EDITORIAL – Hiring a PAC fundraiser is a good idea but at what cost?

An editorial by Mel Rothenburger.

HIRING SOMEONE to raise donations for Kamloops mega projects might sound to some people like a strange thing to do after the City pushed through multi-million borrowing bylaws for a performing arts centre and a sports complex.

What? “We’re already going to pay for these things through our taxes and now you want us to hand over more?” “You want to pay somebody to part us from our hard-earned dollars?” “Will the greed at City Hall ever end?”

But think this through. Major civic projects are very seldom paid for 100 per cent through taxes that repay construction or service debt. We pay for our healthcare facilities, for example, but donations create opportunities for enhancements that otherwise wouldn’t happen.

So, every dollar somebody donates to the PAC, or the ice arena, that’s a dollar that benefits you. Or, if you don’t use such facilities, it certainly benefits those who do, and cuts the amount that has to be obtained through taxation.

It also creates opportunities to raise money from those who live outside the city but who will enjoy the use of the new facilities when they come into town.

But who will pay for this fundraiser? The most likely scenario is to hire a fundraiser on contract. Fundraising is no easy job but there are many available who do such work. It takes a lot of skill to organize and run a good fundraising campaign, and a professional can be much more successful than a bunch of amateurs doing it off the sides of their desks.

However, we need to know what the costs will be. It sounds as though hiring such a person is more aspirational right now than a firm plan. Before anyone gives another nickel, the administrative costs of fundraising must be clearly laid out.

An acceptable percentage for administrative costs of fundraising is usually around five to 15 percent. So if you give a dollar, 85 to 95 cents should actually see its way into the project.

Once residents have a number, they can decide whether to join in.

Mel Rothenburger is a former regular contributor to CFJC-TV and CBC radio, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, writes for the Kamloops Chronicle and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, and was a Webster Foundation Commentator of the Year finalist. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor.  He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.