Jeff Shuck's October 25 webinar with the Run Walk Ride Fundraising Council.

1. The State of
Event Fundraising
Observations - Thoughts - Cautions - Ideas
Jeff Shuck, CEO
Event 360, Inc.
@jeffshuck
October 25, 2012
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6. 1. Massive Growth
• The number of events is exploding.
• What type of events are growing?
• What type of events do nonprofits hold?
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7. feasible mission
desirable viable
impact
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8. 2. Little Capital
• There is little seed funding.
• There is very low appetite for risk.
• The event space is growing rapidly, but
nonprofit event innovation is slowing. Who
wins?
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9. 3. Cause Inc.
• Cause marketing is now completely
mainstream.
• A new generation of people demand – and
receive – social impact from corporations.
• Where does that leave charity?
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10. 4. Cause Flux
• The cause landscape has changed this year.
• The global mindset is upon us.
• Are you relevant?
• P.S.You can damage your brand very quickly.
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11. 5. Short Loyalties
• A brief example.
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12. Participation Over Time: Case Study Event, 2009-2011
1000
1,000
750
500
409
322
250
0
2009 2010 2011
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13. Donor Retention Over Time: Case Study Event, 2009-2011
1000
1081
800
600
400
200
204
131
0
2009 2010 2011
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14. 6. Peer Group, Not Your Group
• The world is rapidly becoming self-identified.
- Instead of, “I define myself by what I join,” it is
“I define you by whether I join.”
- Mass individualism; bulk special orders; unique in
exactly the same way.
- Credibility from the street.
• Again - are you relevant?
Thursday, October 25, 12

15. 7. Unrestricted No More
• Unrestricted funding will increasingly become
equated with organizations which are
- Inwardly focused
- Unresponsive
- Out of touch
- Self-centered
• It’s not about you. Right?
Thursday, October 25, 12

16. 8. The Silver Bullet
• We love the Arms Race:
- Tools
- Techniques
- Gimmicks
• Perhaps the reality is that there are no
gimmicks?
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18. A. Experience matters.
• Self-serving alert.
• More than ever before, people understand
that experience = fulfillment.
• You no longer have to convince people to
come out and do something.You have to give
them something cool to do.
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19. B. Mission matters.
• Fight the urge to be more like a corporation.
• Instead, embrace what makes you different.
• What you do matters more than ever.
- Can you articulate it?
- Can you tailor it to individual contributors?
- Do you believe in it?
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20. C. Impact matters.
• The free passes are almost up.
• Impact is the true silver bullet. It is
not enough to have good intentions, good
collateral, or good technique.
• Can you demonstrate how you are changing
the world?
• Really - can you?
Thursday, October 25, 12

21. D. Embed P2P everywhere
• Your constituents understand peer-to-peer
networking.
- In fact, most just call it “life.”
- Social media is a channel, not a strategy.
• Integrate peer-to-peer tools in every
initiative.
• Listen more than you engage; engage more
than you talk.
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22. E. Engage year-round
• The weak link.
• Thank your participants and donors.
• Do not dump them into the deep end.
• Engage them through their own doorway.
• Segment!
• You can do this.
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24. Contact
Jeff Shuck
@jeffshuck
jeff@event360.com
event360.com/blog
yourpartmatters.org
Thursday, October 25, 12