May 27, 2012

Smart Ways to Attract Money and Friends by Creating Fun Events

Attracting Money and Friends: Tips on Running Special Events 1

Courtesy of Northwestern University Dance Marathon

Northwestern University’s annual dance marathon raised more than $1-million this year. Getting students to raise the $400 entry fee was the hardest part, says an organizer.

By Michelle Gienow

Josefa Vaughan was looking for a new fundraising source for the charity she had founded, ArtSeed, which provides art education to disadvantaged youths. It was at the dawn of the recession, and her San Francisco group was having a harder time winning the grants it relied on. It wanted to tap more small donors.

So, with a handful of volunteers, she created an “artathon,” a daylong event in which participants solicited pledges that paid them for every hour they painted,