The biggest contributor to the event’s continued success year over year is to have “a strong core of participants who care about the cause, and a team of people who are committed to making this event the best possible player experience possible.”

The challenge Baycrest typically faces is to keep the event fresh and exciting every year. Considering the fact that the event occurs annually, there’s always the need to reinvent and add new things to engage participants, particularly ones who return year after year.

One way that Baycrest was able to maintain an emotional connection with participants was by reinforcing the message behind the event. “We never had someone who has been affected by Alzheimer’s talk about it in front of a crowd during draft night, but then we had a couple stand up in front of audience and discuss the challenges of Alzheimer’s for the husband – who has it – and the wife, who has to see it every day.” This emotional story made for a memorable draft night, as well as reminding participants of the deeper cause behind the fun event.

As far as goals for the event, the end goal is clear: “To make residents of the GTA more aware of the significant impact Baycrest Health Sciences has on Alzheimer’s and dementia research and innovation in the GTA community.”

If you’re a charitable foundation looking to start holding your own event like Scotiabank Pro-Am for Alzheimer’s, take a page out of Baycrest’s book and leverage your connections – you might be surprised at who’s willing to help. And once you begin making your event an annual occurrence, continue to find new ways to surprise and engage your participants – it’s the key to creating not only regular participants, but potential supporters for life.