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You are here: Home / Blog Post / When I retire, I’ll move to Princeton, NJ for this. (And a lesson in thanking event sponsors)
Feb 02

When I retire, I’ll move to Princeton, NJ for this. (And a lesson in thanking event sponsors)

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

PSRC 12-2015 Directors message page1 event sponsorsThe Princeton Senior Resource Center (PSRC) in Princeton, NJ has got it going on. 

This group has such a nice spirit and does so many things well, I am disappointed that my Mom doesn’t live in New Jersey so she could take advantage of their senior-focused programs.  I get their newsletter, read their upcoming events, and I want to sign up for all their classes.

But that’s not why I’m writing about PSRC today.

Here’s some background.

In 2014, this group celebrated its 40th anniversary.  To honor the occasion, they held a gala for the first time ever.

PSRC 12-2015 Directors message page 2 event sponsors They went from little understanding of galas (perhaps no understanding) to creating something wonderful.

I know you can appreciate the amount of work it took to pull that off.  

I’ve forgotten how they found me, but it didn’t take long for us to get busy. Hours of talking and training webinars. Lots of photos. They pulled off every trick I teach about raising ROI in silent auctions, live auctions, Fund a Needs, audience development, raffles and more.  They learned registration … checkout … set-up .. timelines. They had honorees. They had top-end entertainment. 

 

PSRC 12-2015 Directors message page 3 event sponsorsAnd all of it was meant to be a one-time deal.  A salute to the 40th, then back to normal.

On event night, the evening ran on schedule, had 100 more guests than originally expected (they sold out), and raised a lot more money than budgeted.  At several tables, water turned into wine — it was THAT good.

Knowing that it was a one-off event, I was more than a little surprised when they called me in 2015 to talk about another gala.  “But why,” I asked, testing their resolve, “celebrating your 41st anniversary doesn’t have the same punch.”

“Everyone had so much fun. They want us to do it one more time,” they said.

And so they did, tweaking a few things along the way.

I share this story because in last month’s newsletter (December 2015), I noticed their acknowledgement of event sponsors. It’s possible PSRC did this in Year #1 as well, and I just don’t recall reading it.

This is an easy best practice, if you publish a newsletter.

Susan Hoskins, the Executive Director, always has a thoughtful message kicking off each issue.  Her December topic was gratitude. She thanked all the people and entities that contribute to PSRC, allowing the nonprofit to offer the types of services they do.  She even tied it into hardcore numbers: “Your support made possible … 1300 people attending weekly programs … 60 older adults or families receiving weekly support …” and so forth.

She explained that “sponsors and attendees at events provided 32% of the budget,” and “for a full list of sponsors, please see p. 9 or go to our website.”

Page 9 is the 2nd image I have attached in this post.

Page 10 is the 3rd image, which shows more sponsors and a pie chart visually depicting “whence the $ comes.”

In short, consider thanking your event sponsors in a big way.  Most businesses would appreciate public exposure over private accolades.

Here are three ways to thank event sponsors publicly.

  1. As PSRC did, use your newsletter. PSRC separated the list by annual sponsors, in-kind donations, and event/program sponsors.  Some groups list them by industry or by amounts given.  Mail a copy to your sponsors with a thank you note that points to their name. 
  2. Publish the list of event sponsors in a local newspaper ad.  This might be impractical if your local paper is, say, The New York Times. But I have some clients in smaller communities who have told me, “Our paper does that for us — no problem!”  Running a full page ad thanking event sponsors is a wonderful way to give public kudos.
  3. Give them props on relevant social media channels. I prefer Facebook over Twitter as you can be a bit more generous in the word count.  Include a photo of their business, logo, or product for an added touch.  Be sure to tag them so they are aware of your appreciation and can give social love back to you.

Sold-Out-Event-SponsorshipsWant more help with event sponsors?

Before you thank your sponsors, you first need to have some sponsors.

If you need assistance with a sponsorship program:  securing event sponsors … keeping them … upselling them … pulling together a solid sponsorship program overall …  it’s covered in this master class, Sold Out Sponsorships. 

You’ll hear about creative sponsorship ideas from other nonprofit auctions and use the templates provided to reach out to companies.

 

 

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Copyright © 2016 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.

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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
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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
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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)
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Sherry, 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 year! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? 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.”

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You 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, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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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.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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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 off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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As 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 business. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

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