Event Fundraising Blog

“Talk Amongst Yourselves” – The Lever Point of Social Media

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:21:00 -0700

Getting people to see your message. Getting people to act on your message. Getting the right message created. There is no shortage of things to get done in social media. But how do we go about doing this in a way that is effective and impactful?

One of the most impactful ways of doing this is to make sure that your supporters are the ones doing the talking about your event. It’s not enough for your organization to simply have a Facebook page through which you try to acquire fans and “Likes.” Your organization needs to put social media tools in the hands of your supporters and event participants so that they can then go out and be ambassadors for your nonprofit. It’s about making it possible for them to talk about you in their social networks—and, when needed, help generate stronger fundraising results in the process.

Consider the results experienced by one of our clients for their signature fundraising event which happens in numerous cities across the country and involves hundreds of thousands of participants. In 2011, event participants using the Boundless Fundraising social media and mobile solutions to support their fundraising efforts: raised 180 percent more than individuals who fundraised without the social media tools; collected almost three times as many individual gifts; and set their fundraising goals 162 percent higher on average than their peers.

But why is it so important to make sure that your supporters are the ones doing the “talking” on social media? One study shared by the AllFacebook blog found that messages being shared by an organization on their fan page were only being seen by 3-7% of their total audience. For the sake of simple math, that means a page with 1000 followers equals 30-70 potential views per post. In contrast, data collected by Charity Dynamics for event participants using our Boundless Fundraising social networking fundraising application shows that on average 76 people see each message that’s shared by an individual. This represents more than 50% of the average Facebook user’s list of friends (the average Facebook user has 130 friends in their network). Now consider the total number of participants taking part in one of your events, and think of how many more eyeballs are seeing every single message being generated by participants who you’ve empowered with social media tools. That’s getting your organization’s message in front of more people, and doing it more often. That’s the multiplier effect.

At the end of the day, successful peer-to-peer fundraising is about getting your message in front of more people, and doing it more often. By making it easy for your event participants to share their experiences with and passion for your organization via their social networks, you’ll proactively encourage more interaction, build enthusiasm around your cause, and increase fundraising in the process. Since social is everywhere, touches everything and is happening all the time around us, finding strategic ways to incorporate social media solutions with your next event is a move that truly can multiply your success.

Charity Dynamics provides comprehensive online marketing and fundraising solutions for nonprofit organizations that enable nonprofits of all sizes to create and implement results-driven fundraising strategies through online programs, live and virtual events, social media and mobile solutions. Organizations using Charity Dynamics’ innovative Boundless Fundraising solution have raised more than $150 million directly through the suite of applications since it launched in late 2008. www.charitydynamics.com.

Blake Groves is a vice president with Charity Dynamics and oversees strategic client work for the company. With more than 20 years of experience in technology solutions and consulting, he has focused the past eight years exclusively on helping nonprofit organizations understand how to best utilize online best practices and strategies to strengthen relationships with constituents and more effectively achieve their missions.

Generation Y: Youth Stepping Up to Change the World

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:00:00 -0700

I’ve seen it all at fundraising event orientation meetings: the take-charge confident walkers, the quiet learn-by-listening timid, the large buzzing-like-bees chatty groups, and the detail-focused women with serious questions. I see these and many other personalities on a weekly basis and I am constantly amazed at the growing number of confident youth — a.k.a. “Generation Y” or “Millennials”— that have swept into the role of supporting charitable events. They walk into my meetings with the “I can do this” attitude, and sign willingly on the line agreeing to raise thousands of dollars and complete a 24-week training program. They don’t question their ability to achieve such amazing feats. They jump in with both feet and go.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m a Generation Xer and I’m not saying we don’t participate in charitable events now. But, I honestly can’t remember a single friend in high school that thought of anything beyond the next football game, or the upcoming Guns N’ Roses concert. I don’t remember any of my peers forgoing birthday gifts in exchange for a charitable donation, or selling merchandise to help cure a disease. We do this now, but didn’t at the age Gen Y is currently doing these activities.

If you are a charity, take note. You should be pursuing this willing group of active teens and 20-somethings to help you change the world. They are willing participants, so you need to reach them. Here are some suggestions:

Use media wisely. Understand that as this group gets older, their media habits change. Consider that Gen Y is really made up of four major segments: teens, college students, young professionals and young homemakers, and that each group behaves a bit differently. Facebook, Twitter, Google ads and Pinterest will surely attract this younger generation (but differently per segment). And, remember that they still watch TV and listen to the radio. Instant messenger programs and texting are very popular with Gen Y — especially teens. Email, direct mail and print advertising are less effective with this group, but still show positive results in the college student and young homemaker segments.
Team discounts work. Millennials like to come in pairs, or groups. If you offer a bring-a-friend or buy-one-get-one (BOGO) discount you will encourage this group to spread the word and recruit their friends to join them.
Segmentation is essential. Have a special group of volunteers or coaches dedicated to this younger group. Consider that their fundraising activities may be dramatically different than the standard rummage sale or spaghetti dinner. Have tools to help them engage their school, dorm or sports team — and be sure online methods are included in the mix.
Use your current event to reach Gen Y. Create opportunities for and recognize your younger attendees during formal ceremonies or throughout the event. A great example is the “Generations” flag that was carried during the Susan G. Komen 3-Day walk. Exceptional youth were asked to carry this flag among the more mature walkers.
Customize your training program. An active teen will surely have different physical needs than an adult starting an athletic event-training program. Shorter training options, cross training and nutritional guidance will help ensure this younger age group successfully completes the charitable event. Incorporate online tools, apps or texting into the program so that Gen Y participants can track their progress and receive tips along the way that will engage and inspire them.

Millennials are full of energy and have a true desire to help charitable causes. I’ve seen them in action. But, in order to engage them in your mission and fundraising event, you need to reach them first. Make sure you understand their communication habits and include their favorite tools in your event fundraising kit.

Carol McDonald has been a Field Coordinator at Event 360 for more than three years. A former Susan G. Komen 3-Day walker, Carol has led motivational presentations to help encourage others to join in the fight against breast cancer. Carol holds an MBA from Western Michigan University and frequently participates in athletic fundraising events.

Communicating with Participants Before, During and After the Event

Fri, 11 May 2012 07:00:00 -0700

Running a great fundraising event requires effective communication with your participants. We’ve put together some best practices to help you out.

A good rule of thumb for communicating before, during and after the event: Put yourself in your participants’ shoes and ask, “What kinds of things would I like to know?”

Before the Event
Pre-event communication is all about setting up participants to have the best event experience possible. Explain how to get there, where to park, where to check in, etc. For first-time participants, this will help reduce the stress of the unknown.

Make sure participants are ready to deal with whatever weather is on the way. For hot summer events, we often alert participants about the projected heat index. Last month, organizers of the Boston Marathon let runners know about the 80-degree temperatures forecasted and offered a deferment to those who wanted to avoid the steamy conditions. This decision presumably helped reduce the instances of dehydration and other heat-related ailments.

During the Event
Every participant will have five basic questions — make sure the answers are crystal-clear.

Where do I park?
Where do I check in?
Where’s the bathroom?
Where can I get food and drinks?
Where does the event start?
Bonus question: Where’s my T-shirt?

These questions reinforce the importance of good signage. From the moment a participant arrives, clearly stated, prominent signs should guide him/her through each stage of the process. If you do it right, the participant will start the event with everything he/she needs and in a good frame of mind.

As the event gets underway, keep up the communications. You can do this through traditional sound systems and/or social media channels like Twitter and Facebook. Weather and route conditions are two big concerns for participants. If rain or extreme heat is on the way, send out word right away. You can also monitor social media for first-hand accounts of issues that participants are encountering — and then address them accordingly.

Lastly, always keep in mind that an event should reinforce your organization’s mission. Explore creative ways to communicate your cause to participants during the event, such as posting “impact statements” on signs along the route or an honor wall where participants can share their thoughts.

After the Event
A post-event survey can help you find out what participants liked — or didn’t like — about the event. People appreciate being able to share their feedback, and this type of “crowdsourcing” can inspire great ideas for next year. Once the survey is completed, let participants know what you learned and what changes you plan to make based on their input.

One point that may seem obvious but is sometimes overlooked: Always thank participants after the event. Sending a little keepsake (e.g. a route map) is a nice touch. And when communicating after the event, be sure to reinforce your cause once again. By highlighting mission-oriented accomplishments (e.g. research milestones, people served), you can show participants the impact they’re making.

And If Anything Went Wrong …
There’s no such thing as a flawless event. (For two extreme examples of this fact, check out our April blog post.) So when something goes wrong during your event, be prepared to respond quickly and effectively.

For example, during an event last year, the sprinklers under a tent turned on as participants were sleeping. First, we had to take care of the participants’ immediate needs — dry clothes and a new location. Then, we had to apologize and take responsibility for what happened (even though we had confirmed the sprinkler schedule with the site).

After the event, we again apologized and took responsibility while also explaining what steps we would take to prevent a repeat performance next year. Trust us: People are much more likely to forgive if you fess up and take your lumps.

"Patrick and Sarah’s Experience Hub" blog posts are featured monthly. Director of event production Patrick Riley and director of event production Sarah Coniglio have many years of hands-on experience in almost every aspect of event operations and production.

Would you like to speak with an expert in event development and production? Please email Sarah or Patrick today.

Brand Connection: Your Story Can Inspire the Perfect Sponsorship

Wed, 09 May 2012 09:55:17 -0700

We’re always talking about mission-focused storytelling as a way to get participants, donors, volunteers, and sponsors engaged in an organization’s mission or cause. Here’s a great example of just that. This post originally appeared last month in the Media Post blog Marketing: Causes.

For much of his life, Patrick Downey was the perfect personification of the Converse brand. He was an artist who had developed his own unique, personal style—the crown jewel of which was his uniform of dark pants, flannel tops and Chuck Taylors. He wore it every day. And this is exactly how his family and friends remember him.

Patrick passed away in 2007 from a “secret” form of cancer—one that, unless you know someone afflicted with the disease, you rarely hear about: esophageal. During his fight, his sister Shannon Downey was training for a race to benefit breast cancer research. She admits that while Patrick was supportive of her efforts, “he was frustrated that there was so much awareness of breast cancer but not much for esophageal cancer.” So Shannon promised Patrick that she would help raise awareness about this disease and suggested that maybe, one day, there would be a "Patrick Downey 5K."

This coming Mother’s Day marks the Second Annual Patrick Downey 5K in Peabody, Mass. Runners are encouraged to wear flannel and Chuck Taylors (I’ll be wearing my flannel Chucks and a plaid running skirt). The suggested attire caught the eye of one runner: after she registered for the race she found Patrick and Shannon’s story and also became intrigued by the race’s official logo, which features a sneaker reminiscent of a Chuck Taylor. As it turns out, she works for Converse. And here begins the brand connection.

The runner contacted Shannon via the PD5K Facebook page to inquire about Converse sponsoring the race. She also connected Shannon with the VP of Finance at Converse. (I’d like to stop and give a shout-out to Converse here, because it obviously has a culture where an employee feels empowered to get the company involved in the community.) This all happened within days last week, and the folks at Converse already feel connected to this race. They’re inspired by Patrick’s connection to their brand, and the fact that his memory and this race are celebrations of individuality.

Converse’s involvement goes beyond the check ($5K for the 5K — which is an enormous amount for this small race with big goals); they are sending reps to the race with Chucks, and talking with Shannon about how they can contribute long-term to her important work of educating people about esophageal cancer.

Converse is their biggest sponsor to date; second is Belmont Springs, which is donating water for the race.

There are a few cause-marketing lessons here:

People can’t help your cause if they can’t find it. In this case, the PD5K Web site and Facebook page were major factors; people are always online looking for things to do, causes to volunteer for, races to run for charity. Be vocal, get out there, and think about how search engines work (SEO). What might the people you want to attract be searching for when they find you?
Compelling storytelling is a must. Patrick and Shannon’s story, and Patrick’s love of a brand, moved an employee to act. Always think about your mission, your story, and how to inspire people to help. Storytelling creates emotional connections in ways traditional advertising just can’t.
One person can make a difference. Patrick inspired his sister to start a race and fulfill a promise to educate people about esophageal cancer. Shannon inspired a Converse employee, who inspired the company, which will help them all inspire the masses. Now I’m writing about it, and you are reading about it.
Word of Mouth (WOM) works. Converse will reach around 200 of its core audience members in person at this race, and these folks will walk away with a great story to share with their audience members.
Brand connections can help charity efforts, especially if they’re meaningful. Which brands do you love, and is there a relationship opportunity between them and your cause?

Last year, 160 runners ran the PD5K and Shannon raised $3,200 for the Esophageal Cancer Awareness Association. This year and beyond, the possibilities are endless, thanks to the help of Converse and its perfect sponsorship.

Inspired Discussion and Idea Sharing at the Boston Roundtable

Mon, 07 May 2012 11:00:00 -0700

Well, it was a bit overcast in Beantown but the ideas were brighter than ever at our first Event Fundraising Roundtable in Boston last week. We met some terrific world changers – professionals working in charitable and nonprofit fields from hospitals to disease awareness groups to educational institutions to the performing arts and more! Boston proved to be an inspiring hub of people and organizations working to make an impact.

A big round of applause for our panelists who addressed issues and encouraged discussions surrounding participant retention, sponsor engagement, and how to get participants to fundraise:

Suzanne Fountain, Associate VP for The Jimmy Fund;
Andrea Marlar, Director of Special Events for Children’s Hospital Trust;
Chris Mann, Director of Social Purpose for Reebok; and
Panel Moderator David Hessekiel from the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.

The break-out sessions were energetic with chatter filling the room. We were glad to see so many like-minded people sharing ideas and encouraging others to try new tactics to achieve their organizations’ missions.

Some of the key discussion points of the night included:

Loyalty is important so make sure that people have the best experience possible. Always use emotion, heart and storytelling.
Emails need to be short, powerful and emotional, and make sure your call to action and subject lines are clear and concise.
Remember the heart and soul. Event participants are passionate people.
You may be a nonprofit organization, but you still need to use your best business sense.
Pick one or two things and do them well. Don't spread yourself too thin.

Our own Director of Business Development Kari Bodell (@karibodell) summed up the evening nicely in a Tweet: Parting thoughts from @Event360 Roundtable. 1) Segment. 2) Get Personal. 3) Figure out what customer wants. Give it to them. 4) Simplify.

Thanks to roundtable host the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council and to our partners on this event: Blackbaud and Charity Dynamics.

Our next Event Fundraising Roundtable will be in Chicago on May 29. Don’t miss it!

Therese Grohman is the Director of Marketing at Event 360, where she focuses on building Event 360’s thought leadership platform and developing relationships with organizations through impactful and relevant communications. She has also worked directly with a variety of organizations to create and implement event fundraising strategies, drawing from her experiences working in the non-profit sector.

For Your Consideration, Before Adding an Event to Your Fundraising Portfolio

Fri, 04 May 2012 07:17:36 -0700

It seems so simple. Need money? Want to build awareness? Would like more constituents? Hold a fundraising event. But before making that commitment — and risk spreading your already thin resources even thinner — give careful thought to these key considerations.

Ask whether your organization is institutionally prepared for the event. This goes beyond finances. You must have the necessary development, cultivation and operational tools in place, as well as a degree of financial tolerance. Take an honest look at past fundraising events you've held and consider:
- How did they go?
- How well did your organization and volunteer community perform?
- Were you able to leverage internal and external strengths, resources and relationships to support your event?
- Did you define a strategy for reaching your goals?
- Did you have the time to execute successfully?

Be clear about what need you're trying to fulfill with the event. If you have multiple goals, prioritize them and be ready to collect data required to appropriately measure your success relative to those goals. If you need guidance, speak with industry experts or peers at like-minded organizations, or explore industry gatherings or nonprofit groups on LinkedIn to learn from experienced event holders.
Identify your audience, including what level of the giving pyramid you're trying to reach (here's a great example of a giving pyramid from the National Park Service). Is there a segment of your constituent base you could better engage with a new activity offering? Considering this factor, along with the demographics of your audience, will help you answer important questions that impact your event planning, such as:
- What kind of event would be most attractive to the target audience (e.g. party vs. walk/run/ride)?
- What kind of event would be most appropriate for the goals you're trying to reach?
- Would that type of event also be an appropriate vehicle for promoting your mission?
- Where should you hold the event (i.e. both the type of venue and geographical location)?
- Which competitors are you up against for this audience's attention in that location?

Keep in mind that an event is a means to an end. How would this new event help further your mission? Would the experience you're creating with the event compel your audience to support your cause? Would it feel meaningful to them? Remember your mission and your strategy for accomplishing it.
If you decide you aren't quite ready to take on hosting a new event, consider looking into independent fundraising events. You may already have evangelists supporting your organization is this way. These super volunteers are in essence doing the work for you! How could your organization better support them to maximize their efforts while minimizing additional work internally?

Having honest answers to questions like these can be the difference between fundraising success and failure. Take the time to assess your readiness, formulate a strategy and think about ways to integrate your cause into the event in a clear, emotive and memorable manner. You'll be in good shape!

Thinking about adding an event to your fundraising portfolio? Not sure? Email Meghan to discuss the possibilities.

“Meghan's Strategy Lab” blog posts are featured monthly. Vice President, Fundraising Strategy Meghan Dankovich serves as the lead for many of Event 360's consulting engagements, striving to help nonprofits exceed their event fundraising goals. Her expertise includes strategic planning, implementation of qualitative fundraising work and developing successful quantitative approaches for collecting and analyzing event-related data.

The Power of a Thank You Card

Wed, 02 May 2012 12:00:00 -0700

“Appreciative words are the most powerful force for good on earth.” –George W. Crane

I received a thank you note recently from the organizers of the Event 360 All Company Meeting (Impact360) for a small part that I played in the organization of the activities.

I always feel good when I get a thank you in the mail, it gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, a sense of pride in what I contributed towards and then I place it in my office, at eye-level on my shelf so I can be reminded of time well spent helping others. Guess what? Your donors and volunteers feel the same way. A little gratitude can go a long way.

I am notorious among friends, family and co-workers for sending thank you notes. I may be old-fashioned in thinking this but I believe in taking a few minutes of my time, a moment of conscious awareness and sharing a brief expression of gratitude tucked in a little card and sent in a timely manner when someone gives generously of their time and energy.

I am not the only one who believes in the power of the thank you card. Lewis & Clark College recently launched a “Mind the Gap” campaign where “students, faculty, and staff took a moment out of their busy days to Mind the Gap by writing thank you notes to LC donors…tuition does not cover the full cost of a Lewis & Clark College education and donors help close the gap. Student and staff volunteers educated the LC community about the importance of alumni giving, passed out free donuts, and encouraged students to Mind the Gap and thank alumni donors.” I know that each donor who received one of these cards felt something special, a deeper connection to the students and the college’s mission when reading these personal, hand-written notes. Read more about this successful effort.

Sure, a verbal thank you is nice, the very least that is required when someone donates, volunteers or otherwise goes the extra mile to provide support to an organization or goal.

An emailed thank you is alright but it honestly doesn’t stick with me past the point that I hit ‘delete.’

When I receive a thank you card in the mail? It shows me that my contribution was noticed and that the person or organization that sent it to me is grateful for my efforts. It also makes me much more likely to give generously again.

Be old-fashioned. Send the Thank You card. Don’t you think that a few minutes of your time and a stamp are worth the effort given the potential life-long relationship you could establish with your donors, volunteers, and yes, even your staff?

Shawn Supers is a Senior Field Coordinator at Event 360, and hosts informational “Get Started Meetings” for walkers in the Washington, DC area.

Consistency in Compassion

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:30:00 -0700

Here at Event 360, we know from experience that fundraising events are a team effort. Teams work best when people get to know one another as this fosters positive collaboration. So, with this in mind, each month one of our employees will tell their story here. We hope you enjoy getting to know members of Team360. This month, meet Jennifer Gross:

Over the past year, I’ve had the good fortune of witnessing compassion on a variety of levels – as a caregiver, as a volunteer and as an event fundraising professional. Those displays of compassion have run the gamut – from exemplary and unexpected to insincere and a bit rough around the edges. That got me thinking about the importance of consistency in compassion.

As a volunteer committee member for this month’s Bike MS event benefitting the mid-Florida chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, I was tasked with assigning day volunteers for the on-event weekend. That piece of my involvement happened over the course of several months leading up to the event. But it was the on-event experience I really craved because I knew it would give me the opportunity to connect in person with the people the event is designed to help. And connect I did … with wonderful people like the 40-something year old woman whose vibrant smile lights up a room but whose hands don’t lift far off her walker these days because MS has dramatically weakened her gait. And the middle-aged woman who has not only served as caregiver for her MS-stricken husband for more than two decades, she now watches her daughter face the same uncertain future. And the young nurse who dedicates her life to helping others stay healthy, but knew nothing of the disease four years ago when her doctor said “You have MS.” Now, her husband says they take every vacation they’d otherwise just dream about, not knowing when or if the illness will one day steal his wife’s ability to walk.

Something struck me about these volunteers – it was not their MS, it was their level of compassion! Anger may have at one point taken hold of their relationship with the disease, but it has given way to grace and empowerment. On event, they were the first volunteers to offer a smile to a tired rider, extend a hand to help, answer a question or just give a sincere thank-you to cyclists as they hopped off their bikes at the finish line. And when they said thanks, they always made eye contact!

The level of engagement on the part of these volunteers and the depth to which they are affected by MS certainly drives the consistency in compassion I witnessed. But we, as event fundraisers need to strive toward this as well. Very often, the people most affected by the cause become our VIPs on event, our ambassadors. These are the people whose lives, in some cases, have been turned upside down by disease, whose physical abilities have sometimes become impaired, whose vision of the future is often clouded by fear. And yet even with their resources depleted, they are always the ones who give the most!

We owe it to every participant on our events to give it our all, but we especially owe it to this group, the group for whom we fight every day to make it a better world. The group that inspires us. Our efforts on their behalf need to be seamless and transparent, meaning we don’t expose them to the business side of what we do, the frustrations we may experience when change happens or the day-to-day dramas that sometimes result between co-workers.

I am proud to say that I witnessed the team involved with last weekend’s Bike MS event rise to that level of compassion, supporting its VIPs well and consistently putting the mission of the organization first. During the past five years, I have also seen that consistency and sincerity on the part of my Event 360 colleagues as I have worked with them at events to impact causes including cancer, cerebral palsy and AIDS. And I am eternally grateful for the impenetrable web of support this team has consistently weaved under one another in times of personal challenge.

Lessons sometimes come in strange packages. But my experiences over the past year have prompted me to examine some of my own behaviors and strive to treat others with the exemplary consistency in compassion I’ve been fortunate to witness many times over lately.

Jennifer Gross was inspired to join the Event 360 team just a few months after participating in Susan G. Komen 3-Day in 2006. As Field Operations Manager, she’s supported thousands of 3-Day walkers on their journey. She lives in St. Petersburg, FL, where she’s actively involved in causes helping humans, animals and the environment.

The Clarion Call for Character

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 07:32:10 -0700

One of my core beliefs about effective strategy is that it is designed to support a shared aspirational vision. In other words, the best strategies support the achievement of a big goal, or dream, or vision. If you don’t know where you are going, how can you effectively get there? We all want to be called to something bigger than ourselves. For some, that “something bigger” is simply personal prosperity. Most of us, though – particularly those of us in the social impact space – yearn to be part of something more noble than self-interest. We long for the opportunity to move the needle on the human condition.

The best visions, in turn, are rooted in a set of shared values. Every organization values something; those values define how we pursue the vision our strategy is meant to help us achieve. I’m not talking about the list of five or six attributes that are written somewhere in your organization’s annual report. I’m talking about the ways we actually behave; the things we show our constituents that we find important through our actions. In this way, strategy and leadership are intertwined.

I spend a lot of time worrying about this issue, actually. As leaders and strategists, one of our core responsibilities is to try to keep the gap between what we say is important and what we show is important as small as possible. None of us are perfect, and so neither are our organizations perfect. There’s always a difference between what we do and say. And yet sometimes the gaps are glaring. I’ve worked with groups who say “open communication” is a core value – only to find that they were unwilling to tolerate any dissent. The stated value is open communication, but the actual value is “parrot the party line.” And I’ve had times where my own team says to me, for example, “We say that we value meaningful relationships, but we slighted this person in such-and-such a way.” And yet when I get that feedback, as difficult as it sometimes is to receive, I know we’re getting somewhere. I know we’re working together to close the gap.

And so it was with a great amount of interest and empathy that I read Peggy Noonan’s April 21 Wall Street Journal editorial, “American’s Crisis of Character.” I should openly admit that I’m not a regular reader of the Journal, or any paper for that matter – Google Reader has radically changed my reading habits. I read voraciously but I’m just as likely to be reading one of the hundreds and hundreds of great blogs as I am any “traditional” news outlet. And it should also be said that like all of us, Noonan has a political slant; she was an assistant to Ronald Reagan back in the day, and tends to be identified as a conservative, although I’ve never found her to be overwhelmingly so.

What she definitely is, without question, is a great writer. In this piece she starts with the recent report by Gallup that fewer Americans than ever – 24% – believe “we’re on the right track as a nation.” She then recaps a week of bad news – from the Secret Service scandal to the GSA scandal to the latest reports of mistreatment of travelers at the hands of the TSA – and provides some commentary on, as she calls it, “the flat, brute, highly sexualized thing we call our culture.” The crux of her editorial is a compelling and disturbing point: “I think more and more people are worried about the American character—who we are and what kind of adults we are raising.” In her mind, we’re witnessing “a leveling or deterioration of public behavior” borne of lowering expectations so much that “people don't decide to give you more, they give you less.”

It’s a quite powerful, and honestly, quite depressing piece of writing. Noonan doesn’t offer any help, hope, or solutions. She doesn’t offer us a way out. She simply concludes: “Something seems to be going terribly wrong. Maybe we have to stop and think about this.”

I will say I think there’s a bit of nostalgic superiority to the article, a sense of “things used to be better when I was young” to the piece. And yet, that wouldn’t stop me from recommending it to you, and it didn’t stop me from feeling quite an impact from it.

I read the article over the weekend, and thought about it, and then re-read it. Then I did what many of us do, which is frenetically look around for someone to talk to about it. Our social media revolution has made that process incredibly efficient: I posted the article on Facebook, and Twitter, and I think on Google+, and waited for interaction to come to me. (A sort-of passive, vaguely interactive process that has become second-nature to me, and that, ironically, could be one of the causes of the problems Noonan has described.)

In any case, I didn’t have to wait long. A number of friends and colleagues commented on the article. What was fascinating to me was that they seemed to be broken into two camps – those who said, “Yes, this is disturbing, and what on earth can we do about it” and those who said, “Yes, this is disturbing but it’s nothing new, and as usual no solutions were offered.” In other words, resigned acceptance on one hand and annoyed acceptance on the other.

One of my colleagues and friends at Event 360, Slade Thompson, wrote a very thoughtful comment back to me:

All I read [in her article] was a synopsis of another week’s bad news … I had hoped for a little more examination of the root cause or a proposed solution. “Maybe we have to stop and think” doesn’t seem particularly insightful or constructive, and I’m afraid it will only get a few seconds consideration from most readers before the concern changes to “What’s for dinner?” or “What’s next on the calendar?” Or is this just another indication of our deteriorating character, that facts alone aren’t enough to inspire action?

I think Slade has articulated for me what I found most troubling about the article. It’s true that Noonan doesn’t get to solutions – although there’s only so much one can do a few paragraphs, and the solutions require volumes. At the same time, I believe one of Noonan’s points is that in a time when all of these terrible things happen and no one seems to notice, “stop and think” is at least a place to start.

But at a more fundamental level, I think her point is not that we don’t seem to notice – it is that we don’t seem to feel like there’s anything we can do about it. To heal pain, one must feel it in the first place, and what I read from Noonan was a lament that we’ve become increased anesthetized to our own discomfort and dissatisfaction.

Are there solutions? Of course there are. To what Noonan describes, treating everyone equally regardless of background or appearance; ensuring equal access to opportunity for all; increasing our intolerance of hate and discrimination; and then enforcing all of the previous might be the right start towards creating a culture where people aren’t victimized, preyed upon, gawked at, and objectified.

At a deeper level, though, there’s a point I feel compelled to make for all of us who aspire to be leaders and strategists. The solution starts with the faith that there is one, and with the willingness to believe that we might be able to achieve it.

To go back to my opening thoughts: Those of us with even the smallest sense of awareness and humility will find throughout life constant reminders of our own inadequacy. And yet we will also find constant reminders of the world’s imperfection. It strikes me that the secret to both improving ourselves and changing the world is to let our own imperfections inspire us to a better way of living, and so remind us that the better world we seek is not so far from our grasp after all.

The real honest truth is that we are not, unfortunately, the perfect people we want to be. And yet isn’t that the good news, too? That in spite of our flaws and egos and idiosyncrasies we each still manage to have a few friends who care, families who love us, and work that requires our attention? And if that is possible at the personal level, isn’t it possible at the organizational level too? And at the community level? And at the societal level?

I agree with Noonan that the world condition requires reflection. And at the same time, the only pretension we can longer tolerate in ourselves is the attitude that we are powerless to change what we see around us. I don’t believe it, and neither should you, because it just isn’t true.

"Jeff's POV" blog posts are featured monthly. For the past eight years, President and CEO Jeff Shuck has led our team in producing more than 200 fundraising events involving hundreds of thousands of participants, and collectively raising more than $600 million for charity. Follow Jeff on Twitter: @jeffshuck, or read his blog: Your Part Matters.

Fundraising Has No Age Requirement

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:00:00 -0700

This post from our own Molly Fast is featured on the Parents magazine goodyblog. We agree with Molly that kids make great fundraisers. Sign up for our enews to learn more on this topic. We’ll be offering fundraising materials for kids and the classroom soon.

I’ve written before about how I’m the go to fundraiser in my family. Previously, I was helping my cousin raise money for juvenile diabetes. But today I’m writing about how I helped my 6-year old niece, Julia, raise money for heart disease.

I received an email from my sister stating “Julia's learning about children with heart disease and wants to do her part to help. She'll be participating in Jump Rope for Heart. In addition to raising money for the American Heart Association, your donation will help Julia's school win free physical education equipment. And the class that raises the most gets to have lunch and recess with the gym teachers--another big incentive for Julia! Thanks for any amount you donate.”

I went directly to Julia’s fundraising page only to discover that her fundraising goal was set to $200. Not only was it entirely too low for my liking, but she had almost reached her goal. As a result, I didn’t really feel compelled to donate.

Here’s what happened next:

Me: Please increase her goal to $500 and then I’ll make my donation :)
Sister: How about $300? I don't plan to hit up many people! I figure we have a lifetime of these asks ahead of us.
Me: $500
Sister: Yes ma'am.
Me: Donation made.

I can’t stress enough the importance of setting a challenging goal and updating it as you get closer to hitting it to ensure people will still feel compelled to donate. Within one day, and with the help of Facebook status updates from her three aunts, Julia’s fundraising went through the roof and she had met her fundraising goal. Within two days, Julia raised $615 and became the top fundraiser in her 1^st grade classroom.

If you’re looking to engage children in fundraising, here are some tips you’ll want to consider:

Make the message as simple and relatable as you can. Julia understood that it was as basic as asking people for money, spending some time jump roping and she’d be helping people she’d never meet.
When engaging children, use video as much as possible to show them who they’re helping and why. Julia remembered the name of the girl in the video - Britney - and could even describe how her heart sounded (with a “whoosh”). More than that, she understood that what she heard wasn’t normal or the way your heart is supposed to sound. The video helped her connect and stay connected to Britney.
Connect the activity to the cause. In the video they played at school to engage Julia and her classmates, they witnessed Britney getting better and even being able to jump rope. Julia was really impressed that Britney could now jump rope and learned that jumping rope would make her own heart strong too.
Incentives work for all sorts of people as my friend Jill Stewart recently shared and this couldn’t be truer for children. Even better, when you’re dealing with tiny humans, they don’t need anything that costs money. The thought of winning lunch with her teachers was enough to keep Julia focused on the task at hand! And then, Julia was rewarded for all her hard work when she learned that the teachers changed their mind and instead of just inviting the top class, they decided to also invite a few other big fundraisers. She was psyched to get an invitation from her gym teachers to join them for lunch for being the top fundraiser in her class! These kinds of things cost nothing and go a very long way with children!
Take any opportunity you have to remind children that we all share in the responsibility to help people who aren’t as fortunate or as healthy as we are.

The bottom line is that there’s no age requirement when it comes to fundraising. In fact, the top fundraiser in Julia’s school was in kindergarten! Regardless of your age, there are important and valuable lifelong lessons that fundraising can teach you. Why not start early?

Check back soon for part two when I talk about why children make great fundraisers.

Molly Fast is a passionate advocate of event fundraising and customer service. She has been working as an event fundraiser since 2002 and with Event 360 since 2004. As the daughter of a 13-year breast cancer survivor, cancer has hit very close to home and Molly has dedicated herself to helping others see their potential in making this world a better place. At Event 360, Molly gets to combine her love of customer service with event fundraising.

Fundraising Incentive Fulfillment – Plan Early for a Truly Rewarding Experience

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:00:00 -0700

This is the final installment of a three-part series.
Don't make promises you can't keep. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it's definitely something to keep in mind when you plan your fundraising incentive program. Let's take it a step further: You should be thinking about fulfillment every step of the way-from the first moment you consider which rewards you want to offer until each one has been delivered to the participant who earned it.

Fulfillment is not easy. First, think about how complicated an incentive program can be on its surface. From promotion to procuring and producing items, to determining who’s earned what — each activity presents its own set of challenges. Now add the responsibility of getting the right rewards into the right hands — dozens, hundreds or even thousands of people — at the right time. Oh, and picture doing this on a rainy day, in the mud, to hordes of tired and antsy (and totally deserving) participants that you want to come back (and fundraise!) again next year.

The good news is this: if you work fulfillment into the process early on, things can go smoothly and have the desired effect of making your participants feel valued. The trick is to give it every bit as much attention as every other part of the process and, again, accent on the start early.

Fulfillment considerations should be included in your first discussions about a fundraising incentive program. Think about the number of people involved in your event, the venue, potential distraction from your mission, and of course your resource limitations. Keep in mind that getting stuff into the hands of people is something that requires a lot of work before, during, and even after an event. Also, fulfillment should play a major role in your decisions regarding what to give away. Circumstances might require that you choose items that are small or lightweight, one size fits all, activity-based items (pedometers, water bottles, etc.) and/or branded items (buttons, t-shirts, etc.).

When it comes down to the actual reward distribution, good planning and logistics are imperative and nothing substitutes for good communication. Talk to people early and often about things like program criteria and rules, deadlines, and where and how to pick up rewards. At the event itself, make sure participants can get answers to questions quickly, and that volunteers have the tools they need to get the job done. One tactic we've successfully used is the concept of "fast passes." This system works by pre-determining prize eligibility and then providing paper "tickets" or "passes" to participants that will turn them in at the event. Fast passes keep the lines moving and help streamline reward distribution.

Speaking of volunteers, another early and critical step is to make sure you have enough of them. Consider the quantity of items to be distributed, and when, where and for how long you'll need help. Don't forget to have additional volunteers on hand working behind-the-scenes with inventory, boxes, trash, etc.

Then there's the "civil engineering" aspect of event-based fulfillment-especially when you're hosting a large number of people/reward recipients. Setting up tents, creating signage, directing traffic, making sure you have a physical plan to address both the 30-to-40 percent of people who will do as they're asked (bring their "fast passes"), and 60-to-70 percent who won't — all must be taken into consideration when creating your site layout. Special attention to methodology and traffic streams is crucial.

Finally, consider third-party vendors who have experience with fundraising incentive fulfillment as they are trained to execute under both normal and unexpected circumstances. But, if you do go it alone, make sure you have the communication and infrastructure you need in place, and put fulfillment plans in your total fundraising incentive program early. In the end, a promise met can translate into dollars-raised — and a participant fundraiser retained.

Part one of this three-part series examines what you should consider before implementing fundraising incentive programs. Part two looks at how to choose effective and appropriate incentives.

Jill Stewart is a Fundraising Consultant at Event 360. With 12 years of event fundraising experience, she has developed, executed, and managed robust, award-winning fundraising and communications programs for major non-profit organizations across the country. Jill holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University and a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

The Power of Many: The Art and Importance of Delegation

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:00 -0700

“But, but, but, I am responsible! You told me I am accountable.” Yes, you are.

For some reason the same conversation happens in clusters. This is the one I am having lately. It got me thinking about the conventional wisdom: “If you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.” The fact is, when it comes to leadership and managing teams, blindly following that path can be a recipe for disaster. And while it might sound strange, the way to get things done right is often by letting someone else take the reins.

The fact is delegation does not come naturally to many smart managers. By the time they reach a leadership position, their instincts and talents have been reinforced (after all, they didn’t get where they are by being ineffectual as individuals), which tells them that they are, in fact, “the right one for the job.” Most managers have also deeply internalized the notion that time is money, and when you take the time to explain and teach and then wait while another person gets the job done, well … “I should have just taken care of it myself.”

The double whammy against delegation is the idea of accountability. Leaders (or anyone with any sense, for that matter) are averse to “taking the rap” for something done poorly by someone else — especially if they believe they could have gotten it done right on their own. All in all, from a risk-reward standpoint, delegation on its surface seems to be a dangerous game.

But dangers can be mitigated by a strong ante. If you want to (indeed, need to) have a wider impact, spreading out the workload out is essential. To do this you must do a good job of 1) wisely picking what you choose to spend your time on (our CEO, Jeff Shuck, wrote about this in Where Should I Focus?) and 2) choosing the right individuals to leverage in order to exponentially impact whomever and whatever you need to impact. To both points, there is indeed risk. I myself don’t like idea that in order to move forward I have to deal with the uncertainty of turning things over to others. But, we should all consider the benefits of effective delegation, except for the few crucial areas that truly determine success or failure. Because when the truly hard problems do emerge, your job is to have the time and energy to solve those problems. That is why you are the boss.

Another big plus is that turning coordination and tasks over to your staff is really a form of training and development. You do the people you work with a great service by forcing them to take on more in terms of project management. In many cases, they have too much to do so they in turn learn how to pick the right people for the right jobs and thus lean how to delegate themselves, increasing your group’s effectiveness and impact.

A critical offshoot to this added value of giving people around you opportunities to lead and execute, is that it’s the best way to increase internal team satisfaction and trust. If you don’t delegate, you create a glass ceiling for your people. Conversely, by offering ownership to others, you get more buy-in and commitment. In the long run, this is essential to your group’s — and their projects’— success.

Choosing what not to do is an important as choosing what to do. There will come a time when if you’re not realistic and fail to learn to delegate effectively, it’s going to be too late — and success will become more elusive to you as you rise up through the organization. As for the risks, remember that it’s best to fail fast, learn quickly and move on. Moreover, if you worry about being responsible for what others do, I have news for you: if you’re a leader, you already are. Good delegation is a crucial part of good leadership.

Finally, there’s this trite but honest question: What if a bus hits you tomorrow? Or less dramatically, what if you want to pursue opportunities somewhere else? What then? Every leader’s job is making himself or herself replaceable by sharing knowledge. Otherwise you have the machine with the irreplaceable part. That’s no good and that’s no fun. So go out there and teach. Dive deep into the critical areas but have a bias to trust and let go. The work, your people and you will be better for it.

"Jim’s Tools of the Trade" blog posts are featured monthly. Vice President, Operations Jim Grohman provides our project teams and managers, as well as our IT group and customer service specialists, leadership and guidance to ensure flawless delivery. A former Major with the United States Marine Corps, Jim is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is certified as a PMI Project Management Professional.

Working Close Enough to Rub Shoulders with Your Volunteers? You Should Be!

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:48:48 -0700

It’s National Volunteer Week and Katie Sisum, one of our volunteer managers, is sharing her insights and experiences on our blog. Read her post from earlier this week. We know that countless volunteers are needed to make fundraising events a success and we’d like to thank volunteers everywhere for all you do.

Everyone knows the phrase, “treat others how you’d like to be treated” and even though we all know it, this doesn’t mean we always think, or in our case, create volunteer programs this way. Why not? I recently made a visit to the Tucson Village Farm and noticed a staff member interacting with their AmeriCorps team. Of course, memories flooded back of my two years of AmeriCorps service working with a variety of nonprofits. Although a very unique volunteer opportunity, I learned many lessons from my experiences that allow me to create better experiences for our event volunteers.

Utilize Skills. By getting to know your office, committee and board volunteers you are able to place them in positions where they can be most valued by you, but also where they feel like the roof might fall down if they weren’t there. That actually is a good feeling for a volunteer!

Kiki Setterlund, Volunteer Operations Coordinator at Event 360 shared with me this story from her past work experience:

“One of my new committee members, Bonnie, had participated in the Susan G. Komen Twin Cities 3-Day and had decided to become more involved locally (Madison, WI local Susan G. Komen affiliate office). She shared with me her photos from the event and told me how she stayed up late before Christmas to make photo albums for all of her family members who had participated with her. She and I talked about her involvement on the committee and where she felt she could best serve the event. Bonnie ended up managing two major projects related to our fundraising campaign during her first year with us. It saved me hours of work and she did a thorough job. Because of her work, we were able to expand our fundraising initiatives that year.”

Train. Teach the staff members or volunteer captains how to treat event volunteers. One of the biggest things we tell our staff is to think of the volunteers as extensions of the internal team. That is, in a sense, what volunteers are so why wouldn’t you get to know the people you are working with? Don’t assume that your staff knows how to collaboratively work with volunteers. If you feel you need tips on how to train your staff talk to us about a consulting engagement where we can help you develop an internal training plan.

Rene Tamayo, Manager of Tour Operations at Event 360 offered this tip in training internal staff members to successfully work with volunteers: “In some jobs, explaining the thought process or long term goal of the task, and how it influences the bigger picture is usually more helpful than just giving a volunteer a 'task' without explanation. With giving them the big picture and context, they are more likely to take ownership of their role.”

Play. Make the event fun and get to know each volunteer as a person. By learning their names, where they come from and by personally inviting them to volunteer again creates a sense that you truly appreciate them and their efforts.

Meredith Cleasby, Volunteer Production Manager for Event 360, is honored to work with volunteers and captains on a variety of events. One of her captains reached out to her after our Dallas PetSmart Charities PetWalk with this thank you that really captivates how Meredith was able to create a connection in just one day. “Thank you so much. It was one of the best-planned events I have participated in this year. The people I was assigned were awesome. I would love to help ya'll anytime you need me. It was an honor working with you, Meredith!”

Listen. It’s that easy, but why aren’t we all listening to our volunteers? Some people don’t ask for feedback strategically because they are afraid of bad results and negative comments. Volunteers want to be heard, for the good and for the bad. Listen and let them know you hear them. You might not always be able to make a change but you can show them their opinions are valuable by listening.

During a post event debrief we received this: “Thank you for helping us to finish out the year on a positive note and getting us psyched to do it again next year. I wouldn't trade my experiences on crew for anything. And I have found a lot of reward in being a captain. I look forward to doing it again next year and hopefully I can do it in another city as well.” – Deb, Susan G. Komen 3-Day Crew Captain

Thank them. It goes without saying and I think everyone is naturally good at thanking volunteers at the end of their commitment. However, one thing I learned from a past work experience at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is to go the extra mile. After I got dirty planting trees or cleaning a park with a corporate volunteer group, I called their coordinator within days to personally thank them and recognize a few of their volunteers by name. This outreach had significant meaning and was truly appreciated. That corporate team was able to publically recognize people by name; and they knew from me that I was personally invested in their group.

I hope you have enjoyed National Volunteer Week. If you haven’t been able to contribute to something you are passionate about this week, perhaps you can take a few minutes to learn about yourself and discover how to make a difference in your community and the world around you soon. We all have things to learn, and we can all make an impact.

Katie Sisum has spent the last 12 years in the volunteer world as either an organizer or volunteer, including two years of service with AmeriCorps. As Volunteer Programs Manager for Event 360, she helps create significant experiences for over 7,000 volunteers and crewmembers each year. A member of Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities, Katie lives in Minneapolis with her four-footed dog friend, is a glass blower and owns a stained glass studio in the city.

The Caine’s Arcade Story and What it Means to You

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:36:18 -0700

There are not a lot of things one can be sure of in this world, including the notion that there’s always going to be help out there when you need it. Problems or challenges—including the kind that your organization is dedicated to addressing—can at times seem insurmountable. But if you accept the notion that there is kindness in people, you can also be sure that that a combination of creativity and communication (and the magic of the Internet) can exponentially multiply a single act of kindness to achieve otherwise impossible goals. Consider the case of Caine Monroy.

I stumbled upon Caine’s story last Tuesday on a quiet little blog on Tumblr. The video was launched on Monday. By Thursday morning, Caine was on all of the morning TV shows. As of today, Caine’s Arcade has been viewed more than 2 million times on YouTube and 2.6 million times on Vimeo. Over $165,000 has been donated to his college fund in just one week. The Goldhirsh Foundation has offered a $250,000 matching grant to the video's creators to create the Caine's Arcade Foundation (you read that right - a Foundation doesn't even exist yet!). There is even a Wiki page now that is tracking all of Caine’s media coverage. Here’s an interesting contribution from the Christian Science Monitor.

For the increasingly few number of you who aren’t familiar with the story, here’s a quick summary: Caine Monroy is a wonderfully clever, endearing and entrepreneurial 9-year-old. During his summer vacation, while hanging round his father’s East Los Angeles auto parts shop, he got the idea to turn empty cardboard boxes into elaborate, home-made arcade games. Before long he had taken over the store with a small universe that resembled a theme park. He developed an individual and “Fun Pass” ticket system ($1 for 5 turns, $2 for 500 - always get the Fun Pass!), and was soon ready to receive customers.

Alas, no one came—except for Nirvan Mullick, a filmmaker and partner at an L.A. media strategy firm. Mullick had by chance stopped in to buy a part for his car and couldn’t help but notice Caine’s Arcade. With permission from the boy’s father, he made an 11-minute short documentary. As part of the effort (which included a PayPal button to allow viewers to donate to a college fund for Caine), Mullick set up a Facebook page with the idea of surprising the boy with a flash mob of customers. The effort was picked up by hidden los angeles and soon soared on redditt. Caine’s story was suddenly heard (literally) ‘round the world.

While Caine’s tale is heartwarming in its own right (okay, let’s go ahead and call it a tearjerker), its practical implications are enormous — not only from a marketing perspective, but from a social impact perspective, in particular. Remember that your mission has immense power — because people care. Not everyone and not always, but enough and given the opportunity people will come together to help you fulfill your mission. In the end, if you build it (and then make sure everyone knows about it) they will come.

What does this mean? Well, first people need to know you’re out there. Then they have to not only know what you need, but also how they can help. And finally, they need to know that they can make a difference — that together with like-minded people they can move the needle and change the lives of people whose lives need changing. (Note the word “know” in every sentence above.)

How do you accomplish these things? Well if Caine’s story tells us anything, it shows how an entrepreneurial spirit, combined with imagination and creativity, provides the core spark that can ignite a crowd. Once the word got out, Caine’s “mob” was motivated to help. They wanted to “play” (Who wouldn’t want to play? The event was simply cool — unique games, individual ingenuity, the thrill of being a part of something big.), but more important, the story of Caine and his quest for success touched something in people that made them all come out and “play.”

The message here is about the power of storytelling combined with the power of Internet. In Caine’s case it looks like this: ingenious boy + talented media strategist + kindness of strangers x Internet = (to date) $164,000-plus for a well-deserved college fund. For this young man, it was about succeeding with a good idea. What’s your story? And how and where are you telling it?

Photo courtesy of cainesarcade.com.

Volunteer Overpopulation – Is There Such a Thing as Too Many Volunteers?

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:02:49 -0700

Welcome to National Volunteer Week. Katie Sisum, one of our volunteer managers, will be blogging about her insights and experiences this week. We know that countless volunteers are needed to make fundraising events a success and we’d like to thank volunteers everywhere for all you do.

If I’m the right hand of the volunteer show here at Event 360 then Volunteer Production Manager Meredith Cleasby is the left hand. We work in tandem to create unique experiences for our volunteers and would be lost at times if we weren’t pumping feedback to each other. When I congratulated Meredith on stepping up this volunteer week to make a difference, you might be surprised to hear her response: “It makes me uncomfortable…and gives me nightmares!” Meredith took my challenge and registered for the Boston Marathon as a volunteer. Lucky for her she got assigned to the exact task that gives her the willies — bus loading! I think that’s great (insert overly happy grin on my face)! Not only is she volunteering, she is challenging herself to help out with a task that is not her first choice. She is starting off her volunteer week right, now how are you beginning it?

No matter where you volunteer this week (or any week), you might experience what is sometimes overlooked in the volunteer management world. Often not seen as a problem to casual event planners, this issue can certainly lead to a problem if not handled correctly: volunteer overpopulation. Yes, I think I just created that phrase.

If you are already organized and a good communicator, using an excel worksheet that illustrates the time you’ve spent pondering how many volunteers you have, shift times, job titles, and the like, and then shared this plan with key event players, you will likely not experience volunteer overpopulation. But, if you advertised that you need volunteers and are gathering them in one big bucket with the thought of “I’ll find them all jobs as we get closer to the event,” pay attention to the following tips:

Don’t plan in a box (or your cube)! Create a well-thought plan that covers every need of the event and then talk it through with the person in charge of event logistics. Make sure your plan and their promises to site contractors and city officials match up.
Walk the tightrope with caution. You know you need a certain number of people to accomplish a task. On our People Saving Pets Walk in Phoenix we know that due to the size of our registration tent it is well staffed with 20 volunteers. With that in mind we will over register to account for drop outs but we will cap our registrations. Don’t be afraid to cap your volunteer registrations in order to set proper expectations and help limit reassignments.
Move volunteers! Don’t overstaff your volunteer areas. This method is not healthy for the longevity of a volunteer. If you under use your volunteers they will not feel valued and will not put your event on their must do list for next year. I’ve witnessed volunteers who have left 60 minutes into their shifts because they felt underutilized. We, at Event 360, would rather turn down volunteers than see a volunteer not utilized. We watch our numbers carefully to create the fullest experience for them.
Create a new team. A standard on a volunteer program of ours is a team marked “I’ll Help Anywhere.” This is group of volunteers that we recruit (again limiting the number) that will literally fill in and help on any team. They know they won’t receive an assignment until the day of the event, but they have the flexible mentality that it takes to be our volunteer chameleons.
“But should I just trust people to show up?” Yes! Trust your volunteers and understand the volunteer mindset. When you do both you will always have well-run volunteer teams. If you don’t feel informed on recruitment, retention and volunteer methodology look into classes with your local volunteer administrator’s network or perhaps get in touch with us to do an audit on your program.

Remember that you are in charge of creating a one-of-a-kind experience for volunteers that leaves them devoted to coming back next year or to your next opportunity. When asking Kiki Setterlund, a Volunteer Operations Coordinator here at Event 360, to consider stepping up to the volunteer challenge, she replied that she likes volunteering but also said, “At times I don’t feel my time is well-spent nor do I feel the end-goal has benefitted from my participation.” Volunteers like Kiki truly want to help make a difference for an organization; they are passionate about your cause and although they see areas that need improvement they are willing to stick around to help you. It’s much better to make sure they leave feeling they’ve made an impact!

Thanks to all volunteers stepping up to my challenge this week. And, rock on Meredith and Kiki — I look forward to hearing how your experiences turn out. Stay tuned to our blog this week for more about the little things that matter in volunteer relationships, and how to keep your devoted volunteers coming back!

Katie Sisum has spent the last 12 years in the volunteer world as either an organizer or volunteer, including two years of service with AmeriCorps. As Volunteer Programs Manager for Event 360, she helps create significant experiences for over 7,000 volunteers and crewmembers each year. A new member of Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities, Katie lives in Minneapolis with her four-footed dog friend, is a glass blower and owns a stained glass studio in the city.

Lessons Learned from Two Fundraising Events Gone Awry

Fri, 13 Apr 2012 11:30:00 -0700

We know first-hand that planning events is hard work. We’re human and have made our share of mistakes. What we learn from mistakes is hugely important, and applying this knowledge to improve the event experience for participants and volunteers is crucial. Last year, Sarah Coniglio participated in an event that went awry. Here’s what she learned, along with her and Patrick’s suggestions to event organizers on how to make things better next time.

Two major fundraising events took place over 2,000 miles apart late last year. Each was a logistical nightmare that involved overcrowding, safety concerns and a miserable participant experience.

Each was also a cautionary tale for those of us in event development and production. In this age of social media, after all, word travels fast when an event doesn't go well. The reaction can quickly snowball and exact significant brand damage.

Both events represent what seems to be a disturbing trend: event organizers greedily registering as many participants as they can to maximize revenue.

On the Streets of D.C.
The first offender: a 5K/15K run in Washington, D.C. Traffic problems (perhaps exacerbated by unorganized parking and lack of public transportation) caused many runners to show up late, or not at all. The narrow course and frequently empty water stations made life difficult for those runners who did show up.

How bad did things get? Disgruntled participants launched a Facebook page, where recent posts continue to bash event organizers.

On the Scene in Vegas
That same weekend, a race was held on the Las Vegas Strip. One participant detailed the countless problems in an article, including dangerous overcrowding on the course, inadequate supplies of water and energy drinks and much more.

"It was the worst put on marathon that I’ve ever toed the starting line for," the participant wrote. "I’ve run 42 marathons/ultras and this one took the cake for futility by a long shot."

Sarah took part in the Las Vegas race and doesn't have fond memories:

Forty-four thousand people ran, which is a lot for the Strip to hold. The route was packed, with very poor visibility. People were pushing and shoving, and often tripping on objects like dividers. Many runners were forced to walk at times to navigate through the mass of humanity.
The timing of the event was also a problem, as the Strip was filling with evening revelers by the time most runners were finishing. Worse yet, the race emptied out into an area where another hotel event was taking place.
After I finished my race, I tried to wind through a nearby convention center and casino to get back to my hotel room. The entire area was jammed with people. Some passed out; others looked visibly ill. If there had been a fire, I have no doubt lives would have been lost. It was a scary situation.

Planning Is the Key
We hate to come down so hard on these two events, but we're confident proper planning would have prevented such troubling scenarios.

It all starts with never over-registering for events. Determine how many participants you can realistically accommodate, and then plan accordingly. This means carefully looking at staffing, parking, public transportation, registration, route conditions, water supplies, etc. — in other words, all the factors that collectively determine whether or not participants have a positive experience.

Resist the urge to fulfill the short-term goal of maximizing event revenue. After all, a failed event can seriously hurt your brand. Worse yet, participants who have a terrible experience aren't likely to sign up for your event next year.

In short, always remember your primary goal as an event production professional is to create a meaningful participant experience. With that as your guide, you'll avoid a repeat of the disasters in Vegas and D.C.

(If, however, your next event does turn into a disaster, there are ways to contain the damage. In next month's post, we'll offer guidance on what to do — and what not to do.)

If you can't wait until next month to hear what they have to say, please email Sarah or Patrick today.

"Patrick and Sarah's Experience Hub" blog posts are featured monthly. Director of Event Production Sarah Coniglio and Director of Event Production Patrick Riley have many years of hands-on experience in almost every aspect of event operations and production.

Amazing People and Unlimited Potential: This is TEDMED 2012.

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 18:20:32 -0700

This is incredible! These people are incredible! How did you even think to ask the question in that way? This has been my experience at TEDMED. For those of you who may not know, TEDMED “is a community of people who are passionate about imagining the future of health and medicine.” I am at their conference, which they call a “grand gathering” and I whole-heartedly agree.

Everywhere I turn, there are great stories from people with awe-inspiring intelligence with the will to make a difference — two from yesterday stand out and have my brain working overtime. The first was a mother, Virginia Breen, whose daughter has autism. That daughter is now a published poet (I Am in Here) defying the opinions of doctors, specialists and other experts who believed she was low functioning because of her Autism. But Virginia persisted and continued to search for someone that would enable her daughter to communicate. She found that person, a woman with a special technique, who taught her daughter to type her thoughts, unlocking the incredible person within — the poet and more importantly the young girl. How did her mother persist in spite what she was told? What experiences would compel other people to not accept initial impressions and continue to search for unlimited potential? This mother was motivated by her love, but also had a quality that kept her searching, no matter what obstacles were placed in her path. What experiences and unique personality traits allowed her to not accept what appeared to be, but stay focused and driven until she found the answer she knew to be true?

The world needs more people like Virginia — more of such determination, passion and energy to face the challenges of another disease: Alzheimer’s. A compelling case was made by researcher Gregory A. Petsko: we need to urgently address the issues with an aging population and what it will mean if one in two of that population is afflicted with Alzheimer’s. Our friends at the Alzheimer’s Association are doing incredible work, but more is needed. After age 65 the likelihood of getting Alzheimer’s increases exponentially. And the number of people who are over 65 is going to increase dramatically both in numbers and as a percentage of the population. This is a chronic disease that eventually becomes completely debilitating. As the person with Alzheimer’s becomes more and more dependent on others, immediate family members are faced with the incredibly difficult work of being a caregiver. Who will advocate for them? The lecturer’s point was that those affected ultimately die from the disease. But, those immediately supporting Alzheimer’s sufferers are emotionally, financially, and physically exhausted from the experience of being a caregiver. The disease has such a draining impact — even after the loved one has passed. What experiences would trigger the passion and resolute needed to solve the Alzheimer’s issue before it becomes not just a crisis for those afflicted, but the nation as a whole? How can we channel the determination of Virginia, who refused to stop until she got the right solution for her daughter, to deal with the challenges of Alzheimer’s?

I’m not sure exactly why I think the answer to one potentially lies in the other, but I do. I like the idea of interconnectedness and a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing issues. This is the power of TEDMED.

Vice President, Operations Jim Grohman provides our project teams and managers, as well as our IT group and analytics specialists, leadership and guidance to ensure flawless delivery. A former Major with the United States Marine Corps, Jim is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and is certified as a PMI Project Management Professional.

Fundraising Incentive Programs – The Carrot and its Many Forms

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:00:00 -0700

Part two of a three-part series.
Throughout the years, I’ve watched organizations struggle repeatedly with the question of what incentives to offer their participants in order to get them to fundraise (or fundraise more). At this point, I feel like I’ve seen it all, from water bottles to jewelry to salad spinners to flat-screen TVs. And I’ve observed how participants respond (good and bad) to what was offered to them — through surveys, focus groups, and simply watching their reactions as they pick up their “rewards.”

If the hats and toasters you’ve been offering to participants haven’t quite moved the fundraising needle as far as you would have liked, or if you haven’t offered incentives but know that it’s a good next step in your fundraising strategy, this is the blog post for you! (If you’re not sure if you’re ready to implement a fundraising incentive program, read part one of this series.) So, without further ado, here are three insights to help you determine which “carrot” is best to dangle in front of your participants:

1. Don’t underestimate the power of recognition.
The military uses a very effective incentive model that features the awarding of medals. And similarly, the Girl Scouts use patches. It’s not that the medals or patches have any monetary value — but the recognition that comes along with it is perceived to be priceless. In the world of fundraising, we’ve seen this kind of incentive system work better than any other — hands down. For one client, we developed a recognition program that awards tiny 1” buttons to participants who reach certain fundraising milestones. We found participants were thrilled when they received their $3K button and were even more excited if they were able to claim a $5K or $10K pin (which have identical actual value as the $3K pins, but have an even higher perceived value).

This recognition approach is attractive for a number of reasons. Compare it to giving away a high actual-value flat-screen TV (which we see offered a lot). The pin costs you close to nothing, it can be easily topped as further goals are achieved ($3K becomes $5K becomes $10K) and, most important, it’s a badge of honor that gives fundraisers a way to brag about their commitment to your mission. It is for this last reason that we’ve seen people literally wait in lines to get such a reward. So, before you jump into an expensive prize program know that recognition program methods work and are usually more cost-effective.

2. The more unique, the more desirable.
If you’re already implementing a recognition program and/or your participants tend to be more motivated by “stuff,” there are several things you can do to pack the most perceived value into the stuff you are offering. The following will increase the uniqueness of your incentive, thus making it more valuable and desirable:

Brand it. Adding your logo to an item makes it unique. Just make sure it can’t be purchased at your event or online store. (If a participant has to fundraise $200 to get it, but they can buy it for $20, guess what they’ll do?)
Make it commemorative. Making anything in limited quantities or for a limited time only increases the value. Adding the event year to the item instantly makes it a commemorative item and sends a message that says, “come back again and collect them all.”
Offer special access/opportunity. Leverage your relationships with sponsors and board members to offer unique experiences that only you can offer! Does one of your board members own a restaurant where you could host a top fundraiser dinner? Could your media sponsor offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the studio?

3. Be sensitive to relevancy.
This concept of relevancy is pretty straightforward. I think it’s fair to guess that iPods and flat-screen TVs, while cool, are most likely unrelated to your event activity, let alone your mission. Instead, think water bottles for endurance athletes, branded picture frames for team events, and fine-dining gift certificates for gala goers. It’s really up to your own creativity (and perhaps your relationships with prize donors and third-party incentive companies like Turnkey and Summit) to decide what might make the most sense.

It’s important to keep in mind that while products can’t embody your mission, they can do damage by reflecting poorly upon your organization. For example, consider that giving away unhealthy food to runners raising money for a health-related issue might make you seem out of out touch. A fully-paid trip to an ultra-luxury resort when you’re raising money to combat poverty might be perceived as insensitive to the people your organization is trying to help. Giving away electronics that aren’t donated by a sponsor may upset participants when they realize that the organization is covering the cost. In the end, a little awareness and sensitivity goes a long way.

Keep in mind that you can’t please, or motivate, everyone with incentives — no matter how big or flavorful the carrot. So, that said, be sure to always give participants the ability to opt-out of receiving an incentive. And, to help you deal with those participants who do want their incentive, tune in for part three of this series where we’ll discuss efficient reward distribution. (Part one examined what you should consider before implementing fundraising incentive programs.)

Volunteer Week Is Coming. Roll Up Your Sleeves and Learn by Doing!

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:17:47 -0700

Did you know that Volunteer Week is only a week away? Many organizations might be hosting a special thank you for their volunteers, or perhaps be enticing a corporate group to come out and volunteer, but what we’d like to do is to spend the week teaching you, my mighty world-changing friends, a few of our trade secrets about programming for and with your volunteers.

First, why not learn a bit by first-hand work? That’s how we roll! I’ve personally challenged every member of our team to roll up their sleeves and head out to a local organization and volunteer alongside their peers. This literally is the best way to get dirty while learning how to serve your constituents in the best way. I feel learning from doing is powerful, whether it’s learning how you like to be communicated with or simply understanding what it’s like to be in a position that you have built.

In January, I put on my boots, my long johns, my knee socks, two pairs of gloves, (several more layers) and stood in a parking lot in Minnesota to park cars for the much-loved Art Shanty project. I have a lot of volunteer experience both in doing and programming but even after 10 years I still think “selling” the position of traffic control is difficult, so I decided to try it. I now value breaks, short shifts and staff interaction far more. I encourage you to take my challenge too, spend a few hours of your time learning about what you do or don’t do best. What will you learn from your personal volunteer shift? Maybe you will have an experience similar to some of mine, or my coworkers, and come back to your day job realizing that you really are one of the best in the business at what you do or can provide. Lucky for you, you won’t need to complete my challenge in the middle of winter in Minnesota. Report back, I’d love to hear from you!

During Volunteer Week here are a few topics you can look forward to hearing about.

The Danger of too Many Volunteers

The importance of planning the correct amount of volunteers for your teams
Is it a pleasure or problem to have more volunteers than you planned for?

Getting Chummy with Your Volunteers

The little things that matter
Building relationships and what knowing someone’s name really means to them

In the meantime, if Volunteer Week slipped off your radar, our friends over at the Points of Light Foundation have put together an A+ resource manual to help you make the most of this week. As Points of Light best puts it; we will be “honoring the people who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities”.

You don’t need a special degree, or a friend for moral support; all you need is a few free hours to help with a project in your community. How will you make a difference, learn about who you are serving, and do what you do better?

Katie Sisum has spent the last 12 years in the volunteer world as either an organizer or volunteer, including two years of service with AmeriCorps. As Volunteer Programs Manager for Event 360, she helps create significant experiences for over 7,000 volunteers and crewmembers each year. A new member of Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities, Katie lives in Minneapolis with her four-footed dog friend, is a glass blower and owns a stained glass studio in the city.

Eureka! Mining For Gold Through Post-Event Engagement

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:00:00 -0700

As our long-time readers know, Event 360 strongly believes events are a means to an end. We always recommend moving beyond attendance as a measurement of success and into deeper performance-based metrics. Focusing on the ongoing performance of participants will allow you to realize the potential of engaging participants beyond event day.

While events provide a golden opportunity — they can attract lifelong, impactful supporters of your mission — many nonprofits aren't leveraging their events nearly as well as they could. For that reason, Event 360 is introducing a new service: post-event engagement consulting.

Engaging Participants, Donors and Volunteers
We've devised a framework that can help you determine which event constituents should be identified for further engagement, including participants, donors and volunteers. But before I get too far, I should make a few things clear.

First, engagement strategies are based on your organization's particular goals. For some groups, you may want to maximize lifetime contributions. For others, you may want to find your next generation of volunteer leaders, advocates or team captains. Or both! We can guide you in customizing your strategies to accommodate these goals and more.

Second, we aim to identify a narrow, select audience (i.e. micro-segment) for each engagement strategy. Post-event engagement must be limited exclusively to those constituents who have the greatest propensity to broaden their engagement with your organization in the desired way.

Why? In many cases, white-glove treatment is the most effective way to broaden someone's engagement. That means using your resources wisely on high-impact activities like writing notes, sharing relevant articles, making calls and investing in face-to-face time. The better qualified and more manageable the target size, the higher the likelihood for success and return on investment.

Third, post-event engagement is intended to supplement — not cannibalize — current event engagement and performance. For example, you aren't looking to discourage a long-time event participant from maintaining his/her current level of participation. Rather, you're looking to broaden that participant's engagement in the most appropriate manner based on his/her specific inclinations.

Does a constituent's interest in the event change over time? Absolutely. Which is why having a plan to keep the constituent in the organizational family through some form of other engagement can minimize the risk of losing him/her altogether.

The Post-Event Engagement Process
Here's a quick look at our five-step framework for post-event engagement:

Define/Refine: We work with you to create and execute a post-event engagement strategy that factors in your organization's goals, data points and resources.
Identify: By applying a customized predictive model to an event's constituent list, we identify micro-segments that are most likely to engage in the desired way (e.g. planned giving, major gifts, volunteering, advocacy).
Cultivate: Based on each micro-segment, we collaborate with you to determine and execute the most effective forms of cultivation, including content and messaging.
Activate: We help define the appropriate ask or call to action (including timing and execution), foster re-engagement of event involvement and design the most impactful forms of thanks and recognition.
Assess: We measure the outcomes of the engagement plan against goals and revisit the predictive model, cultivation plan and activation plan as needed to refine the next cycle of this process.

Based on what we see in the event space, most organizations could benefit from taking a closer look at stewarding certain constituents beyond the event and digging deeper into their interests. Need a metal detector? We've got one!

"Meghan's Strategy Lab" blog posts are featured monthly. Vice President, Fundraising Strategy Meghan Dankovich serves as the lead for many of Event 360's consulting engagements, striving to help nonprofits exceed their event fundraising goals. Her expertise includes strategic planning, implementation of qualitative fundraising work and developing successful quantitative approaches for collecting and analyzing event-related data.