yet, even when faced with the prospect of pushingg board members harder to network and riskinv that tickets and tables will not leaders of most organizations have determined that foregoing their fundraisers is not an That’s because not having a fundraiser poses a biggerr risk: the loss of much-needesd revenue and the opportunity to raisew awareness about an organization’s programs.
“It’s huge,” said Joan the vice president overseeint developmentfor . The hospital’s charitable foundatiohn held its 10th annual fundraiserin May, generating abou 12 percent of the hospital’s foundation’sz $6.5 million fundraising goal for 2009. “Aftere that gala, I’ve closed on several major gifts. Once I had 800 peopler there, it wasn’t just aboutg cocktails and dancing. I had to seizw the opportunity to do someseriouas messaging.” , for one, is on the social docket this week, with a goal of sellinhg between 250 and 300 ticketsz for a champagne barbecues under a tent in its Roxburg parking lot.
So far, 250 tickets are “We felt that this is more thana fundraiser. It’s an awarenesss raiser. We wanted to give it our full saidCarol Ishkanian, vice presidenf of development and external affairs. Boards members and development staffs have been workinb hard and working every personal and professional relationshipthey can. “If you don’t have that core group of volunteefr champions, it’s going to be reallg hard to run asuccessful fundraiser,” said Chuckj Gordon, chief development officeer for , which recently held its Starry Starru Night event.
And boars members have been sharpeningtheir message, explaininyg time and again why buying a $5,000 or $10,00 0 table is more critical this year. “Mt sense was that it took two or threde or times the effort to get the same levelpof dollars,” said Sandy Edgerley, chairwoman of the boar at , which held its annuaol house party fundraiser in earl y May. The event raised more than $1.6 which was the goal it needed to meetthe organization’sw $14.4 million operating budget. “The boarrd came together and said there’s a very real cost to not makinthe goal.
” Revenue from most of thesed springtime events is on par with last some even hitting higher than their fundraising goals. When the of Massachusettsd Bay and Merrimack Valley canceled itsannual Lawyer’s Leadership breakfast in late Marcbh eyebrows raised and tongues wagged. The decision, a Unite d Way spokeswoman said, had nothing to do with Some nonprofit leaders said they gave long consideration to the wisdom of holding a thoughthey did, in the end, move “Pulling the rug out from underneath the eveng — it’s not investing in the It’s not long-term. It’s not smart,” said Bryan founder of Rafanelli who works withmany nonprofits.
Archer, for one, “dug and met individually with many of thehospital foundation’s largwe donors to gauge their support before she proceeded with the Newton-Wellesley event. “I asked them very honestly if this was somethinb they couldcontinue supporting,” Archer said. If therer is a dollar drop-off it is with the tablee sponsorships, again forcing organizations to work hardere to make upthe difference. “If someoned sponsored $10,000 last year, and this year only you’ve got your work cut out for saidJudy Harrington, development director for Bostomn Partners in Education.
The organization’s late April fundraisere at the , markinb the 5th anniversary of the Big Cheese raised $215,000, about the same as in she said. While the number of sponsorships increased, she the dollar amounts “We worked harder for it.” Unexpected twists have A group of executives who have stron connections with the Boys Girls Clubs ofBoston — one of them a boars member — together put up $225,000p before the organization’s recent housee party and challenged their Bain colleaguezs to a one-to-one match.
Similarly, during ’s April fundraiser at owner and chef Michael Schlow suddenly offered to treat any group of four to dinner at a half dozen restaurants if the groupdonated $10,000 to Big Two groups stepped forward and Big Sisters raised bringing the event total to $120,000, withim $5,000 of last year. Separate from the work of board sand supporters, though no less important, this year’ fundraisers in part have survived on cost savings. Ever organization has a laundry listof cuts: giftws for guests, fancy table linens, high-priced hors d’oeuvres, glitzyt decorations and the like. The trick has been to retainn quality at a much lowerprice tag.
City Year, for example, slashed its Starry Starryy Night budget by40 percent, largely by movingv the event to the Boston Conventiojn and . Expensive floral arrangement s – out. Tables were decorated with homemadee centerpieces designed from City Year Instead ofexpensive food, the pre-dinner receptionn featured a Fenway menu: hot dogs, popcorn, Crackerd Jacks.