"Hey, Kids, Let's Put on a Show!"

“Hey, kids, let’s put on a show!” This oft-repeated refrain from the Our Gang comedies of the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s is what I hear in my mind’s ear every time someone on the development staff suggests that we host an event. Don’t misunderstand me—there is nothing inherently wrong with events. Arguably, they are a wonderful way to share information with potential and current donors, to celebrate fundraising success, or to showcase what makes our institutions special.

Unfortunately, too often, events are held simply for the sake of holding an event or to check an “interaction” box on a prospect plan without sufficient strategy to propel the gathering forward, or adequate follow-up to assure the cocktail reception in question is meeting measurable goals. With time as our scarcest resource, it is important for all donor relations professionals to make data-driven decisions about how we spend that oh-so-precious commodity.

The case for data-driven decisions

We at Children’s Hospital Colorado had hosted Children’s 101: A Day at Children’s Colorado for more than 15 years before we asked ourselves what the return on our investment actually was. During the twice-annual program, donors and community partners are invited to spend the day at the hospital taking a deep dive into a day in the life of Children’s Colorado by participating in three 90-minute rotations, from primary care to surgery to emergency medicine. Over lunch, attendees hear from a researcher to emphasize our grounding in academic research and, at the end of the day, they share their impressions through a debriefing conversation led by the chief medical officer.

Participants are invited for a variety of reasons. They may be current donors or represent youth-serving organizations, like the Denver Zoo or the local schools, or serve as foundation program officers. They may be members of the media, legislators or prospective members for the hospital’s board of directors. The common thread is that each participant is someone with whom we—the hospital, the foundation—want a deeper relationship.

We had no doubt that the experience was impactful—a career health statistician had the surprising experience of watching a baby being born last spring—but the program is very time-intensive to produce and, until recently, its financial impact was more anecdotal than quantifiable.

Curious, with the help of the foundation’s data analyst, I pulled the records of the 245 individuals who have participated since the program’s inception in 2001, looking at lifetime giving, divided between “pre-Children’s 101” and “post-Children’s 101.”

While it isn’t possible to draw causal relationships between program participation and philanthropic support, the information is interesting. In total, these individuals have given the hospital $103.7 million, $54.6 million (53%) of that after attending the event. Probably of more interest is that 35 individuals made their first gift to hospital post-event, including what is now a $5.6 million donor and several other $1 million+ benefactors. Most post-event gifts have been more modest but, in several cases, we can trace a significantly stronger relationship with and demonstrably greater financial support for the hospital to participation in Children’s 101.

The program also generates valuable, intangible gifts—increased earned media coverage, good “town-gown” relations with the local community, productive partnerships with other family-oriented organizations—but it is nice to be able to count some cold, hard cash along with those warm, fuzzy feelings!

The final analysis

When time is in short supply, donor relations practitioners need to budget that time wisely and put their effort toward those activities that will result in the greatest returns for their organization and its mission. It is best to have clear definitions of success—monetary or otherwise—at the outset of planning an event. While we did not have ROI in mind when we started offering Children’s 101 almost 20 years ago, we always use that lens now when considering creating new events. Having an eye toward the bottom line isn’t crass—it’s strategic!

So, next time you are invited to “put on a show,” make sure that after the credit rolls, it is a hit at the cash box as well as at the box office.

Julie C. Lund
Senior Donor Relations Manager
Children’s Hospital Colorado Foundation