- Call everyone who made a donation and thank them personally. Try to start a conversation your new donors to understand why they came to your event, what interests them about your organization, and offer to give them a tour of your facilities.
- Call everyone who came to your event but did not make a donation. Thank them for coming and ask them why they came to the event, what interests them about your organization, and provide them a tour of your organization as well. Just because they didn’t donate on a particular night doesn’t mean you still can’t gain a future donation from these individuals.
- Send A Video Thank You message. Videos are powerful and engaging tools tool. Plus, with most smartphones they are cheap and easy to make. Have your clients, staff or board saying ‘Thank You’ in a video and embed it in an email. Emails with videos get a much higher open rate than text emails. In this way you are more likely to create a memorable moment with your event attendees. I suggest that my clients try using Thank View - a customized video email company. They are simple to use and quite reasonably priced as a personalized way to thank donors.
- Use a survey tool like Survey Monkey to ask for feedback from all guests. People will be more willing to give their opinion if you attach an incentive, like a $10 gift card to a local coffee shop or event to Itunes. Ask simple yes/no questions about topics like the food and entertainment to make your next event is responsive to the wants and needs of your guests. Make sure your survey is less than 10 questions so that people actually complete it.
- Debrief the event with your Board of Directors. Have an honest conversation about what worked and didn’t work at the event. Talk about elements of the event that you would keep and elements that you would change. At this board meeting, you should lock in your date for the event, venue, and fundraising auctioneer for the upcoming year.
- Last but not least, schedule a dedicated email or Thank-a-thon about three to four months after your event, usually around a holiday. For example, if your event took place in June, schedule your phone-a-thon around Halloween. Call the people who came to your event and made a donation, tell them how much you appreciate your gift, and give them an update on how your organization has used their funds in the four months since the event. This kind of personalized follow-up will keep your donors engaged are more likely to donate again.
In the week after a major event like your annual gala or fundraising charity auction, many people associated with the event feel a sense of paralysis. The Development Director and event planners feel like they’ve spent a lot of time and energy to meet their fundraising goal, and at the moment, it doesn’t seem as if there is another goal in site. Here are some ways to keep that momentum and make sure you stay on track to meet you next fundraising goals.
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My favorite podcast of the moment is the Cause Talk Radio Podcast. Each week, Megan Strand (Engage for Good’s Communication Director @meganstrand) and Joe Waters of SelfishGiving.com @joewaters interview top industry experts on their initiatives that successfully combine cause and commerce. The podcast focuses on the way that brands and nonprofits partner to benefit both the cause and the bottom line. Think of it as social responsibility for major brands. Now, more than ever, brands are aligned with a specific cause. Walgreens is involved with Red Nose Day to help end childhood poverty. Nissan partners with Habitat for Humanity to build affordable housing in communities across the country so that families can build long-term financial security and build a better future for themselves. And JetBlue’s Soar with Reading is designed to inspire and encourage kids' imaginations to take flight through reading.
I love Cause Talk Radio podcast because it helps nonprofits understand that every large company is looking for a philanthropic partner. Nonprofits should plug into this podcast to spur ideas on how your organization could partner with a larger company to increase awareness and funds for your nonprofit initiatives. For more Fundraising Charity Auction ideas and helpful tips on planning your next charity fundraiser, follow Generosity Auctions on Facebook or Instagram @GenerosityAuctions. Abra Annes is the leading Charity Auctioneer based in California. Abra is the owner and founder of Generosity Auctions, the premier choice for Non-Profit Organizations looking to maximize their event fundraising. If you’re thinking about ways to save money at your next charity gala fundraiser, an easy way to cut costs is on your centerpieces. Your centerpieces don’t have to be elaborate or extravagant. In fact, you can pick up a lot of the materials for a creative and beautiful centerpieces at your local dollar store. Here are some examples of some centerpieces I have seen at recent charity fundraiser. 1. A movie themed fundraiser can include a centerpiece with a plastic popcorn container with fake flowers, popcorn, and Red Vines. Each centerpiece was created for less than $5. 2. Hosting a Speakeasy themed fundraiser? Put together a centerpiece with some feathers in an empty Jack Daniels bottle. Contact a local bar before your event and they can save empty liquor bottles for this low cost centerpiece. The cost of each centerpiece was less than $2. 3. I recently attended a charity gala that had a centerpiece that included a blowup guitar with Saturday Night Live characters printed out and attached to tongue depressors. This was a great centerpiece for a Saturday Night Live theme. Buy the blow-up musical instruments in bulk for deep savings. 4. If your fundraiser has a rustic theme, you can use red bandanas as napkins with a mason jar filled with pretty flowers as the centerpiece. Bandanas run about 65 cents which brings the total price of these centerpieces to $4.00 including flowers from Trader Joe’s. 5. Is your school or library having an auction? Use books that are already in the classroom for a centerpiece that costs $0.00. Tie a ribbon around the books to keep them together and looking need. Group books by color for a stunning effect. For more Fundraising Charity Auction ideas and helpful tips on planning your next charity fundraiser, follow Generosity Auctions on Facebook or Instagram @GenerosityAuctions. Abra Annes is the leading Charity Auctioneer based in California. Abra is the owner and founder of Generosity Auctions, the premier choice for Non-Profit Organizations looking to maximize their event fundraising.
Here’s a fun game you can play at the end of your fundraising charity event to get people engaged and raise an extra bit of money!
We typically play this game at the end of the Fund-a-Need portion of your fundraising event. At the last and final Fund-A-Need level which is typically $100 we introduce this raffle type game and announce the fabulous prize. An example of a great prize could be two tickets to Hamilton or a jersey signed by NBA star Steph Curry, both of which are super hot in San Francisco right now. The game is simple. Each time a donor raises their paddle, the donor is entered once to win the prize. If they are interested in being entered twice, they would raise their paddle twice, thus making a $200 donation. The end of the paddle raise game can garner your organization an additional $10,000+ in addition to your live auction, silent auction, and fund-a-need efforts. The paddle raise game allows for participation from all attendees, including those who have already donated at the higher fund-a-need levels. Those who have already donated will donate a little more and those who haven’t participated all night will donate at a lower price point. This is a great way to end the night in a, fun, engaging and democratic way! For more Fundraising Charity Auction ideas and helpful tips on planning your next charity fundraiser, follow Generosity Auctions on Facebook or Instagram @GenerosityAuctions. Abra Annes is the leading Charity Auctioneer based in California. Abra is the owner and founder of Generosity Auctions, the premier choice for Non-Profit Organizations looking to maximize their event fundraising. The Association of Fundraising Professionals 54th Annual International Conference took place in San Francisco April 30 - May 2, 2017. Since I live right outside the city and had never been to the conference before I thought I would. I bought a one-day pass for the Monday of the conference. It started at 8am so I woke up at 5am to get there in time for the first session. Kelli, who is one of my favorite fundraising people, and also a dear friend came with me. The conference sessions were not as useful or interesting as I had hoped, but for many the AFP Conference is a great way to push your professional development into high gear. I spent the majority of my day at the AFP International Conference in the Market-Place learning about and interacting with new products and technology for the Fundraising sector. There were some things that I am so excited about that I am already suggesting them to my clients. Join me as I highlight the top five products I found at this year’s AFP International Conference. #1 - Thank View Thank View allows principals in organization to record and send thank you videos to each donor following your charity fundraising gala. Using Thank View is simple and intuitive. At the conclusion of your charity fundraiser, schedule time for your Board President, Event Chairs, and Executive Director to record personalized ‘thank yous’ to your donors. Even though it’s easy to put together your Thank View video, the production is professional and compelling. And the steps to creating your Thank View video are easy. First, choose a theme that will act as the opening credits for all your video thank yous. Next, upload an excel file of your entire guest list. Then, make your video using the camera on your computer or mobile device. And last, send your ThankViews one by one or as a large batch. Your guests will receive a personalized envelope in their inbox. It’s as easy as that! Out of all of the technologies I saw at the conference, Thank View was hands down my favorite! I like it so much, I’ve already begun referring my clients to Thank View. This is a perfect way to thank and engage your donors after a major event or after your end of year campaign. Thank View is cheap, easy to use, and has an average 61% open rate vs. the 16% industry average. Thank View isn’t a form letter. It’s personalized to your donors which makes them feel like their gift was truly appreciated. For more Fundraising Charity Auction ideas and helpful tips on planning your next nonprofit fundraising event, follow Generosity Auctions on Facebook or Instagram @GenerosityAuctions. Abra Annes is the leading Charity Auctioneer based in California. Abra is the owner and founder of Generosity Auctions, the premier choice for Non-Profit Organizations looking to maximize their event fundraising. Wine at your Charity Event - A Complete Guide to Raising Money at Charity Auctions - Part 26/7/2017
Fundraising Expert Abra Annes gives you a complete guide to raising money with Wine at your Charity Fundraising Auction. This series will focus on how to incorporate and create a wine focused fundraiser for your non-profit. This will be a 15 part series, follow allow and watch them all.
In Part 2 you will learn all about how to connect and interact with wineries on social media. Generosity Auctions is the leading Charity Auctioneer Firm. Generosity Auctions team is dedicated to becoming part of your nonprofit team to accurately represent your organization with passion and authenticity. Our Generosity Auctions Charity Fundraising Auctioneers have raised over $80 Million in partnership with our clients.
Fundraising Expert Abra Annes gives you a complete guide to raising money with Wine at your Charity Fundraising Auction. This series will focus on how to incorporate and create a wine focused fundraiser for your non-profit. This will be a 15 part series, follow allow and watch them all.
In Part 1 you will learn how to lure wineries to your event with statistics. Generosity Auctions is the leading Charity Auctioneer Firm. Generosity Auctions team is dedicated to becoming part of your nonprofit team to accurately represent your organization with passion and authenticity. Generosity Auctions has raised over $80 Million in partnership with our clients. The Association of Fundraising Professionals 54th Annual International Conference took place in San Francisco April 30 - May 2, 2017. Since I live right outside the city and had never been to the conference before I thought I would. I bought a one-day pass for the Monday of the conference. It started at 8am so I woke up at 5am to get there in time for the first session. Kelli, who is one of my favorite fundraising people, and also a dear friend came with me. The conference sessions were not as useful or interesting as I had hoped, but for many the AFP Conference is a great way to push your professional development into high gear. I spent the majority of my day at the AFP International Conference in the Market-Place learning about and interacting with new products and technology for the Fundraising sector. There were some things that I am so excited about that I am already suggesting them to my clients. Join me as I highlight the top five products I found at this year’s AFP International Conference. #3 - Tiltify Tiltify is the first crowdfunding site designed to turn your livestreams into a charity fundraiser. Tiltify turns your gaming streams on Twitch, Youtube or Hitbox into a charity fundraiser! This platform allows users to build campaign pages where it is easy to create rewards, take donations, explain your schedule and goals, and share with your friends. If you’re still confused, check out this video that the folks at Tiltify put together to better explain the process. I like Tiltify because this is cutting edge technology that will make your charity fundraising gala fresh and innovative. Tiltify allows social media influencers to broadcast your event and fundraising goals to their audience, further expanding your reach and exceeding your fundraising goals. Tiltify is a great tech-forward way that will impress and bring in millennials and next generation donors. For more Fundraising Charity Auction ideas and helpful tips on planning your next nonprofit fundraising event, follow Generosity Auctions on Facebook or Instagram @GenerosityAuctions. Abra Annes is the leading Charity Auctioneer based in California. Abra is the owner and founder of Generosity Auctions, the premier choice for Non-Profit Organizations looking to maximize their event fundraising. |
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