Better Than a Four-Leaf Clover

For the Shamrocks for Kids event in 2005, 4,500 invitations were mailed to 2,600 adults (2,100 paid and 400 complimentary), an increase of 400 invitations, or 18 percent, from 2004. In 2005, more than 1,000 children attended the event.

“There was some hesitation from our board and from the head of our organization about raising the price of admission to Shamrocks for Kids to turn it into a money-making event, because they wanted it to be a family-style event, where people could bring their kids,” Schoewe says, adding that the organization decided to raise admission prices modestly, to around $50 per ticket, and focus its fundraising efforts on the campaign’s other channels.