Question Category: Special Events
Question
We have an operating budget of $2.6 million and are raising 3% from special events and other fundraising activities. What percent of our budget should be coming from events?
Answer
Well, there is no standard amount you should be raising from special events. A more important question to ask, perhaps, is: are your special events creating longer term donors to your organizations. Are you turning event ticket buyers into donors who give year in and year out to support your programs? Or, are the events ends unto themselves?
Recent studies show, that many organizations that receive a significant amount of their budgets from government grants and/or fees for service tend to raise less private funding than other organizations. The reason: they do not spend as much time focused on building more well rounded fundraising programs. In other words, they may just do a few events every year, write a few grants to foundations, and totally miss the single largest source of philanthropic dollars -- individual giving.
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