How to Calculate A Fundraising Event's Opportunity Cost

How to Calculate A Fundraising Event's Opportunity Cost: "Large fundraising events can be fabulous ways to celebrate your cause and your mission. Too often, however, they are used as a main fundraising vehicle in an organization’s fundraising plan. While they can certainly bring in large amounts of money on one night, they come with steep opportunity costs that must be weighed to understand the true return on the event’s fundraising.

Let’s look at an example of understanding the impact of a big fundraising gala and the opportunity costs associated with it."



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Events can require more effort than they raise in revenues | Tallahassee Democrat | tallahassee.com

Events can require more effort than they raise in revenues | Tallahassee Democrat | tallahassee.com: Special events are one of the most commonly used fundraising methods and yet many of us in the nonprofit fundraising profession have a love-hate relationship with them.

It’s Party Time! | Michael Rosen Says…

It’s Party Time! | Michael Rosen Says…: I’m conflicted about nonprofit special events.

On the one hand, organizations are often fuzzy about the objectives behind a special event. Staff is often not quite sure if the event is to raise money and, if so, how much? Or, is the event to attract media attention? Is it to build new relationships? You get the idea. Also, events require a great deal of effort, often for only a modest monetary return even if the objective was specifically to bring in the dollars.

Fundraising Events: a losing proposition for your nonprofit organization? | Pamela Grow's Grantwriting Blog

Fundraising Events: a losing proposition for your nonprofit organization? | Pamela Grow's Grantwriting Blog: Oh sure, events can and do raise money. Yet it’s rare that event ROI analysis methods factor in the enormous – and I do mean enormous – amount of time devoted by staff to the planning of events.

You know exactly what I’m talking about.

Aaron Hurst: How Prudential Broke the Gala Addiction

Aaron Hurst: How Prudential Broke the Gala Addiction: What was the problem with galas?
Most galas cost $1.33 to raise a dollar. They are not really generating sufficient ROI in both of their goal areas - connecting people with their mission and raising money -- to justify the cost. And most organizations don't include the calculation of staff time and most certainly don't quantify the volunteer hours of gathering auction items or anything else that goes into making a successful event. So the real costs, based on having sat in on many gala planning committees, is probably a couple multiples of that dollar thirty three to every dollar

Chron.commons | Chron.com - The FYI on the ROI: when is a special event successful?

Chron.commons | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle: "It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog—my apologies. The reason for my lengthy absence was the planning and preparation of a major fundraiser. On March 20th, my organization celebrated its sixth annual gala, Apocalypto, with over 700 attendees reveling in honor of Spacetaker’s founder, David A. Brown. Once the Mad Max style Thunderdome had been carried away, the chains removed from the walls, and Winter Street Studios returned to normal, the Apocalypto gala had raised more funds for our organization than any before. All in all, we can chalk up the event to a major success… but any good nonprofit administrator should ask, at what cost? What is the return on investment? And aside from fundraising, why do nonprofits host these galas and special events?"