A veritable
mountain of hundreds of thousands of logo-emblazoned shirts is haunting
nonprofits large and small these days as they have been forced to “virtualize”
their fundraising walks, runs, rides and other mass participation events.
Whether it be a
cheap cotton tee or a pricy synthetic cycling jersey, peer-to-peer fundraisers
traditionally expect to receive a shirt to commemorate their participation.
It used to be that
nearly all events gave away shirts just for showing up. But, in recent years,
more and more nonprofits have required people to raise some money to receive
such items.
Pre-pandemic, most
shirts were bulk shipped to event locations and distributed at little cost
on-site to the folks who had earned them.
That became
impossible when the outbreak forced the cancellation of nearly all physical
events.
Nonprofits did
their best to quickly pivot to create digital versions of their programs using
hi-tech tools like online video, Zoom, fitness tracker apps and more.
Few were willing,
however, to brave the potential blowback they would receive from disappointed
supporters if they abruptly did away with “swag”.
So, across North
America, groups are grappling with how to give out incentives without damaging
their relationships with supporters or breaking the bank.
“How do we
distribute 34,000 t-shirts to supporters without a budget for mailing them?”
lamented National MS Society Associate VP Cindy Yomantas, a leader
of Walk MS,
which held around 340 virtual events this spring to raise about $21 million,
about half of what was expected pre-pandemic.
Walk MS
participants had been told they would get a shirt if they raised $100 or more.
“I’m pretty
intrigued about what we’re seeing retail do – from curbside to contactless pick
up, etc. – and am hopeful that some of that technology/process will be applied
to our events,” Yomantas said.
Some groups, like
Boston Children’s Hospital, have decided to bite the bullet and send shirts
through the mail. BCF mailed about 3,000 shirts to nearly everyone who had signed
up for the virtual Eversource Walk
for Kids, said Andrea Marlar, senior director of special
events.
The move pleased
sponsors and supporters and yielded an additional benefit: Most of the 300+
participants who posted photos of their virtual walks were wearing the shirts,
which increased the communications value of those pictures, said Marlar.
Money saved from
not having staged the physical event helped defray the shipping costs.
Mailing a shirt can
cost as little as $5 plus the price of the garment, said Leslie Jordan, the leader of an eponymous
event apparel firm that has worked with numerous clients to adjust to working
during the pandemic.
But that low
per-item cost can add up for big campaigns – some of which are weighing those costs
against delivering on their missions during a lean year.
The American Cancer
Society’s Relay For Life –
the world’s largest peer-to-peer fundraising program – decided to suspend its
Hope Club program this year. The program had offered t-shirts as a way to
reward supporters who raised at least $100. By eliminating the incentive, ACS
is saving an estimated $1.3 million – money that will now be directed to
supporting its mission, according to Relay for Life Director Lindsey
Pew.
ACS is continuing
its Relay Rewards program, which gives supporters the chance to earn points as
incentives for fundraising and other activities. Those points can be redeemed
for prizes based on their fundraising. In many local communities, those prizes
include custom shirts, Pew said.
Other organizations
have decided t-shirts are a tangible way to create a needed sense of connection
with their supporters during this time of social distancing.
Although most of
its 27 virtual PurpleStride walks
have been held, the Pancreatic Action Network is still working with affiliates
to come up with shirt distribution plans that observe local guidelines, said
National Director Kevin Sims.
For example, a late
May drive-through distribution was held in Kansas City during which volunteers
placed shirts in the trunks of the cars of walk team leaders.
Ordering too many
shirts leading to waste has been a longtime problem in this field.
In this
particularly tough year, PANCAN has been extra careful to order efficiently,
said Sims.
The group has
enabled fundraisers to opt out of receiving a shirt online and has reached out
to captains to ask their team members if any wanted to forego a shirt to help
the group manage expenses.
Some nonprofits
handle the t-shirt dilemma differently for distinct programs.
For example, the
Lung Cancer Research Foundation used a third-party provider to mail tank tops
to people who had raised $100 or more for their Free To Breathe
Yoga program, but distributed the bulk of incentives via a
minimum contact pick-up program for its Kites for a Cure program, said LCRF
vice president Aubrey Rhodes.
Although incentive
fulfillment may seem like a rather mundane logistical detail, the manner in
which it is handled can have major consequences.
“It’s an incredible
opportunity to extend some sort of cultivation experience into participant’s
hands, when they weren’t able to gather in person for a live experience,”
said Jillian Schranz of the event management company Event 360.
Small refinements
like including a thank you note with shirts, for example, can go a long way to
strengthen relationships with supporters, Schranz said.
Unfortunately, it
appears as if few groups will be able to hold mass physical events this
fall. Fortunately, they will have a lot more time to organize how
they will manage these programs than they did this spring.
One outcome to be
expected: The number of “just show up and you get a t-shirt” programs will
shrink dramatically.
"My best
advice on this topic is to spend the time to identify what truly is desirable
and use it only as a fundraising motivator,” said Olive Isaacs, who
oversees nonprofit services at Eventage, a boutique event
agency. “Don’t go with the traditional tchotchke filled event but rather
choose a couple of popular items that your audience values and strategically
promote them to drive revenue. If that’s done correctly, it’s definitely worth
the investment and mailing costs.”
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