How many invitations do you get a year for fund-raising events? How many do you actually attend? How many do you support financially, but not attend?

If you have ever considered an "event" as a possible way to increase the coffers of your organization, the first thing you need to do is answer these questions. Then, if you're still determined to continue—how do you proceed?

Begin by checking out the "successful" fund-raising events in your community. The definition of "successful" may be a report in the newspaper that "The local humane society met its goal Saturday with its Annual Dog Walkathon," or a colleague may tell you over lunch that Organization X raised $5,000 by holding an auction. However you gain this knowledge, begin your research by talking to some of the staff and volunteers responsible for organizing events you consider successful. What may appear to the casual observer as highly successful may, to those in the trenches, not have been that at all.

The key word in the media report was "annual." Find out how many years this event has occurred and at what point it was deemed "successful." Then see if you can learn how the organizers come up with the bottom line for the amount of money raised. There are some important items that are inadvertently overlooked when determining the financial success of a fund-raising event.

The first is the amount of staff time the project required and the work of the organization that was neglected during the weeks prior to the event. Those hours, calculated at the staff members' hourly rate, should be debited against the profit column (as should the cost of the volunteer hours). The latter are "cheaper" hours because on the surface they are free, but for purposes of accurately knowing what the event cost and subsequently what you "made," volunteer hours should be figured at the current minimum wage rate and, at least on paper, deducted from the profit. The cost of your staff time and what it takes afterwards to get caught up on the organization's work may give you second thoughts. On the other hand, the volunteer hours (since you really don't pay for them) needn't.

Yes, you're correct . . . if all organizations did the math, most of them would never hold a fund-raising event. So what can you do to increase your chances for success? These suggestions may help:

• Find an event that is an extension of your mission, i.e., if you are an art center, a walkathon may not be your best choice. Instead consider holding a holiday sale with a percentage of all sales coming back into your budget. You may wish to include a gala preview evening with refreshments having those who wish to attend purchase tickets, thus increasing the revenue raised.
  
  
• Select an event that can be repeated year after year so it soon becomes "annual." The preparation process grows easier each year, which should reduce the time required. However, doing a different fund raiser each year means always starting back at square one, which is very time consuming. Know up front that it will most likely take three to five years to get your event established before you realize the kind of return you envision, but don't be discouraged. Those first years can be considered "friend" raisers, if not "fund" raisers.
  
  
• Use a targeted mailing list. It is very easy to get annual reports from organizations with interests similar to yours, and most of these interests included a listing of donors. Cross-reference these lists with your mailing list and add any new names. After all, you aren't asking them to support your organization—yet—just providing them with information about an event that might interest them. Clearly, when people do attend your event, the next logical step is to follow up with an invitation to join or support your organization through your annual giving campaign.
  
  
• Try to minimize the amount of staff time needed to prepare for the event. The best gift you can give yourself is finding two first-rate volunteer cochairs who will "take the ball and run with it," including organizing the rest of the volunteers. One reason cochairs are so important is because when the time comes for one of them to move on to something else, the other one, who knows the routine, is there to work with the new cochair. The more years the "torch can be passed" in this way, the more efficient the process becomes.
  
  
• Depending on the size of your organization, begin with an idea that has the potential to grow. If you can start on a smaller scale and enlarge the event as success dictates, you aren't as likely to find yourself in over your head. You may have the greatest idea in the world, but if it takes you and all of your resources to bring it to fruition, it won't be worth it, nor is it likely to succeed.
  
  
• Finally, don't be afraid to discontinue an event when it has run its course. Some events seem to go on indefinitely, but when you begin to see the law of diminishing returns coming into play, heed the warning. There were many years in our community when Planned Parenthood did both their fall publication of The Joy of NOT Cooking and a spring event, which they called Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate! Several years ago, the latter was discontinued. My guess is that, as we became conscious about our diets (especially when we all started getting our cholesterol checked), the numbers changed. While it still took the same amount of effort to put on this event, the return was no longer commensurate and the project was discontinued.
  
  

There is nothing more depressing than putting a great deal of effort into an event that loses money or, after the first year or two, barely breaks even. On the other hand, there is nothing more rewarding than a successful fund-raising event. If you find the right venue, plan carefully, start small, let it evolve, and be sure you have plenty of help from exceptional volunteers, not only is your event likely to be a success . . . you may even discover you have time to enjoy the process, as well as the financial benefits.