What to call your special appeal (Fund a Need vs. Raise the paddle, etc.)

One way to confuse volunteers (and your guests) is to use different names for the same activities.

• You call it a bucket raffle. They call it a tricky tray.
• You call it a Last Man Standing.  They call it Popcorn.
• You call it a silent auction. They call it an online auction.  Tip: Now that many silent auctions are using mobile bidding (that is, they are now “online,”), I’m seeing a shift to calling them ‘online silent auctions.’

One auction activity with dozens of names is the special appeal, which is that time during the gala whereby we ask guests to make a donation by raising their paddle.

In this video, I give you a list of the names I’ve heard for that activity.

Overall, it’s about choosing a name that works for your group and using it consistently so your audience and volunteers will become accustomed to it.