This time, the Zoomerang! won’t come back.
The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore said Thursday it would it would discontinue the event after 25 years because of declining sponsorships, donations and attendance.
Instead, President Don Hutchinson said the 132-year-old zoo would seek a more effective and cost-efficient way to raise funds than the high-end gala.
“We think that it has grown a little stale, its 25 years old,” said Hutchinson. “We were still making money off the event but suffice to say its not quite the same amount of money we were making 10 and 15 and 20 years ago.”
The zoo reaped less than $100,000 in proceeds from last June’s event, said spokeswoman Jane Ballentine, The event cost $250,000, much of it paid by corporate sponsors and donations — not including lost earnings from the day the zoo was closed for the event, Ballentine said.
About 1,000 people turned out for the $250-per-ticket event in 2008, which included live music, food from local restaurants, and a live auction. But Ballentine said many of the attendees were with corporations sponsoring Zoomerang!, not ticket buyers.
Hutchinson said the zoo has sought different kinds of corporate support in the past year, and had already asked much of those who usually foot the bill for Zoomerang!
“We’ve asked some to join as members of the zoo, asked some to make contributions to the capital fund and programming,” Hutchinson said. “It’s a little bit difficult for people to support things like galas when we’re asking them to support things like memberships drives and other special opportunities.”
Other organizations will likely scale back or drop their gala events this year, and find alternative ways to raise money.
“You’re probably going to see a cutback in ostentatious events, I think they’ll be much more low-key events,” said Daraius Irani, an economist with Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute. “I realize that a lot of the institutions that typically supported these events in Baltimore have been banks, and they’re under scrutiny.”
