I want to talk about the importance of having subtitles on your Fund a Need video. Subtitles aren't just useful for foreign audiences or those hard of hearing. Here's what happened last week and why I'm sharing. One of my clients runs a Foundation providing money for disaster relief. When a disaster hits some part of the world, the Foundation sends money to a local partner -- an on-the-ground nonprofit that funnels the money directly to those affected. The size of the disaster is ... Read On >
Appeals / Fund a Need / Raise the Paddle
Fundraising thermometers are overrated for Fund a Needs
There, I wrote it. I'm entirely unimpressed with fundraising thermometers when used during Fund a Needs. Thermometers were rolled out with great fanfare from the auction software vendors who created them. As proceeds pour in, donations are tracked against the goal. Guests see it play out on a screen. Vendors like to say the tool boosts audience engagement. But does it? At a school auction meeting last month, the hired auction checkout guru asked if I wanted to use it. "The school is ... 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 >
Transforming a mundane auction checkout receipt into a mission-driven missive
There was a problem at one of my spring fundraising auctions. The event was new, designed to take the place of a more traditional fundraising dinner. For many years the dinner reliably drew 400- 500 guests. The hope was that this new event would attract a similarly sized crowd. It didn't. At first the planner dropped the guest count estimate to 300. Five days prior to the auction, the count wasn't yet 100. It didn't climb much higher than that. (Not all events are stellar out ... Read On >
Pet peeve of fundraising auctions: Pointing
One of the first lessons I learned at the Missouri Auction School was on the subject of pointing. “When inviting bidders to bid,” the instructor said, “use an open palm. It’s an invitation for the bidder to give you more money.” “Don’t point!” he emphasized, “It’s rude.” A quick way to separate the professional fundraising auctioneers from the amateurs is to watch their fingers. Get the full story in today’s video. To me, pointing is obnoxious. Am I overreacting? If ... Read On >