ranting mom

[Slowspoke]

On Saturday my son organized an 8 band two show concert to benefit Children's Hospital of Detroit Music Therapy Department. It was his Eagle Scout Project. We distributed 18000 fliers, sent press releases to EVERY television and radio station in the Detroit Metro area and he had lots of internet coverage. He got mentioned on public radio last saturday and was in a local paper on Mother's Day. All of the local organizations (lions, eagles, KC, elks etc) got press releases.

Only about 30 people showed up for the two shows. We rented an 800 seat auditorium for this! My son put his heart and soul into this project. Only one person from Children's hospital even came. She stayed 10 minutes. So now we are about $2000 in the hole.

I was suprised that no local news station picked it up. I bet if he wore a dirogitory tee shirt to school or accidentally left his box cutter from work in his car when he went to school the news would be all over him! It's about time kids get some press time for the good things they do!

[Biciclista]

I'm very sorry about the turn out. A big part of a successful event is marketing and advertising. You can't expect the news to know about stuff that you don't tell them.
Every one of those 8 bands should have invited people as well.
I'm very sorry about this; but he'll still get his Eagle scout credits won't he?
Isn't the point that this be a learning experience for him? I'll bet he learned a lot!

[sfa]

Fundraising events are really, really tricky. New ones nearly always lose money--it takes a few years to get them established so that people who are interested either in the event itself or the organization the event is funding get it on their radar and think to show up. And even once it's established you hold your breath every year in case something goes wrong.

You always have to make sure to have provided enough free tickets (to your son's friends, the friends and family members of the bands, the staff of the hospital) that the event will still look successful even if it doesn't make money. That kind of "buzz" will bring more people in the next time the event is held (not that this one will be held again; I'm just saying this is how you establish an event and make it successful down the line). The timing of the event is also important--there's a certain type of person who likes to support events of this sort, and if your event conflicts with another one or with other activities, it's not going to be well attended. May is a bad month for a new event for exactly this reason--you're competing with graduations, proms, and a million other fundraising events that people have had on their calenders for years.

Your son may have done this, but I'll ask anyway--did he work with the Children's Hospital Foundation to plan this event? They would be the main fundraisers for the hospital and all donations would go through them, so they'd have an interest in the event being successful. They could provide mailing lists of former donors or event attendees so your marketing can target the right people. Another thing your son may have done already, but is a good idea if he wants to try something like this again, is to find a corporate sponsor from the get-go, before he does anything else--finding a local business to provide a cash donation in exchange for having their logo and name all over the place not only jump starts the fundraising but also gives another stakeholder in the success of the event--you hand out a bunch of free tickets to the company and get their people to show up.

The press almost never covers fundraising events, except for the really huge and well established ones. We get occasional press coverage for our annual fall Grand Prix event, which is our big one each year, but nothing for the wine tasting event in the spring. At my last job, our annual Gala was the social event of the season for the city so we got press coverage for that, but not much at all for any other fundraising event.

But the bottom line is this: events are not a great way to raise money. Most organizations think of them as friendraisers more than fundraisers--they generate interest and awareness in the organization being funded but don't bring in a lot of cash. New ones, as I said, nearly always lose money. And your son was trying to start a new event in the midst of a truly awful economy in the worst-hit state in the nation. I know he's probably frustrated and upset, as I'm sure you are too, but he should be proud of the work he did--he may not have raised the money he hoped to raise, but he DID raise awareness. 18,000+ people now have heard of the Children's Hospital Music Therapy department through the fliers he sent out, the radio mention, the newspaper and the internet. He might not see that money himself, but the Children's Hospital will probably benefit in the long run.

Sarah

[Pedal Wench]

I'm surprised more friends and family from the bands didn't show up. That's just not right.

hijack - I wanted to be a music therapist for years, but it takes a special type of person to work with the wide range of problems that you have to encounter. Good for him for choosing such an interesting charity.

[indysteel]

I have to agree with Sarah. Fundraising of every kind is just hard, especially in this economic climate. I've rarely been involved in a fundraising event that made a lot of money. In my experience, most of the money that is made comes not from attendees but from sponsorships. And if sponsorship money is limited, there usually has to be some other revenue generator, like a silent auction or the like. The other side of the equation is cost. It "pays" to get as much comped as possible in an effort to keep costs low. It often means calling in as many favors as possible.

Still, your son should be proud of what he did.

[Slowspoke]

He also had to stay within the restrictions from the Boy Scouts and from the event people at Children's. Since it was an Eagle Scout project, it's a one time gig. He was ok with it. He knows he did all the right stuff, it's just timing and who you know. All in all it was a great learning experience and he now understands all the ins and outs of producing a show (whether for profit or charity).

[michelem]

You can't expect the news to know about stuff that you don't tell them.

We distributed 18000 fliers, sent press releases to EVERY television and radio station in the Detroit Metro area and he had lots of internet coverage.

[emphasis added]

[short cut sally]

Sorry there wasn't a better turn out for your son. He should get his badge and honorable mention for his hard work...

[PamNY]

I'm so sorry this happened. I've done some promotion for arts events and it is just plain hard (even with professionals who have media contacts of long standing).

Yes, you are right: if your son made a mistake, the neighbors would gossip and the local news would pontificate about what's wrong with kids today.

It sounds like he did everything right, and I am very impressed with the news coverage he did get.

Pam