Once every year Narragansett Bay, from Naval Station Newport to Jamestown’s Potter Cove, is flooded with 700 swimmers and kayakers dedicated to improving and preserving the health of the aquatic ecosystem by fundraising for Save The Bay.
Leanne Danielsen, event manager for the Providence-based nonprofit, said “most of the people swimming have been [doing so] for many years because of their dedication to our mission.”
Revenue generated by such fundraising events “goes to support our education programs, restoration programs, everything we do to improve advocacy,” said Danielsen, who characterized the group’s reliance on fundraising as “pretty heavy.”
One of the ways Save The Bay guarantees a certain amount will be raised is by requiring a $400 minimum fundraising donation to participate in the event. Multiplied by roughly 500 participants, that comes out to $200,000. (Kayakers aren’t required to fundraise, but do pay a $50 registration fee.)
Danielsen’s fundraising goal for the event is $350,000, which is met “pretty much every year,” she said, but 15 percent of the revenue is spent covering costs not met through sponsorship.
In addition to the swim, Save The Bay hosts Taste of the Bay, an annual culinary fair; International Coastal Cleanup, an annual day of trash-picking on local beaches; and jewelry show Artists for the Bay – all of which are included in a $500,000 annual fundraising goal.
The reason the nonprofit’s fundraising goals are typically met, she said, is because of nearly 200 financial and in-kind sponsors, including National Grid, Woonsocket’s CVS Health Corp., Pawtucket’s Narragansett Brewing Co., and Providence’s Bottles Fine Wine and Green River Silver Co.
The pool, she said, has remained at 175 in-kind supporters, vendors, partners and sponsors for the past five years.
Determining the cost-benefit ratio in the early stages of a new event is tricky, said Hugh Minor, director of communications at the R.I. Community Food Bank in Providence.
“Realistically, if you’re starting an event … it may not be the huge success you hope for,” he said, adding sponsorship doesn’t completely cover the cost of a fundraising event, but it helps provide a “built-in cushion” and allows businesses to attach their name.
For example, in 2016, its second year, the food bank’s Empty Bowls fundraiser cost the nonprofit $22,000 and raised nearly $90,000, said Minor. Providence-based Citizens Bank sponsored, but the food bank would not share how much of the cost the bank covered.
Opting for programmatic funding, the Rhode Island Foundation does not sponsor nonprofit events, but President and CEO Neil D. Steinberg said there are multiple factors to analyze when measuring a fundraising event’s investment return.
For many, he said, this is their “opportunity to highlight their work, make more people aware of their cause and to cultivate and honor existing donors and potential new donors.”
Approaching summer, when several events compete for an individual’s time, he said, nonprofit administrators should take the opportunity to “reconsider if [an event] meets their objectives.
“Just because you’ve been doing something every year, for many years, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t refresh or look for other ways to accomplish the objectives,” he said.
After three years, Nicole Dufresne, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Providence, knows the annual East Commerce Solutions Classic golf tournament is well worth the $50,000 price tag. She said in 2016 the tournament raised $127,228 in revenue for the nonprofit – a 36 percent increase from years prior.
In addition to financial gain, Dufresne said the tournament is a worthwhile investment because of its community impact, how many people learn about the mission and ways to engage with children in need through the nonprofit.
Valerie Talmage agreed. Executive director of Providence-based Preserve Rhode Island, which advocates for the preservation of the state’s historic properties, she said the cost-to-benefit balance of a fundraising event includes interaction within the community.
“It’s not only the money that comes in, but the friends we make and connect through these events,” she said.
Of the organization’s two annual fundraising events, Preservation Celebration and their antique festival in partnership with the Little Compton Historical Society, Talmage could not estimate their cost. But she said they net $20,000 to $30,000 from the preservation celebration and last year split $15,000 with the LCHS.
“There are definitely more efficient ways of raising money, but to connect with people and get them to be part of the army you want to [fight for] your mission, there’s nothing like event-based fundraising to help build that sense of community,” she said, weighing the pros and cons.
In the end, Talmage said, while there is no limit to the fundraising PreserveRI would accept, larger nonprofits are able to net greater amounts because they “have a larger reach, can access deeper pools of philanthropy – and I envy them.”
