Today I attended a webinar titled "In Defense of Events: Measuring Success Beyond the Bottom Line," which was sponsored by GiftWorks Fundraising Software. I've taught classes on fundraising and have had a tough time defending special events, so I was looking for a fresh perspective on this method of fundraising and friendraising. Mission accomplished.
Here are just a few ways to measure success beyond the net funds generated by the event as a whole (based on my personal experience, the classes I've taught, and the recent GiftWorks webinar):
- Number of paid tickets
- Total number of guests
- Number of sponsored tables
- Number of guests in certain categories, such as sponsors or "young community leaders"
- Number of new participants (sponsors and individuals)
- Contribution margin per guest (revenue less expenses, then divide that result by number of guests); this is the amount that is tax deductible for the guest, so larger is better
- Number of media placements before and after the event
- Number of impressions from media placements (circulation numbers of each media source)
- Number of ads placed in program, and number of dollars earned from those ads
- Number of sponsors, and total sponsor dollars
- Number of vendors
- Number of contacts added to the database
- Percentage of growth in any of the above categories year over year, or a three-year or five-year growth rate
- Number of people interested in volunteering added to the database
More lessons learned about special events to follow!
1 comment:
inspirings...
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