‘Thonors’, Not Donors

June 15, 2011      Admin

The Wall Street Journal’s SmartMoney has recently focused on the popularity — and economics — of sporting events, walkathons (and other ‘thons’) and similar individual-sponsor fundraising events.

Are Charity Walks and Races Worth the Effort? asks Anne Kadet writing in SmartMoney in a superb and balanced ‘must read’ article for anyone in the event fundraising biz.

The biggies raise BIG money … like the American Cancer Society, which raised $400 million this way. Writes Kadet: “And while it’s such a feel-good phenomenon that few pause to examine it, the once bush-league strategy has exploded into a high-profile funding source for some of the nation’s biggest nonprofits … Meanwhile, the ever-growing movement includes tens of thousands of tiny “thons,” collecting for schools, hospitals and homeless shelters. As soon as the weather warms, the walkathoners take to the streets, proudly parading in their oversize T-shirts and ribbon pins.”

Haven’t we all been there … or been a sponsor, which, of course, online tools have made ridiculously simple.

To me, the most important comment in the piece refers to veteran breast cancer walker Barbara Jo Kirschbaum. SmartMoney writes:

“When the locals sponsor Kirshbaum’s walks, it’s not necessarily because they care about breast cancer. ‘They’re supporting me,’ says Kirshbaum. And therein lies the genius of athletic fund-raisers: Through them, charities can raise millions from contributors who have no particular interest in the cause.”

From a charity’s perspective, that sounds like ‘found’ money that otherwise would never show up to support their worthy cause. But as SmartMoney points out, not everyone agrees:

“Others question the walkathon movement altogether, citing the relatively high cost of special-event fund-raising — typically 50 cents on the dollar — compared with the nonprofit average of 15 to 20 cents on the dollar. Kim Irish, director of programming for Breast Cancer Action, an advocacy group, says the time and money invested in these events could be better directed toward traditional volunteer efforts or direct donations. ‘If walking could cure breast cancer,’ she says, ‘it would be cured by now’.”

Personally, I’m mostly bothered that it’s difficult, if not impossible, for organizations to subsequently build any direct relationships with these donors. They belong — as in the case above — to the Barbara Jo fan club. When she goes, they go.

Maybe we should call them ‘thonors’, not donors.

And then there’s the straight ROI issue raised by Ms Irish … are walkathons and other such events simply inefficient — a long run for a short slide? As the SmartMoney sub-head asks: “But does enough of the money make it to the finish line?”

Where do you stand on this?

Tom

6 responses to “‘Thonors’, Not Donors”

  1. Paul de Gregorio says:
    June 15, 2011 at 3:07 am

    Here in the UK I’ve found that event participants can be a very good source of monthly givers when approached by telephone.

    You need to know as much about the event experience as possible (location, number of participants, date, money raised by the event and individual etc etc). Scripting needs to take the participant back to how they felt on the day of the event and then explain how they can extend their support by giving in a different way.

    But success is driven by the engagement taken from the initial event. You need something to build on.

    Thanks for another great post.

  2. Amy Leveen says:
    June 15, 2011 at 8:40 am

    There’s no question that event donors are just that – event donors. None of the organizations I’ve worked with have ever succeeded in converting them to committed donors. The money is dependent on the event and the friend or colleague who’s walking, playing, buying a table and asking for support. However, does the event raise awareness and visibility in a way that makes it more likely a prospect will open an acquisition letter or visit the organizations web site? Maybe.

    Thanks to Paul’s comment, next time I do a sustainer campaign I’ll be testing a segment of event donors with a targeted script.

  3. Beth Grierson says:
    June 15, 2011 at 10:33 am

    I think like any type of fundraising activity, some “thons” are more productive and worthwhile than others. Much depends on how effective an organization is at leveraging sponsorships, in-kind support and volunteers; what kind of cultivation and stewardship to they do with participants? How well do they connect those participants to their cause and organization?

    I run an individual giving program in my professional life, but I’m also a regular participant and volunteer for a fundraising hike that supports a local women’s shelter. Over the years, I’ve been able to raise tens of thousands of dollars for this shelter that I would not otherwise have been able to give or get. Further, to build on what Paul said, the relationships the agency has developed with participants via the hike have resulted in many becoming regular (non-event) donors, in a number of participants going on to become major donors, and even a few joining the agency’s Board.

    ‘Thons should never replace a comprehensive development program, and frankly they to return more than 50 cents on the dollar to be considered successful, imo, but yes, they absolutely can be worth the effort.

  4. Jodi Segal says:
    June 15, 2011 at 10:37 am

    This can be a great revenue source, but the start-up resources need to be there. For a small or mid-sized organization on the wrong issue, it’s going to be extremely difficult to recruit enough walkers to then recruit the donors. It’s great for health charities that have cache because people are familiar with the disease, but I fear not so much for the ethereal statewide environmental group.

  5. Mike Cowart says:
    June 15, 2011 at 12:20 pm

    This is a fantastic commentary on event donors in general. Our agency works with 45+ nonprofits. Event donors are virtually impossible to renew via mail or other channels except next year’s event, but their affinity has shifed to another mission! “The way you acquire them is the way you will keep them!”

  6. Jim Park says:
    June 16, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Nobody’s talked about the cost issue. Surely it doesn’t matter as these events still return a healthy ‘profit’ and I doubt the recipients of the charities money worry about how much the dollar/pound cost to acquire.
    As in business, some customers are more costly than others, which is fine particularly if you can get them to repeat each year.

Ask A Behavioral Scientist

    Behavioral Science Q & A

    The Agitator Tool Box

    Ideas, applications, tools, processes, and case studies of break-through solutions in fundraising, including: