Event 360 Blog

My favorite part of my job is the time I get to spend talking with clients. How their peer-to-peer event fundraising programs measure up to others is a frequent topic of conversation. While industry standards and benchmarks are always interesting, I’m a bit wary that on one end, they can lull us into complacency or worse, a false sense of security. On the other end, they can give us a reason to beat ourselves up for not meeting the standard. Maybe the most important standard is the one we set for ourselves last year, last quarter or even last month.

Branding agency sparks & honey is out with a new report (embedded below) highlighting the significant changes the "modern family" is going through. While the traditional model of the family is not disappearing, families are taking on highly novel configurations that have implications for how we design, target and market fundraising events.

Here are a just a few statistics about the modern family from the report:

Most of us feel like we don’t have time for a shower, or to make our beds, or to even exercise (despite all of the evidence that it is good for us). So even though I know that keeping up on the latest trends in event fundraising and marketing is critically important, it often falls to the wayside as tactical necessities take over. Luckily for you (and me) my coworkers at Event 360 have read and recommend some great books. Here are three that you (and I) should read. And before we all declare, “I don’t have time to read,” remember that as little as a page per day will get you through any book.

We’ve all seen it time and time again: the loose change collection jar or the dollar treats in the break room with a “support our charity walk team” sign. We feel good by giving back, and we also feel like we are doing something for our workplace. But donating a dollar only goes so far – how do you make the leap and ask your employees to volunteer an afternoon or even a whole day?

Corporate volunteerism takes a lot of time, effort and several resources, there’s no doubt about it. But what could be better PR than a group of 10 of your employees sporting their red “Bank of America” t-shirts and volunteering at a pit stop5K race where 10,000 people will see them? Sounds like a no-brainer to me. 

Bank of America has emerged from the global financial crisis with a streamlined cause marketing and sponsorship program.

The bank's Charles Greenstein, senior vice president and global sponsorship marketing executive, highlights the evolution of its sponsorship program, including the rollout of Express Your Thanks, a program that generated $250,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, in an interview with IEG's Sponsorship Report.

This year’s Super Bowl date has been indelibly marked on the calendars of millions of Americans for some time now. Not only for the diehard fans, but for those close to them and even those who just watch the commercials, “Super Sunday” is akin to a national holiday.

But it didn’t occur to me that there was a connection between event fundraising and Super Bowl Sunday until I received a very creative email from the Illinois Division of the American Cancer Society with the subject line: “Dream BIG on Super Bowl Sunday.” This email marketing campaign was a Super-Bowl fueled special offer that asked people to register on February 3 for their 2013 Walk & Roll fundraising event (immediate relevance = using a sporting event to promote another sporting event). The subject line and body copy helped create a connection to the Super Bowl: “Join us on the field by registering for a 2013 Walk and Roll event by Sunday, February 3^rd and be entered into a drawing to win a $50 gift card from Amazon!” Think of this email when promoting your own events. Tie-ins can inspire registrations and donations if they are relevant, well written, and offer incentives.

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