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Thinking About Canceling Your Silent Auction? Read This First!

5/24/2019

As a charity auctioneer, I have worked with many nonprofits who choose to eliminate their silent auctions altogether, or make them a fundraising opportunity separate from their annual gala.

There are several reasons for this. The most common is that silent auctions are time consuming to prepare. Silent auctions also tend to have a low return on investment and they require a lot of volunteers to pull off.

The trend with my clients is clear: sixty percent of the nonprofits I work with would rather focus on putting together a large fundraising event with stellar live auction items and an amazing Fund-A-Need.

However, canceling a silent auction doesn’t work for all nonprofits. Schools, for example, can greatly benefit from continuing their silent auctions if they are currently a successful source of revenue. The integration of mobile bidding technology with a traditional silent auction allows schools to increase their reach, encouraging extended family members to support their niece or nephew’s education through an online silent auction.

If your organization chooses not to skip the traditional silent auction event, here are a few tips for maximizing your fundraising:

Hold Two Events
There is no rule that says you can’t hold two separate events. Hold both an exclusive gala and a wider appeal silent auction at different times of the year. Save the big ticket items and direct appeal for your gala event, which will likely include donors with a higher capacity to give.

Fill your silent auction with items that have a broad appeal and a variety of price points. If you hold your gala in the fall, consider scheduling your silent auction in the spring. This way you will be able to capitalize on both segments of your donor population and potentially encourage people to donate twice a year.

Take It Online
Keep costs down by hosting your silent auction online. List your auction items two to three weeks before your live event. People will be able to participate and bid even when they may not be able to attend a live event. Donors will be more than happy to purchase an auction item online to help support the cause with just a few clicks. Mobile bidding technology makes it easier than ever for nonprofit organizations to extend the reach of their silent auction events.

To determine if your organization should cancel your silent auction, take a close look at the time it took to procure each item. Factor in how much your time is worth per hour. If you are surprised by how much money you are spending in time on procuring your items, then it may not be worth it. Imagine what else you could be doing with that time in terms of donor cultivation, donor outreach, and major gift solicitation.

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14 Awesome Auction Games for Your Next Fundraising Event

5/20/2019

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Looking to add an extra something special to your nonprofit’s next fundraising event? Auction games are a great way to change things up and encourage your guests to have fun while donating big dollars.

Here’s a list of fourteen awesome auctions games to consider adding to your next fundraising event.

1. Card Raffle - 52 Card Game
Instead of selling raffle tickets, you sell cards from a deck of cards. Instead of pulling a raffle ticket, you pull a card. There are a limited number of tickets available. Donors are able to pick their lucky card if they so desire.

2. Coin Flip/Heads or Tails
Everyone can participate in Heads or Tails, making it a great game for the beginning of your event.

Heads or Tails is a pay to play event. Guests should sign-up to play before the game begins.

Your event presenter will ask people to choose heads or tails by placing their hands either on their heads or on their butts. A coin is tossed. Those whose hands match the coin flip get to stay standing. Everyone else sits down. Rinse and repeat until only one person remains standing. This person wins the prize.

This is a fairly quick game, taking only a few minutes even with a large crowd.

3. Golden Paddle
Begin with a set amount of raffle tickets sold for higher than your normal raffle ticket price.

The winner of the raffle receives a physical golden paddle. This paddle should be homemade, covered in glitter or embellished with beads, sequins, etc. The paddle has a monetary value attached to it. This is a credit to be used towards one item in the live auction.

Your winner is allowed to bid over the credit of their paddle. They pay the difference. The price tends to end up higher because the golden paddle people get a bit happy and bid up the prices faster.

This is a great game for people who may not normally be able to compete with your larger donors.

Note: This game can be a little difficult to explain. It takes your audience a year or so to understand it, but after that it should be smooth sailing.

Check you my YouTube video all about this awesome game.

4. Golden Ticket
Begin with a set amount of raffle tickets sold for higher than your normal raffle ticket price.

Golden Ticket raffle prizes are typically auction items. The winner is allowed to pull one auction item out of the auction and take it as their prize. You can choose to allow them to pick from all the auction items or just a small selection. This is a really simple game that is easy to understand. It’s a great way for people who don’t have the capacity to participate in the live auction to get in on the action.

Note: You may have just lost one of your auction items. Depending on which item the winner chose, this can hurt. Guard against the hurt by making sure the items available for this game are not going to go for more than $1500-$2000 at auction.

5. Cage Raffle/Lock Box Raffle/Treasure Chest

Place your raffle items inside containers of some type. Sometimes these are see-through containers like birdcages and Plexiglas boxes. Sometimes the containers are opaque like gift boxes or boxes with locks on them.
Raffle off keys to the box(s).
If you have a bunch of boxes, each key should open a box containing a prize. Collect a variety of prizes at a variety of price points. If you have one box, only one key will open the box. If you are only doing one box you should have a prize that is spectacular inside, like an expensive piece of jewelry.

6. Wine Pull
Wrap up an assortment of wine and display them on a wine rack or a table.

Your guests pay a fixed price to take one of the bottles. They are guaranteed to leave with a bottle of wine worth at least what they paid.

Note: Requires a lot of wine. This is a great way to use up an overstock of donated wine.

Want more info on this game? Check out part thirteen of my complete guide to wine at fundraising events.

7. Wine Toss
This one is just like the carnival game.

Attendees can purchase chances to hook a ring over the top of a wine bottle. If they win they take the bottle home.

Note: Requires a lot of wine.

8. Pick a Bag
This works just like the wine pull but without wine. Instead you put gift cards, trinkets, smaller prizes that can fit into a bag, into bags.

Your guests pay a flat fee for their choice of bag.

9. Pass the Purse
Pass a purse around the room and ask people to make a donation.

The contents of the purse are then raffled or auctioned off later in the evening.

10. The Popcorn Game
To play the popcorn game you need a prize that has broad appeal. This game should happen before your last and final Fund-a-Need level.

People can raise their paddles as many times as they want. Each time they do, they commit to an additional donation at the final Fund-A-Need level. The last person who raises their paddle wins the prize.

Note: It takes some time to run this game, and the build up is slow - like popping popcorn. Sometimes donors don’t understand that every time they raise their panel they are bidding again. These donations are not straight donations, this game technically counts as a raffle so check your state laws to make sure this game can be played near you.
Take a look at my video on the popcorn game for more info.

11. Lucky 7
A silent auction game that gives your guests a chance to win an extra prize.

On your bid sheet you highlight the seventh line. People who bid on the seventh line are automatically entered into a raffle to win a prize. If one person bids on multiple seventh lines that person gets entered more than once.

After the silent auction concludes, pull the Lucky 7 winner.

Lucky 7 can be a little confusing when you first introduce it but after that people love it.

For more information, check out my YouTube video.

12. Fast and Furious
A live or silent auction where gift cards are sold for face value. First paddle up, wins.

Note: In order for this game to make your nonprofit money you need to get the gift cards donated to your event.

13. Centerpiece Auction
Sell or auction your centerpieces during the event.

Each table holds their own auction of their centerpiece. Instruct each table to pick the most outgoing person to serve as their auctioneer.

The highest bidder takes the centerpiece.

14. Dessert Dash
A Fund-A-Need auction for desserts. Your guests make a straight donation for their pick of desserts. Like any other Fund-A-Need, start at a highest donation level, say $100, and work your way down.

Attendees must donate if they want dessert, the earlier they donate the more choices they have.

Attendees are encouraged to run to the dessert table to make their selection. The last to donate get whatever is left over.

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AmazonSmile: The Simplest Donation Your Nonprofit Ever Received

5/17/2019

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I love Amazon. Who doesn’t?

Amazon is now an integral part of my life. Everything from baby formula, hats, sunscreen, protein bars, socks, etc., can be delivered to my door in two days or less. It’s quite amazing. But did you know that Amazon is a major player in the philanthropy space? AmazonSmile is the future of Box Tops for Education and eScrip. If your school, church, nonprofit or foundation is looking for an effortless and free method of fundraising then AmazonSmile is for you.

How it Works
AmazonSmile is a program that allows a small percentage of all Amazon purchases to kickback to the nonprofit of the Amazon customer’s choice. The AmazonSmile Foundation donates 0.5 percent of the total purchase price.

Why Your Nonprofit Should Use AmazonSmile
The sign-up process is super easy. It takes virtually no time at all. Your donors just have to select your organization and start shopping.

Millions of people are already shopping through Amazon, including your donors. Why not capitalize on it?

The Details of AmazonSmile
When signing up for AmazonSmile, donors can only choose one charity to receive the donation at a time. They can, of course, change this charity at any time but most donors are unlikely to go through the trouble. Typically, Amazon shoppers are going to select their charity once and then forget about it.

As a nonprofit you should know that the money donated comes directly from The AmazonSmile Foundation, not from the individual donors. And your organization only receives one check per month, no matter how many of your supporters shopped with AmazonSmile that month. Amazon aggregates all the money donated from all purchases and then cuts each organization one check. Also, because the money comes from The AmazonSmile Foundation it is not tax deductible for your individual donors.

If your organization does get donations from AmazonSmile, be sure to list The AmazonSmile Foundation as a donor in your DRM as hopefully you’ll be receiving checks on a monthly basis from them.

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15 Fabulous Ways to Say Thank You to Your Donors

5/13/2019

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Ryan Gosling's chiseled abs are one of the most memorable ways I’ve ever seen to thank a donor. No, the supporters didn’t get to touch Ryan’s abs - rather they were sent a photocopy of Ryan Gosling with a speech bubble saying “Hey Girl, Thanks for donating to ACN. You’re really sexy when you help kids with autism.” This was over three years ago and it is still the best donor thank you I have ever seen. It was simple, easy to produce, and totally social media worthy.

Thanking your donors regularly is a vital part of running a successful nonprofit fundraising campaign. You must show your donors that their donations are needed and appreciated, otherwise they will stop giving. Maybe not immediately. But over time your donor base will dwindle if you don’t show your thanks. Saying thank you doesn’t need to be expensive or time consuming.

Donors who are active in the nonprofit world and passionate about philanthropy receive multiple thank you letters each year. As a nonprofit, showing your thanks and appreciation in ways that are memorable and fun helps you stand out from the crowd.

From automated thank you messages to handwritten cards, I’ve got fifteen ways to show your appreciation for your donors.

But first!

When should you thank your donors?

Literally all the time.

I believe that more is more. Donors should receive a thank you for every single donation they make. Recurring, yearly, special event, and one-off donations all demand a thank you of some kind. It’s also appropriate to thank your long-term donors on the anniversary of their first gift, at holidays, after the completion of major projects or outreach efforts, and at any other time you can think of.

Most importantly, your thank yous should never include an ask for another donation. Asking for money at every turn is a surefire way to push your donors away. Instead use this opportunity for donor cultivation and engagement. Offer other ways your donors might get involved or provide updates on the work your nonprofit is doing. Or just reach out and have a conversation to get some updates on your donors’ lives.

With that out of the way, here are fifteen creative and easy ways to thank your donors!

Thank You Letters
The most traditional way to thank donors is with a thank you letter. Handwritten or typed, these letters should always be signed by a board member or director. Thank you letters should be personalized with at least the donors name and donation amount. Take it to the next level by mentioning exactly what their donation was used for and how their dollars have made a difference.

Phone Calls/Phone-A-Thon
Another classic thank you comes in the form of a phone call. Call your donors up and thank them personally for their donation. You can even make a day of it by running a Phone-A-Thon. This is especially useful after large events when there are many donors to thank. Get your staff together with some volunteers and spend an afternoon calling everyone who made a donation during your last fundraising push or event.

Automatic Thank You Emails for Online Donations
This one should be a no-brainer for nonprofits wanting to keep pace with today’s technological landscape. Setting up automated thank you emails after every online donation is a small way to show your donors that you appreciate their gift. As with written letters, these emails should be personalized with the donor’s name and donation amount.

Welcome Packages For New Donors
Welcome packages are an awesome way to show new donors that you appreciate their support. Put together baskets of locally-sourced products or gift cards from local businesses. Get these items donated when you can. This is an awesome way for local businesses to gain a little extra exposure and for your donors to feel welcomed by the larger community. Include a short letter welcoming your brand new donor and giving them information about how they can get involved in other ways. Don’t forget to personalize it.

A Page on Your Website
Create a page on your website for honoring your donors. Profile your major and minor donors alike. Switch the page out weekly or biweekly to highlight as many donors as possible. Alternatively, highlight your organization's recent projects or outreach efforts with a list of the donors who made your work possible.

Profile Donors in Direct Mail Marketing
Another classic. Create direct mail pieces that highlight both your major and minor donors. Write a profile of your donor or do a short interview. Include how they got into giving and why they choose to contribute to your organization. Touch on how their donation has made your work possible.

Thank You Videos
A great option for the technologically savvy nonprofit, creating short videos to thank your donors puts a new spin on the traditional thank you. Shoot video where your work takes place. If your organization works with animals, show your donors the animals. If your organization just built a playground, show that playground.

There is no better way to show your donors how their dollars are being used than to take them out there where the work is happening.

Anniversary Cards
Send personalized anniversary cards when your donors reach their giving anniversary. This is a simple and easy way to show your donors that you value their long-term commitment and you aren’t going to slack off on your communication over time.

Social Media Posts
For those nonprofits with a strong social media presence, highlighting and thanking donors on social media is a great way to thank people publicly and get the word out about your organization at the same time. These posts don’t have to be long and complicated. Provide a short profile on the donor, a link to their social media account (if applicable), and a short story about how their donation helped your organization make a difference.

Handwritten or Hand Drawn Cards From Beneficiaries
This is a cute and fun way to connect your donors to the people who benefit from their generosity. Have them write thank you cards to your donor explaining how they have benefited from the work your organization does. If your beneficiaries are children, have them draw pictures instead of writing cards. This puts a person on the other end of the donor/organization relationship and helps your donor connect more tangibly to the work you do.

Photo Albums/Photo Book
Put together small photo albums or books during major projects, outreach efforts, and throughout the year. Send these out to your donors as a way of thanking them for the donations that make your work possible. Your donors are likely to place these books on their coffee table where they can be reminded of their connection to your nonprofit.

In Your Annual Report
Including a section in your annual report that highlights your donors and thanks them by name is a great way to get your community and board to see the people behind the donations.

A Personal Visit
This is a great option for your long-term and major donors. Pay them a visit or arrange a meeting a a cafe, park, or restaurant. Not for an ask, just to say hello and thank them for their years of contributions. Nothing says “we appreciate you” more than a face-to-face thank you .

Honor Them
Some organizations like to award plaques to their donors at events. This is a fun way to acknowledge the people who make your work possible. Honor more than just your largest donors. Many of my clients make it a habit to honor their youngest donor, oldest donor, or the donor who has been giving for the longest period of time.

Put it in Print
Take out an ad in your local paper to show your thanks to the entire community. You can mention many of your donors in a single ad. Try doing this once per quarter, listing the donors who gave during that period of time.

Donor Thank You Event
Throw a mid-year or end of year event to show your donors how much you appreciate them. This event doesn’t need to be lavish, but should give your donors time to mingle and connect with board members and staff. This is a great way to honor all of your donors together and celebrate all you have accomplished with their support.

What's your favorite way to thank your donors? Let me know in the comments.

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Thinking About Canceling Your Silent Auction? Read This First!

14 Awesome Auction Games for Your Next Fundraising Event

AmazonSmile: The Simplest Donation Your Nonprofit Ever Received

15 Fabulous Ways to Say Thank You to Your Donors

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