Encouraging youth to attend your benefit gala

Hannes Combest is NAA’s President. We attended Springtime Expo’s Young Professional reception (hey — we’re hip & fun!).

I spent the last two days with Hannes Combest, President of the National Auctioneers Association, at the ASAE Springtime Expo gala in Washington, D.C.

The first night of the event, ASAE hosted an event targeting young professionals.  It reminded me of a trend I’ve seen with regards to auction fundraisers.

Many of the galas I work have a population in the age range of 45+.  Some galas skew much older. (As I think about my clients, the one exception is a church benefit auction in which everyone in the audience is 18 – 30 years old.)

Although there are many reasons to host a fundraising auction (read them all here), the primary reason is often for financial support.  You will raise the most money if you have an audience filled with guests who understand your mission and have the financial means to support it.

Many people reach their prime income earning years between 45 to 54, so it only makes sense that gala auctions often find their guests to be “of a certain age.”  Some in that age range are also in a mindset in which they are ready to start ‘giving back’ to their community more readily, either through financial support or volunteer hours.  (Non-profits like both!)  It wouldn’t usually make sense to target professionals in their 20′s and 30′s because that crowd would be less likely to add dollars to your bottom line.

That said, what about cultivating your audience?  Someday those 20 and 30 year olds will be in a position to give.  You’ll want to be the organization they think of first.

A number of galas (the larger ones, primarily) incorporate a Young Professionals (YP) tier into their ticket pricing.  There are many names for this tier (e.g. Young Professionals, Young Benefactors, Young Supporters).  Select a title which fits your style.

The YP’s reduced ticket price can include a portion of the evening’s activities (such as the reception & silent auction, or the entertainment & after-party with dessert bar) or the entire event.

Guests purchasing at that level must be younger than a certain age (30 to 40 seems to be the range), or in some cases, they must already be active in the non-profit’s regular YP club.  (Some non-profits organize regular activities for this set, with the auction gala being one of those monthly activities.)

If your auction committee wants to try this, I encourage you to ask one or two of those YPs to help on your auction committee.  Not only will they offer a fresh perspective to your planning, but their involvement will encourage other YPs to get involved and/or attend the event, too (provided the YPs have a good time on your committee!).

(c) 2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC

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