A common question from those planning a virtual gala is how much they should expect to raise from their auction. If you've run an in-person gala in past years, you can use your past yield results to project your revenue. Projections will differ, depending on the type of virtual gala you'll be hosting. If you've not hosted an in-person gala, your projection will be more of a shot in the dark -- yet I'd still encourage you to host a virtual gala this year. Your sunk costs are considerably ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Best of live raffle for in-person and virtual galas
The Best of Live raffle is often a good one for in-person fundraising galas, but I find it particularly helpful in virtual galas when we might not be selling the same number of items in the live auction as we typically do in a standard event. Earlier this month a client wanted to educate their Board on this raffle, so I recorded a video describing it. If you're new to the raffle, or just curious as to why I like it for a virtual gala, watch the video. https://youtu.be/zfHDGwZMNU4 ... Read On >
The big push at the end — the email campaign in the final hours
I've talked about the tricky matter of determining guest count at a virtual live gala. And I've also covered three tips for boosting virtual gala attendance. Today I zero in on one suggestion relevant for boosting attendance at your virtual gala -- email marketing. This isn't the year to go light on emails. The day and time of your virtual gala is more easily forgotten than your in-person gala. That's why it's important to remind guests multiple times of when your event is ... Read On >
My prediction: This COVID19-style donation is here to stay
This past weekend I worked two galas -- one was a 2-screen solution for a school, and the other was a Zoom meeting-style gala for a conservation nonprofit. The nonprofit had some star power. Two of the attendees are legitimate Hollywood celebrities whom many would recognize if not by name, then by face. They and some of their celebrity friends donated virtual activities to the auction. These items raised several thousand dollars for the nonprofit. But I have to admit - it was a little ... Read On >
Virtual Gala: One Screen Solution vs Zoom (I prefer Zoom. Here’s why.)
As I've been preaching for several months in my "The Next 6 Months: Conversations" series and "Virtual Gala Cheatsheet," I designate virtual galas into five primary approaches. Two-screen solutions One-screen solutions Zoom Meeting (or webinar) platform 100% pre-recorded Hybrid, which I define as a small group of people onsite and a larger audience watching via livestream Most of the 33 virtual galas I worked in 2020 were either two-screen solutions or Zoom-type galas, but ... Read On >