Gala season is under way and one of the most popular features of the evening is the live auction. Making sure your live auction results in the best year ever takes work and premeditation. However, following the next 10 steps is your secret to success! Introducing: THE BEST PRACTICES WORKSHEET-10 Best Practices for a Successful [...]
Do you like Parties? I sure do. Parties are fun, and the more the merrier! But what makes a party fun? I usually make sure my “fun” friends are invited. Of course, I will invite everyone in that circle to attend as well, based on my party planning. I might even ask my other guest to [...]
Bueller? Bueller? Looking for your donors and there's no response? Where are our donors when we're looking for them. 6 Ways to Get New Donors 1) Relationship Mapping. Your current donors, board members, and volunteers are your best link to finding new donors. ... If each board member provides ten contacts to the developmental [...]
Many times “free” tickets to your gala are included in sponsorship packages. While some sponsors may attend your event and participate in the fundraising program we often hear from sponsors, “we’ve already made our donation through sponsorship.” While there are similarities in special event fundraising and sponsorship, they are not the same. Raising Paddles [...]
I just finished an event and like to reflect afterwards on the "wins" and "hurdles". When I arrived that evening, I noticed they had such wonderful volunteers that were passionate about supporting the event by giving their time that evening. So.....what was the hurdle? The volunteers didn't know what to do. They had the [...]
8 Mission Video Storytelling Tips By: Scott Jones As the famous saying goes, stories make the world go round. They help non-profits build personal connections, based on empathy, trust, and compassion with their supporters through the act of storytelling. People process visuals 60,000 times better than text, which makes storytelling quite important these days. Therefore, [...]
By: Dan Campbell, Fundraising Auctioneer You are a special events coordinator…. or at least that is one of your MANY hats, and you are looking at a gala timeline that appears to last through next Tuesday……will our audience embrace what we have planned? Today’s audience is less patient with long programs, and we seem [...]
By: Shannon Eason, Fundraising Auctioneer While Spring is wrapping up, Summer is quickly approaching. With in-person events now in full swing, we hope you're planning those fun summer fundraisers. If you haven't done one, you might be missing the boat. Check these out and see how fundraising can be "Summer Fun"! "Mudder Runs" or [...]
By: Dan Campbell, Fundraising Auctioneer Compared to previous virus strains, Covid has been a resilient and perplexing pandemic that seems to never end. I imagine this same effect was felt by many after the onset of the Spanish Flu over 100 years ago. As we all know, a vaccine was eventually developed to help [...]
By: Erin Williams BAS, PRI Is less really more? According to studies performed by research psychologists at Harvard and Stanford University, excessive choices can produce “choice paralysis”. For example, a person walks into an ice cream shop and there are 50 flavors offered. Overwhelmed, the customer remains stuck in their decision making and chooses [...]
