Promise Keepers Changes Tactics

Promise Keepers, the Christian men’s evangelical group, has announced that it will no longer rely on the sale of tickets to its religious rallies to generate tens of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

Instead, the group — which encourages men from all walks of life to commit themselves to church, family, and racial harmony — plans to depend almost entirely on private contributions as it goes forward with plans to expand internationally.

The announcement came this month as the Denver organization, founded in 1991, staged what has been called the largest religious gathering ever in the country, attracting about half a million participants to the nation’s capital.

Last year, ticket sales to the group’s rallies provided most of the charity’s $87-million in revenue. But, officials said, many people have been unable to afford the $60 average ticket price.

Officials said they have not yet determined what types of methods they will use in soliciting gifts from individuals, but they have been exploring ways to offset the cost of rallies by getting companies to contribute goods, such as food and equipment.

Bringing in millions of dollars in cash donations, however, is not going to be easy. Only 7 per cent of the charity’s total revenue came from cash gifts last year, according to Mark DeMoss, a spokesman for the group.

In line with the new emphasis on private contributions, participants at the Washington event, which cost about $9-million to stage, were asked to make a voluntary contribution or pledge to Promise Keepers, using an envelope inserted into one million free Bibles that were distributed at the rally by the American Bible Society.

Officials are still processing the returns and cannot yet say how much was raised, Mr. DeMoss said.