the state of event fundraising
DESCRIPTION
Jeff Shuck's October 25 webinar with the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.TRANSCRIPT
The State of Event FundraisingObservations - Thoughts - Cautions - Ideas
Jeff Shuck, CEOEvent 360, Inc.@jeffshuck
October 25, 2012
Thursday, October 25, 12
Thursday, October 25, 12
Thursday, October 25, 12
Thursday, October 25, 12
Thursday, October 25, 12
• The number of events is exploding.
• What type of events are growing?
• What type of events do nonprofits hold?
1. Massive Growth
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desirable feasible viable mission impact
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2. Little Capital
• There is little seed funding.
• There is very low appetite for risk.
• The event space is growing rapidly, but nonprofit event innovation is slowing. Who wins?
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3. Cause Inc.
• Cause marketing is now completely mainstream.
• A new generation of people demand – and receive – social impact from corporations.
• Where does that leave charity?
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4. Cause Flux
• The cause landscape has changed this year.
• The global mindset is upon us.
• Are you relevant?
• P.S. You can damage your brand very quickly.
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5. Short Loyalties
• A brief example.
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0
250
500
750
1000
2009 2010 2011
322
409
1,000
Participation Over Time: Case Study Event, 2009-2011
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0
200
400
600
800
1000
2009 2010 2011
131
204
1081
Donor Retention Over Time: Case Study Event, 2009-2011
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6. Peer Group, Not Your Group
• The world is rapidly becoming self-identified.
- Instead of, “I define myself by what I join,” it is “I define you by whether I join.”
- Mass individualism; bulk special orders; unique in exactly the same way.
- Credibility from the street.
• Again - are you relevant?
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7. Unrestricted No More
• Unrestricted funding will increasingly become equated with organizations which are
- Inwardly focused- Unresponsive- Out of touch- Self-centered
• It’s not about you. Right?
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8. The Silver Bullet
• We love the Arms Race:
- Tools
- Techniques
- Gimmicks
• Perhaps the reality is that there are no gimmicks?
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Thursday, October 25, 12
A. Experience matters.
• Self-serving alert.
• More than ever before, people understand that experience = fulfillment.
• You no longer have to convince people to come out and do something. You have to give them something cool to do.
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B. Mission matters.
• Fight the urge to be more like a corporation.
• Instead, embrace what makes you different.
• What you do matters more than ever.
- Can you articulate it?- Can you tailor it to individual contributors?- Do you believe in it?
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C. Impact matters.
• The free passes are almost up.
• Impact is the true silver bullet. It is not enough to have good intentions, good collateral, or good technique.
• Can you demonstrate how you are changing the world?
• Really - can you?
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D. Embed P2P everywhere
• Your constituents understand peer-to-peer networking.
- In fact, most just call it “life.”- Social media is a channel, not a strategy.
• Integrate peer-to-peer tools in every initiative.
• Listen more than you engage; engage more than you talk.
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E. Engage year-round
• The weak link.
• Thank your participants and donors.
• Do not dump them into the deep end.
• Engage them through their own doorway.
• Segment!
• You can do this.
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Thursday, October 25, 12
