It usually takes a great deal of time and effort from many people to put on an event of importance and sometimes you might question, after many sleepless nights, whether it is all worth it.
It is probably easier to answer this question affirmatively if you have just organized a successful fundraising event. If an event turns a healthy profit, generally everyone involved goes home happy.
However most special events have the result that every dollar earned is every dollar spent. What then is the value of the special event? Why go to all the effort?
It's really a question of the legacy that events of importance leave. Often that legacy is very substantial although it cannot be easily quantified. In the long-term there is little doubt that events can greatly benefit the organizations that host them.
The legacy that special events leave includes:
- Raising performance standards
- Raising the profile of the organization in the community
- Providing promotional opportunities for sponsors
- Improving facilities
- Upskilling volunteers
Sometimes is not easy to make a decision on whether to bid for, and then organize, a major event. People will have differing views dependent often on how comfortable they are with the extent of work that is involved.