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 >
Blog Post
Photo selfie frames to promote your auction on social media
To encourage social media posts at your fundraiser (and perhaps promote an auction sponsor), consider a photo selfie frame. I've written before about the many ways photography can be used at fundraising auctions to provide an entertainment outlet. Here are two ways nonprofits are using photo selfie frames. ================= 1. Photo selfie frames can cross-promote your nonprofit and another organization. ONEHOPE Wine has a photo selfie frame its Boston representatives take to its ... Read On >
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 >
Fundraising auctioneer nightmares: When all hell breaks loose
The National Auctioneers Association recently sent a survey to fundraising auctioneers, asking them about "tough situations that might arise during a benefit auction." They listed possible situations that may occur. I've posted them below and expanded on the suggestions. I don't pretend to have seen it all, but I have seen a lot since becoming a fundraising auctioneer. And if you have experienced a minor set-back or even a catastrophe at your fundraiser, you're not alone. This post may ... Read On >
Land acknowledgments in fundraising events
Call it coincidence, divine intervention or luck, but I'd bet that you've had a situation whereby you see or hear something, and suddenly it shows up somewhere else. For instance, you consider buying a particular type of car, and suddenly that model is all you see on the highway. That serendipity is what led me to write about today's subject. ============================== Thanks to a cancelled flight that left me scrambling to get from one fundraiser to another late last month, I've ... Read On >