An evolution in fundraising
INNOVATIVE APPROACH HAS MEANT MORE MONEY FOR THE CAUSE FOR BEST BUDDIES CANADA
In a low- growth economy, charities are looking everywhere to raise the money they need to do good work. Best Buddies Canada has turned that model inside out with the inauguration of its straightforwardly named Best Buddies Canada September 2016 Fundraiser. By looking to long- time donors and eliminating the costs associated with galas, bigticket fundraisers and massive outreach, the charity has achieved the goal of meeting its needs while banking 100 per cent of its donations.
Daniel J. Greenglass, managing director and chief financial officer of Brennan Custom Homes, and Penny Shore established Best Buddies Canada in 1993. The charity, which strives to make schools and communities more inclusive and accepting of people with intellectual disabilities, was founded in the U.S. Chapters now operate in more than 50 countries across the world.
“People with intellectual disabilities don’t have a national voice,” says Greenglass, the organization’s cochair. “Best Buddies is their voice. We started with one chapter at York University with eight participants and we’ve now had over 150,000 participants in our program, and we’re represented by 500 chapters in every province and territory in Canada.”
With no government funding, Best Buddies Canada traditionally met its operating expenses through an annual gala fundraiser, held each September. The inaugural gala was held 22 years ago at Acqua Ristorante in Toronto’s BCE Place.
“We sold tickets and had 400 or 500 guests see a film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and then come to the restaurant where we held the gala,” he says.
Best Buddies eventually separated its gala from TIFF, holding it concurrently with the festival. Celebrity guests, including James Earl Jones, Peter Fonda, Ann- Margret, Burt Reynolds, Shirley MacLaine, Kathleen Turner and Lauren Bacall, were honoured for their humanitarian leadership.
“Over 21 years, we raised about $ 12.4 million,” says Greenglass. “It’s always been a focus of mine to make sure that the maximum amount of money gets to the charity.”
He notes that some charities spend between 50 per cent and 80 per cent of their fundraising gross to stage an event. For Best Buddies Canada, the typical cost ranged from a modest 20 per cent to 22 per cent of gross, with expenses eaten up by printing, food, beverages, decor and public relations efforts.
“Every gala has a lifespan, and I thought that if we continued, the money raised at our gala would start declining,” says Greenglass. “For 2015, I decided that instead of inviting 500 people to a gala, we would just invite 125 people to a cocktail party at my house, with no stars or celebrities.”
The event raised about $ 600,000 with under five per cent expenses. Instead of nine months of gala preparation, the event was planned in six weeks with veteran fundraiser and long time board member Rene Pantalone, who has co- chaired many Best Buddies Canada galas with Greenglass.
“This year Rene and I decided to push the envelope further,” says Greenglass. “If we did this well with a cocktail party, we wondered how much we could raise with zero expense by eliminating the event altogether and ensuring that all of the money goes directly to the charity.”
“The simple idea of oneto- one friendships for those with intellectual disabilities has literally changed lives,” adds Pantalone. “It is such a privilege to collaborate with Danny — his motivating spirit and drive is catching. In turn, our benevolent patrons have been so generous year after year in sharing our passion for Best Buddies Canada.”
Greenglass and Pantalone took to their Rolodexes to reach out to a mixture of po- tential new donors and those who had demonstrated a strong track record of supporting the charity.
“So far, we look like we’re on track to raise $ 675,000, and all of the money is going to Best Buddies Canada,” he says. “A large amount of the funds raised will be going to our endowment fund to perpetually fund the charity’s activities — we started our endowment fund with a $10,000,000 goal and in just a few years we have raised almost $5,000,000”
Greenglass notes that donors haven’t expressed any regrets that the gala is mis- sing from fundraising efforts.
“Donors have become fatigued with the commitment of attending so many charitable events,” he says. “But they’re very happy about the act of donating to the charity itself. I could count the number of declines on the fingers on one hand. They like the fact that the fundraising effort is so efficient and that all of the money is going to the program — and that they get a 100 per cent tax receipt for the donation.”
Greenglass isn’t shy to say that he hopes other charities follow the lead of Best Bud- dies Canada in trimming or eliminating the expenses around their fundraising events and programs.
“Galas have their place,” he says. “Some charities need them to rise their profile and to communicate with their donor base. But our no-gala model is one that charities can go with provided they have already established an effective brand and a strong Rolodex. I think a lot of the bigger charities could follow this model and raise a lot of money without all of the expenses of a huge fundraising event.”
Greenglass says he’s largely conducted the current fundraising campaign via personal email.
“Coming back from the cottage recently, I was a passenger in the car and I had time to kill,” he says. “By the end of the trip, I had raised $20,000 by email.”
BEST BUDDIES MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN EACH OTHER’S LIVES
Best Buddies Canada was established in 1993 as the first international expansion of the U. S. Best Buddies program. The charity advocates on behalf of people with intellectual disabilities and works to create an inclusive environment at venues throughout the country.
“We hoped to have a chapter in every university and college in 10 years and we were there in five,” says Greenglass. “We’ve since expanded into high schools and elementary schools. Kids can be part of the program as they go up through the school years and ultimately we would like to include a jobs program.”
In addition to a jobs program, upcoming future goals for Best Buddies Canada include doubling the size of the chapter base, an important goal for the charity which cites that three per cent of the population has an intellectual disability.
Charity events have featured “Buddy pairs” who have worked together with the program.
“You hear these kids talk about the friendship that’s developed and how that involvement has changed the lives of both the student volunteer and the Buddy,” says Greenglass. “We get letters from parents, and you can just sense the tears of happiness as they wrote those letters, saying that they never thought they would experience that moment when a call came for their daughter or son to go see a game, or just hang out at Starbucks.”
Greenglass recalls a Buddy in his early sixties who had lived most of his life in an institution. Paired with a volunteer from McGill, he was encouraged to break out of his shell and ultimately get a job.
“He spoke to us about how he got his first job working at a supermarket,” recalls Greenglass. “He got his first apartment, his first credit card and told the crowd of 500 at the Gala: ‘I now have credit card bills and income taxes to pay — I’m just like you.’ ”
EVERY GALA HAS A LIFESPAN, AND I THOUGHT THAT I F WE CONTINUED, THE MONEY RAISED AT OUR GALA WOULD START DECLINING