The C word: learnings from our first #CovetedCuppa with charity events managers

Having observed many of the same questions repeatedly being raised in chat groups and through online forums, we suggested a conversation to talk through some of the challenges faced by events managers working in the non-profit sector. We hadn’t quite anticipated that over 100 people would join us for our first #CovetedCuppa and a vibrant discussion about how we’re handling these extraordinary times.

So what were our key learnings from this initial discussion?

Much of our conversation was focused on the postponement of events. Certainly at Coveted, we’re encouraging our clients to consider postponing rather than cancelling altogether, allowing them to continue to engage their donors and encourage face-to-face opportunities that will be all the more precious in the months to come. We ran some quick online polls to identify some of the key trends affecting the sector. You can see the rest of our findings here but it’s clear that the current thinking is firmly on postponing events at this stage, rather than cancelling altogether.

The question still remains as to when to postpone to and to understand when is appropriate to start promoting events activity. Our recent poll demonstrated that there are still some yet to move or cancel their events pre-summer, however it’s very likely that these will be postponed in the coming weeks.

September is proving to be one of the most controversial months. Many events are currently scheduled (either longstanding events or postponed) for this time but there’s still a lot of concern around this period; whether international travel will be permitted; whether sales targets will be reached; whether guests/delegates will have been financially impacted.

As the week's progress it’s clear that the situation is changing on a daily basis and organisations are facing tough decisions to ensure that they can respond to changing climate.

Finally, we talked through how we were feeling. As events managers, we’re so used to being able to plan, to being in control, to working through a Gantt chart in order to meet deadlines. Without a calendar of events, there’s a sense of discombobulation as we try to navigate the challenges, staying focused and motivated.

We’re sending our thoughts and best wishes to all of those impacted by Covid-19, particularly those who have lost their jobs, been furloughed, or suffered significant income loss in recent weeks.

What’s your experience of Coronavirus? How is it affecting your day-to-day working life? Have you personally been involved with an event or project cancelled as a result of the virus? Get in touch to share your experiences or join our next #CovetedCuppa for the charity sector on 17 April at 12PM BST.

Death of the Gala Ball: what we learnt from our annual conversation on the special events landscape

Back in 2016, the Special Events Forum and Hope Street Media started a discussion on whether the traditional gala dinner is no longer the best format for charities to raise money through events. In the past, these events have consistently raised six- or seven-figures for organisations, as well as providing an opportunity to engage both existing and new corporate, individual and celebrity supporters. However with complaints of event fatigue and a highly saturated market, coupled with budget cuts and the high cost ratio, has this type of charity event finally had its day? We picked up the conversation again, hosted at the offices of THRSXTY in Soho, with a panel of representatives from some of the UK's leading charities. 

In recent years, organisations such as Ark, the DEC, Save the Children, Unicef UK and The Prince's Trust have turned to immersive events to bring their work to life. Some have had success with raising significant income through this type of event, whilst others have mainly used the new format to reach other audiences and to present their work in a different way. So is the immersive event here to stay, or is this just a fad? 

Amanda Sinke, representing Right to Play UK, highlighted how doing something immersive didn't have to result in a dramatic shift in format. For Right to Play UK, this meant looking at storytelling and how they could bring to life their powerful and emotive stories from Africa at a ballroom in central London. Others echoed the sentiment and shared examples of how they had sought to bring something creative and interactive to their existing events, rather than change the event altogether. 

Hibba Al-Altrakchi, representing The Prince's Trust, shared the case study of the Trust's longest running gala event and how they took a risk to take the event out of the ballroom altogether and host it on the Belmond British Pullman. 

As well as reflecting the shift in focus, our audience observed that our guests should be at the heart of our plans and that our longterm supporters can help us to make these decisions and tell us what they want and expect from our events. For every organisation this will be different; when asked whether she thought that more charities should be doing something new, Hibba's response was a firm "Yes - but only if the time is right". 

As an agency, 40% of our work centres around the charity fundraising gala - our clients are still seeing great success with events of this nature - but much like those on the Forum, we continue to seek new ways of bringing our work to life at these events and doing more than just showing a charity film or delivering a speech. Just like other fundraising streams, the ever-changing sector demands that we challenge ourselves to do something different, take on our competitors and listen to the voices of our donors. 

We asked our audience to give us an idea of the future of their portfolios by a simple show of hands - it was clear that over half of the organisations represented still continue to grow their events calendars, with only a couple of organisations making a move to reduce theirs. That said, for those charities whose income is largely made up of event funds, new fundraising streams are being explored in an attempt to diversify and future-proof. 

The conversation continues and we look forward to seeing how it progresses. 

The Presidents' Club: notes on the scandal

Many of you will have read the FT article (and consequently a number of other pieces) regarding the Presidents’ Club fundraising event. In fact, I know that many of my friends, colleagues or former colleagues saw this content as no fewer than 10 (and counting) sent me the link with a variety of accompanying emojis.

As someone who has delivered charity galas and fundraising dinners for the last 10 years (the entirety of my career) and as someone whose small business serves to deliver these events, this sort of “news” is not a complete surprise and yet it something that has really grabbed people’s attention and has the potential to give the sector a bad name.

I should definitely start this by saying that I think that the behaviour referred to at the Presidents’ Club is completely unacceptable and vile. This behaviour is something I have experienced first-hand and am glad that the issue is being brought to light. 

Here are a few other observations/reflections based on my experience (in no particular order):

1. When the #TimesUp campaign launched and indeed, when Harvey Weinstein was first exposed, my thoughts turned to the experiences I have had where tolerating inappropriate behaviour and harassment was part of the job. Although this behaviour was not always in a work context, I have vivid memories of being encouraged to wear an LBD by (female) bosses and of p*ssed men at golf days and dinner dances asking how much they could bid for me. The classic raffle selling line “£10 for one, £30 for a strip” still rings in my ears.

2. In my experience, many charities or organising committees have willingly “used” their female staff to promote their fundraising activities on the night. I do question whether charities would put male staff in the same position however the reality is that many fundraising and events teams are made up of females. The idea that good looking staff have been hired in especially for the Presidents’ Club event is something else altogether.

3. The concept of staff receiving a written instruction to “dress sexy” is ludicrous, right? But how many hostesses, wait staff and retail workers at bars, restaurants and stores are given similar restrictions and forced to conform to a certain “look”? I hope that this is now an opportunity for charities (and indeed corporates) to reconsider their duty of care to their staff – both females and males – when putting them in a room full of guests who have been plied with alcohol.

4. I do find it interesting that some charities who have benefitted from this particular fundraiser are now returning the money. I don’t yet know how I feel about this or whether I think that the best thing to do. For many of the larger organisations that I have heard referenced, there should probably be due diligence in place that ensures that they are only accepting funds from reputable organisations. That said, it’s one thing for larger organisations to return Presidents’ Club’s “dirty money” but for many organisations gifts of that scale are difficult to turn down or give back.

5. As former chair of the Special Events Forum for the charity sector – now led by the Katy Payne (Parkinson’s UK) and Elizabeth Charles (Action Against Hunger) – we have often discussed the “Death of the Gala Ball”, questioning whether the traditional gala dinner has run its course. This sort of negative publicity threatens to have a significant impact on what is a thriving industry; events fundraising plays a truly valuable part in many organisations’ fundraising and I have worked with at least a few charities whose annual gala makes up the majority of their fundraising income. So, I therefore hope that guests and donors will not be deterred from supporting these events – they really do enable great causes to raise transformative sums and there are many great examples that do this in a way that doesn’t exploit.

6. It’s definitely worth differentiating between in-house charity events and what we in the sector refer to as “beneficiary” or “third party” events. The latter are those hosted by a group/club/company who then give a cheque for funds raised to the charity at the end. In most cases, the charity holds little or no responsibility for the processes or plans for these.

When I started as an events consultant/freelancer, my first client was an education organisation who wanted to move away from the traditional gala dinner to deliver an immersive experience. Whereas there is undoubtedly still a place and an appetite for the gala and I continue to work with lots of charities delivering this kind of event, the immersive project was one that I feel most proud of – not least because of its fundraising outcomes and the creativity that went into the content (produced by Boz Temple-Morris and the Holy Mountain team), but because of the guts that it took for the charity to move away from the regular format in order to focus the evening’s programme on its work, rather than the presentation of the food or the colour of the flowers.

I am ridiculously proud of the work my peers across the charity sector have achieved and continue to achieve. Perhaps this will remind our Directors and Senior Management Teams how important it is to ensure that they have policies and procedures in place to protect themselves and their staff. I hope that this negative publicity doesn’t reflect badly or impact the hundreds – indeed thousands – of organisations striving to deliver meaningful events and raise critical funds for their work. But I also hope it will challenge organisations to think about their fundraising activity and to ensure that every aspect of their events reflect their mission, vision and values. 

Judgement day: Third Sector Awards

Having spoken at Third Sector magazine's Fundraising Week conference in April, it was a pleasure to be invited to be on the judging panel for the Third Sector Awards this summer, specifically for the Fundraising Event, Fundraising and Marketing Campaigns and Fundraising Team of the Year categories.

The third sector or not-for-profit sector as it is often referred to, is frequently under scrutiny and as I read through the applications for the shortlist, I was given a reminder of just some of the innovative, creative and truly groundbreaking work going on within the industry. And it is an industry - a viable one at that - full of hardworking, intelligent, career-driven professionals. Regardless of our motivations for working for and with non-profits, to assume as many do that charity workers are doing so because they couldn't succeed in a corporate environment is often far from the truth.

Reading about national campaigns that have transformed lives, behaviours and opinions, I'm bloody proud to be part of the sector! And believe that corporates could learn a great deal from some of their charity counterparts.

Of course, the results are yet to be revealed so I wish the very best of luck to all of the nominees...

RE