“You can’t get rid of our Fall Fashion Event, Meg. It’s so much fun!” 

After three years of running an event that raised about $7,000 a year for scholarships, I knew it was time to end it. The committee of six lovely volunteers couldn’t understand why I’d even consider shutting down something so well attended, that offered Broadway tickets in the silent auction and beautifully curated baskets from local businesses.

But my advancement “team” was one full‑time development specialist, an administrative assistant, and me. On top of the gala, the golf outing, and the scholarship reception, the Fall Fashion Event pushed us into a nonstop cycle of event management. While I tried to launch a major gifts program, the vortex of logistics swallowed every hour of my day.

This was my first development job and, instead of fighting the volunteers or resetting expectations, I burned out. I quit.

We love our volunteers who pour their time, talent, and treasure into these events. They show up, they recruit their friends, they make the room look magical, and they care deeply about our students and our colleges.

But at some point, we have to ask ourselves: Have these events become beloved traditions instead of strategic fundraisers and cultivation tools?

Most of you are working with small advancement teams—five people or fewer—and before you or your favorite colleagues burn out and walk away like I did, it’s time for a special event gut check. Even larger shops can benefit from it, but it’s the one‑ and two‑person teams stuck in a 24/7/365 event cycle that need this the most.

Here’s what I’d like you to do. Sit with someone outside of your team—perhaps it’s your school’s head of finance, a business professor, or maybe an accountant or business owner on your foundation board who can unemotionally analyze the situation. That’s key. You need at least one other person to look at the events, and the bigger picture of your fundraising efforts, clearly with you. 

Consider these topics and questions:

The big picture: What was the true net value of each event after all costs, direct and indirect (staff time)? Is it less than you thought?

A deeper dive into direct expenses: How much did you spend to run the event? Just looking at that number can be disturbing. Consider this: If you spent $25,000 running an event, what else could you have done with those funds to help your school and/or raise even more contributions?

Exhaustion/a deeper dive into indirect expenses: How many hours per week and per month did you and your team commit to it?

Presidential involvement: Was your college president able to get quality time with the best prospects? Do those prospects now feel that they know your president well? 

Relationship-building: How many top prospects attended the event? Did they, and all, attendees leave with a deeper understanding of your mission and a call to action to do more?

Cultivation: Do you have a strategic plan, or “moves,” for the top prospects?

After this analysis, you may realize that one or more of your events need to end, and the ones you keep need to be far more strategic. This is also the moment to take a serious look at developing or strengthening your major gifts program.

According to the 2025 CASE survey What Successful Community Colleges Do Differently, when asked how they prioritize staff time, respondents put major gifts at the top (36%), followed by annual funds (25%), and special events (22%). 

Seasoned advancement professionals know why: The return on investment of a major gifts program consistently outperforms special events. But it’s not just about dollars—it’s about how a strong major gifts program emphasizes relationships, while special events tend to focus on transactions.

So, should you get rid of all your special events? NO. But, you need to look at them like a doctor, with less emotion and more analysis—and make sure any event that stays on your calendar truly earns its place in your long‑term strategy. 

I’ll write more about major gift programs in a future column, but, in the meantime, check out the CASE Library’s Subject Guide on Major Gifts.  

Here are some ideas for making an event more strategic.

• Your president, specific campus leadership, and foundation board members should be assigned to top prospects at the event. Don’t worry—no one is asking for a gift. This is one of my favorite parts of fundraising: cultivation. It’s listening to the prospects, discovering what excites them about your school, learning about their interests and families—and then having college leadership share why they love the school, too.
• Focus on corporate sponsorships. According to the 2024 CASE Insights on Voluntary Support of Education (see figure 19 on page 28), local and even big corporations from outside your community are giving more to community colleges than the four-year colleges down the road. Provide them with opportunities to shine at your event. The Alamo Colleges Foundation changed its gala’s focus to corporate sponsorships a few years ago, and their 2026 MOSAICO Gala just raised $1.65 million—way to go! We talk a lot about working smarter, not harder, but Richard Farias, Director of Annual Giving at the Alamo Colleges Foundation, proves every day that smart strategy and hard work go hand in hand.
• Use special events to identify future foundation board members, campus speakers, and door-openers to those of influence and affluence in your communities.
• How about hosting breakfasts or afternoon teas with your president that includes a campus tour? This is an easy and affordable cultivation tool for top prospects. Invite a few couples, a few business leaders, or just one hot prospect.

Special events aren’t the enemy, but they also aren’t sacred. They’re tools—nothing more, nothing less. When we treat them that way, we give ourselves permission to let go of the ones that drain us and invest in the ones that move donors closer to our mission. Your team, your president, and your future major gift pipeline will all be better for it.