Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 17, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 15 W B A N K I N G & F I N A N C E F O C U S have become part of the curriculum. In addition to changing the format, O'Neil said, ACE is expanding the ways it seeks funds for the gala. It's work- ing with an online peer fundraising platform, allowing staff and volunteers to fundraise on the group's behalf within their own social networks. It has formed relationships with more than 10 organizations at local colleges, allowing students to create their own fundraising teams. Members of the Black Student Union at Clark University created indi- vidual and team pages with their own fundraising goals, and are raising money through small events or social media. O'Neil said holding annual events like the ACE gala helps create a stable funding stream for an organization. "People that start out just coming as guests, the next year they might go to the CEO of their company, who might be willing to be a sponsor," he said. Getting your name out there It isn't always easy to raise money as a small group, O'Neil said. Corporate sponsors oen are giving money to the United Way, which supports ACE, and it may be hard to get a direct donation. But fundraising remains important because it's a source of unrestricted funding to help pay staff salaries and expenses targeted grants won't cover. Laura Marotta, executive director and cofounder of Creative Hub Worcester, said her nonprofit, which organizes youth art programs, is in an unusual position for a small and relatively young organization founded in 2015. It's in the midst of a large capital campaign, seek- ing $8 million to transform the former Boy's Club of Worcester on Ionic Ave. into a space with room for classroom, educational programming. But Marotta said the group has done much smaller scale fundraisers offering learning experiences. One lesson, she said, is if you have to pay for a venue and refreshments, it's not always easy to make much money beyond recoup- ing expenses. Still, she said, it may be valuable anyway. "Sometimes they're worth it because it helps get the word out there," she said. In certain instances, a more efficient way of raising funds can be an online crowdfunded campaign, Marotta said, but there are questions about the best way to do that as well. She said Creative Hub has done two crowdfunding push- es, one much more successful than the other. e difference, she said, seemed to be partly about the size and specifici- ty of the group's needs. "If you're saying 'I have $8 million in construction costs,' people don't feel their $5 is going to make an impact," she said. "People don't want to pay for a sprinkler system or a hot water boiler." On the other hand, when the group ran a short five-day drive to $5,000 for scholarships for a summer program, the response was strong. e impact of each gi was clear and specific, and the time constraint added a sense of urgency. "It was that social media thing – how many people can share this?" she said. PHOTO/COURTESY

• Cover