In The Complete Guide to Fundraising Management, Weinstein and Barden share there are five major fundraising principles. I believe we can apply these principles to special fundraising events. "People give to people to help people." The reason donors give is because they love what you do and who you do it for. They believe [...]
With an abundance of options from over 40 consignment companies, choosing the best travel experience for your event may seem like a challenging task. We've observed that most companies offer similar products like Napa or Mexico leaving you wondering which one provides the best value. Enter Mission First - the solution to this need. [...]
By Scott Jones, CFRE, CAI, BAS Senior Consultant, Raising Paddles Quite often I am asked to share with board members strategies on “How to begin the conversation.” Specifically, how do I ask guests to participate in the giving the day of your biggest fundraising event? It’s simple. We must help each board member to [...]
By Shannon Eason, Senior Partner, Fundraising Auctioneer You’ve probably received an email inviting you to one of our workshops. If you’re near Kansas City, St. Louis, Detroit, Chicago, or Tulsa you’ll want to put this on your calendar. Why? Ahhhhh..let us count the ways! 1. You’ll be treated like a guest and see how [...]
By Dan Campbell, Senior Partner, Fundraising Auctioneer One of the most common questions we hear from those we consult with is ‘how many fundraising elements should we include in our program?” What is too many? Which ones are best for our event? It is not surprising that we see some events that are jam packed [...]
By Scott Jones, Senior Partner, CFRE, CAI, BAS Part I: The Homework All too often, I find myself in conversation with fundraising managers concerning the uncomfortable position of having board members ask their connections for monetary support. We all agree that all fund development is founded on board support and participation. Why is it [...]
By: Erin Williams, Fundraising Auctioneer and Consultant Our team is seeing a trend towards weekday fundraising events. While there are pros and cons to everything, we think there is a very strong argument for why this may be something to consider. Let’s weigh a few out together now! I supported an event in Chicago [...]
The short answer is….BOTH! While most non-profit galas include both a live auction and a paddle raise, some will stick with one or the other. You will see one organization that is uncomfortable asking their donors who support them throughout the year to give again at their gala. Another organization will express concern that [...]
One of the first questions we have when we start consulting with an organization is, “Which should we do first, the live auction or the Fund A Need?” That’s like saying, which came first, the chicken or the egg? Ask any auctioneer and you’ll probably get a different answer on which to do first. [...]
By: Erin Williams, Fundraising Auctioneer & Consultant A client we support in St. Louis had been at the same venue for many years but they had outgrown the space and made the decision to move to a larger venue this year. Change can be scary, especially when your input cost increases. So we decided [...]
