Pittsburgh-area nonprofits develop alternatives as signature fundraisers are canceled
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This past Saturday would have been Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s annual Spring Hat Luncheon.
The event not only has an attendance roster of 600 of Pittsburgh’s fashionable who’s who, it raises more than a half-million much-needed dollars for the nonprofit.
With the covid-19 pandemic, the luncheon didn’t go off as scheduled at Frick Park. It’s been rescheduled for Sunday, Sept. 13, at the same location.
While the organization’s fiscal year runs through Sept. 30, it’s a big chunk of money to have to wait on, said the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s events coordinator, Sophie Gage.
If social distancing requirements are lifted in the fall, Gage said, the event will still look different than what attendees are used to.
“Some of those pieces that we’re looking into are as simple as making sure we have hand sanitizer and potentially masks, and making sure that people are adequately spread out,” Gage said. “Just like everybody else, we’re going with the flow and helping the best and doing our due diligence to make sure everyone is safe.”
The Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy isn’t alone in the fundraising plight. Many area charities are making serious decisions about how to raise much-needed – and in many cases, budgeted – funds without holding their signature in-person fundraising events and galas.
Crisis Center North, a nonprofit counseling and resource center for victims of domestic violence located in the North Hills, had its annual Cocktails & Cuisine fundraiser scheduled for May 15 at The Woodlands – and a fiscal year that ends June 30. Ergo, there was no wiggle room to reschedule the event without wreaking havoc on this year’s budget, not to mention securing much-needed funds during a time when domestic violence victims are in need more than ever.
Jeremy Armstrong, the organization’s development and outreach coordinator, said that last year’s event raised six figures. He said that canceling the event wasn’t feasible and that rescheduling it for the fall would have meant waiting and hoping that it could occur then. Taking inspiration from a Seattle non-profit, he suggested hosting it virtually.
Just what does that look like? Attendees will be able to stream A Concert for Crisis live via Zoom beginning at 6 p.m. May 15. Local artists Phat Man Dee, Good Dude Lojack, Daphne Alderson and John Marcinizyn, to name a few, will perform 15-minute sets.
The Auction for Advocacy will open online May 8 and run through May 22.
“We really want to help bring the community together through these uncertain times – but also want to try and expand our reach to those who couldn’t attend our in-person event. Eighty-five dollars is cost-prohibitive,” Armstrong said of the in-person event’s ticket price.
The virtual event will be free. Attendees can register on Eventbrite.
“We’re overwhelmed and floored by the response – we only had about a week to revamp,” Armstrong said. “We personally contacted each sponsor and said that in full transparency, this wouldn’t be the same event that they had agreed to sponsor, but that we would be honored by their continued support. All of the sponsors that had confirmed to the date when we announced our reformatting stuck with us.”
The American Ireland Fund’s Pittsburgh Gala, which was originally scheduled for March 17, still hangs in limbo.
Event planner Theresa Kaufman said the decision was made just four days prior, on the morning of March 13. “Everything is at a standstill. Everything is on pause,” she said of charity events as well as events like business conferences in the for-profit arena.
The American Ireland Fund is a national organization with chapters all over the country. Kaufman said that the last gala that the organization was able to hold was in Washington, D.C., on March 16.
“Absolutely everything on my books from the Ireland Fund through August is gone,” Kaufman said. “I have several for-profit clients who are going to assess further into the summer whether their late September and October events are going to move forward.”
She said that she thinks the corporate world will be able to revamp and hold things virtually, particularly conferences and larger meetings. But on the nonprofit side, she has concerns.
“These events are friend-raisers in addition to fundraisers,” Kaufman said. “You really need that one-on-one touch and feel for an event – it’s really important to these folks.”
What the new “normal” looks like when this is over remains to be seen. For Armstrong, that means continued forward-thinking.
“Be creative, think outside the box and don’t give up. A lot of really cool things can come out of uncertainty,” he said. “The fact that we’ve been able to tweak our fundraiser and deliver it in a different way is remarkable.”