Nonprofit galas still reaping big bucks - South Florida Business Journal:

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Nonprofits are showing recession-defying zeal and, once again, have avoidecd financial doom. Local organizations have stared down predictionws of sharp falloffsin revenue, in some cases surpassing their goals. But theswe victories have come ata cost. Boston’ss nonprofit leaders are findingthat arm-twisting and penn y pinching is what it takes to hold a successful recession-yearr event. Yet, even when faced with the prospectr of pushing board members harder to network and risking that tickets and tablexs willnot sell, leaders of most organizations have determinedr that foregoing their fundraisers is not an That’s because not having a fundraiser poses a biggerf risk: the loss of much-needed revenue and the opportunitg to raise awareness abou t an organization’s programs.
“It’s huge,” said Joan the vice president overseeing developmentfor . The hospital’s charitable foundation held its 10th annuapl fundraiserin May, generating about 12 percenft of the hospital’s foundation’s $6.5 million fundraising goal for 2009. “Afte r that gala, I’ve closed on several major Once I had 800 people it wasn’t just about cocktaild and dancing. I had to seize the opportunitty to do someserious messaging.” , for one, is on the sociap docket this week, with a goal of sellintg between 250 and 300 tickets for a champagne barbecue under a tent in its Roxbury parking lot. So far, 250 ticketw are sold.
“We felt that this is more thana It’s an awareness raiser. We wanted to give it our full saidCarol Ishkanian, vice president of development and external Board members and development staffs have been workinv hard and working every personal and professional relationshi they can. “If you don’t have that core grou of volunteer champions, it’s going to be reall hard to run asuccessful fundraiser,” said Chuckj Gordon, chief development officer for , which recentlyg held its Starry Starry Night And board members have been sharpening their message, explaining time and again why buying a $5,000o or $10,000 table is more critical this year.
“Mty sense was that it took two or three or timew the effort to get the same leveplof dollars,” said Sandy Edgerley, chairwoman of the boardr at , which held its annual hous e party fundraiser in early May. The event raisefd more than $1.6 million, whicbh was the goal it needed to meetthe organization’s $14.4 million operating budget. “The boarrd came together and said there’s a very real cost to not makinythe goal.” Revenue from most of these springtimde events is on par with last some even hitting higher than theire fundraising goals.
When the of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimacjk Valley canceled itsannual Lawyer’s Leadership breakfast in late Marchg eyebrows raised and tongues wagged. The a United Way spokeswoman said, had nothint to do with finances. Some nonprofit leaders said they gave long considerationj to the wisdom of holdinga gala, though they did, in the end, move “Pulling the rug out from underneatg the event — it’s not investing in the It’s not long-term. It’s not said Bryan Rafanelli, founder of Rafanellui Events, who works with many nonprofits.
Archer, for one, “duh deep” and met individually with many of thehospital foundation’ s large donors to gaugse their support before she proceeded with the Newton-Wellesle y event. “I asked them very honestly if this was something they coulxcontinue supporting,” Archer said. If there is a dollar drop-off it is with the table again forcing organizations to work harder to make upthe “If someone sponsored $10,000 last year, and this year only you’ve got your work cut out for you,” said Judy Harrington, developmentf director for Boston Partneras in Education.
The organization’s late April fundraiser at the , markingf the 5th anniversary of the BigCheesed Reads, raised $215,000, about the same as in 2008, she While the number of sponsorshipss increased, she said, the dollar amounts “We worked harder for it.” Unexpected twists have A group of executives who have strong connectionss with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bostonh — one of them a board member together put up $225,000 before the organization’s recent house party and challenged their Bain colleaguesx to a one-to-one Similarly, during ’s April fundraiser at Radius, owner and chef Michaek Schlow suddenly offered to treat any group of four to dinner at a half dozen restaurante if the group donated $10,000 to Big Two groups stepped forward and Big Sister s raised $20,000, bringing the event total to $120,000, within $5,000 of last year.
Separatd from the work of boards and though noless important, this year’s fundraiserzs in part have survived on cost Every organization has a laundry list of gifts for guests, fancy table linens, high-pricefd hors d’oeuvres, glitzy decorations and the like. The trick has been to retaijn quality at a much lowerprice tag. City for example, slashed its Starry Starry Night budget by40 percent, largely by movinv the event to the Boston Convention and . Expensive floral arrangements – out. Tables were decorated with homemade centerpiecesx designed from CityYear memorabilia.
Instead of expensive food, the pre-dinnet reception featured a Fenway menu: hot dogs, popcorn, Crackere Jacks.