At a recent nonprofit fundraising event, the nonprofit decided they didn't want to push the raffle. If a guest approached a volunteer to buy a $50 raffle ticket — fine. But they didn’t want volunteers to walk up to groups of people and ask guests to buy a raffle ticket. "In a few minutes, we're going to be asking these people to donate anywhere from $100 to $5000. It makes no sense to nickel and dime them for a $50 raffle ticket," was their rationale. This cocktail-styled event had no ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
A fundraising auctioneer’s biggest worry: Good sound.
This past Saturday I worked in a new venue in Washington, D.C. that presented some obstacles for any fundraising auctioneer. To mitigate issues on gala night, the client invited the caterer, registration lead, and me to join her onsite a few months ago to give feedback. Some background points: Special access: The impressive venue was offered by a supporter and would have been unattainable under normal circumstances, so the client wanted to use the space. Anniversary celebration: ... Read On >
Creatively paying tribute to your gala honoree via your auction decor
I don't often get into conversations about fundraising auction decor because there are other, more critical elements to discuss that are tied directly to raising money. Yet for many committee members, decor is the "fun part" of the auction; it's what keeps them engaged. For that reason alone, I think it's worthy of discussion here. And specifically, I want to give a few ideas on how -- if you have an honoree or award winner -- you can honor their presence or their memory by ensuring the ... Read On >
Setting Fund a Need levels vs creating levels on the fly
I'm not a gal who likes to fly by the seat of my pants at a gala. I prefer a high level of preparation so I can better adapt when something does go off script. One place I've made spontaneous changes has been in the Fund a Need. My preference is to set paddle raise gift levels in advance, but here's one example where a spur of the moment change was warranted. At the event, my initial ask was to be $25,000, working my way down to smaller donation levels: $20,000 $15,000 ... Read On >
Double pleasure or half the joy? Splitting auction lot proceeds with other charities
Is it a bad idea to split the proceeds from your auction lot with other charities? If you read the article I wrote about Harvey Weinstein and his ties to the AmFAR Cannes auction, you might think it is. Recall that AmFAR is being investigated, and their problems began when they agreed to Weinstein's demands of splitting the proceeds on the sale of an auction package he secured. AmFAR had never before split proceeds with another charity. (Weinstein wanted half of the proceeds from his ... Read On >