Last weekend I visited Savannah, Georgia to celebrate a friend’s birthday and received some insights into event fundraising as a bonus.

In a large public square beside my hotel, the Susan B. Komen Foundation was setting up for the local version of their Race for the Cure® — the world’s most successful series of 5K run/walk events designed to raise awareness of breast cancer. In more than 150 locations around the globe, 1.5 million folks participate in this event.

With an early morning cup of coffee in hand and a camera in my back pocket I stood on the sidelines; watched, listened and marvelled. Marvelled at the Swiss watch-like organization. Watched as the tents and posters went up. And, most of all listened to the volunteers and participants gathered in an astonishing range of demographic diversity and emotional outpouring.

Survivors. Kids of survivors. Spouses of survivors. Aunt, uncles, cousins and friends of survivors. And others with no apparent connection to breast cancer, survivors, or anything health-related. They were simply there, as one 23-year-old told me, to “try to do some good”.

What struck me was the range of reasons participants gave when I asked, “Why are you here?”  I wondered if the organizers were somehow capturing those reasons and whether, how and if they would follow-up with those who participated in this moving Saturday morning event.

FORTUNATELY … when I returned to my desk on Monday morning there was an impressive study on Great Fundraising Events: From Experience to Transformation waiting in my inbox.

This new research from Hartsook Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy is authored by Adrian Sargeant and Harriet Day. You can download, free of charge, a copy of the report here.

If your organization is into events this is must reading. Even if you could care less about events, but do care about fundraising, the report is also must reading.

Why? Because, in the context of events, it deals with the importance of donor-centricity and the need for a detailed understanding of donor expectations and motivation. In short, the fundamental ingredients of any successful fundraising efforts.

The study’s findings and recommendations are gleaned from a combination of published behavioural science research and research by Adrian and Harriet, who focused on organizations in the U.S. and U.K. that have doubled or tripled the amount of money or the number of event participants in a 10-year period or less.

Download the Report here and benefit from the exploration of these key questions:

• What makes a fundraising event successful?
• Where do successful ideas come from and why do some events succeed and other fail?
• What issues must be considered in design and implementation to boost popularity and deliver supporter value.

Although the study has plenty of ‘how to’ advice, I found it particularly valuable because of its focus and insights on what the authors call “the fundamental human needs of participants”.

As Adrian notes: “A focus on surface level motives is not enough. For sure, individuals may participate in an event because they want the challenge, the social interaction or to make a difference in the lives of the beneficiary group that is important to them. But all events can supply these.

“We found that outstanding fundraising events are those that offer outstanding psychological benefits to their participants. In simple terms, this shift can be thought of as a move from reflecting on what supporters might want, to a reflection how the fulfillment of those wants could make them feel—their human wellbeing.

“To enhance wellbeing, charities need to focus on the needs people must make a difference, to experience a degree of autonomy in making that difference, to experience a genuine and warm connection with others, to experience growth and to be able to identify and clarify meaning in their life.”

10 Key Factors Contributing to Outstanding Success

• A high degree of donor centricity
• A focus on fundamental human needs
• A high level of investment in the team
• Selection of an appropriate mindset. (Editor’s Note: What is ‘appropriate’ changes depending on proximity to the event. In the run-up to the event, ‘what’ is more important. When the event is over ‘why’ becomes more important.)
• Focus on transformations not experiences (“transformative experiences…currently define the frontier of event fundraising innovation”)
• Driving emotions with effective storytelling
• Constantly drive innovation
• Innovation focused on human needs
• Technology focused on human needs
• The creation of board champions.

As co-author Harriet Day notes:

“A successful fundraising event can heighten participants’ sense in any of these dimensions. But to be effective fundraisers need to ask themselves what combination of these fundamental human needs they can best meet given the supporter group that they will attract to any given event.

“Once these needs are specified, fundraisers can then explore how they might be able to meet these needs through the design of their events AND their associated communications. This does not happen by default; it needs to be actively planned for.”

The Role of Technology

As I stood in that early morning square in Savannah I didn’t know what peer-to-peer online system or other technology the Susan B. Komen Foundation used. And frankly, compared to the human-connected-to-human, warm-hearted, emotional bursts I heard and saw, I could have cared less.

That’s not to say technology isn’t important for building successful events. It is. But, once you’ve read this report you’ll better understand that technology is a helpmate, not a substitute, in providing transformative donor experiences. You’ll also better understand the improvements that are needed if we’re to realize the full potential of technology.

Are your events designed to not only help participants feel good about your cause but also about themselves?

Roger

P.S. I recommend you download your free copy of the report here.