What Factors Encourage Families to Attend Community Events?

by Debra Ross

Community event organizers find themselves endlessly frustrated when they schedule events for kids, teens, and families, but fewer participants arrive than registered. What factors most encourage families to attend? What factors can negatively affect attendance? KidsOutAndAbout.com conducted a survey of its readers in July and August, 2015. KidsOutAndAbout.com readers are 85% parents, 15% grandparents, 82% women, and although we did not ask for demographic information when offering this survey so as to make it more appealing for parents to answer quickly, we expect that those who answered the survey represent approximately the same population. Here are the results.

Question 1: When parents register their kids or families to attend community events or activities, what best encourages them actually to attend that day?

What MOST encourages parents to bring their kids to events?

Knowing their kids really want to go

70.83% say this is very important
26.79% say this is somewhat important
2.38% say this is not important

Having paid in advance

64.88% say this is very important
26.19% say this is somewhat important
8.93% say this is not important

Parking must be free

47.62% say this is very important
42.86% say this is somewhat important
9.52% say this is not important

Being reminded by email

38.24% say this is very important
54.12% say this is somewhat important
7.65% say this is not important

What MODERATELY encourages parents to bring their kids to events?

Having friends who will also be attending

34.91% say this is very important
43.20% say this is somewhat important
21.89% say this is not important

Location must be close to home

33.14% say this is very important
53.25% say this is somewhat important
13.61% say this is not important

Having been to this event in the past

27.81% say this is very important
51.48% say this is somewhat important
20.71% say this is not important

Being reminded by text the morning of

32.93% say this is very important
33.53% say this is somewhat important
33.53% say this is not important

What factors may encourage attendance but seem to be a bit less important?

Free food at the event

26.35% say this is very important
35.93% say this is somewhat important
37.72% say this is not important

Knowing personally the people running the event

23.21% say this is very important
31.55% say this is somewhat important
45.24% say this is not important

Knowing they'll get a free goody bag or prizes to take home

19.64% say this is very important
27.98% say this is somewhat important
52.38% say this is not important

2. If you were signing up for a free event that had limited attendance, if the organizers asked you to pay $5 for your family in advance to hold your place (you'd be refunded when you got there), would that make you:

More inclined to sign up: 13.61%

Less inclined to sign up: 34.91%

It would have no effect on whether I sign up: 51.48%

3. If you had paid $5 in the above scenario, would that make you:

More inclined to actually show up at the event: 71.18%

Less inclined to actually show up at the event: 4.12%

It would have no effect on whether I show up: 24.71%

Freeform comments section

Comments about what might prevent families from attending

If another event comes up (e.g., a friend schedules a birthday party) The weather - this could make me more inclined to either cancel or show up depending on whether it is an inside or outside activity Price much more than $5 - gotta be closer to $40 or more that I would end up losing if o did not attend Friends expecting me and the kids at an event is most important bc I would not want to let them down.
Events that are scheduled near the end of the school year before the summer break as we normally have lots of school events to attend that time of year and any extra events are normally missed. If the events are late in the evening.
We skip events if there are multiple events happening on the same day at the same time. We don't want to leave one event to attend another. Toddler tantrums/nap times also lead us to skip events.
No reminder about date and time a few days in advance.
Cranky kids would make my family skip event.
Too busy
In addition to question # 3.... I would 99% of the time never mention the event and skip it all together because of the on line payment "hold my spot in line". Only on a rare occasion would my family participate .... I can say I haven't canceled showing up to anything I have registered for.... I actually get it that people plan well in advance for things...
I might be willing to let go of $5 but $10 or more would be harder. However I also would be less likely to sign up for the event at all since I would be afraid that if something went wrong at home I'd lose that money (kid sick, temper-tantrums, etc).
When kids are sick. If there is a number to call or a way to contact the event, is helpful.
I skip events when I know things will go a little crazy. When it is in a place I know I can't get out of easily. When I can't plan ahead of time.
If I wasn't certain that there would be something there - an activity, event, character, whatever - that would entertain my child, I would be more likely to skip. I can't have fun if I'm dragging a whiny child around. He needs to be excited by his surroundings
We will skip events if I find out there will be unhealthy food offered to my children. If I commit to going to an event then our family will be there (unless someone is ill or in the case of bad weather). I would not pay to keep a spot as we often have family visit and if this is impromptu then they could not join. Also, I like to decide at the last minute if we will attend as sometimes children are tired - especially if the event is partly in the afternoon when they nap.
I think over planning because there are so many things to do.
Regarding paying for the event to hold my place, it might make me feel better about skipping the event since I would feel the organizers would be compensated either way. Selfish, of course, as it means someone else might not get the opportunity to go. I think I'm more like to attend if registration is called RSVP just because I feel psychological pressure to make it happen with those 4 letters. Registration sounds too impersonal for me to feel guilty about it.
Austin has many competing events. I have never stood an organizer up, but I could see how weather or competing events could get in the way.
Why I skip events: Sick kids, forgetting about it until it's passed, rain if it's outdoors, not relevant to the ages of ALL of my kids (teen vs school-age vs toddler vs baby)
Overly tired. Going home after work and before the event is dangerous because I'm less likely to leave again. Not feeling well or a sick child. Child doesn't want to go. Forgetting about it either entirely or until the day of or the day before the event. Bad weather.
Age limits - pack all the kids up for something only a couple kids can participate in
Bad weather, but yeah, that's out of your hands. Your kid waking up in a raging bad mood. If people aren't showing up to an event, then that can be a good indicator that it's not something worth putting on anymore. Or maybe they need to change things up. Maybe negative word of mouth after signing up is deterring some people.
Why parents skip events: too tired got busy kids cranky forgot I think you hit the keys above though: if you're meeting friends, it you paid something to go, if you've been before and know you like it, if your kids are really psyched about it -- those things make people show up.
I skip events only if I haven't registered for them or there is an unavoidable situation like illness or car breakdown. There are events I consider but don't attend because as a full time working mother my weekend can easily be eaten up by grocery shopping and laundry. Also, my son cannot go to events with an opportunity to spend money and not get upset if he doesn't get something--food, toy, etc. so I avoid those confrontations and don't go in the first place.
I usually make it to things I sign up for, but I know I've missed events I planned on attending (that didn't require sign up) from sickness or child suddenly doesn't want to go/having an off day and the tantrum isn't worth risking a public issue. Also weather in Rochester can be an issue.
Busy schedules cause changes all the time... 3-5 people have in mind doing same or different activites & things change. People working more & tired when time to actually go to events. Don't stop events, don't get discouraged. We love them & do what we can to participate. *more event info *more advanced (earlier) info of event. *most important...email/text reminders!!! An area to easily "uncommit"
I personally think there is too much for kids to do nowadays. When my daughter was born 11 yrs ago I tried cramming in so many of the things on your site, now I am burnt out. All we both want to do is hang out at home. I personally would not RSVP and not show up, but I have a feeling people who do are way overbooked; trying to do it all. Now when we do activities it has to be an exceptional program. That is the hardest part for us, sorting the good from the great.
Discipline issues. You can never really predict day-to-day what mischief your kids will get into. If you've already signed up for an event when this happens, some parents feel that to still go to the event is sending the wrong message and rewarding bad behavior. If you're lucky, you may have to do this only one time, especially if it is something that they REALLY wanted to do. REALISTICALLY though, not many of us are THAT lucky!!!(:
I think that the age of the kids in the family can greatly affect attendance. For me, I sign my 5 year old up for things, but if the 1 year olds nap schedule is off, we just have to bail. A lot of the time I wish I could call to let the organizers know that we won't make it if I know ahead of time (so that if there's any chance of them admitting extra people at the door, at least they'll know our spot so free) but the phone numbers aren't always easy to find.
As a family with 2 working parents, our free time is limited. Sometimes we choose to do activities with our kids, but this means we lose time to do our "regular life" stuff like grocery shopping, exchanging books at the library, etc. even with the best intentions we sometimes need to reevaluate and decide it's just too much and we need to take care of "life" or just have some time at home for all of us to breathe.
Weather may effect my attendance.
Emergencies, sick child, work related issue came up
If I sign up for something I generally attend. However, if it is an event geared toward children if they are sick or there is another family emergency that could interfere.
Especially for events a parent is planning for their children, if the child becomes ill or doesn't want to go, that can cause last minute changes too. Another thing seems to be culturally we have so much at our fingertips and also in our community. We have to pick and choose and be sure not to over schedule as well.
We are the type of family that attends what we have signed up for even if we will be a little late arriving (because one child had to go potty last minute or whatever). We only cancel if someone wakes up sick (which does happen unfortunately). In another organization I am involved in, MOMS club, we have also noticed this trend of people who have RSVPd and then don't show up without letting anyone know they won't be coming. As you said, it is frustrating when effort has gone into preparing for an event! Hopefully you share what you learn from this survey so we can take advantage of the knowledge you gain as well! Thanks!
Weather, child illness, iffy time of day, not a great experience in the past.
More important family obligations or events that pop up, weather (raining, too cold, too hot), illness, or simply too tired (either myself or my child). I am not sure what can be done to prevent these things from happening.
Last minute conflicts, especially with stuff on the school calendar, and illness have made us skip events in the past.
I have signed up for things at the library and didn't attend because I started doing something else and totally forgot and another time got invited to something better at the last minute.
I agree that this is such a huge problem and I find it to be so rude. It has ruined several moms groups for me because the other moms say they are going to show up and then they don't, so it is VERY important to me to show up if I say I am going to. The only thing that keeps me from attending would be a sick child. I think reasons other parents don't show up are they are already overextended, forgetful, or lazy.
I can see not showing up if an unavoidable emergency occurs or if a child is sick or hurt.
Sometimes events can be unorganized - that can make it less likely for one to attend. Weather issues - talk about that ahead of time so people know what to do if it rains Special parking for those who pay ahead of time
Time, prep time, how excited my child is (We would never miss a ballerina dinosaur event lol). I've been yelled at by a teacher for not being early to a class for my oldest when they had construction onsite that delayed us- this is a deterrent to arriving late- why go at all? I'm delaying signing my child up for a year of stringent classes because she is not allowed to miss a single one even though she has "unbelievable potential" because I doubt our ability to meet that perfect standard. Please know we are so thankful for those that set things up! Oh also more likely to go to events on weekends because my husband is home to help ie he can drive while I put makeup on in the car on the way;)
Sometimes it's a lack of knowledge of what they've committed to, sometimes things do come up, but mostly, I think more often than not, they're signing up for events because they think it's what someone else wants them to do. Be clear in descriptions, stress that sign up is voluntary, and follow up with signed up participants frequently after they sign up, being clear at each follow up that it's ok to cancel if they're no longer interested.
Some factors that cause parents to skip events is that they forget, or they have something come up like having to take care of a family member who is sick. It could also be that the overbooked themselves because they scheduled it too far in advance and then forgot about it and scheduled something else.
I've only skipped because I forgot to put it in my calendar or a sick child. Being able to directly add an event to my iPhone calendar would be helpful so I could set a reminder.
If a kid get sick then its best if a parent keeps them at home then to expose others kids.
Honestly, the weather and my kids' mood that day affect whether or not we attend--obviously nothing organizers can control!
I don't make common practice of skipping events that I say I will attend but if I did do that I would like the reason I didn't attend was some circumstance that I had no control over. Let's say it's a birthday party... so I've RSVP's yes for a child and bought a gift (financial obligation met) then the day of the party comes. The only reasons my child would then not attend was if they got sick or if behavior was an issue. I would feel bad for the parent who planned on my child being there but life comes at you and you have to deal. I would rather not show up then show my child that their bad behavior is acceptable and rewarded by doing what they want to do. I planned events professionally... the best rule of thumb to go by is to always count on 20% less than what is planned.
I think some people sign up without being 100% sure they want or able to go. They don't put a lot of stock in saying yes. Overly casual in my mind. I like events with a "maybe" option. It indicates definite interest without having to commit. Not sure how organizers feel about that though.
Just forgetting is #1, and then something unexpected coming up that can't be avoided/controlled.
Emergencies too many commitments/exhaustion weather- rain is a big one As far as question 2 is concerned: I think it depends. As a parent, I would definitely wait until I am absolutely sure I'm coming before committing which is good, but also difficult for those running the event. I know that often food and other items need to be purchased in advance. It's a catch 22 :)
I'm not sure what is causing this behavior - I am conscientious about being where I said I would be and if I've committed to something, I do it! But I see this type of behavior abound in other realms - we've had TWO families who signed up their kids with ours for camps this summer change their plans without telling us, leading to transportation scrambles for us and hurt feelings for our kids who felt they'd been ditched. It seems that everyone wants to do what works best for them and doesn't care if they are disappointing or inconveniencing others. I really have to wonder what this type of behavior by parents is teaching the children!
Although I haven't attended many events with registration required, I think maybe when people register they might be looking for a way to be reminded of the option and get it on their calendar. If there are no repercussions for not showing up (like you're unable to register for a future event), or if they don't know the organizers personally, they have no accountability and don't think it's a big deal to skip out.
We have skipped events only if the kids were too tired (nap time was definitely needed) or it was difficult to get to (because it competed with dinner time/bedtime).
I also hate it when people RSVP and don't show up. Many reasons are valid- kids are sick, weather concerns, etc. but that doesn't excuse at least a phone call to the persons/establishment to apologize.
The things that usually discourage me from going anywhere 1) if I planned to go 2 weeks ago, but the day arrives and I have no money to spend like I thought I would 2) not feeling enthusiastic about the event anymore (maybe a simple text message might do the trick or an email w/a list of events or photos to keep me excited) 3) I simply forget (again, the text reminder might help)
If the weather is uncooperative (too hot, too cold, raining)
Bad weather causes people to skip. Organizers often prepare for an event without considering rain or the intense summer heat. Many parents don't want to take their kids out in the heat. I'm less inclined to attend an outdoor event if it's being held during the peak 10 am to 2 pm time when the sun is at its highest and risk of sunburn is higher. Events in the summer need indoor options.
We are a family of six with one parent income. Things that may cause our family to skip an event would be an event that showed up that is MORE interesting, lateness in the day and having to travel, and yucky weather.
Free events never seem to have a commitment attached to them. I'm not saying this is the right way to think, but when you sign up for something free, you don't feel guilty skipping it.
The biggest factor that causes me to skip events is a cranky child or a tired child or a misbehaving child. The next biggest factor is that the friends with whom We planned to go with change their mind & don't want to go anymore.
If events are scheduled at nap time, there is a good chance the kids will lose it before we get there. If the activity has been done before, post pics and videos from prior years. If it hasn't, post pictures of prep. Make sure it is a quality program that is age appropriate if my kids are bored or I feel it wasn't worth my time, I won't come back. Free shouldn't mean sub-par. If you can't offer a free, quality event, then have people pay.

Comments about what encourages families to attend

The more work on the parents part to join the event - the more likely to skip. The less complicated it is to go to the event, and the more helpful to make it easy to join in - the more likely to go. To encourage attendance, hold the event in an easy-to-travel-to-and-find location with plenty of close free parking (near public transportation hubs if that is target market). Identify your target market, and choose an appropriate venue that makes it easy for guests to attend. On site donation box at the door & pass the hats work better than charging for tickets. Have an "update your RSVP" requirement 12-24 hours prior to event that provides an entrance code/ticket to get in for free. Otherwise $5.
Schedules, packing - schedules, packing. It all comes down to 'how much extra work will this take to get us out the door' and will it be easy to navigate when I get there, or do we have to buy tickets, find parking, go to special booth first, etc. You really want to make getting there and getting started as easy as possible - so idea above to pay $5 and then refund when I get there sounds very annoying; I'd rather you just keep the $5 if it guarantees my spot and let me avoid another line when I get there, because chances are when I arrive I'm already going to have to find bathroom and gear-up or gear-down kids depending on weather. Hope this helps!
Timing of the events are important. In nice weather months there are many things to choose from (competition). We are more likely to attend events (e.g family yoga, story time, etc...) in the winter and spring to get out of the house.
A monetary refund would be good, but not the deciding factor of where we would go. Weather is also a factor, but we have no control over that. Small children in strollers are at ground level and too close to dogs brought by other people. PLEASE have more events that exclude animals. Children in strollers are, basically, captives. They cannot avoid an animal that comes up to them. Some are afraid, some have allergies. PLEASE seriously consider having animal-free events. After all, isn't the safety of our children a higher priority than having fun? Thanks.
I would really like it if event organizers charged $5 or MORE (to be refunded) because I've been shut out of events that I know had space for me & my family but others didn't show.
I would be less inclined to pay the $5 if I could not get it back upon a cancellation. For some of these events, you need to register months in advance to reserve your spot. However, it's hard to know what may come up months later on your family calendar. We of course try to make it a priority if we signed up for an event and if we cannot attend, we cancel in advance. However, if I had to pre-pay to hold my spot but I'd lost that amount even if I cancel in ample time, i'd be less willing to pay a fee upfront. Thanks.
(From a Director of Cultural Events at a recreation center): Reminders and good images in your marketing usually help. There is always is a big swing factor in this town as to who will show up, because everything is only about 20 min form home and last minute decisions can be made easily.
Events need to be done with things to do for multiple age groups. My kids are 6 years apart so this is important to our family. If a free event is in a small revenue with lots of people I'm less inclined to go. There is nothing worse than being crammed in somewhere with a bunch of people and trying to enjoy an event. If an event is free but charge extraodinary amounts for parking or food we won't go. I'd rather pay an entrance fee and go somewhere else. And lastly if the event is far from our home we won't attend. We live in new Houston so we won't go downtown or southwest or south east for anything.
Summer is packed with activities, could organizers schedule dates in fall? I'm a parent of children in widely different age categories, therefore at times I need to choose who go to their event and who will wait until the next outing.
Rush-Henrietta charges $5 for some family programs and then gives you your check back if you show up. If you don't, then they cash it. There is also limited participation for their events - so, for ones we really wanted to go to, I made sure that I got my check and registration in ASAP. This definitely deterred me from signing us up for programming we had a casual interest in participating in.
I have kids of fairly wide age ranges, so it's important to me to have a good idea of what is being planned during the event to ensure everyone is catered for.
If I absolutely loved the event and was sure it was going to be worthwhile, I might do the $5 deposit. Otherwise I would just skip the event entirely. There are so many other things for families to do with a couple of hours, it would rally have to be worth the hassle.
I think some flexibility in arrival time helps. Rather than having to arrive at a set time, that way if something unexpected happens we can still go without being late. For our family, things that cause us not to attend would be things like illness or change in our work schedule.
I'm more likely to attend an event that has a large window of time for attendance, i.e., activities going on for several hours, as opposed to a couple hours and you'll miss it if you aren't there on time.
Time of the event is major to my decision to attend with so many other activities children have. Also engaging art experiences would entice me to make the effort to attend.

Other comments/ suggestions:

A follow up event box on website where people can post why they were not able to attend. Perhaps something along the line of one box for event feedback and another for missed event feedback. There are times i am not able to attend something & i go to the website to see what kind of stuff i missed out on. "Were you able to attend xxx event? Yes or no. If yes, ask for feedback. If no "sorry we missed you, what happened?" Perhaps generic answers able to select or open comment box.
I want to say that I run events for large consumer events, and we always had a 50 percent verification rate on free tix...and we had a ton to offer. My suggestion is if there is limited capacity, increase that capacity by a hundred percent to make up for the fall off. That will get your folks the numbers they need.
Well I'm speaking of my experience before so my advice is to have an email contact with the people. I had won a set of tickets before to the Nutcracker, and I had to cancel like 2 days before because my kid was having a surgery. It was very helpful to be able to contact someone so they can pass my tickets over to another family.
$ is pretty nominal- now make it $20 and I'll probably be more inclined to show up.
Re: $5 deposit, it would strike me as weird and vaguely annoying, but not enough to stop me from pre-registering.
$5 is a small enough amount that if something comes up, a lot of families would just miss out on the money. It also could prevent some families who are low income to not come, as they may not be able to pay it, even if it's refunded.
Re the $5, it's a hassle that would make me not sign up cuz I'm sick of entering my credit card online ... and then at the end of the day, if a kid gets sick or my world is crazy, $5 isn't gonna make me go just cuz I paid something. Too small of an amount. For a stressed mom, money doesn't matter ... even $100 concert tickets will go unused if it means my sanity (if I don't attend if my day blows up)
For parents who do not drive, do not have a car, being on a bus line would be a great idea as well! If changing stations or motherhood rooms are not available, that would be idea as well. Sometimes, mothers need to breastfeed, or take their children for a break from the excitement. For parents who have special needs children, making sure that some of those needs are attended to as well, which is why have a separate area that isn't as noisy is a good idea.
What I do in the world is work with people to help them have more accountability mainly to themselves. We make promises and break them all the time. Yes things come up with our kids that is only natural but I think that accounts for a smaller percentage than we think. Parents often use their children as the excuse for why they are not following through. This is a generalization however I think holds merit based on my experiences in the field. It's important to hold people accountable for their commitments whatever the commitments are, people don't recognize it but how much they uphold their commitments directly relates to their self esteem and their world view overall.
For question 2 above, if I could be paid back in cash when I got there I would be fine with that. But if I paid $5 online to hold a space it will probably have been through my credit card or paypal, so how would I be paid back right when I got there? It's a good idea in theory but in reality I'm wondering how it would be executed.
Four children with the oldest being six. We homeschool and a lot of events seem to exclude age ranges. Our children are 6, 4, 2 and almost 1. There are not a lot of events out there that include all age ranges. Sad.
I always show up. I think just once I didn't because my daughter was sick, but I contacted the organizers in the morning and said we would not be there. I am glad you are doing the survey, and looking forward to the results, because I am frequently involved in helping organize events. It is extremely frustrating, and lately I have been less inclined to do things. I figure why should I care more about people's kids they they do. I really don't think there is much the organizers can do to make sure people show up, unfortunately. I honestly think that people just don't care about other people's time and effort. The people that are chronically late need to start to learn to get their kids ready early, then leave 10 minutes before they actually need to. I think it all comes down to responsibility.
My community plans events that are always early afternoon or early evening, nap time and bedtime for a toddler. Then, they'll say it is from 12 to 5, we go at 330 after nap and everyone is closing up attractions and packing up booths. This makes me inclined not to bother at all because I promise him were going to do something and end up with a disapointed child.
I under promise and over deliver. I too am frustrated by the lack of RSVPs or people not showing up when they have RSVP-ed.

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