Sharing Innovations: An Alternative to the Traditional Fundraising Gala
One of the purposes of the India Philanthropy Alliance is to share good practices and emerging innovations with the community of India-focused nonprofit organizations active in the United States. The value this creates for those organizations engaged in our network is one reason our board has grown from being composed of the executives of 11 leading India-focused charities to 20 today. A prime example of this kind of open sharing of effective practices was when Sejal Desai, the Executive Director of the Akanksha Education Fund, shared her experience of having created an alternative to the traditional fundraising gala model by holding a “Voices on the Rise” event in New York City in October 2023. She did so during one of the monthly Zoom calls that IPA has been holding for more than six years. The discussion was so rich and valuable that we decided to turn it into a blog post by our Executive Director, Alex Counts, who moderated the discussion which included an extensive question and answer period.
Background
Fundraising gala dinners are a mainstay of fundraising for Indian causes and from the Indian-American community. As a revenue-generating model, it, like many other approaches, has pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses. One of the pitfalls Sejal noted in her presentation to the IPA board of directors was that the presentation of the mission and program of the organization to gala attendees is often missed amongst the many distractions that include side-talk and the clanking of silverware, plates, and wine glasses. It is easy for the reason for holding the event—the noble mission and unique capabilities of the sponsoring organization—to get lost in the process. Another common source of criticism is the time taken up by what can feel to attendees like a “hard sell” or a strong (and even manipulative) pitch for donations through “fund-a-need” segments run by a charity auctioneer.
Yet traditional galas are proven fundraisers, and many volunteers are familiar with how to pull them off. They enjoy the social and celebratory element to it. Thus the enduring appeal of galas to many nonprofits. In fact, as our chairman Deepak Raj noted during the discussion, galas have three main functions beyond the obvious one of raising funds, and in most cases perform well in each. They are brand-building, thanking existing donors, and attracting new contributors (usually by having past supporters bring their friends and associates).
Akanksha’s “Voices on the Rise” event was an attempt to address some of the weaknesses of the traditional gala, offering a new experience for the attendees while still generating significant revenue and brand value.
It is important to note that some organizations, such as Pratham USA, hold galas in many cities on an annual basis but also complement them with events aimed at educating and appreciating donors roughly halfway between one gala and the next. These events highlight topics of interest to donors and feature excellent speakers. They don’t focus much on Pratham except for a 5-minute message at the end. These kinds of enrichment events are another good practice that can complement rather than replace traditional galas.
The Process of Deciding to Innovate
The decision to try a new event-based fundraising model was not an easy one for Akanksha Education Fund and its highly engaged and committed board of directors. When the idea of doing something different from the traditional gala, was originally proposed to the board by Sejal and her team, roughly half of the board was in favor, while the remainder argued for a tried and tested traditional gala format that they had used successfully for four years prior to Covid. (Like many other nonprofit organizations, Akanksha used a virtual gala model during the pandemic and raised the funds needed at the time.) In 2022, Akanksha decided to raise funds with various 1:1 meetings and smaller gatherings and realized that they could raise as much or more at a much lower cost. The Board, however, felt strongly that it was time to bring the community together again in a large event.
During a carefully thought out strategy session, Sejal with the help of the trust built over the past 2 years since she assumed her role as Executive Director, was able to get the board to agree to do something different. The Board’s marketing committee then proposed some fresh ideas for consideration, and everyone agreed to try a new format at least once. The board ultimately agreed to a new format, under the condition that if the experiment did not work well, the organization would go back to a traditional gala in future years.
One critical part of this discernment process was hashing this decision (and related issues) out during a board retreat. Board members were encouraged to read the book The Art of Gathering in advance. That book only deals with galas very briefly, but it nonetheless does a great job of explaining why people and groups hold events of any kind in the first place, and as such helped inform and shape the decision by the Akanksha board. The Board then had a very open discussion on the pros and cons of a gala through an open dialogue.
The Structure and Format of the Event
Akanksha decided that they wanted the event to be engaging and thought provoking, but also to provide opportunities for people to make meaningful connections with the mission and with each other. The event was initially structured around the idea of hosting a TED talk like gathering. Akanksha then combined elements of a Broadway musical: a reception where people could get a drink and a bite before the main event, and then a program on stage followed by a post event reception/party. Given that it occurred in New York City, that format would be familiar to many attendees.
The event was listed as 6:30pm-10:00pm. The lowest ticket price was $600, representing the cost of sending one student to an Akanksha school for one year. The plan was to have the opening reception (which included a glass of champagne and hors d’houvres) go for 30 minutes, with the main event held in an auditorium to start at 7pm. There was no food or drink allowed in the auditorium, only bottled water. It held 300 people, which limited participation to some degree but also kept the event reasonably intimate.
The mission-focused main event was scheduled to go from 7pm to 8:30pm, but in fact it went from 7:05pm to 8:37pm. In the future, Sejal mentioned, it would be reduced to one hour.
The format was to intersperse short, stand-alone speeches with fireside chats and videos. During our IPA leaders’ discussion of the event, Dimple Bangalore, Executive Director for Teach for India U.S., mentioned that having a mistress of ceremonies who used humor effectively and had her own deep connection to the mission worked very well. (Dimple was one of several IPA members who attended the event thanks to the generosity of our chairman Deepak Raj.) Dimple further mentioned that she felt proud, as a nonprofit professional, to see a program executed so well using a nontraditional format and that it offered other organizations inspiration to think differently about their own fundraising events.
Several former Akanksha scholars (students) spoke, and they did so eloquently and poignantly. They were compelling but not overly rehearsed or scripted. The fireside chat format brought the best out of many of the people who took the stage. You can see a video of the entire program here, and a detailed description of it below. (To view a moving 3 ½ minute spoken word performance that was one of the highlights of the program, click here.)
The audience’s attention was rapt for the entire 95 minutes. Speaking as someone sitting in the back row, I noticed that there was a minimum of people looking at their phones, and there were no distractions such as wine being poured, entrees being served, and conversations being held. Applause was frequent, including at times that surprised and delighted the Akanksha staff and board.
The fundraising was markedly soft-sell, with a 5-minute pitch at the end and a QR code displayed on the screen to make donations easy. (There was also a staffed table outside the auditorium for those who preferred giving in an offline manner.)
The reception that followed was held in a room with multiple bars and food stations, and the kinds of tables you would find in a cocktail reception with appetizers. This was no sit-down dinner.
Akanksha and the venue staff had to clear the room after 10pm since many people were still enjoying themselves well after the official end time, always a sign of a successful event.
The Results
For most organizations, galas, and other fundraising events are measured by how much money they bring in. On this measure of success, “Voices on the Rise” passed with flying colors.
The first goal of the event was to top previous gala fundraisers held by Akanksha. The Board had set a goal of a minimum of $1 million. Akanksha staff and board had planned to raise most of this before the event. Fortunately, $950,000 was raised in advance of the event, including through multi-year pledges that were made a priority. This helped relax everyone on the team. The event ultimately surpassed the $1 million goal through day-of fundraising and active follow-up.
The costs were at about 15-17% of the revenue raised, which is significantly lower than a traditional gala would cost in the New York City market.
The overall process of decision making, planning, and implementation had the hallmarks of strong leadership woven into it – a Board willing to trust and open their minds to something new and a team that executed an experiment well. As I mentioned to Sejal after the event with regard to new formats and models, “Usually people get it right on the second try, but Akanksha got it right the first time.”
Lessons Learned
Akanksha Education Fund is still distilling lessons learned from this successful experiment, but the key ones appear to be:
Take the risk of experimenting with a new approach to constituency-building when the traditional format seems tired and costly.
Executive Directors should occasionally push their boards outside of their comfort zones, and doing so in a retreat with thoughtfully chosen pre-reads and an environment with trust-based open discussions, can work well.
Having events designed so that guests focus on the mission can be more powerful than glorified parties, especially for young professionals.
It is not necessary to have a high-profile honoree to raise money in a competitive market like New York.
Traditional galas have built-in costs and expectations that can be dispensed with in alternative formats.
Complementary events to traditional galas and new formats like “Voices on the Rise” can effectively round out a year-long donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship cycle.
Thanks very much to Akanksha Education Fund and our board member and India Giving Day steering committee co-chair Sejal Desai for sharing these lessons with us in our board meeting and through this blog post. IPA is going to host an internal town hall soon to explore the issue of how boards and management teams make difficult decisions together in a timely manner, using several case studies including the Akanksha board’s discernment process leading to the decision to try this new format.
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Akanksha’s Voices on the Rise celebrated Education and Philanthropy in an Evening of Inspired Giving
Akanksha’s first-ever signature event, Voices on the Rise was held at The Times Center in NYC on October 19, 2023, and was a great success raising over $1m, largely due to the enthusiasm and generosity of the organization's new and long-time supporters. Akanksha experimented with a new fundraising program format quite different from the traditional gala and instead incorporated a carefully curated group of speakers, whose diverse opinions and backgrounds in the field of education made for a thought-provoking evening of learning and connection.
Board President Shankar Iyer welcomed the audience with a sincere introduction to Akanksha and its mission. Comedian Kaneez Surka, star of Amazon and Netflix specials, emceed the evening and provided background on her personal connection with Akanksha.
Sandeep Rai, CEO of The Circle and Senior Advisor for Teach for India, started the program with his segment on Reinventing Schools to Reinvent India. His interactive presentation helped to create a foundation for the evening’s theme of the transformative power of education. He discussed the state of primary and secondary education in India and provided statistics and research to conceptualize necessary changes while also emphasizing the role an organization like Akanksha can play in reimagining education for youth in India.
Nitin Nohria, Professor of Business Administration and Former Dean of Harvard Business School, and Dr. Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Director of Center for Universal Education, Brookings Institution collaborated as part of a fireside chat about Global Trends in Education with Ramesh Srinivasan, Partner, McKinsey & Co. Nitin Nohria shared personal experiences with the life-changing power of educational opportunities and why supporting underserved children is important. Dr. Winthrop spoke on the importance of holistic education and child development, and the profound effect of community engagement in children’s education. Their insights brought unique pedagogical insights to the evening.
Aayati Dash Kar, Co-Founder, Queendom Metaverse, and Kehkashan Basu, Founder-President, Green Hope Foundation, spoke with Akanksha’s Executive Director, Sejal Desai, about the importance of young voices in advocacy around social issues in a fireside chat titled Be the Change Aayati shared the importance of the inclusion of younger perspectives in topics of societal change that impact them, and narrated a poem she had written on the evening’s theme, Voices on the Rise. Kehkashan spoke about her journey in environmental advocacy and the importance of instilling attitudes of compassion and empathy in young people, and how necessary it is for communities to be inclusive of young people when enacting social change.
The Akanksha Foundation CEO, Saurabh Taneja began his segment with a casual pop quiz about funding for education in India and schools in Mumbai. For the final fireside chat, Taneja then invited his former students and Akanksha alumni Shlok Sadlapurkar and Shruti Belitkar to talk about Akanksha in the Classroom and Beyond. Sadlapurkar and Belitkar spoke about their journeys, personal and professional growth, and what Akanksha means to them. It was an authentic, eye-opening segment that amplified the voices of Akanksha’s alumni and their dedication to transformation and giving back to their local and school communities.
Akanksha Alumnus Tejashree Jadhav ended the evening with a powerful spoken word performance that detailed her personal challenges and triumphs, and the role her Akanksha education played in transforming hurdles into opportunities.
As the event wrapped up, Kaneez once again encouraged the audience to remain engaged with Akanksha and their mission. Voices on the Rise was an inspirational opportunity to learn about Akanksha’s role in India’s education landscape, and to find new connections, new ideas, and new ways to be a part of Akanksha’s mission to end generational poverty through holistic education.