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Who’s in Charge of Your Fundraising Event?

11/25/2019

I know, I know. This seems really basic.

Before you begin planning your fundraising event, you need to have a conversation about who is in charge.

There’s a few reasons for this:

When asked, most nonprofit employees and volunteers will get overly involved in things that aren’t their business. For example, planning the annual fundraising event is not a good use of your Executive Director’s time, but if given the opportunity most will get in there and micromanage the heck out of it.
It should be clear who is running the show. Discussions will happen throughout the planning process, but eventually decisions need to be made. It helps to make it clear who the final decision maker is. The phrase, “Too many cooks in the kitchen,” exists for a reason.
This is an area where many Development Directors clash with their CEOs. Most DDs feel like they are in charge of planning events, because they are the DD. Most CEOs feel like they are in charge because they are the CEO. This dynamic should be addressed before the planning process begins to avoid any awkward or uncomfortable squabbles in front of board and committee members, which happens a lot more than you think.

Being in charge of planning an event doesn’t mean that you stop listening to the people around you. This is not a “my way or the highway” situation. Good leaders know how to listen and take advice from those around them, before weighing their options and coming to a decision that may not be what they personally wanted but is the best decision for the organization.

Additionally, before the day of the fundraising event, you and your colleagues should decide who is going to run things on the day. You need one person who people can go to with questions, one person handling any small metaphorical fires that pop up. There’s nothing worse than 35 people all running around trying to solve the same problem. Avoid that disaster and delegate from the beginning. Your auctioneer should be made aware of this person, so they know who to go to with any questions on the day of the event.

Delegating leadership roles like this from the beginning makes the planning process run smoother. Do yourself a favor by approaching this topic head-on before jumping into event planning.

How does your nonprofit decide who is ultimately in charge of events? Let me know in the comments.

Keynote Speakers: Should You Have One?

11/22/2019

It’s always surprising to me how many nonprofit’s book a keynote speaker for their fundraising event. Of course, they have their reasons. Some feel like their program isn’t long enough without a keynote speech. Some feel like it brings legitimacy to their event, helping to sell extra tickets. Some do it because they believe it’s just the thing to do.

I’d like to encourage more nonprofits to really think about their reasons for booking a keynote speaker, especially one from outside the organization.

Typically, keynote speeches are long. When this speech is assigned to someone outside your organization, major program time is devoted to someone who doesn’t necessarily have a commitment to promote your mission.

For example, say a professor from a nearby university gives the keynote at your next event. Are they going to talk up your organization? Or are they more likely to tie things back to work being done at the university?

I can’t tell you have many times I’ve seen this happen.

If your nonprofit decides to move forward with a keynote speaker from outside your organization, be careful about who you ask. Work with them to help their speech tie back to the mission of the nonprofit, and to limit unnecessary tangents.

Keynote speeches are almost always too long, and if your speaker is not associated with your nonprofit, your audience is probably going to tune out. You are better off having a shorter program with messaging that is laser-focused on your nonprofit. Your guests, and your fundraising, will thank you for it.

Does your nonprofit use a keynote speaker? Does it work well for you? Let me know in the comments.

My Post-Auction Routine

11/18/2019

Several years ago now, I received a call from a client one week after their event. They needed to know who won their raffle because they couldn’t remember. In the week since their event I had worked four more. I did not remember who won their raffle.

My post-auction routine grew out of that experience. I follow these steps exactly with each of my clients immediately after their event ends.

The first thing I do when I am done with an auction is meet with the Fund-A-Need recorders. Usually there are between three and five people tasked with manually recording the donations during the Fund-A-Need. We sit in a room and go over each donation and donor number, line by line. We reconcile the numbers and create one master sheet with all the Fund-A-Need donations. Then, I take a photo of each page of the master list with my phone. Photos have become essential because it’s not uncommon for one page of the master list to get messed up or lost. Next, I ask each recorder to write their name on the top of each page of their recorded Fund-A-Need donations in case we need to check their handwriting or have any questions for them. I then have each recorder take a picture of every single page they filled out, exactly like I did with the master list. I have them email these photos to themselves and to the Development Director.

I repeat the same process for the live auction, silent auction, any raffles that happen, etc. I create a master list of all the auction lots, who won the item, and what their bid was.

Once I have my master sheets, I meet with the Development Director, Executive Director, Party Planner, whoever is on site and available. I give them all the information. I physically hand over the master lists to this person. I also give them a list of any issues that occurred. For example, if I was supposed to sell two trips to Mexico but I only had one bidder, I will make a note of that and let them know that only one of the trips sold.

This is where we iron out any issues from the auctions. If an item sold and the buyer decided they didn’t want it after all, I’ll point out the second-highest bidder. I can remember these details up until the moment I leave the building, after that my attention is focused on the next event I’m doing and I probably won’t remember who else bid on that fabulous trip for four to Iceland. We get all the discrepancies and issues ironed-out that we possibly can before I leave.

Then I leave.

I make sure to pay for my parking.

I listen to a podcast on my drive home.

If it’s Saturday, I stop at McDonalds and get a number nine. But only if it’s Saturday.

I get home, take off all my makeup, and settle in to watch a nature documentary or something else that calms and soothes me.

Then, I go to bed.

That’s it. That’s my post-auction routine. Following this procedure before leaving events has been life-changing. I no longer have to worry about discrepancies or forgotten winners. Everything is squared away before I leave and I’m able to turn my attention to my next event, guilt free.

What is your post-event routine? I’d love to hear what works for you down in the comments.

Should You Use a Fund-A-Need to Launch a Capital Campaign?

11/15/2019

When I sat down to write this article, I had just come out of a meeting with a long-term client. This was a development committee meeting with a new Development Director. I went into this meeting having never met her—let’s call her Sarah—before, but I had a great relationship with the previous DD, we shared a lot of the same ideas about fundraising.

Sarah led the meeting, as she should in her capacity as Development Director. In attendance were some major donors who sit on both the board and the development committee.

This nonprofit has two major sources of revenue: a raffle and a Fund-A-Need. Their Fund-A-Need started out generating around $250k when I began working with them and we’ve managed to increase that by about 10% each year. Their event is relatively small, maybe 200 people, and they have an amazing participation level. About 98% of their attendees make a gift at the event, including a number of major donors.

During the meeting, Sarah explained that they would like to use this year’s Fund-A-Need to launch and complete a capital campaign.

If you are unfamiliar, capital campaigns focus on raising large amounts of money for a specific purpose: new buildings, major renovations, etc. During a capital campaign, you approach your major donors and ask for large donations specifically to fund these projects.

When Sarah introduced this idea, I was stunned. Their goal of raising $3 million with this capital campaign was way above our annual 10% increase and very difficult to meet with an event of this size. As we dug into this idea, it became clear that Sarah wanted to make a huge splash in her first year and this was how she chose to do it. Unfortunately, they hadn’t completely thought things through.

However, they thought their plan was solid for a couple of really good reasons. They had a need that they felt was immediate and would have an impact. Immediate is good. Impactful is good. To run a successful capital campaign your need must be both immediate and impactful, the problem is making a capital campaign ask at a live event.

Here’s why.

Why Not to Launch a Capital Campaign at a Live Event
Regardless of what level they give at, most donors who have the capacity to give don’t make giving decisions on the spot. Giving decisions require conversations with spouses or partners. Depending on the amount asked for, these decisions may necessitate a conversation with a financial advisor. These decisions certainly require a conversation with the nonprofit. When people do raise their hand for a spur-of-the-moment donation, it’s never a large amount. No one donates $100k impulsively unless they are a billionaire.

This fundraising event is how this nonprofit closes their annual gifts. Donors come to the event with the understanding that they are making whatever their annual gift is at the event, whether that is $500, $1,000, or $5,000. Running a capital campaign at this same event would mean soliciting attendees twice, once for their annual gift and once for a donation toward the capital campaign. With a goal of $3 million, these aren’t going to be small asks. It’s easy to see how this would make donors feel bad about the event and the nonprofit. Major asks, such as those required by a campaign of this size, should always be done privately and in person, not at an event.

At fundraising events, 20% of the guests make 80% of the donations, the remaining 80% of the guests make 20% of the donations. It’s important to think about how it will make your donors feel if you suddenly start asking people to raise their paddles to make a $250k donation to a capital campaign. It’s going to make 80% of the people in the room feel like their donations are inconsequential, that’s the exact opposite of how you want them to feel.

Additionally, most capital campaigns come with naming opportunities. Think about all the names on the buildings where you live. It’s likely that many of them are there because that person, or their family, made a large donation towards that building. If you are running a capital campaign at an event, how do you deal with the naming opportunity? Does the honor go only to the person who makes the largest donation? How will that make your other donors feel? Do you have a plaque made with the names of everyone who made a donation that night?

Capital campaigns require a lot of planning and work. You can’t throw a successful one together quickly. Campaigns of this magnitude require every department working together to achieve success. And your whole budget changes. Say your nonprofit has ten major donor families who always buy a table at the event. Do you solicit them for a capital campaign contribution, and then ask them to buy a table on top of that? What does this campaign mean for sponsorship? What effect might it have on your smaller donors? How does it change your budget for the year? Before launching a campaign of this magnitude, you really need your ducks in a row.

So, How’d it Turn Out?
Ultimately, the committee heard me out and decided they would separate the capital campaign from their Fund-A-Need. They’ve decided to approach their major donors privately and ask them to contribute to the capital campaign funding their project. At the Fund-A-Need, we’ll call attention to the campaign and the generous donations by those families, but we won’t be asking for donations to the campaign at the event itself.

I still think they will need to adjust their fundraising expectations for the event. The Fund-A-Need is probably not going to do as well because the donors that normally generate 80% of their revenue will have already been approached to make a donation to the capital campaign. They may not want, or be able, to give again.

This isn’t meant to scare anyone away from running a capital campaign. These campaigns are important and certainly have their purpose. But, you do need to make sure you take into account the major asks you will be making throughout the year, when it comes time to planning your fundraising event. Hold events specifically for those donors who aren’t asked to contribute to the capital campaign. Or perhaps make the decision not to hold an event in the same year as a capital campaign, communicate this with your donors and set their expectations for the solicitations they will receive. Just please, don’t run a capital campaign at a live event.

Giving Back to the Community: Books for Kids

11/11/2019

And now for something completely different.

Books!

I love books. I collect books. Some may suggest my book collection is approaching hoarder levels.

One of the things I do with my kids is read. We read aloud together almost every night.

I’m also always looking for ways to engage my kids in philanthropy and instill in them the importance of giving back to the community.

What could possibly be better than combining the two?

Here’s a list of some of the amazing books about giving back to the community and making a difference that I read with my kids.

A Chair for My Mother by Vera B. Williams
A book from my childhood. It’s about a family that is working very hard and saving little by little to get something they really want. When a fire breaks out in their apartment building, everyone comes together to help. That’s actually my favorite page to look at with my kids, we talk about the items that everyone is bringing to the new apartment. This book is about everyone coming together to achieve a common goal, which is what philanthropy is all about.

A Hen for Izzy Pippik, written by Aubrey Davis and illustrated by Marie Lafrance
A young girl faces a moral dilemma when she finds an egg seller’s lost chicken. This book has sparked many debates with my eldest. When the chicken multiplies, who do the new chickens belong to? Who does the chicken really belong to? What do you do when you find something that belongs to somebody else? How do you know when to give something away?

Free to Be… You and Me by Marlo Thomas and Friends
This is a collection of short stories and poems from the seventies. It’s about growing up and figuring out your life. What I love most of all are the stories about helping others. Messages of acceptance and helping one another really come to the forefront when we talk about philanthropy.

Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
One of my favorite author/illustrators. Miss Rumphius is instructed by her father to do three things: travel, live by the sea, and make the world a beautiful place. She plants lupine flowers all over her town, but we talk about the non-physical things you can do to make the world a more beautiful place.

Miss Twiggley’s Tree by Dorothea Warren Fox
Miss Twiggley is a woman who is judged very harshly by her community, but in the end they need her help to survive a big storm. This is a book about helping and giving back to your community, no matter what.

The Ordinary People Change the World series, written by Brad Meltzer and illustrated by Christopher Eliopoulos
These are easy to read books about people who made the world a better place. Oftentimes they’re about doing what you know in your heart is right, even when others think it’s wrong. Our favorites are Jane Goodall, Jim Henson, and Helen Keller. These people were all told they couldn’t do what they loved and wanted to do. They proved everyone wrong and went on to make a big difference in the world.

Thank You, Mr Falker by Patricia Polacco
This one is about appreciation. A young girl is diagnosed with dyslexia by her teacher. With his help she goes on to become a writer. All it took was one person believing in her. The message here is that if you really believe in the work, and the person behind the work, great things can happen.

The Empty Pot by Demi
This book is about telling the truth and doing what’s right even when it’s hard. It’s about being true to yourself and what you know is true. To be a happy, fulfilled philanthropist you have to follow what you believe in. You don’t have to support the trendiest nonprofits, you support the ones you believe in.

The Hundred Dresses, written by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin
This book is more about kindness than philanthropy, but I think every good philanthropist is empathetic. I love that the main character empathizes with somebody and it haunts her until she makes it right. Personally, I have missed opportunities that haunt me that I am unable to make right, so this one really hits a chord with me. This book teaches kids that standing by and doing nothing is just as bad as doing something hurtful or mean. I’m reminded of this quote from the Pirkei Avot, “You are not obligated to complete the work but neither are you free to desist from it.”

The Invisible Boy, written by Trudy Ludwig and illustrated by Patrice Barton
A boy is invisible at school, no one talks to him or sits with him or plays with him until he makes one friend. It opens up his life and makes a big difference. This is a great one for teaching kids about taking action. Philanthropy is best demonstrated through actions that you can see the results from rather than from giving money that you don’t see the direct results from.

Uncle Willie and the Soup Kitchen by Dyanne Disalvo-Ryan
Based on the author’s experience volunteering at a soup kitchen, this book is about a young boy who volunteers at a soup kitchen with his uncle. It helps take the mystery out of volunteering. The book shows you what a difference you can really make in people’s lives. It dispels the myths about those who need the service of the soup kitchen and allows young children to think about people living on the street in a way that makes sense to them.

How I Engage My Kids in Philanthropy

11/8/2019

I have three young children. It may come as a surprise when I say I engage my children in philanthropy at every opportunity, even at their young ages. This started naturally for us when my eldest was in that phase where they ask you to read everything they see.

Where I live, there is a substantial homeless population. We can’t drive through our town without seeing homeless people standing on corners. One day, my eldest started asking me to read their signs to her. This quickly morphed into a teachable moment in a way I did not anticipate. Upon hearing that the people on the corners held signs asking for money, my daughter asked if we could give them some, thinking that if someone needs help, we should help them. Of course, you can’t say yes to every person on the corner, especially where I live, you’d be out $20 every time you leave the house. When I replied, “No,” her question changed. “Why not?” she asked. Instead of saying, “Because I said so.” I started using these moments to talk about how we can’t give money to everyone who asks and to ask her how we should decide who we give money to.

Our synagogue sometimes puts out little care packages for people in need. Bags containing crackers, hand warming packets, toothbrushes, etc. The idea is that as you leave temple, you grab a few bags and give them to people in the community who need them. So we did. We put some in the back of the car and instead of offering money to the homeless people on the corners, we gave them these care packages. This offered me another unexpected opportunity to start teaching my kids about giving back, and how that doesn’t always mean donating money.

This experience spawned a new tradition in our family. When we go to a bulk store, we buy things to make our own care packages that we keep in the car and hand out to people in need. We can all make our own judgments about the homeless people standing on the corners and how they intend to use the money they ask for. But the way I see it, if you are standing on the corner asking for money a small care package will not go unappreciated.

Another thing we do with our children is, every Friday night we take all our spare change and put it in a box. When the box fills up we sit down as a family and count the money (Yay, impromptu math lessons). Then, we ask the kids what they would like to donate the money to. My kids are too young to be familiar with the nonprofits in our area, so we pick out two or three options that they can choose from. These are always places or causes that they would be familiar with: their school, our synagogue, animal shelters, etc. I’ll print out some pictures from the organization’s website and we have a conversation about where the money will go. This has lead to many conversations with my eldest that I don’t think we would have had any other way.

Lastly, when I leave to do an auction, my eldest and I talk about the organization I’m going to help and why I chose to work with them. She’s learning lots about the different nonprofits in our area and about my personal giving philosophy.

In the coming years I will involve my younger children more and more in these conversations and activities. Hopefully, they’ll grow up with a sense of gratitude for what they have and a feeling of responsibility to help others.

How do you engage your children in philanthropy? Let me know in the comments.

Fund-A-Needs: When They Go Well, Why They Go Well

11/4/2019

When a Fund-A-Need goes well, I can feel it in my bones. I can feel it from the first level to the last level. It is unbelievably amazing and unlike anything else in the world.

I love doing Fund-A-Needs, it’s one of my favorite aspects of my job. I want to share the feeling I get during a fantastic Fund-A-Need with you by giving you the advice you need to make your next Fund-A-Need a success.

So, without further ado: How can you create this feeling at your next Fund-A-Need?

The right people must be in the room. This means people with a connection to your nonprofit and with the capacity to care and the capacity to give. I can’t tell you how many times I have seen fundraiser invitations posted on the wall at Starbucks. You can’t just invite people randomly and expect them to donate. Ticket sales are not a revenue stream, they are a break-even stream. You need to invite the right people.

The invitations and programs must be mission-focused. Everything about the evening should link back to your nonprofit in an obvious way. This often means saying no to some of the people who want to speak at your event. A good Fund-A-Need, a successful Fund-A-Need relies on everything being as mission-focused as possible.

Your fundraisers focus on fundraising. That’s all they focus on and they are good at it. They make sure fundraising comes first, every single time. Ahead of dessert, ahead of speeches, ahead of honorees. I know you have attended an event where they put speeches before the Fund-A-Need. Good fundraisers do not put speeches first. Fundraise first, speak later.

Your fundraisers works with your speaker before the event. The Fund-A-Need speech or video has to make an emotional connection with your guests, it needs to move them to dig deeper and give to your organization. This aspect of the event should not be left to chance. Successful Fund-A-Needs have a fundraiser who carefully selects the speaker, works with them to write the speech, and rehearses with them before the event. Many nonprofits don’t even look at this speech until the day of. Don’t be like those nonprofits.

You have a pre-committed gift at the highest Fund-A-Need level. Having a pre-committed gift helps the event get off to a strong start. This gift is arranged before the event, with a donor who would have given to your nonprofit anyway. This ask is always done in person.

Committee and board members are 100% behind the fundraising mission. They support the development staff completely. The believe in the event and are ready to make donations at the event themselves. Members of the leadership team should always set an example of giving. Board members should participate at the event because many people don’t understand that board members have a yearly gift commitment and so they are seldom seen donating. They should be seen donating. It does not need to be much, but it does need to be something. This is all about social queues and appearances.

The development staff communicates consistently with donors throughout the year. This really can’t be overstated enough, as anyone who reads my posts regularly knows. Show appreciation for your donors all year long and they are more likely to show up for you during the Fund-A-Need.

The Fund-A-Need is facilitated by someone who knows how to fundraise. This doesn’t need to be a professional charity auctioneer, though if you are interested, I am available. But this does need to be someone who knows how to fundraise. Don’t accept the donated services of the cattle auctioneer down the street. That’s a different skill set. You need someone who knows how to fundraise.

The success of the Fund-A-Need relies on your event being as mission-focused as possible. Take every opportunity to tie things back to your nonprofit and the work you do in the community. And make sure you have the right people involved in planning and running the event. Your board and committee members should understand their responsibilities. The Fund-A-Need must be facilitated by someone who knows how to fundraise effectively. Put in the work and get the right people involved, and your Fund-A-Need will be a success.

Last Paddle: Money Maker or Time Sink?

11/1/2019

As a charity auctioneer, I run a lot of Fund-A-Needs every year. In my circle of auctioneers, a new game has started to dominate the conversation around Fund-A-Needs. We call it the popcorn game, but most people probably know it as last paddle.

Last paddle is a game played during the last giving level of the Fund-A-Need. Typically the last level of the Fund-A-Need is $100 or $50, though some nonprofits stop at $1000. This game works better the lower the last level is.

If you are unfamiliar with Fund-A-Needs, they are usually performed top-down; starting at the highest level and working to the lowest.

There are two reasons for this:

Psychologically speaking, starting with a call for $20k makes $1k sound like less money than it is, more people are inclined to give when the level sounds lower.
We expect less donors at the top than at the bottom, so the Fund-A-Need happens in the shape of a pyramid, building momentum as it goes. This gives us the opportunity to recognize major donors and use that recognition to spur increased giving at the lower levels.

Last paddle is introduced right at the beginning of the final Fund-A-Need level. The auctioneer stops the Fund-A-Need for a couple minutes to explain how the game works. They introduce an amazing prize or package and explain that the last person to have their paddle in the air at the end of this giving level wins the prize. People can raise their paddles as many times as they want but each time they do, they commit to an additional donation at that giving level.

This game usually starts out slow with a paddle every twenty or thirty seconds. As the game continues and the room warms up, the paddles start shooting in the air faster and faster, like popcorn. While waiting for the room to heat up, the auctioneer stands on stage, stalling for time. Depending on your auctioneer this can be a good thing or a bad thing. The game continues for a set amount of time: seven, ten, even fifteen minutes. When time is called, the last person who put their paddle in the air is declared the winner.

I have seen a lot of chatter about this game recently. Other auctioneers talk a lot about how the game raises an extra two or three thousand dollars each time they play it.

This got me thinking. Are people really making extra money by playing this game? Or, are they making the same amount, or even less, as they would if they ran the Fund-A-Need without the game?

For a fundraiser like me, extra money during the Fund-A-Need means only one of two things: Either everyone in the room participated or those that did participate increased their gifts. These are the only two ways to generate extra money during a Fund-A-Need.

I decided to do an experiment. I went over to YouTube and searched for videos of people playing this game. I watched several, taking notes on how many paddles went up, what the total was, and how long the game lasted.

What I found was not surprising to me, but it might be surprising to you. Maybe you’ll think twice before playing this game at your next event.

My experiment showed several things:

The quality of the prize greatly increased the chances the game would generate extra revenue. Hamilton tickets and high-level luxury vacation packages were guaranteed to make this game a success. However, including Hamilton tickets in your live auction would raise just as much money, if not more. The increase in revenue is connected more to the prize item than to the game.
The game takes between eight and fifteen minutes to play. That’s a long time to spend on one Fund-A-Need level, especially at the end of the Fund-A-Need.
When I tracked the paddle numbers, I discovered that only a small number of donors were playing the game, each bidding multiple times. My hunch is that it’s not the lower level donors who are bidding, it’s the major donors who can afford to place multiple $100 bids during a game. It can feel like you are getting a lot of participation in the moment, but you may be shutting out your lower-level donors entirely. Think about it, if you are a lower-level donor, are you going to bid one time on an item that a major donor will end up winning because they can afford to bid five times?
The game kills the Fund-A-Need momentum and the mission of the nonprofit gets completely lost. Because the auctioneer has to stop everything to explain how the game works, the mission of the nonprofit comes secondary to the rules of the game and the prize. The Fund-A-Need becomes all about winning a cool prize. The philanthropic reasons for giving are removed entirely, and that should never ever happen.

The next time you are at a fundraiser and you see this game played, pay very close attention to what is happening and who is bidding. If you aren’t going to a fundraiser anytime soon, do what I did: Go on YouTube and search for videos of this game in action. Watch a few of them and take notes, then as yourself these questions:

Was it worth the time?
Was it worth the loss of messaging?
Was it worth the loss of lower-level donors?

I think you’ll come to the same conclusion I did.

I have also heard that last paddle is a confusing game to play. Donors often come to the check-out table and are shocked to discover that they owe more than anticipated. Many don’t realize, even when it is explained very clearly, that each paddle raise commits them to an additional donation. This confusion leads to awkward and uncomfortable conversations that no one wants to have. This makes a lot of sense to me, it doesn’t matter how clearly you explain the game, people are drinking and some of them are going to miss the rules.

The takeaway here is: If you are considering playing last paddle at your next Fund-A-Need, do some research. This game may not make you as much money as you think.

Have you played last paddle during a Fund-A-Need? What worked well, or not so well, for you? Let me know in the comments.