Chasing Funds
Raising Money for the Island is a Mixed Bag
While big-name artists attract large crowds and a lot of publicity, the events are not always as profitable for the sponsoring charities as one might think. Take, for example, the Ray Charles concert, which filled 770 of the 800 seats at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School Performing Arts Center this August. The concert, produced by Inner Circle Productions (Full Circle Productions contracted Inner Circle to do the show), was billed as a benefit for both the Performing Arts Center and the AIDS Alliance of Martha’s Vineyard.
That leaves $23,000 to be divided among the sponsoring organizations. Full Circle Productions guaranteed Inner Circle a flat sum of $5,000 for producing the show. The AIDS Alliance received $8,100 of the proceeds and the Performing Arts Center walked away with $2,500.
The bottom line? About $14 out of every $100 ticket for the Ray Charles concert actually went to the charities in whose name it was held.
Mrs. Anderson said the AIDS Alliance was grateful to receive $8,100. After all, it was a win-win situation because it was money the organization wouldn’t have had otherwise. And although the alliance helped out with ticket sales and staffing the performance, Inner Circle took on the lion’s share of the organizing burden.
Another high-profile event of the summer which used charitable causes to encourage ticket sales was the August concert by the Boston Pops.
The second annual Boston Pops concert, also produced by Inner Circle Productions, grossed more than $140,000 this August. Of that sum, $20,000 went toward the restoration of the Tabernacle and $2,500 for the Performing Arts Center. That’s a donation to charity of about 16 cents from every dollar spent by concert-goers.
Robert C. Cleasby, program director of the Martha’s Vineyard Camp Meeting Association, said his association was grateful to be part of this high-caliber event, even though it provided a modest rate of return to the cause at hand.
“They take all the risk, which is wonderful, because it was so expensive,” said Mr. Cleasby. “This year they gave us as may tickets as we could sell too, which was great.”
Mr. Cleasby said the restoration of the Tabernacle is going to take years of fund raising because it’s a million-dollar project. Just as important as the money the Pops raised, he said, is public awareness about the restoration project.
Duncan Ross, manager of the Performing Arts Center, also appreciated the extra income the Pops brought in. However, he said the charities would have benefited more from the event had it been better organized. Mr. Ross said that when Inner Circle took over the Boston Pops contract this summer, the agreement was renegotiated so that the Performing Arts Center and the Tabernacle got 50 per cent — but only of the tickets they sold. (Under the previous agreement, the Performing Arts Center would have received a percentage of the total proceeds). Mr. Ross said he approved of the terms of the agreement, but the renegotiation left him no time to get the word out to the public.
“The public was not aware of the fact that they had to buy tickets directly from us in order for it to benefit us,” said Mr. Ross.
The money the Pops raised for the Performing Arts Center and the Tabernacle might seem like paltry sums, said Joseph Capobianco, but it was more than Inner Circle got for producing the event. Mr. Capobianco said Inner Circle made a measly $1,000 off of the Boston Pops concert.
The event grossed $141,550, said Mr. Capobianco, but Inner Circle spent almost $120,000 in costs ($85,000 went to the Pops, $3,500 to sound and lighting, $4,000 to the rehearsal party, $4,200 to staging and the rest went to a host of miscellaneous expenses such as police and fire department fees and transportation costs). After deducting the money raised for the two charities, Inner Circle production members were left with about $200 apiece for months of hard work, he said.
“It’s not a big money maker for the people who do it,” said Mr. Capobianco. “They do it for the love of the community.”
Mr. Capobianco said that Inner Circle will bring the Pops back to the Island next year, but only if they can find some way to make it more profitable for those involved, such as getting a corporate sponsor to cover some of the costs.
The accounting from the Ray Charles and Boston Pops concerts presents a marked contrast to established fund raisers such as the Possible Dreams Auction and A Taste of the Vineyard, both of which boast high returns to the charities that host them, Martha’s Vineyard Community Services and the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust.
All the dreams sold at the Possible Dreams Auction are donated by Island individuals and businesses, said David Drinan, the auction’s chairman. The auction itself is planned and staffed almost entirely by volunteers, he said, and underwriters covered the costs of printing programs. Consequently, virtually all of the $400,000 the auction grossed went to the charitable intent.
A Taste of the Vineyard, which netted $80,000 of a $100,000 gross, also scored high in terms of fund-raising efficiency. So does the annual André Previn concert, which raised $100,000 to benefit the Preservation Trust and the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School.
Only a tiny portion of the concert’s proceeds was eaten up by expenses, said Christopher Scott, the Preservation Trust’s executive director, because Mr. Previn performed for free.
Mr. Scott said the Preservation Trust is lucky to have the support of people like Mr. Previn, who even refuses to let the Preservation Trust thank him by taking him out to dinner.
Mr. Scott said nonprofit organizations have an ethical responsibility to declare the rate of return to a charity so that purchasers of tickets to an event can make an informed decision about whether they want to attend. Actually, he noted, it’s only the charitable portion of a ticket price that is deductible at tax time.
“I think it’s paramount to communicate to your donors a realistic sense of the percentage of their contribution which is directly going to further the mission of the organization,” said Mr. Scott. “If it’s a national nonprofit, the potential donors can research the fiscal profits and the practices of the organization. If it’s not a national nonprofit, I think it’s very reasonable for somebody who’s considering making a significant donation to ask some questions and expect some answers. Candid answers.”