Keeping It in the Family: Using Fundraising Events as a Way to Create Community and Belonging Amongst Donors

Real Talk for the Non-Profit Event Pro

In this episode, your host Amy Milne gets real with Kevin McMahon, Sr. Director, Peer to Peer & Community Fundraising at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP for short!). When Kevin left his marketing job with the Philadelphia Eagles to join CHOP 11 years ago, he had no experience in healthcare and would get tripped up (and even struggle to pronounce!) the word 'philanthropy'. Those days are long over. Kevin walks us through their events portfolio which is divided into four categories: special events, executive events, peer-to-peer events and community events. He emphasizes the importance of being donor-centric and how having great relationships with other teams (marketing, communications, individual giving, etc.) is the key to success. Kevin lets us in on his own definition of "R and D" (it's not what you think!) and reminds us that you don't always have to create an original event idea. The Philly Spin-In event is a great example of an event concept that existed in the peer-to-peer space, and by ensuring that it made sense for them as an organization and met their strategic objectives, it became a very successful fundraising event. Kevin and Amy also have an important conversation around how to recognize those who are participating in memory of a lost loved one. Kevin's words of wisdom are worth their weight in gold, so we highly recommend having a pen and paper ready so you don't miss anything!
For more information on the amazing work that CHOP is doing, check out their website.

“If we lead with community and belonging, then fundraising will follow.” – Kevin McMahon
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