logo
    • Magazine
    • Membership
    • Donate
  • Racial Justice
  • Economic Justice
    • Collections
  • Climate Justice
  • Health Justice
  • Leadership
  • CONTENT TYPES
  • Subscribe
  • Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
    • Complimentary Webinars
    • Premium On-Demand Webinars
  • Membership
  • Submissions

Special Events – Are They an Addiction?

Mike Keefe-Feldman
May 4, 2012
Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

 

Chicken

May 3, 2012; Source: Greencastle Banner-Graphic

NPQ generally does not use promotional material as a basis for a newswire but we thought that we would use this one as a basis for asking our readers a few questions. This piece in the Greencastle Banner-Graphic was well titled “Special events bug hits area nonprofits, cure sought.”

Sign up for our free newsletters

Subscribe to NPQ's newsletters to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

We’d love to know what you observe in your region or field as regards special events. What has your organization been thinking and doing with regard to them?

The article on which the workshop being advertised is based is entitled  “Avoiding the Highly Contagious Special Events Bug” and was published by the Association of Fundraising Professionals. It asserts that events are a major cause of burnout among development staff and board members and are “one of the most abused, misused and addictive forms of fundraising.” Two types of events are singled out—the golf outing and the gala dinner—mainstays among many nonprofit fundraisers.

Is the seemingly full golf outing a success, they ask, if one overhears “junior professionals from the local bank yakking on their cell phones…bragging that they are playing golf on the bank’s dime for some charity, they’re not even sure which one?” Or are a slew of full tables at the gala dinner really a good sign if they’re filled by “guests of the company” as opposed to “individuals in the company who are interested in your organization or able to influence future support?”

These examples, the authors say, point to the need for some nonprofit fundraisers to consider “smarter events.” This could mean more small, targeted events as opposed to that “one colossal activity.” A challenge in communities with a wide array of nonprofits is that even if your organization isn’t abusing the special event, if other organizations around yours are doing so, it could have an impact in building up special event fatigue. Earlier this year, Sheldon Wolf wrote a great piece for NPQ about how to realize the full potential of your special events.  How have yours been faring in this economy? Have you changed their size, shape or type? –Mike Keefe-Feldman

Share
Tweet
Share
Email
Print

Become a member

Support independent journalism and knowledge creation for civil society. Become a member of Nonprofit Quarterly.

Members receive unlimited access to our archived and upcoming digital content. NPQ is the leading journal in the nonprofit sector written by social change experts. Gain access to our exclusive library of online courses led by thought leaders and educators providing contextualized information to help nonprofit practitioners make sense of changing conditions and improve infra-structure in their organizations.

Join Today
logo logo logo logo logo
See comments

Spring-2023-sidebar-subscribe
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights Movements
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb Plutocracy
Alan Davis
Healing-Centered Leadership: A Path to Transformation
Shawn A. Ginwright
Into the Fire: Lessons from Movement Conflicts
Ingrid Benedict, Weyam Ghadbian and Jovida Ross
How Nonprofits Can Truly Advance Change
Hildy Gottlieb

NPQ Webinars

April 27th, 2 pm ET

Liberatory Decision-Making

How to Facilitate and Engage in Healthy Decision-making Processes

Register Now
You might also like
Hierarchy and Justice
Cyndi Suarez
Salvadoran Foreign Agent Law Threatens Human Rights...
Devon Kearney
Charitable Tax Reform: Why Half Measures Won’t Curb...
Alan Davis

Like what you see?

Subscribe to the NPQ newsletter to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

See our newsletters

By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from NPQ and our partners.

NPQ-Spring-2023-cover

Independent & in your mailbox.

Subscribe today and get a full year of NPQ for just $59.

subscribe
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Copyright
  • Careers

We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website.

 

Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly
Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.

If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.