Closely tying mission to the special event leads to success

This article at Philanthropy.com about Covenant House's sidewalk sleep-out fundraising events is the perfect example of what I talked about in last week's post on special events.  The organization has clearly tied the event to their mission and this has resulted in unbelievable economic gains as well as opportunities to expand their donor base, educate people about their mission, and directly connect those they are serving with people who can help.  

Organizations much smaller than Covenant House can apply the same principles to their events and reap wonderful rewards, because there is nothing about this strategy that makes it only applicable to large nonprofits.  In fact I would argue this strategy is especially well-suited to small groups who cannot waste their limited time and people-power pursuing activities that do not serve multiple purposes.  Rather than taking time away from other important activities, like outreach and service, why not make them all come together in an event that also raises money?  Win-win-win!