Men’s Group Lays Off Entire Staff

Promise Keepers, the Christian men’s evangelical group best known for holding religious rallies in sports stadiums around the country, is rallying around a new goal: raising enough money to stay in business.

To keep out of the red, the organization announced last month that it was laying off its entire paid staff of 345 people in its Denver headquarters and in seven offices around the country. The employees will receive their last paychecks on March 31.

The layoffs are a striking setback for Promise Keepers, which had grown quickly from its start in 1991. Two years ago, its annual budget reached nearly $100-million. But the move is not a complete surprise, since it comes on the heels of the organization’s announcement last fall that it would stop charging admissions fees to its religious events, relying instead on voluntary contributions. At $60 per person, the fees had accounted for nearly three-quarters of Promise Keepers’ income.

Paul V. Edwards, the group’s director of development, says that last year at this time, Promise Keepers had about $20-million in cash from people who had registered in advance for the 19 stadium events it held in 1997.

A year later, he says, “here’s your difference: We have the same number of events planned, but no cash flow.”

To keep pace with its $67-million budget for 1998, Mr. Edwards says, the group needed to bring in about $11-million in January and February. Donations and profits from product sales for that time totaled less than $7-million.

“I have a broken heart,” Promise Keepers’ founder, Bill McCartney, said in a written statement announcing the layoffs. “But I don’t have a discouraged heart. I have a heart that is filled with hope.” He said that staff members would be rehired when the organization’s revenue increased.

This is not the first time that Promise Keepers has let employees go. During the first half of last year, it slowly reduced the number of staff members from 525 to 345. After stunning growth in its first five years, the organization saw attendance at its stadium rallies start to shrink — along with ticket revenue. In the spring, it had lowered its revenue forecast for 1997 from $117-million to $85-million. Officials now say that last year’s revenue was probably around $75-million.

Promise Keepers’ officials had blamed the drop-off in attendance on a national gathering it held in Washington last fall. Men, they said, chose to attend that event rather than the stadium events. Indeed, the October rally in the nation’s capital — which was free to attend — has been called the largest religious gathering in U.S. history, attracting about a half million participants.

It was in Washington that Promise Keepers announced its decision to stop charging a fee to attend its rallies. Officials said they hoped that free admission would attract a larger and more diverse audience to their events. The first rallies under the new policy are scheduled to begin in May.

In the meantime, Promise Keepers officials point out that the organization will have all its bills paid by the end of this month and that it has enough money to stage its 19 stadium events this year. Promise Keepers’ own grant-making foundation has helped out, giving about $2.5-million to its parent organization. And appeals to churches around the country have already brought in $1.6-million in pledges.

Promise Keepers also plans to step up its appeals for donations from individuals — 12 direct-mail campaigns are scheduled for this year — and to push harder to sell its products, such as religious-music tapes and shirts with the “PK” logo. The organization is also pursuing deals with corporations in which it would collect money for endorsing products or allowing a company to sponsor events. Several such arrangements are pending, but officials declined to give details.

Mr. Edwards says that belief in God and in Promise Keepers’ mission gives leaders of the organization hope that it can become a successful fund-raising charity. He says many employees are expected to stay on as volunteer workers after this month.

But, he admits, the organization may be dealing with a skeptical public. To attract big donors, he says, Promise Keepers must prove its viability over the long haul. And to turn former ticket buyers into donors, the organization must tread lightly.

“We don’t want to turn off the guys whose fear of the church is that it always makes a beeline to their pockets,” Mr. Edwards says. “We don’t want people to say, ‘I’m glad its a free event, but I’m sure they are going to get my money somehow.’ ”

Some observers of the organization and of religious charities around the country wonder whether Promise Keepers will obtain enough money to sustain itself — particularly at the high-energy, high-profile level at which it has operated.

Randall Balmer, professor of religion at Barnard College, says that evangelical movements like Promise Keepers are episodic. He notes that the group was already seeing fewer people come to its events last year. And, he says, sooner or later its support would have dropped whether or not it charged admissions to its events.

“The stadium rallies are sort of rah-rah, exciting events, but that enthusiasm wears off,” Mr. Balmer says. “How many times can you go to one of those things?”

Other observers say they find Promise Keepers’ sudden turn away from its fee-based revenue stream interesting, if not puzzling.

“I understand their faith in God; I have the same faith,” says Scott Preissler, vice-president of the Christian Stewardship Association, an organization of fund raisers based in Milwaukee. “But I’d like to understand their strategic plan. I’d say: ‘What you had seemed so blessed. Tell us about why you did this and what you plan to do.’ ”

J. Gregory Dees, visiting associate professor of social entrepreneurship at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, is intrigued by Promise Keepers’ move to rely on donations, too. He notes that it comes at a time when many charities are doing just the opposite: seeking out ways to become less dependent on private contributions. The Promise Keepers’ case is especially interesting, he says, because decisions there appear to be based on more than just the charity’s values and bottom line.

“When you have a charismatic leader who believes he is leading according to the will of God, you are no longer dealing with conventional management issues,” says Mr. Dees.

Some of Promise Keepers’ critics — including politically liberal groups and those that advocate the separation of church and state — say they are watching the organization now as closely as ever. They have argued — despite protestations from Promise Keepers officials — that the organization is interested in garnering political support for the religious right. And they worry that if Promise Keepers needs a financial bailout, it is likely to become even more closely tied with religious-right groups.

“If you’re desperate for money and you believe in what you are doing, you’ll take money from James Dobson, Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson,” says Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, in Washington. “This would clearly put Promise Keepers into the political arena they say they are not a part of.”

Mr. Dobson’s group, Focus on the Family, in Colorado Springs, gave seed money to Promise Keepers and has offered to help once again. Mr. Edwards says that Promise Keepers has refused the donation but that it has accepted the opportunity for its leaders to be guests on the Focus on the Family radio broadcast. An appearance was scheduled for this month..

“Are some going to view that as selling out? Yes,” Mr. Edwards says. “Is it selling out? No.” He adds that Promise Keepers has no intention of getting involved with political issues.

Paul D. Nelson, president of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a watchdog group based in Virginia, says his organization has monitored Promise Keepers, too. And, he says, it will continue to examine Promise Keepers closely, especially as the charity deals with the changes in the way it gets its revenue.

Promise Keepers, Mr. Nelson says, has always been above board about how it raises and spends its money. And, he adds, it will ultimately be decided by the organization’s potential donors whether the group made the right move in turning from ticket sales to donations.

“The public has every right to judge whether or not this has been a smart thing for Promise Keepers,” Mr. Nelson says. “Only time will tell that.”