Showing up is showing support

Published 11:18 am Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Who else is ready for the tree lightings this weekend and next? I know we are, and I hope that most of you are, too, or at least ready to show up for one or more of them.

These festivals, like a lot of community events that seem to just magically happen every year, actually rely on community members to attend them. There’s no RSVP process, no tickets to be bought, and no way for organizers to really know in advance how many people to expect. There is, however, always someone counting heads.

You’ve probably seen the counters, lingering at the edges of an event, thumbing the buttons on hand-held clickers; make sure they see you, too. The numbers these people report after an event can have a direct effect on the price of admission to next year’s event, especially the free ones.

Free events are not free to put on. They require funding, people power, and often, sponsorships, such as the grants recently awarded to Valley organizations from King County’s 4Culture organization.

Sponsors want to know how broad the reach of an event is — how many people attended and saw their sponsorship logo, in simple terms. They want to calculate their return on investment, and whether they might reach more people through a different sponsorship in the future.

That’s why people are counting heads at events, and why organizations include volunteer hours, another way of reaching people, in annual reports. Your physical presence is worth at least as much as any fiscal contribution you make.

There’s not a one-to-one connection between the people who show up this year and the amount of funding awarded to an event next year, but the headcount numbers are part of the formula.

There are lots of reasons to come out for community events, and that’s before you add hot cocoa and Santa.