Instant Live Auction Items with No Work - Female Fundraising Charity Auctioneers

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.

Mailing Silent Auction Donation Forms? Think Again

10/28/2019

Many nonprofits, when looking to solicit items and experiences for their silent auctions, send out a form to any and every business they can think of. The form asks the business to list the items they would like to donate to the auction and then send those items in with the form.

This approach is flawed.

It puts way too much work on the shoulders of the solicited business.

When soliciting for donations, whether of items or money, make it as easy on the other party as possible. Your nonprofit should always do most of the work.

Don’t ask the business to list what they would like to donate, instead provide them a list of things you suggest they donate.

Don’t ask the business to drop-off or mail their donations, offer to come by and pick the items up yourself.

I’d also love to see more nonprofits make the switch from paper donation requests, to emailed ones. Everyone has email. There’s no reason to spend time, money, and paper printing out and mailing donation requests. Save the trees and send it through email.

As donations start coming in for your silent auction, there’s one more thing I would encourage everyone to do. Thank your donors for their generosity over social media and show off the item they donated. There’s no substitute for making people feel appreciated and good about their donation. Bonus: You’ll make them feel good about the prospect of supporting your nonprofit in the future.

Ten Things You Don’t Know About Me

10/25/2019

1. I am very self-conscious about my voice
My voice has been one of my greatest assets in the auction world, but in my non-work life it is something that I’ve always been self-conscious about. I have always had a deep voice, and it’s only gotten deeper as I’ve gotten older. I don’t have the same range as most women. I can’t sing the same parts at synagogue. When I call to make reservations at restaurants, people often don’t know if I’m a man or a woman. I attribute part of this confusion to my uncommon name, but part of it is definitely my voice.

2. I spent three years working on a cruise ship
It was a blast, but this non-traditional work experience set me back when it came time to find a real career. I came home after three years on a cruise ship and could not get a job. No one would hire me because they didn’t see any of the skills I had as transferable. To make matters worse, while I was gone all my friends found real jobs and gotten settled in their lives. It was really tough on me, I felt like garbage and my self-worth took a huge hit. I felt like the odd one out.

Today, I think I appreciate my success even more than I would have without the experience of being unemployed and unemployable.

3. I read often
My favorite genres are Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Young Adult Fiction. If there’s a map at the front of the book, I know it’s the book for me.

I love books so much, I volunteer at my kids’ school library a few hours a week and all the kids know I’m the one to come to for book recommendations.

4. I am really self-conscious about my skin
I have had acne since I was thirteen. It’s still there, though it has tapered off in recent years. It has taken me a long time, but I have come to accept bad skin as a part of my life. I have spent a lot of money, time, and energy on fixing my skin. And I get everything: Botox, fillers, laser treatments. If it’s available, I’ll try it and I’m not embarrassed to talk about it. Some people just have bad skin and I’m one of them.

5. I don’t have a ton of close friends, and I’m okay with that
I don’t have a lot of close friends, and most of the friends I do have live across the country so I rarely get to see them. Despite this, I don’t feel the need to make more friends. I am a social loner type; I am very social but I really really enjoy being alone.

However, I’m married to someone who hates being alone. I mean absolutely hates it. He’d be perfectly happy to never spend another moment alone, but I need my alone time. It helps me recharge and prepare to face the world once again.

6. I consciously limit my social media time
Social media is great for a lot of reasons, feeding jealous tendencies is not one of them. I get very jealous and competitive when I see everyone’s perfect lives on social media. I don’t need to see your newest million dollar purchase or your clean, well-behaved kids.

Everyone is always skinnier, prettier, and wealthier than me and when I am subject to a constant barrage of this, I can’t help but compare myself. Constant comparison is not healthy. So I limit my time. I don’t really use my personal social media accounts at all anymore. I hardly ever post anything myself, and I don’t look at anyone else’s accounts if I can avoid it.

7. I take medication every day to stay alive
This has been my life since I was fifteen. I’m not going to talk much about it because it’s personal, but I had multiple brain surgeries when I was younger.

Everything is fine now, I’m totally healthy. But I do have to take medication every day for the rest of my life.

8. My office is a mess
It's a disaster all the time. But it’s an organized mess. I know where the things I need are. Every once in a while I will develop the urge to clean my space. It stays that way for about a week before it begins slowly dissolving into chaos.

I currently have over 400 unread emails, twenty texts, and eight unread notifications. I will get to most of them eventually. Except the notifications. I don’t know how to clear my notifications. This does not bother me.

9. I’m handy
I can fix a lot of things. I know how to use power tools. I can take a door off a wall. I can build furniture. I love being self-sufficient and having the power to do tasks around the house.

10. I have three children
I don’t talk about them very often. They are six, three, and one. I never wanted to be a mom, but here I am and I love it. Philanthropy is very important to our family and it’s something I teach my kids about even at such young ages. I hope to bring them with me to an auction one day.

Nonprofit Cocktail Hour: More Than Just Drinks

10/21/2019

Almost every fundraising event has a cocktail hour. Usually cocktail hours last an hour, but they can run longer. Sometimes it is a standalone activity, sometimes it happens in conjunction with a silent auction.

There are many ways to approach this aspect of your fundraising event, but I want to talk about a new trend I’m seeing with some of my clients that I think you’re going to love.

Cocktail hours that double as a showcase for your nonprofit’s mission.

Some of my clients have begun taking advantage of this hour, when your guests would normally be drinking and networking, to give them an opportunity to see their dollars in action, up close and personal.

One of my clients works with young adults in the equal opportunity space. At one event, they invited a number of their beneficiaries to attend and set up booths, science fair style, during the cocktail hour. Each beneficiary used their booth to show what they were working on with the help of the nonprofit: book reports, science projects, art projects, etc.

Another one of my clients provides business training for women. They invited some of their beneficiaries to set up booths during the cocktail hour that highlighted their businesses. Some brought in wares to show and some highlighted the services their businesses provide.

In both of these cases the guests were given an opportunity to speak directly with the people the nonprofit helps. They could see in a very clear way, where their dollars were going. They formed connections with the beneficiaries and their stories.

What a great way to use an hour that would otherwise be spent drinking and making small talk.

Does your nonprofit do something similar? Are you interested in trying this approach in the future? Let me know in the comments.

The Fund-A-Need Pitch: Aim for Happiness and Enthusiasm

10/18/2019

When you put together a fundraising event, the evening should be an emotional roller coaster, designed to pull on the heartstrings of your guests and get them excited and enthusiastic about donating to your cause. The Fund-A-Need is the pinnacle emotional moment of your event.

A good charity auctioneer knows how to rile the audience up and get the philanthropic juices flowing during the live auction portion of the evening. When it comes time to the Fund-A-Need, they know how to create a somber and emotional tone. These moments work together to move your guests to open their wallets and donate.

All Fund-A-Needs require a pitch, a speech or story to kick-off this part of the evening. The success of the Fund-A-Need, rests on the ability of the story and storyteller to evoke emotion in the audience.

Fund-A-Needs tend to rely on sadness and severe empathy. They deliberately bring the room down from the high of the live auction by talking openly and emotionally about the work the nonprofit does in the community.

Most of my clients come to me and say, “I want people to cry.” And that’s a fine approach, it’s certainly effective, but there are other emotions you might consider when planning your next Fund-A-Need.

Why not try tapping into the excitement in the room and building a sense of happiness among your guests? Instead of focusing on why your organization needs to exist, talk about all the amazing things you’ve done over the last year. Welcome a beneficiary speaker to talk about the great things your organization has done for them. Put the focus on all the good your nonprofit is able to do in the community and get people excited to help you do even more good.

It’s obvious why most nonprofits go the sadness route: it’s easier. Nonprofits exist to fill a need and more often than not this need is depressing. It’s easier to lean into that than it is to spin the story a different way. And that’s what this is. It’s a storytelling decision.

Next time you plan a Fund-A-Need, make a different choice. Lean into the positives. Make people feel good that your organization exists and get them excited to help you make people’s lives better.

Step Up Your Fund-A-Need Game

10/14/2019

Fund-A-Needs are the absolute best way to raise the most money for your nonprofit in the shortest amount of time.

For those unfamiliar, a Fund-A-Need (also called a special appeal or paddle raise) is the point in the evening when your charity auctioneer gets up on stage and asks your guests to make a donation to your cause, without receiving anything in return.

Fund-A-Needs are amazing for several reasons, but the most important is that they cost your nonprofit very little in terms of money and manpower. Your nonprofit doesn’t put any time into sourcing auction items and experiences. There are no bid sheets to process. Your charity auctioneer simply gets up on stage and makes the case for your guests to give to your nonprofit because it is a worthy cause that they have an emotional connection to.

Fund-A-Needs are basically free money.

And we all love free.

If your nonprofit hasn’t made Fund-A-Needs a part of your major events, why the heck not? Talk to your charity auctioneer about including a Fund-A-Need as part of your next event.

If your nonprofit already does a Fund-A-Need, here are two ways you can increase your Fund-A-Need revenue:

Get everyone in the room to give, even the ones that normally don’t.
Get everyone to increase their gifts.

Getting everyone in the room to give relies heavily on the charity auctioneer’s ability to pull on the emotional connection between the donors and the nonprofit and move people to give.

Work with your auctioneer to tell stories that play to people’s emotions and their connection to your nonprofit. Have your auctioneer ask everyone to dig a little deeper than they normally would, even if deeper means $10.

Make your final giving level “Donor’s Choice” as a way to encourage every person in attendance to make a donation even if it falls below what is typically your lowest giving level.

Consider changing up the guest list after a couple of years. If the same guests do not make a gift during the Fund-A-Need year after year, stop inviting them to your event. Use that invitation for someone more able to give.

Getting everyone to increase their gifts is a bit trickier, but ultimately can pay off in a big way.

Before your next Fund-A-Need, ask one of your top donors to increase their gift at the highest giving level of the Fund-A-Need. Treat this ask as you would any other solicitation. It shouldn’t come out of nowhere and it should be made in person.

Nonprofits will often approach a major donor, who would have made a donation at the event anyway, about increasing their donation prior to the event taking place. These donors are referred to as donor plants.

This practice is an open secret in the fundraising world, and there’s no shame in taking advantage of it to boost your fundraising revenue.

Fund-A-Needs run on enthusiasm. A successful charity auctioneer takes the emotional connection that your team has built between your donors and your nonprofit and uses it to foster an atmosphere of motivated giving. Starting on a high with a large donation from a generous supporter gets the Fund-A-Need started on the right foot. Using a donor plant to achieve this effect only makes sense.

As your auctioneer proceeds down through the giving levels, this increased generosity is going to trickle down. Your other guests are going to feel inspired to increase their gifts as well, and you will raise more money.

Have your charity auctioneer encourage people at every level to dig a little deeper than they normally would, calling attention to the increased donation of your top donor and the amazing energy in the room.

Including a Fund-A-Need as part of your fundraising event is the best way to encourage those who cannot, or do not wish to, participate in the traditional auction parts of the evening to make a straight donation to your cause. Once you’ve got the basics of a great Fund-A-Need down, work on improving your revenue by encouraging everyone to give, even if it’s only a few dollars, and by working with a major donor to increase the opening donation of the appeal.

Looking for more information on Fund-A-Need Auctions? Download my free ebook: 8 Easy Steps to Your Best Fund-A-Need Ever.

Is a Career in Fundraising Right for You?

10/11/2019

I truly believe that fundraising is one of the best jobs in the world. I get to work with people every day. I get to work with people who care about making the world a better place for others. I get to play a part in making the world better for others.

There are so many reasons to love fundraising, but it’s not for everyone. How do you know if a career in fundraising is right for you?

You should be in fundraising if…

You want to make the world a better place. If you think about this on a regular basis and have since you were young, fundraising is a great career choice for you. You get to work everyday on making the world a better place for everyone.
You like people. Talking to people, working with people, being around people, you love it all. As a fundraiser, your entire job is talking to people all day long. I have friends who are development directors of huge nonprofits and I often envy their position because they love their donors and their donors love them. They essentially get to hang out with their friends all day, work to make the world a better place, and ask for money a couple times a year.
You love learning new things. Fundraising is always changing, so if you love learning new things you’ll never lack the opportunity.
You are good at many different things. Fundraising requires many different skills and talents: writing, reading, public speaking, working with people, reading people and situations, etc. Your job is always changing and you certainly aren’t stuck behind a desk all day.
You have confidence to burn. You will get turned down after gift solicitations and you have to be able to pick yourself up and move on. You can’t take it personally.
You don’t mind working long hours and occasional weekends. Many fundraising events take place on the weekend. Nonprofits are often short-staffed and have tight budgets. You’ll be called on to work as a team and do your part regardless of if it’s the weekend.

Fundraising is one of the best jobs on the planet, especially if you love people and want to help make the world a better place. You won’t fix all the problems for everybody, but you will make an impact and that feels great. If you’re interested in working of volunteering in this field, reach out to the nonprofits local to you and ask what you can do to help.

The Public Radio Fund-A-Need Model

10/7/2019

As many of you guys know, I love to stay on top of the hot new trends in fundraising so that I can share them with all of you.

California is often on the cutting edge when it comes to new trends. Recently, I’ve seen something new that I absolutely do not like.

I’m talking about the public radio approach to Fund-A-Needs.

Some of my clients have expressed an interest in offering gifts to donors at the Fund-A-Need, the same way public radio gives donors a gift at each giving level.

The conversation usually goes something like this:

Client: We are thinking about this new approach to the Fund-A-Need.
Me: Like a public radio fundraiser, where you give gifts at each giving level?
Client: Yes.
Me: Why do you want to do this?
Client: To encourage people to donate and increase participation in the Fund-A-Need.
Me: I am happy to do whatever you want, but my job is to tell you the pros and cons of every situation and this one has more cons than pros.

The obvious pro to this approach is that there will be more merch out in the world with your nonprofit’s logo on it. This may lead to more brand awareness if your donors take these items out into the world and other people see them and are interested enough to look you up.

But I would be remiss if I didn’t explain the cons of this particular approach to the Fund-A-Need.

This conversation immediately prompts me to ask several questions:

Have you thought this through? Would you plan to only give this merch out at your event or would you give it to every donor who makes a qualifying donation? For example, say a medium size donor lives outside the city and can’t go to your gala, but they make a $1000 donation anyway. Do they get the same merch as the person who attended your event and made a donation?

Are you prepared to ship out merch for the next five, ten, fifteen years? Once you start doing this, you can’t stop without losing donors. Are you willing to facilitate trade with donors who want to switch merch?

Are you sure you want to train your donors to expect a prize for every donation? The job of the Fund-a-Need is to get people to connect with and care about the mission of your organization. If you fundamentally change the vibe of the Fund-a-Need, it is bound to make your message less compelling.

Giving out merch at each giving level is going to slow your Fund-a-Need way down, are you willing to devote more time to this part of the event? Instead of flowing smoothly from giving level to giving level, we’ll have to stop the flow to talk about the new piece of merch for the next giving level. This takes the focus off your message and puts it back on the item.

Don’t you think there’s enough stuff in landfills already? Let’s face it, that’s where most of this stuff ends up.

Ultimately, the decision to move forward with any aspect of a fundraising event is up to the client. If my clients want to try out this new Fund-A-Need approach, I’m not going to stop them. But I am going to caution them against something that I don’t think provides a good return and that takes the focus off the mission of the organization.

Public Radio Fundraisers: What I Wish They Knew

10/4/2019

I listen to public radio a lot when I’m in the car. It’s my go-to driving entertainment. Here in Northern California my public radio station is KQED.

If you don’t listen to public radio, let me explain a little bit about how their fundraisers work. Two or three times a year they have fundraising campaigns. These campaigns break into the regular programming twice an hour, every hour, for up to ten minutes at a time, until they meet their fundraising goal. If they don’t meet their goal by the end of the campaign, they don’t stop the fundraising breaks. They keep right on going.

My public radio station has two fundraising periods a year. That’s what they call it, a “fundraising period.” This has all kinds of weird connotations for me. What feeling are they trying to evoke here? Fundraising punctuation? Fundraising menstrual cycle? Obviously they are referring to their fundraising campaigns, but this word choice is weird and I can’t help but wonder how many other people are put off by it.

I was driving a lot during this last fundraising cycle (I’m always driving a lot, but that’s beside the point). I kept hearing the same fundraising faux pas again and again, and I really wish I could talk to the station about these decisions.

1. Prizes, prizes, prizes. Public radio fundraisers love to talk about what you get as a prize in return for your donation. They spend comparatively little time talking about how your donation benefits public radio and helps them provide you with quality programming. Where I am in California, this means a lot of talk about earthquake preparedness kits.

They’ll talk about this kit, or another prize, for three of the five minutes in the break. Then they’ll spend a minute on the solicitation and another minute giving out the phone number. The balance of time here is all wrong.

The emphasis should be on the solicitation: how the station uses donations, what they are able to offer in terms of programming, etc. Putting so much emphasis on the gift you receive for your donation causes people to save their donation until they hear about a gift that interests them. Some people who would normally be interested in donating, may never donate at all because none of the gifts appeal to them.

2. Letting the campaign run long. Allowing the fundraising campaign to continue for as long as it takes to meet the goal makes it obvious to regular listeners when a campaign hasn’t met the goal. If you normally listen to public radio and you know that their campaigns typically last one month, you are going to notice when that campaign suddenly stretches over two months. This makes it look as if the campaign wasn’t a success, because it wasn’t. And no one likes donating to failing campaigns.

3. Focusing on the match. Each fundraising break typically includes a donation match. Sometimes it’s a 1:1 match, a 2:1 match, a 3:1 match; it varies from day to day, throughout the campaign. A lot of emphasis is placed on what the match is for that day, which eats into the precious minutes that could be used to talk about how the donations benefit listeners of public radio.

Donations to public radio provide free radio, trusted reporting, and quality programming from local hosts you know and love. It’s not hard to talk those things up, they just choose not to.

4. The recording line. When you donate to public radio they route your call to a recording line. Like on an answering machine, you only have one shot to leave your message. The public radio station then screens these messages and plays them on the air. As you might imagine this can lead to some very interesting results.

Why not have a live human being on the other end of that recording line? This person could ask questions that generate good quality sound bites for the radio station. When you donate to public radio, you make your donation to a real person, which I love, but then they send you to this automated recording line. I think they’d generate better, longer, and more useful testimonials if they included another human in the process.

5. Ignoring sustaining members. Public radio has something called sustaining membership. This means that you give monthly over a sustained period of time, which they hope means in perpetuity. If you are a sustaining member at a certain level you get to skip the fundraising campaigns. They email you a link which lets you listen to public radio without the fundraising breaks. I think this is a mistake. They are missing out on an opportunity to re-engage with current sustaining donors and potentially getting some of them to increase their gifts.

6. Boring music. This is going to seem nitpicky after my other points, but I really wish they would play some upbeat music during the fundraising breaks and encourage their local production crew to sound excited about fundraising. Most of the time they sound completely over it.

What do you wish public radio did differently with their fundraising? Let me know in the comments.

Deeper Donor Relationships Through Note-Taking

9/30/2019

About four or five months into my first fundraising job I went to a conference. It was my first ever professional conference and I was meeting so many people who I knew would be in and around my career for the foreseeable future.

I wanted, and needed, to remember each and every one of them.

At my previous job working on a cruise ship, I didn’t need to remember everyone’s name because once they got off the boat I was unlikely to ever see them again. But in a field like fundraising, which is centered on people and relationships, remembering people is important.

I started taking notes at the end of every day on every new person I met who had a chance of being in my life professionally. And I still do. I do all of this on the notes app on my phone so I can take notes anytime, anywhere, but you should use whatever device works best for you.

The first thing I do is write down each person’s name, full name if I have it. I also record anything that comes up in conversation: their interests, where they live, what their job is, etc.

Then, before I see each person again, I check my notes. This makes conversation less awkward because I don’t have to rely on generic small talk. I can ask specific questions about their job, hobbies, or interests because I made a note about what I learned from previous interactions.

It makes a world of difference.

People genuinely appreciate it when you take the time to remember something specific about them.

I can’t take all the credit for this practice, I learned it from my dad. He would write down everything he learned about people so that he wouldn’t forget them before the next time he spoke to them.

I encourage everyone to adapt this practice to your needs. Take notes on anything that seems useful, but don’t pressure yourself to record everything. This practice isn’t supposed to add hours of work to your day, just a few minutes here and there. Keep this information in a place where you and your employees can access it easily before talking with donors and beneficiaries.

Taking notes will help your conversations go more smoothly because it removes any nervousness surrounding what to say. It will also remind you and your employees to see your donors as people, not as wallets.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide

9/27/2019

By now you’ve read the first three installments in this series on corporate sponsorship for nonprofit events. Maybe your nonprofit has decided this is something you want to pursue with vigor or you’re still interested in learning more.

This week we’re breaking down the steps required to land a corporate sponsor for an upcoming nonprofit fundraising event. These are the same steps I take my clients through when planning events.

Put together a list of your dream corporate sponsors. Think big. This is a dream list. Your dream sponsors do not have to be based in your community, but remember that they should be connected in some way to your nonprofit’s mission. Think about the corporations in the networks of your donors. Do your board members have connections to specific corporations?
Put together a corporate sponsorship package. This is a packet or presentation that should be customized and themed appropriately to your event(s) and the potential corporation. Here’s the page order I use with my clients:
- Begin with the company name and logo and the name of your nonprofit.
- Next, include a one-page letter introducing your nonprofit and your special event.
- Include one page with the logos and names of past corporate sponsors (over the last five years), if applicable.
- Include one page of quick facts and statistics about your organization and the impressions that the corporation will get from this partnership. How many Facebook/Twitter/Instagram followers do you have? How many guests will be in attendance?
- Include no more than two pages explaining your organization’s mission and work in the community. Include photos of your nonprofit in action.
- Provide a one-page menu of sponsorship opportunities and everything the corporation receives from the partnership.
- Finally, include a form at the end for the potential corporate sponsor to fill out and return to you.
Mail the packet to the corporate representative you have been cultivating a relationship with or have it delivered to their office.
One week after you deliver the packet, follow up with an email asking if they received the packet and providing a copy of it through email in case they did not.
Follow up again two weeks after the email and politely remind them of the deadline to respond. At this time you may also ask if there is someone else at the company you can send the packet to. You may also invite them to come take a tour of your facilities.
Once you have one sponsor secured, leverage that sponsorship to bring in other sponsors.
Keep your sponsor(s) up to date on all event developments and don’t forget to thank them regularly.

These are the basic steps I encourage all my clients to use when soliciting corporate sponsors. Of course, every situation is different and you may find that not all the steps are necessary or that more work is required to secure the sponsorship of your dreams.

I wish securing a sponsor was as easy as this list makes it look, but it’s never this simple. Don’t be discouraged if your initial attempts fall flat. Like all things, soliciting sponsors takes practice. You’ll only get better by doing it. Take your time, put together a solid sponsorship package, and get out there and start soliciting.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Things to Consider

9/23/2019

Now that you’re familiar with the two approaches to corporate sponsorship, it’s time to talk about the potential downsides that come with this relationship.

Poor communication can tank any relationship, especially corporate sponsorship, before it even gets going. Open and clear communication between the nonprofit and the corporation is absolutely necessary for the partnership to be a success. Both parties should be upfront about what they want from the partnership and how they see things moving forward. Any issues that arise should be dealt with swiftly and maturely. Open communication builds trust and ensures that the partnership remains strong for the duration of the sponsorship.

It is time-consuming to put together sponsorship packages and solicit corporations. It takes a small team of people to do the research, put together a compelling sponsorship package, and cultivate relationships with corporations that may be interested in a partnership. If your nonprofit has a small staff, you may find that it’s not worth it to take the time away from your standard fundraising efforts and community outreach.

Expect it to take two or three weeks to put together a package and make sure everything looks good. You want enough material to solicit a response out of every type of person. Everyone absorbs information differently, so be sure to include images, data and metrics, and quality text.

When putting your package together, make all your asks at one time. If you are looking for sponsorship for three events throughout the year, send all that information in the same package. Yes, this means it will take you a bit longer to put your sponsorship package together, but it’s worth doing. It saves your nonprofit from putting together three brand new packages each year and it saves the corporation from feeling like you ask too often.

Don’t be surprised if it takes two or three months to receive a response. Like soliciting major donors, you should expect this process to take time.

A failed partnership can wreak havoc on the public image of both the corporation and the nonprofit. Corporations, of course, are more likely to survive any fallout from a failed sponsorship, but smaller nonprofits may struggle to reestablish their reputation in the community after a negative event.

This is why it is imperative to do your due diligence and ensure that any corporation you decide to approach would be a good fit for your nonprofit. Do what you can, from the beginning, to minimize the chances of a negative outcome. Not only will this save you the headache of rebuilding your reputation in the community should it come to that, it also puts you in a better position to secure additional sponsorships in the future.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: Two Approaches

9/20/2019

Last time, I talked about the basics of corporate sponsorship: How it works and why you want to do it. Now I’m going to dive into the two main strategies for approaching potential corporate sponsors. Which method you use depends on what your nonprofit is after.

The two main strategies for approaching potential corporate sponsors are:

Asking for straight donations to offset the cost of your event. Also known as the gold, silver, and bronze method.
Asking for sponsorship of specific things at your event: the dinner, the valet, the auctioneer, etc. Also known as piecemeal or category sponsorship.

These two approaches are both similar and very different.

Gold, silver, and bronze levels work well if you have a limited development department. Approaching different companies to sponsor different aspects of your event takes time, a lot of time. If you are working with a very small staff, it may make more sense to take this broader approach to sponsorship. It also works well if you don’t have strong relationships with the individuals you are approaching, or if it is your first time approaching a specific company.

Category sponsorship allows for more creativity and more marketing opportunities for the sponsor(s) at the event. For example, a company sponsoring the bar at the event could have napkins, coasters, straws, etc. made up with their logo and colors on them. Another company sponsoring your valet station could have their name worn by the valet drivers and emblazoned on the valet station. Category sponsorship is more relationship based, so it works well if you have good relationships with the individuals you are approaching. You have to really know a person to make these sorts of specific asks.

If I am sponsored at an event, I often wear the name of the company on my back when doing the auction.

The category approach to corporate sponsorship is growing in popularity. People are always looking for the most unique and creative methods for soliciting corporate sponsorship and right now this is it.

Social Media and Corporate Sponsorship
A major trend in corporate sponsorship is offering social media posts to companies as part of the sponsorship package. Not everyone is doing this yet, so it’s advantageous to get your nonprofit onboard with it now. Social media agreements typically entail making a certain number of social media posts across agreed upon platforms promoting the corporation sponsoring the event.

This practice is one reason I encourage all nonprofits to grow their social media presence; the further your social media reach, the more attractive you are to sponsors. Simply put, your social media reach gives you something to offer corporations in return for their sponsorship.

Remember, your nonprofit has to do more than convince potential sponsors why they should care about your mission, you must make it an attractive business proposal. This means showing them the potential value the partnership will contribute to their company in terms of brand exposure and potential new customers for their business. A strong social media following is one of the best ways to accomplish this.

Now that you have some familiarity with the two basic approaches to corporate sponsorship, next time we’ll take a look at the potential downsides.

Corporate Sponsorship for Nonprofits: The Basics

9/16/2019

Corporate sponsorships are a huge money maker. Often, they are the most profitable revenue stream for an entire event.

If you’re wondering how to get your nonprofit started soliciting corporate sponsors, or why you’d even want a sponsor to begin with, I’ve got you covered with a look at the strategies I use with my clients.

Sponsorship is a fantastic way to secure funding for major events, fundraisers, and programs. This funding helps offset the cost of expensive items like the venue and catering or it’s used to underwrite the hard costs of one of your organization’s programs.

Consumers are increasingly interested in corporations that show an interest in social responsibility. Corporations that are seen publicly aligning themselves with worthy causes and nonprofits can garner increased support, especially from the online community. For corporations, sponsorship is often the best PR money can buy.

Before we go any further, let’s get one thing straight:

Corporate sponsorship is not a donation to your nonprofit, it is a business deal.

Corporate sponsors expect to get something in return for their financial support of your event. This something takes the form of advertising opportunities and an acknowledgement of their sponsorship during the event itself. The idea is that exposure at your event will increase public awareness of their brand and philanthropic inclination among your donors and supporters.

That’s perhaps the most important point. Corporate sponsorship should ALWAYS be a win-win situation for companies and nonprofits. These are not one-sided relationships. You reach out to sponsors because you see a benefit in working together, your corporate sponsor must also see that benefit.

All corporate sponsorships should bring legitimacy to the nonprofit, improve the public image of the corporation, and increase public awareness of both.

Before You Dive In
Before you even begin reaching out to potential sponsors, do your research. Brainstorm a list of corporations who are already aligned with the goals/mission of your nonprofit or who are in an industry that directly relates to your cause.

You will have better luck approaching corporations who are already aligned with the goals of your nonprofit than you will approaching those to which there is no intrinsic link.

For example, if your nonprofit is a homeless shelter it makes sense to reach out to companies that specialize in food or personal care items because access to these items objectively improves the lives of your beneficiaries. You could also reach out to companies invested in job training or addiction treatment, services often needed by your beneficiaries. Aligning your nonprofit with corporations that match your core values is incredibly important.

If your nonprofit doesn’t already have robust email lists and a solid social media following, it is a good idea to work on growing those before approaching potential sponsors. Social media followers and email lists are used as currency, your nonprofit needs to show potential sponsors that you have something to offer them in terms of potential customers.

Most of my nonprofit clients have worked hard to grow their social media followers in order to offer mentions on social media as part of the compensation package presented to potential sponsors. For example, you could offer two dedicated Facebook posts, seen by your 10,000 followers, in addition to branding opportunities at the event and recognition from stage.

Regardless of which corporation your nonprofit decides to approach, you must sell your potential sponsor on the benefits to their company, not the benefits to your nonprofit.

Remember that sponsorship is first and foremost a business partnership. The partnership must benefit both your nonprofit and the corporation, otherwise it’s not worth it.

There’s so much more to corporate sponsorship than I’ve covered in this post. Next week we’ll take a look at the two main approaches your nonprofit can take to corporate sponsorship.

Stop Comparing Your Nonprofit to Others

9/13/2019

One of the most common things I hear nonprofit professionals talk to each other about is how well another nonprofit in their area is doing.

Often it’s gossipy things like, “Did you hear how much so-and-so raised at their gala?” Or, “I don’t understand how they’re doing so well when we have x, y, and z.”

During these conversations the participants are invariably comparing the wrong things. Things like how many auction items they had, who their auctioneer was, or whether the richest people in town were in attendance.

But, what is invisible is hardest to compare.

From outside of an organization you can’t see:

How many hours they put into planning their event
Their dedicated development team
What their donor outreach looks like

Constant comparison is crippling for many nonprofits - and let’s face it, for life in general. It leads to copycat behavior and jealousy.

Here’s an example of this phenomena that is local to me.

If you know Wine Women & Shoes, you know that these events are incredibly successful franchise fundraisers. Every year where I live there are dozens of knock-off events run by people trying to recreate the magic of Wine Women & Shoes without the proper ingredients.

These events are so obviously knock-offs (even maintaining the distinctive naming scheme) that it is physically uncomfortable. The nonprofits that organize these events are clearly attempting to recreate the success of these wildly popular fundraisers, but they are failing to create a unique and meaningful experience for their donors.

My advice to nonprofits everywhere is: Keep your head down, stay in your lane, and work on creating memorable experiences that resonate with your donors. Do the work required (and it is work!) to connect your donors to your mission and you will find the success you’re looking for.

Or better yet, get in touch with other nonprofits in your area that are doing work similar to you. If your nonprofit focuses on job training for the homeless community, perhaps there’s a collaboration opportunity with a nonprofit that focuses on feeding or housing the homeless. Brainstorm ways you can collaborate to increase the reach of your organizations. By focusing on what you can do together, rather than what the other group is doing, you and your team will begin to approach the issues from a place of positivity rather than negativity.

Bringing related organizations together allows you to form a partnership that benefits both nonprofits. Your combined resources will benefit the community far more than petty jealousies and in-fighting. After all, isn’t that why we’re in this business?

The ABCs of Fundraising Events

9/9/2019

Fundraising events are like theatrical productions. A lot of people put in a lot of work to make sure these events go off without a hitch. Those of you who have a background in performance will recognize many of these terms but if you don’t, don’t worry! I’m going to walk you through it, step by step.

You can even print this list out and carry it with you as you attend meetings and plan events so you always sound professional and experienced.

Air Wall Partitions: Movable walls that allow you to create smaller rooms within a larger space.

Banquet Captain: The person in charge of your servers and running the service.

Breakdown: The act of cleaning up after the event. Returning the venue to the state in which you found it.

Check In/Out: A table near the entrance of the venue where your guests check in and pick up any forms as they arrive.

Corkage: The price hotels and other venues charge for serving wine brought in by the customer.

Cue to Cue: A document that lays out every cue in the program.

Dance Floor: A movable floor that designates a space for dancing.

Entertainment: The evening’s entertainment offerings. Comedians, dancers, musicians, etc.

F&B: Short for Food and Beverage. The department at a hotel or venue responsible for catering and service.

Family Style: A method of serving food on large plates placed in the center of the table. A faster way of doing service.

Floorplan: The layout of the room including the stage and all tables and chairs.

GoBo: Metal plates that slide over the front of lights to project images onto the floor or wall. Must be custom made.

Green Room: The room your special guests or honorees wait in until they are needed on stage.

Handlers: People who make sure your award winner, guests, and honorees are where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there.

Honorarium: Includes any fees, travel expenses, and accommodations provided to your special guests or speakers.

Honoree: A member of the community chosen to be honored at your event for the work they do in the community.

Installation: The act of setting the event up prior to the day.

Keynote: A speech given at the beginning of the event. Generally focuses on a unifying theme and major accomplishments.

Livestream: Live video of the event, available to watch online both during and after the event.

Mic Check: A point, before the event begins, when everyone checks that their mics are working and set to the correct volume.

No-Show: A guest who RSVP’d but does not show up for the event.

Overhead Projector: Suspended above the room. Used to project images and presentations on to walls and screens.

Projection Screens: Either front or rear projection. Used to display presentations. I prefer rear projection because it is neater and you don’t need to worry about people walking in front of the screen.

Run of Show/Show Flow: A minute-by-minute schedule that includes all elements of the event, including cues and volunteer duties.

Service: The time during which food or drinks are served at an event.

Site Visit: The visit you and your team make to look at the venue before your event.

Staff Meal: The meal your staff is served at the event. This meal is separate from your event and served in a different room.

Stage Manager: The person who calls the show.

Stage Monitor: A speaker that points at the stage so the person speaking can hear themselves.

Tech Run: A practice run of the event with all technical elements working.

Teleprompter: The device that displays text for the person on stage to read.

FUnd-A-Need: An auction that invites everyone to make a donation without expectation of something tangible in return.

Venue: The location of your event.

Virtual Attendees: Attendees who watch your event live, or after the fact, over the internet and participate by making a donation.

Volunteers: Unpaid workers who donate their time to help organize, execute, and clean up after your event.

Waitlist: A list of guests who have RSVP’d but cannot fit inside the venue unless another guest no-shows.

X-Stands: Also called Service Stands or Jack Stands. These are for meal service at a large venue. Waiters use these to support their tray when serving a large number of entrees.

CharitY Auctioneer: A professional auctioneer hired to plan and call auction and run the Fund-A-Need.

Zoom Lens: Allows your videographer to vary the focal length of recorded video.

This list is far from comprehensive. As you continue to improve your fundraising skills and plan new events, you will naturally become familiar with the terminology.

Did I leave your favorite nonprofit fundraising event word off the list? Comment below and let me know.

Fund-A-Need: Before, During, or After the Live Auction?

9/6/2019

When it comes to special event fundraising, Fund-A-Needs are the best bang for your buck. They have the best ROI in terms of time spent and money raised.

Despite this, many organizations still like to have a live auction as part of their charity event.

A question that often comes up when I’m working with clients is: Where should we place the Fund-A-Need in relation to the live auction?

Your Fund-A-Need can happen before, during, or after the live auction. Over the past year I’ve done all three and there are pros and cons to each.

After the Live Auction
The most popular time to have a Fund-A-Need is after the live auction.

It is perfectly fine to have the Fund-A-Need after the live auction unless:

Your auction has more than eight items
Your crowd is particularly rowdy and drunk
Your crowd tends to leave early
Your event takes place in the afternoon

These factors lead to more people getting bored and leaving your event early, which means that many of them will not be around for the Fund-A-Need portion of the evening.

Now, I’m a really engaging auctioneer (if I do say so myself) but keep in mind that during a typical live auction only about 10-20 people participate. The more items in your live auction, the more time the majority of your audience will be disengaged and at risk of boredom.

During the Live Auction
I only do a Fund-A-Need in the middle of a live auction if the auction contains more than ten items and I’ll tell you why.

Once the auction gets rolling it is really hard to stop the momentum. Not only that, but it’s hard to get that momentum going again.

At any live auction there is an energy build-up that happens. The first item or two up for auction tends to be bid on less enthusiastically while this energy grows. After a couple items everyone is ready to bid and we’re off to the races! Interrupting the live auction destroys this energy and forces the room to start building that energy all over again.

The first item after the Fund-A-Need becomes a sacrifice to the Fund-A-Need gods. It’s likely to sell for less than you would like as we work to build that energy again.

It’s also confusing for people to go from buying things, to serious and excited about your cause, and back to buying things. With a longer auction this isn’t as huge of a deal because there are more items to sell which allows for that energy build-up to happen again.

Before the Live Auction
Putting the Fund-A-Need before the live auction is controversial and I’m only starting to appreciate the merits of this practice.

If you have a rowdy crowd, enthusiastic drinkers, or a lengthy program you want to catch people when the excitement is high, which typically happens at the beginning of the event once everyone is seated.

Holding the Fund-A-Need ahead of the live auction virtually guarantees you’ll get everyone engaged in giving, allowing them to just relax and enjoy the rest of the night. And you, as the development professional, won’t care how much they drink or how much they talk because the money’s already been raised.

Many people dread the Fund-A-Need because some auctioneers (not us!) create an awkward and uncomfortable atmosphere during this part of the evening. It’s only after the Fund-A-Need is out of the way that people feel like they can start enjoying themselves.

The Fund-A-Need is the only time of the evening when everyone comes together as one big group. Inclusivity is a key aspect of Fund-A-Needs, unlike live auctions where very few people are actually participating, making this an excellent way to kick off the event.

My advice, when placing your Fund-A-Need before your live auction, is to go straight into the Fund-A-Need while people are enjoying their salads. No speakers, no awards, just the Fund-A-Need. A well-run Fund-A-Need starts the evening off right and gets everyone excited to continue giving.

Regardless of where your nonprofit decides to place the Fund-A-Need in the evening’s program, your Fund-A-Need success relies heavily on the energy and excitement in the room. For more tips and tricks, check out my post on getting your Fund-A-Need to work harder for you, or grab a copy of my free ebook 8 Easy Steps to Your Best Fund-A-Need Ever.

Leaving Money on the Table: Is Your Fund-A-Need Working Hard for You?

9/2/2019

Fund-A-Need auctions are far and away the best way to raise the largest amount of money for your nonprofit, in the shortest amount of time.

Even if your nonprofit holds a Fund-A-Need every year, I bet your leaving something on the table.

I’m talking about getting the entire room to participate in a way that benefits your nonprofit, and not just financially.

Let’s talk about some ways your nonprofit can encourage supporters to help out and get the entire room energized and excited to give.

Call to Action
At the conclusion of the Fund-A-Need I sometimes ask all attendees to take an action in addition to, or instead of, giving.

Recently, I worked an auction during which the organization encouraged everyone in attendance to text their congressperson and urge them to vote no on an issue important to the work of the organization. At the end of the Fund-A-Need everyone who wanted to participate held up their phones. It was wonderful to see so much enthusiastic engagement.

I have also asked for people to commit to donating food once per month for a year, they signaled their commitment by raising their paddle at the close of the final giving level.

You can ask for planned giving commitments. Attendees raise their paddles if they are interested in talking to a development professional about what it would take to leave money in their estate for this purpose.

I have also worked with organizations who ask for parties interested in stock transfers when the market is doing particularly well.

I encourage you to think about what actions you’d like your supporters to take, in addition to giving financial support. Would it be most helpful if they volunteer their time? Foster an animal? Donate food or other items?

Determine what you need and then ask for it at the conclusion of every Fund-A-Need you do. I think you’ll be surprised at the response you receive.

Energizing the Room
The success of a Fund-A-Need auction hinges on the excitement and energy level in the room. There are two things I do at every Fund-A-Need that help keep the excitement and energy levels high to promote maximum giving.

When running a Fund-A-Need I always start high and finish low. In other words, I begin with a high gift level, let’s say $10,000, and work my way down to $100. This ensures that every single guest at your event will find a giving level that is comfortable for them.
As soon as the Fund-A-Need is over, I take the time to thank everyone from the stage, and your auctioneer should too! Thank them for their generosity and for caring about the work your organization does. Thanking your donors is a crucial part of maintaining that donor relationship. You really can’t thank people enough.

Keeping the energy high and your attendees engaged is crucial to Fund-A-Need success. Create an auction that allows everyone, regardless of giving capacity, to participate. Asking your supporters to take simple actions in support of your nonprofit’s mission will increase engagement and participation at your events.