Believe it or not, there is a secret recipe for success for your Fund-A-Need. The following tips will tell you how to make it fabulous, perfect, amazing, and the best it’s ever been.
#1 Pick a Compelling Need
Pick something that is compelling. It doesn’t have to be specific. It doesn’t have to be, our school needs a new playground, our school needs iPads or our school needs a driveway. It does not have to be that specific because that typically doesn’t work for large organizations that have a wide coverage or that have a wide scope of work. General funding is totally a great need for your Fund-A-Need. This is the moment which you are going to promote yourself, have people fall in love with you, this is the “really why we are here” moment. You’ve got to nail down that message very, very clearly. That’s number one, figure out what your need is, is it general or is it specific.
#2 Pick the Right Auctioneer
Find an auctioneer that specializes in Fund-A-Need and Special Appeal. It’s one thing to sell things and be fun and be a nice bid caller, it’s quite another to ask for donations. Watch some videos, ask for referrals, this is where 80% to 90% of your night’s revenue can be coming from, so make sure you hire somebody who really knows what they’re doing. I get hired by 75% of my clients for only Fund-A-Need.
#3 Quiet, Please
You need to have a great Fund-A-Need intro. The room may be a little noisy, you’ve got to get it quiet and not a little bit quiet. Pin drop, nobody talking, everybody focus. You have to get everyone quiet and everybody focused, otherwise your Fund-A-Need cannot succeed. Your Fund-A-Need cannot succeed with people talking other than the people making the pitch and the people telling the story. Other than that, it should be like a museum.
#4 No Service During the Fund-A-Need
There can’t be any service. No wine service, no clearing of plates, no dropping off of plates, no giving tea, coffee, dessert, nothing. The only people moving in the room should be your auctioneer and your storyteller or the person who is doing the pledge drive, the Paddle Raise, the Fund-A-Need for you. No service. I’m serious. It messes up the Fund-A-Need, don’t do it.
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.
#1 Pick a Compelling Need
Pick something that is compelling. It doesn’t have to be specific. It doesn’t have to be, our school needs a new playground, our school needs iPads or our school needs a driveway. It does not have to be that specific because that typically doesn’t work for large organizations that have a wide coverage or that have a wide scope of work. General funding is totally a great need for your Fund-A-Need. This is the moment which you are going to promote yourself, have people fall in love with you, this is the “really why we are here” moment. You’ve got to nail down that message very, very clearly. That’s number one, figure out what your need is, is it general or is it specific.
#2 Pick the Right Auctioneer
Find an auctioneer that specializes in Fund-A-Need and Special Appeal. It’s one thing to sell things and be fun and be a nice bid caller, it’s quite another to ask for donations. Watch some videos, ask for referrals, this is where 80% to 90% of your night’s revenue can be coming from, so make sure you hire somebody who really knows what they’re doing. I get hired by 75% of my clients for only Fund-A-Need.
#3 Quiet, Please
You need to have a great Fund-A-Need intro. The room may be a little noisy, you’ve got to get it quiet and not a little bit quiet. Pin drop, nobody talking, everybody focus. You have to get everyone quiet and everybody focused, otherwise your Fund-A-Need cannot succeed. Your Fund-A-Need cannot succeed with people talking other than the people making the pitch and the people telling the story. Other than that, it should be like a museum.
#4 No Service During the Fund-A-Need
There can’t be any service. No wine service, no clearing of plates, no dropping off of plates, no giving tea, coffee, dessert, nothing. The only people moving in the room should be your auctioneer and your storyteller or the person who is doing the pledge drive, the Paddle Raise, the Fund-A-Need for you. No service. I’m serious. It messes up the Fund-A-Need, don’t do it.
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.
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