There will be no Sagebrush fundraiser in 2012. The event will take a one-year break following the unsuccessful debut of an expanded format this year.

Previous versions of Sagebrush, including the Classic and the Classic Feast, have raised more than $3 million over 23 years. But this year, the Deschutes Brewery-founded fundraiser spread over six months and included events like private dinners and a scavenger hunt.

More than 100 nonprofits participated this year, and together they raised about $750,000. That money was earmarked for individual nonprofits, and the Sagebrush events were meant to raise more money for a matching fund. However, the matching fund reached a mere $31,000.

Gary Fish, president of Deschutes Brewery and Sagebrush, said the expanded event had been a risk.

“We thought that it had the potential of kind of reinventing how nonprofits raised money. Like most risks, they don’t all pay off,” Fish said.

Nonetheless, the nonprofits involved were able to raise some money. For example, Abilitree, formerly CORIL, raised about $9,300 and received another $400 through the Sagebrush matching fund. Abilitree Executive Director Jim Lee said he’d hoped for matching funds around 30 to 40 percent, which would have raised the nonprofit’s total to about $12,000.

Despite the disappointing results, Lee praised the event and Fish because Sagebrush brought so many nonprofits together. Lee suggested that the complexity of the event and the weak economy undermined the Sagebrush effort, but noted that other factors probably contributed, too.

“It just didn’t succeed as it was designed to succeed. To say it was any one thing that caused that is probably short-sighted,” said Lee, who also sits on the Sagebrush advisory council.

Fish said the 2013 event will probably be similar to the golf-and-dinner format of previous years. The model behind the 2011 Sagebrush is workable, Fish said, but it demands particularly heavy overhead and management. Taking next year off was a difficult decision, but one that will allow organizers to plan the event anew, Fish said.

“We’re all very attached to (Sagebrush). It’s played a significant role in the community. We want to make sure all the effort it takes to execute that event … really pays off for nonprofits.”