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 >
Young Professionals
Silent auction entertainment ideas for the 20-something crowd.
I received a random email blast for which I'd not signed up. In other words, spam. As I prepared to hit "delete," the words "Silent Party" caught my eye. Thinking it was something related to a silent auction, I struggled to understand the poorly written press release. Baffled, I looked at the photos and clicked the website videos. Aha, I got it. If you're seeking some silent auction entertainment ideas for 20-somethings (Millennials / young professional) crowd, this might work for ... Read On >
Party with a Purpose: A stellar birthday bash
I recently posted an article on how to involve Millennials in your benefit auction. (It's almost prerequisite reading for this post.) Today you get to see a Millennial in work, and -- further bonus! - how it ties into a recent LinkedIn conversation I've been following. Aaron is my virtual intern. After I spoke at a George Washington University event management function, he came up to me and said, "Don't forget me. I'm going to be contacting you!" And he did. He's been helping with some of my ... Read On >
Turning Millennials into cutting-edge benefit auction volunteers
I read an interesting article about Millennials in Delta's May 2010 Sky magazine. "The M Factor" (written by generational speakers Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman) examined how Millennials were impacting the workplace. Although 'Millennials on the job' was the focus of their article, the points made are applicable to benefit auctions. I know you're managing volunteers as part of your auction responsibilities, so I'm going to apply the authors' findings to how you can attract this group ... Read On >
How to plan your auction fundraiser for Gen X and Gen Y guests
Who is giving you the big bucks at your auction fundraiser? If your auction trends the way of many groups, your largest donors are likely 45+ years old. They are at least Baby Boomers, but most may be older. Certainly many of the most successful auctions I conduct are filled with 45+ year old guests. So what are you supposed to do if you're trying to hit a $40,000 goal and your room is filled with Gen X and Gen Y buyers? Can you hit your mark when young professionals dominate your ... Read On >