A fundraiser without any guests turned out to be a success. This Fall, Friendship Manor mailed hundreds of invitations to its first "No Show Gala."
Development Director, Jeff Condit, says a resident of the Rock Island retirement community told him about the "no show" fundraising idea, which had success in Atlanta and Chicago. He decided to try it in the Quad Cities, but didn't know what to expect.
Most people who were "invited not to attend" were puzzled at first, but loved the idea after figuring it out. Condit says he did receive a few calls from people who said there was a typo in the invitation.
So far, the No Show Gala has raised 100,000 dollars for Friendship Manor's endowment. Condit says the Moline Foundation helped by donating 50 cents for every dollar. The Rock Island non-profit's goal is to increase the endowment to one million dollars.