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You are here: Home / Video / Goodbye 2020 in-person fundraising gala. Hello virtual gala fundraiser.
May 05

Goodbye 2020 in-person fundraising gala. Hello virtual gala fundraiser.

Sherry Truhlar 6 Comments

Over the last two months, thousands of spring gala chairs collectively sighed relief when they finally – FINALLY – found a new autumn date that worked for their chosen venue, caterer, auctioneer, and band.  “We’ve postponed,” they told donors, “so we can gather together in person this fall.”

This is painful to type, but I don’t think your autumn event is going to happen.

Or if it does, it will be a washed out version of past years.

(I hope I’m wrong.)

I don’t know your unique situation, but for many fundraising auction galas with fall / winter dates, my advice today would be to make the decision to go virtual.

Virtual gala fundraisers are having great financial success.  Furthermore, once you make a decision to “go virtual,” it decreases your stress.  You can focus on one thing — creating a positive, fun, classy virtual auction event instead of trying to plan an in-person event with the cloud of uncertainty over your head.

Uncertainty like …

  • What if there’s another shutdown and we must cancel at the 11th hour?
  • What if people are nervous to attend our gala?  Do we need a smaller venue?
  • How can I ensure guests maintain a proper social distance?
  • Is it even possible to keep people safe?
  • Will people pay to attend, if we scale back the event?
  • Will sponsors be as interested, if we have fewer guests?

This past weekend I recorded a video to share my evolving thoughts about the 2020 fundraising auction season.  Watch it below.

I mention a free webinar in the video.

You can register; I’ll be demonstrating the use of Zoom webinar for a virtual auction event.

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Copyright © 2020 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

Reader Interactions

Virtual Gala Fundraiser – WHY are you having your auction?
Virtual gala fundraiser: Understanding attendance

Comments

  1. Debbie Neal says

    May 18, 2020 at 2:10 PM

    Do you have any stats on the numbers of people who attend a virtual event vs a live event? Do you need to have about 2 times the number of invites to get the number that you would get to come to your live event. Are you seeing that people are responding to this format? We are committed to a virtual event but would like to see some stats on the outcome of this type of event.
    I attended your part 3 COVID event and thought that it made sense. Thank you and I look forward to your response.
    Debbie Neal
    Allies in Youth Development

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 18, 2020 at 3:08 PM

      Short answer: No, I personally don’t have any stats that directly ties number of invitations to attendance.

      I’m going to talk about attendance in an upcoming blog, but meanwhile, here are some thoughts:

      Webinar-styled virtual galas and studio-styled virtual galas will track attendance differently. Here’s what I mean by this.

      I think of Webinar-styled virtual gala as “closed” because they typically are not broadcasting the event to the world “live.” For my groups, attendance has been the same as an in-person event, or a bit more.

      If we have 300 guests (who come as part of a couple), it’s 150 logins — or more.

      Why more? The boost upwards generally comes because now tickets are free. For example, in the case of schools, the free tickets attract teachers, staff, and grandparents who maybe weren’t willing to pay the $150 ticket to attend in past years, but are willing to attend this year, because it’s free.

      Donations may or may not be given from these extra people.

      You are asking about attendance.

      Certainly these extra people add to your attendance. And in a webinar format virtual gala, the advantage is that you know exactly who they are.

      Remember: Guests can’t watch the webinar UNLESS they are registered. You have those stats.

      Now if you are planning a studio-based live virtual gala that is broadcast via Facebook or YouTube, this becomes a bit wonky.

      To allow bidding and donating, you’ll still (likely) invite people to register via your auction software — but they don’t HAVE to register. They can STILL watch the virtual gala without registering.

      If they want to “attend” your event without registering, they simply navigate to your Facebook page to watch the stream live. There is nothing “forcing” them to register to get the link.

      Chances are, the nonprofit has posted the livestream link everywhere — on its website, Facebook page, in emails, and other places.

      Thus, any random person can “watch” the stream without opting to register. I’ve done that many times. I watched the broadcast, but didn’t register in any software. The nonprofit didn’t know I was there.

      From the nonprofit’s vantage point, they know XX number of people registered in their software. And they know that XX number of people are viewing the stream. But there isn’t a way to cross reference those two.

      Unless someone bids or makes some comment in chat, the nonprofit doesn’t know who is watching.

      I’d say this is one of the advantages of the webinar-styled events. The nonprofit has more control.

      But generally speaking, I think it’s a matter of having committed donors.

      The same people who support you during an in-person event will support you in a virtual one. If you get extra people to support you, that’s gravy.

      Reply
  2. Matt Burnell says

    May 6, 2020 at 11:43 AM

    This resonates with what we’re seeing as well. As the country (and world) re-opens, it’s clear that many will personally choose to distance themselves from large gatherings. There is real value in learning how to run a virtual gala. Regardless of the future, this type of fundraising is likely to become common. After all, virtual galas allow those not in your area to participate. Thanks for putting this out there!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 6, 2020 at 11:52 AM

      Yes, virtual galas do open it up for others! And it’s a legitimate way to stay connected with supporters this year.

      Sure, there are always a handful of people who have trouble with the technology, but that’s par for the course, even when converting to mobile bidding at an in-person event. I’m converting many clients to virtual galas right now and have no doubt you’re talking with many nonprofits, too.

      Reply
  3. Rob Broms says

    May 5, 2020 at 3:53 PM

    Thanks, Sherry. I appreciated your opinions.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      May 5, 2020 at 3:56 PM

      What is your opinion, Rob? You’ve been visiting with clients, too. And with your offerings, you serve a wider population than I do.

      Reply

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What auction planners say

Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, … Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” 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 The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)

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