Between five and ten years ago, I started hearing chatter about involving young professionals (YP) at the fundraising gala. "We need to get the younger generation involved," was the general vibe. In practice, this often evolved to selling a lower priced ticket to the gala. If a regular gala ticket was $150, the YP price might be $30. If the standard ticket was $500, the YP price might be $125. This reduced price ticket allowed YPs to join full-priced guests and sponsored tables for ... Read On >
Tickets
Raffle Cheat Sheet: A tool that helps volunteers sell more raffle tickets
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 >
VIDEO: School auctions take note of this ticket price increase – 750%!
A big debate among the school auctions with whom I work centers on the ticket price. The committee often feels that by keeping a low ticket price, they'll be more inclusive and raise more money. And every benefit auctioneer I know will tell you otherwise. Yet this persistent inaccurate belief exists. At this Boston foundation, they decided to charge a ticket price after years of offering a free event. It was a resounding success. Watch the video below. ... Read On >
PODCAST: Should school auctions charge? This group went from FREE to $750.
When it comes to school auctions, few committees want to debate ticket prices. Most groups would prefer to offer a free event and forget about charging altogether. The thinking is that this will bring in the bidders and make for a more inclusive event.In this week's podcast, hear about a formerly free event that opted for a 750% ticket price increase. Hear why they changed their format and ideas on how they did it.Listen to the podcast below. ... Read On >
Time to raise your school auction’s ticket price? Try a 750% increase.
I've been meeting with a number of school auction committees recently and thought I'd provide some quick inspiration on a topic that seems to throw many groups into a tizzy: ticket price. It doesn't matter if the school's tuition is $3500 or $30,000, I hear the same points. "We want to be inclusive." "We need to keep the gala affordable." "We don't want the auction to become a snooty event." "We have all financial levels represented at this school." I've observed enormous debates rage ... Read On >