Departure of Charity CEO Raises Questions About Fund-Raising Galas

July 25, 2008

Departure of Charity CEO Raises Questions About Fund-Raising Galas

The resignation of a Seattle arts group’s chief executive has brought a fund-raising debate to the forefront: Are flashy fund-raising events worth all the trouble and money?

For about five years, Gordon Hamilton was director of the group Poncho, a Seattle organization that raises money for cultural projects, reports The Seattle Times.

He resigned last week after being criticized for relying too heavily on major events to bring in donations. The organization’s fund-raising total dropped 10 percent in the past fiscal year, after Poncho’s annual gala failed to raise more money than it cost, according to the organization’s board chairman, Janet True.

Officials at Poncho are considering replacing the annual gala with a smaller, less costly event in years to come.

Mr. Hamilton said he was proud of the work he had done at the organization but that it was time for a change.

Comments

Let’s be careful not to make too many assumptions about fundraising galas and special events.

The key question should be is the activity responsibly administered and it is meeting detailed organizational objectives.

Friend-raising/
recognition and net dollars generated are two of a number of possible measurement objectives.

It is quite separate if a specific activity is well-managed.

tps

— Timothy P. Snyder, CFRE Jul 25, 03:20 PM #
Yes, every event should have presence, publicity, major donor prospect identification, corporate involvment, and fundraising goals. But it should never LOSE money. I was taught $.50 to raise a dollar in events was the max.

— Ken Jul 25, 06:23 PM #
With proper planning and budgeting, this should not happen.

— julie Jul 25, 06:41 PM #
Not all university presidents see galas and parties as anything more than an opportunity to showcase themselves,buying their way into society.Kern Wildenthal ,president of UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas even hosts,at university expense,birthday parties for members of society.He also uses donations to pay membership dues into the society arts organizations of the city.He travels first class in Europe at donor expense and buys gifts that exceed the IRS rules for donors or potential donors.How about a $10,000 trinket for a donor from Tiffany’s? John Roan,the EVP for Business just sits and rubber stamps approvals while the internal auditor can never seem to find any violations,then he reports to the president.

— Robert Jul 27, 08:21 AM #

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