FUNDRAISERS CANCELLED
Charities, foundations hit hard
As Calgarians grapple with self-isolation and potential lost income, many charities and community groups are also seeing their revenues evaporate as spring fundraising is put on hold or cancelled outright.
The Calgary Philharmonic’s main annual fundraiser, Cork and Canvas, will be going ahead but only as an online event. Originally scheduled for May 1 at the Petroleum Club, it has been the CPO’S signature fundraising event for the past 20 years and brought in more than $100,000 in 2019. After a gourmet, five-course dinner, patrons would bid on “luxury trips, incredible experiences, original artwork and extravagant wines.” Instead of cancelling the event, it will be now be held as an online auction.
Still, CPO president and CEO Paul Dornian said the orchestra’s reliance on philanthropy and fundraising has put a big question mark on its finances, particularly since it could lose up to $2 million in ticket sales if the rest of the season is cancelled. As of now, the CPO has cancelled all performances up to and including May 16 and temporarily laid off all 66 of its musicians and an additional 18 support staff. Last year, donated or raised funds accounted for 48.5 per cent of its $14-million budget.
“I think people are wondering if they are able to support us in the way they have in the past,” Dornian says. “The good news is we still have some generous supporters who have made some generous donations in the midst of this crisis. But there is a lot that is uncertain.”
Meanwhile, the Calgary Library Foundation will likely be out at least $160,000 this year after being forced to cancel three of its major fundraisers. That includes its popular Locked Library event, which was to be held April 17 and invited guests to participate in an “escape room” game. A fundraising breakfast, scheduled for April 21, would have had roughly 150 potential donors invited to the library for breakfast and to listen to volunteers make a case for their donations. The library’s direct mail appeal to donors has also been cancelled this spring because material needs to be sent a month in advance to the printer.
“With so many variables unknown, it really doesn’t make sense for us to send out an appeal for the library where we don’t actually know how it would work,” says Tracy Johnson, CEO of the Calgary Public Library Foundation. “And there’s also considerations around printers and staff resources in the library as well.”
Johnson says the Foundation is looking into ways of somehow turning the Locked Library event into a virtual or online game. They are also appealing to library supporters for direct donations and plan to hold a “Shelf-isolation Readathon,” where individuals and families will be encouraged to get sponsors similar to how walkathons work. Still, the full impact of COVID-19 on the library’s finances is not clear.
“The impact for the Foundation’s work is quite substantial,” Johnson
says. “But we also have so many unknowns that it’s hard to speak to that directly. Our goal at the Library Foundation is to enable the library to dream and enable it to serve the public as best as it possibly can. So this is a hardship for us.”
The loss of fundraising events has also had a serious impact on social agencies such as the Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre, Catholic Social Services and Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter, which raised $675,000 at its Turning Points Gala in 2019.
“We’re not talking about small numbers,” said Ann O’donnell, director of resource development and communications at the women’s shelter. “We have a big budget; we have to bring in $4 million annually from my team. The Turning Points Gala is quite a substantial part of that.”
As the shelter can’t afford to lose those funds, it has postponed its 26th annual gala from April 30 until Oct. 2 with hope all will be back to normal by then. They have lost one gala sponsor who needed to withdraw their financial contribution but they are working hard to keep everyone else on board for what will be its 27th annual event.
“The reality is the Calgary Women’s Emergency Shelter is an essential service. What we’re trying to do over and above fundraising is to increase the number of people answering our helpline because it has been shown, over in China, that the incidence of domestic violence has really spiked over there and it’s anticipated the same will happen here.”
Catholic Family Services also provides frontline services and relies on donations and fundraisers to keep its programs going. Last year it raised more than $350,000 at its 2019 Up and Away Charity Gala, which allowed them to open a third location to help adults achieve a high school equivalency diploma. Funds from this spring’s gala, scheduled for May 7, were earmarked for a new program — this first of its kind in Canada — called Fathers Moving Forward. Offered at the Louise Dean Centre, the program supports young fathers to engage with their children and make healthy and responsible choices for their families.
“(The gala) is our biggest fundraiser of the year so either we’re going to find an alternative way to do it or postpone it. We’re exploring all of the options,” said Tara Horsley,
interim communications lead.
The Alberta Adolescent Recovery Centre (AARC) also counts heavily on its signature fundraising dinner. With no public funding, the agency needs to raise at least $2 million to maintain operations. Last year, its Miracle Gala raised $750,000 to help youth fight addiction. This year, the 23rd annual benefit was slated for May 6.
“It’s up in the air. We are exploring several options, including online,” said Anna Scott, manager of fund development and events.
AARC fundraisers like the gala, a summer golf tournament and third-party events account for 57 per cent of its revenues while a further 16 per cent comes from donations. This helps the organization subsidize the cost of treatment for its youth clients.