Last night I worked an event that had about 1,000 guests in attendance. It was a tasting-style event ... the kind that have 50 or 60 restaurant chefs in attendance, each handing out samples of their food and cocktails. As they always do, the nonprofit did an excellent job of recruiting, organizing, and training its volunteers. For instance: All the volunteers were taken on a tour of the hotel so they knew where to direct guests. They could point out the registration and checkout ... Read On >
Raffles
School auction idea: Reward teachers with their own raffle
Here's a touchy subject. From a fundraising perspective, I'm not a fan of teachers attending school fundraising auctions. They often attend the event for free, which hits the catering budget. They typically don't purchase anything, as their lower salaries don't allow for it. That means there is no donation to offset the ticket revenue loss. And -- gosh, I don't know how to say this any other way -- if we have a loud group causing a distraction to bidding guests in the room, 99% of the ... Read On >
An alternative to the silent auction
Last week I received an email. A benefit auction volunteer was reaching out. Her charity-of-choice raises money for schools in overseas countries. They have a smaller auction (~120-150 guests) managed in a walk-around food station-styled event. She wrote: We have begun discussions about next spring fundraiser. We have found that the silent auction route has not given us much in return for all the work it takes. We want to keep the live auction, but are looking for an alternative to the ... Read On >
Eleven ideas for golf tournament goodie bags
"I'm working on the Classic," my client emailed, "Got any leads or ideas for golf tournament goodie bags? At the moment it only has our organizational brochure in it.” Summer is when tournaments of all types start filling nonprofit event calendars. Unlike galas, which may or may not have goodie bags, I rarely see a golf tournament without them. But what should you put in the bag, other than your own promotional material? My clients typically seek prizes for four areas of their golf ... Read On >
One of my benefit auction associates honored (in his own way) by this nonprofit
This is a little late in the game to publish (the signing event happened May 7, 2013), but I had to get this in print. (I was en route to California when this all went down, and simply lacked the time to acknowledge one of my talented benefit auction associates!) If you've had any of my floor crew work your gala, you know how frickin' awesome they are at selling your stuff, be that silent auction items or raffle tickets. Jerome is also talented in all-things-art. (You might want to read a ... Read On >