Before I dig into auctions and why I think they’re not something you should consider doing unless you can answer yes to a few questions, please let me introduce myself!

 

Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!

 

Link to Join Facebook Group:

 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/

 

If you’ve ever planned an auction you can sympathize with me and the others and admit that it takes a village to plan a good one!  There are so many things that need to get done including marketing the auction, marketing the event, planning the event, fundraising at the event, awareness building and so on and so forth.  I can see why nonprofits shy away from hosting one. I get it!

 

Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event.  If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.

 

 

Back to auctions.  For this topic, I’m going to answer these four questions:

 

1) Why are auctions so difficult to host, plan, do?

2) How do I make room for an auction with my already existing and very full fundraising load?

3) What strategy is involved in hosting an auction?

4) How do I create a well-attended and well-run auction?

 

Before I answer these questions, I want to share a story with you about my very first auction.  Back in 1994-95, my daughter was entering kindergarten at a private Catholic School. It was actually the school her father attended.  It was steeped in tradition and built around families and community. Great school. Every year the school hosted a silent auction dinner/dance to raise money for reading books for the next academic school year.  The auction had been an annual tradition for years and years.

Not knowing a thing about fundraising but feeling like I did cause I planned a wedding, LOL, I signed up to be a co-auction chair with my dear friend, Lil.  Oh, boy!

 

My co-auction chair and I quickly learned that it was the Church and Schools Jubilee year aka 50 year Anniversary.  That meant we were being asked to plan a school reunion fundraiser. The event we thought we’d be planning for 250 parents quickly turned into 800 parents and alums.

The good news is we learned we had helpers.  Volunteers. They would be assigned to various tasks including solicitation of auction items.  Again, thinking cause I planned a wedding before that planning an auction was the same exact thing.  Clearly, I had no clue!

Our little volunteer committee consisted of 10 volunteers in charge of decor,  working the day of the event, working registration, doing solicitation, etc. We had 7 months to plan it.  We had a venue. The same place it was hosted in year’s past. Basically, the same dinner and same entertainment, too.  What could be so difficult.

 

Well, I quickly learned that an event committee does not there in make an auction committee.  NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL!

 

But, little did I know that I had a secret weapon.  I had a close friend that signed up to run the sub committee of securing auction items and she was a freakin’ dynamo!   

 

She began her efforts almost immediately and every single day she secured gifts ranging from bikes to televisions (remember it was 1994) to restaurant gift certificates, and vacation homes.  All these items were being stored in my den so I saw the fruits of her labor on a weekly basis.

 

How the heck did she know what to do?  Great question! Well, her father was a politician so she got schooled at a young age on what it meant to truly fundraise!

And, I watched her in complete awe and learned so much from her.  I am proud to say because of her or mostly because of her and her team we raised $300K that year.  

Here’s the thing,  a well-run auction can be a wonderful thing IF you know what’s involved.  IF you have a plan. IF you have an auction committee doing the work.

Tune in to hear my thoughts and learn from my experiences on how to host a successful auction!  I’ve proudly raised $1.8M in one night and it was at a high school. I’ve learned a few things so join me to learn more….

 

Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!

 

https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/

Before I provide you with my thoughts on which is best in regards to development associate or event planner, let me introduce myself!

Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!

Link to Join Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/

Look, I completely understand how challenging and time consuming it is to plan events.  I also know how important it is to have customer service, donor-centric minded staff. I also know come event time, you don’t want to be in the office printing out name tags or managing the attendee list.  I also know how tight it can be working for a nonprofit and if you’re only allowed a certain headcount due to budget constraints which do you choose to hire? A development associate OR an event planner?

Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event.  If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.

So back to the question at hand.  To be honest, I’ve been arguing with myself the entire time I’ve been writing these shownotes.   I can make a good argument for either case but I have a story to tell you about why I think you need to go with the position that encompasses some strong qualities that I’ll list in a moment and that’s the qualities of an event planner.  OMG, I can’t believe I just said that……

I’m part of a nonprofit facebook group and this question got asked a couple of weeks ago.  I think I even said to hire the “development associate” and NOT “the event coordinator.” Look at me now.  

As I began to write down the qualities of an event planner, one quality stood out. But first,  let me tell you the story of my development associate. She got hired by someone else so I inherited her.  She was a wonderful coordinator but not exactly a development coordinator and not exactly an event coordinator.  What I needed her to be was a donor engagement coordinator aka event planner with special skills. LOL.

Reasons to hire an event planner….and call him/her a donor engagement coordinator

Strong attention to detail

They care about appearances, beautification.  Why does this matter? They will make sure the event looks stellar for donors.

They have great pride in their work.  This means they will also take great pride in the donor’s journey and not just at the event.  They will have the desire to create an experience, a special one.

When everyone else is dragging their feet around event time, they are high as a kite.  You need this type of energy as the event draws closer.

They are outgoing.  This type of work requires you to interact in a professional manner.  What does this mean, next point….

They have excellent customer service skills AKA donor relation skills.

They are organized.  A planner must create production timelines to track every detail of an event.  How does this translate? They will track your donors giving. They get it!!! They understand spreadsheets, tracking data, tracking production!

Last bonus tip, you can use this as a list to guide you in hiring your next development coordinator but I highly recommend you call them a Donor Engagement Associate or Coordinator.  And, that you are clear that the role requires them to love events, love customer service, love planning, and love donor relations aka people lovers! If you do, you will have a winner of an employee!

Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!

https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/

Before I provide you with some tips for how to highlight all the wonderful things your organization is doing, allow me to introduce myself!

 

Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!

 

Link to Join Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/

 

Hosting an annual fundraising event at the same “Bat time” at the same “Bat place” can definitely cause donor and board fatigue.  Right! You might be on year five of the event and perhaps attendance is going down? Or, you just don’t see the spark in your guests when you ask them “Hey, are you coming again this year?”  They reply, “Maybe???” Your staff might be a little bored, too.

 

Before I get into how to make your programs and services a integral part of your event, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser.  If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below.

My FREE checklist will definitely help to create a pipeline of new funding so check it out.

Speaking of which, your annual fundraiser likely provides some decent funding to your annual campaign.  But, year after year, staff and donors and even the board can grow a little tired of the same thing. Does this mean you should change the venue and change the theme.  Not necessarily. I’m going to give you a few reasons that warrant you changing the venue and the theme AND give you a few reasons you need to stay put! But first, I want to share a story with you about how an annual golf tournament hosted at the same time and same place worked for over 20 years and is still going strong to this day.  

While working at Stanford University, Athletic Development, I helped to organize an annual golf tournament called, The Shultz Cup.”   The tournament was aimed at raising money for the Men and Women’s Golf program. A Golf Tournament is a perfect example of a theme you really can’t change.  This was the daily agenda for the golf tournament:

 

1). Checkin

2). Meet and mingle with guests

3). Lunch

4). Pledge of Allegiance

5). Tee Off

6). Cocktail Reception

7). Welcome and State of the Union by George Schultz

8).  Dinner and dessert

9).  End

 

Approximately 100 golfers every year.  Same men and women. Actually, over the years, more and more women participated.   That was nice to see. 

This event wasn’t broken.  No need to change it at all.  It worked. No one complained.  Everyone looked forward to attending.  The ONLY thing that changed each year was the giveaway and the State of the Union Speech by former Secretary of State, George Shultz.  That’s it. Oh, and we switched back and forth from chicken to beef year after year! LOL!

Now, here is an example of an event we decided to change up.  We hosted an event at a venue that had a capacity of 225 headcount.  We hosted a VIP cocktail reception followed by a cooking class with a celebrity chef followed by standing dinner and live auction. It was a huge success.  So much so that we sold out every year and basically, outgrew the venue. Good problem to have but we had to make a decision to find a new venue. We did this because we believed we were leaving money on the table.   It was also a challenge to find a celebrity chef year after year. We ended up moving forward with a different space. We were super nervous but it ended up being the right move. When we made the move, we elected to introduce a new them as well.  

 

Reasons to Change it Up:

 

1. Capacity issue - you outgrow the venue.
2. You see a drastic drop in attendance two years in a row.
3. You see a drastic drop in funds being raised two years in a row.
4. You break even year after year.
5. You do an evaluation of expenses and realize it’s cheaper to go with a different venue and this change allows you the opportunity to possibly change up the theme, too.  This also allows you to announce to your supporters that a change in venue and theme will be more dollars raised for the organization!

 

 

Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!

https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/

 

Connect On Social Media 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark 
Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com

 Before I provide you with some tips for how to highlight all the wonderful things your organization is doing, allow me to introduce myself!

Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away!

Link to Join Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ 

Like I said, are you having a tough time figuring out how to make your programs and services a part of your annual fundraising event? When you host your fundraiser, are you scrambling to include them last minute? Is it an afterthought? Does your program staff even want to participate in the event cause they just don’t know what to do once they’re there? Are you too busy trying to sell silent and live auction items that you don’t allocate an appropriate amount of time to make sure your guests walk away knowing exactly what your programs and services are all about?

Before I get into how to make your programs and services a integral part of your event, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. My FREE checklist is about hosting mini events so check it out.

Now, what I really want to talk about are some special ways you can highlight all the good work you do, day in and day out! I want to tell you a story. Back in 2013, I interviewed 3 foundations and asked them what made them attend a fundraising event of an organization they supported? What events had they actually attended and what was special about the event? One foundation Executive Director mentioned how every year she would attend an event as she was invited by one of her best girlfriends. She went as a favor. She would have a great time. But, sadly, she couldn’t even tell you what the mission of the organization was or what their core services were. That’s not good! Her biggest tip to me was to make sure I hosted an event where every guest walked away knowing exactly what our programs and services are all about.

This advice stuck with me.

So, I decided to partner with our Programs team to create a special event. Here’s what we did:

1. We played a game that allowed guests to learn stats and interesting facts about our organization. In fact, we designated an entire room to playing different types of games that were aimed at teaching attendees about our work,
2. We involved senior program leaders in fundraising efforts. I assigned five of them the duty of meeting 3 to 5 guests and asking them very specific questions and sharing details about our programs and services (if appropriate) and then debriefed with said staff to get their answers. I would then enter this data in our CRM. I made my program staff mini spies. Sort of….
3. We had a youth give a testimonial and talk about going through one of our programs. It was super meaningful!!!! We worked with the youth to create a well thought out speech and had them practice with program staff. It was wonderful and a very proud moment for the youth. It also taught them public speaking skills.
4. Next, we created a program highlights video played to super touching music like “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” You know, that Hawaiian guy’s version. Soooo goood!
5. We also included Fund A Need in our live auction. This was one great way to show our guests the need and the program that would be supported.
6. Volunteer and Board/Supporter Award. I’ve had the opportunity to give both an award to volunteers and an award to a large supporter. For the volunteer award, we had staff nominate volunteers for the award. We created a nomination form and staff could fill it out and nominate their choice volunteer. They had to answer specific questions about why they believed their volunteer should win the award. Staff loved it. Volunteers loved it, too. Nominating a volunteer, I’m not going to lie, is easier than nominating a board member or large supporter. Most board members or large supporters don’t want the recognition. They’re private and want their donations to be private as well. How we got around this is we honored our largest long-term donor. It wasn’t an individual but instead a foundation. This is sometimes easier to do. Giving an award allows you to talk about the reasons the foundation got involved in the organization and this tactic allows you to talk about them and talk about your programs/services. It’s a win-win!

Well, that’s the list and to make it easy for you, I’ve numbered the list below. llllllllll

1. Games. A Trivia game allows attendees the opportunity to do something fun and learn about your organization at the same time.
2. Assign Program staff to mingle with 3 to 5 donors and provide staff with 3 to 5 questions to ask the donors they are assigned to. Then, host a debrief and collect the answers and update your donor tracking system or customer relationship management system so when you meet with the donor again, you have some talking points or bits of information about them which deepens the relationships and connection
3. Testimonials: Provide the opportunity for someone who has benefitted from your programs/services to do a short speech about the program they participated in and how it changed their life.
4. Highlight Video: Make a short video or slideshow played to a song that represents your organization nicely. The video and/or slideshow should be highlights of your programs/services in action. It should include volunteers and staff as well.
5. Fund a Need. Include Fund A Need in your live auction. It offers a way to describe what your organization does and associates it with a need!
6. Volunteer Service Award for work in Programs and Services
7. Donor or Board Member Award: Someone who has generously donated year after year in time and service and financial support.

As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)!

https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ 

Connect On Social Media 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark 
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark 
Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com

I know that trying to come up with different ways to create a new revenue stream can be challenging. And, I also know that adding an additional fundraising event to your already busy schedule can make you lose sleep at night and have you chewing off your fingernails. But, I have 5 important key points for your to consider before you secure the venue for a second event.

It’s hard enough hosting a silent auction much less entertaining the thought of hosting an online one. Modern technology has allowed us to move our ways of doing business online. It’s wonderful but it’s also more work to consider. Are you leaving money on the table if you don’t host an online auction in addition to your onsite silent auction?

Here are 10 important reasons to host your ANNUAL event the same time every year, at the same location, and utilize the same theme.

Maybe your organization's been tossing around the idea of having a fundraising event. But, you feel having an event, randomly, doesn’t make a lot of sense. You feel like there should be a good reason, something that will entice donors to attend. I have three solid reasons to host an event and that includes knowing if you’re ready to have one! 

Check Out My Website: http://raisingwithlisaclark.com

Click here for my FREE mini checklist on how to create a donor pipeline: http://bit.ly/DonorPipelineChe

Does your name tag table really matter? Absolutely! Tune in to learn why you need to create a check-in table that WOWS!