Whiskey Wall: A revenue-generating game for fundraisers that all the men will love

Let’s be honest, a lot of fundraising galas are planned by women for women. Raise your hand if you are a man and/or have a man for a partner who has complained about having to “put on a tux and go talk to a bunch of people he doesn’t know.” Yeah, me too. Here is a game that the men LOVE every time my clients have done it. In fact it’s usually the first game to sell out.

The Whiskey Wall

What you need:

1. 25-50 bottles of assorted whiskey (get a good mix of scotch, bourbon, rye an whatever other kinds exist…Canadian or Irish?). Make sure you check out this post on how to get liquor donated for your fundraising event.

2. Gift tags (you will use these to number the bottles)

3. Pieces of card stock to write corresponding numbers on for them to draw.

4. Basket or hat or something to put the numbered card stock in

5. Fun volunteers

How to set up and Play Whiskey Wall

The Whiskey wall is very similar to a Wine Pull, except with whiskey.

SET UP

You simply set up by having all the whiskey displayed on a table. Finding a way to display it on a tiers so that each bottle is clearly displayed is ideal (you can do this by draping table cloth over boxes). Guests love to take a look at all the whiskey on display and pick out their favorites and which ones they hope to win.

TICKETS AND PRICING

You can sell opportunities to play at the booth. You will want to determine your price based on the caliber of whiskeys. If MOST of your bottles are valued around $20, I would recommend sticking there. However if you have several that range $40+ you could charge $40 to play. Remember it will sell out quicker with $20 chances, but depending on your audience and your selection you may be able to sell chances for more.

I recommend $20 or $40 because if people are paying cash, it’s easier to stay in $20 increments. However if you are working with a mobile bidding company, ask your rep how you can add the games so they can easily purchase tickets via mobile bidding.

Volunteers could also take down bidder numbers and charge it to their “tab” at the end of the night if you want to skip the cash handling all together. This allows more people to participate and not have to rely on carrying cash to play the games.

How they play

After they pay for a chance to play, they will draw a number from the basket or hat and will be rewarded the whiskey with the corresponding number. Easy as that!

Will you give this game a try?

The Whiskey Wall typically sells out fast and is where the men hang out and examine the bottles together. It’s a fun change of pace from all the events that offer wine. The fun thing is that this doesn’t have to replace the Wine Pull! You can do it in addition to earn even more revenue.

Let me know if you try this game! I’d love to hear your experience.

Gala Theme: Game Night (these ideas will raise you more money at your event)

A great way to make your event stand out and engage your guests is to create a theme or the night and everyone loves a GAME NIGHT! Even those people who “hate games” get caught up in the playfulness once the festivities get started. The best part about hosting a Game Night Themed Fundraiser is that you can use your game stations as a way to earn more revenue at your event!

I recently worked with one of our largest school districts in our state and they hosted a game night and they went all out!

Their centerpieces were giant versions of Monopoly pieces (simple and inexpensive to make).
They brought in an awesome Bar Trivia company to run a fun game during the program.
AND they had awesome game themed stations where they raised extra revenue and kept their guests engaged!

Revenue-Generating Games for your “Game Night” Themed Gala

There are so many games you can play at a gala to generate revenue.

Some of the most popular games are Heads & Tails, the Wine Pull, Punch Board, or the Golden Ticket, but this particular client had some fun takes on classic gala games!

Plinko

If you can get your hands on a plinko board or build one yourself this game is a great option to raise some money and use some of the smaller donations you received for the silent auction. Maybe a $10 gas card or a discounted service to some company in your community. You could also have them win cash prizes. You’ll see in the picture below that they had the prizes listed at the bottom of the Plinko board. When one of the non cash prizes was won, they’d remove the sign and replace it with a different prize. This is a great option for those items that were generously donated, but wouldn’t raise much revenue in the silent auction. Think of items that aren’t worth much or maybe don’t have a broad appeal. It’s still fun to win something, but you’ll end up raising more money in the long run!

“Sorry” Wine Pull

The wine pull is a crowd favorite and always one of the first games to sell out at galas (especially when the price is right. To learn the basics of a Wine Pull, visit this post or go here if you want to learn how to get wine and alcohol donated to your event. Now, let me tell you what made this wine pull so special.

Guests paid to play and everyone won.
When they paid to play, they rolled the dice.
All the wine bottles were wrapped to look like the pieces from the game “Sorry”
Guests picked the corresponding color that went with their roll.

This was a hit! All of the bottles were hidden and you didn’t know what you got until you unwrapped them. I’ll be honest, I even played this game a handful of times (we all have to do our part, right?).

“CLUE” Photobooth

While this was not a “pay to play” game, it was a fun way to give guests memories from the event. They had a giant “clue board in the background, a huge selection of “CLUE” themed props and a professional photographer there to snap a photo of the guests pretending to be their favorite clue characters. Most people pretended to murder their loved ones with a candlestick during the photos, which left them all laughing.

Follow me on Pinterest for more ideas for revenue-generating games!

11 Ideas for Silent Auction Baskets or Raffle Baskets

Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your raffle or silent auction? The possibilities are endless, but I totally understand how sometimes it can feel like when the time comes your brain just goes blank and you don’t know where to start. This week I worked with a client who did a Basket Raffle who had a great selection of baskets for which the guests could drop their tickets. Below I’ve included several of the baskets they hosted as well as some ideas that were inspired from each of the baskets. After you take a look, make sure to share in the comments some of your favorite ideas or any new creative ideas you or your committee come up with. We’re all here to help nonprofits make a greater impact on our world!

*This post may contain affiliate links. See my affiliate policy for more information.

Netflix & Chill

I know they technically called this one the “Take-Out food and Movies” basket, but I would call it “Netflix and Chill,” because…you know. This basket included some gift cards to local chains. Another option would be Door Dash or Grub Hub gift cards so they could receive delivery from any of their favorite restaurants. Add in a Netflix gift card to apply to their current membership (because lets be honest, we all have one already) and it’s a great option for someone to bid on or win something that they know they will already use!

Family Game Night

This particular package was built around the popcorn maker, but included a few games. Creating a basket around family bonding is a great idea because family unity is a core value for so many gala guests. Add in your favorite games that are easy to engage multigenerational players and some snacks. You don’t need a popcorn maker to make this basket a success. Pick the things that your family loves and you can be sure that others will appreciate it too!

“Get Hygge With it”

Yes, I’m renaming the baskets here. Get over it. I love a good pun and so will your guests. This Hygge, or Cozy Night In, basket was filled with hot cocoa, mugs and included a gift card to Barnes and Noble for some new books. If you want something more tangible than a gift card, pick out whatever Reese’s most recent Book Club choice was for a best seller that would intrigue most any bidder at your event. Facial masks, wine or cozy throw blankets would also be a great addition to this type of basket!

S’mores Basket

This one is pretty self-explanitory. All the s’mores essentials. Instead of a basket, they packaged this bad boy in an actual fire pit which was a great way to display all the goodies and really made this basket stand out. It also may inspire other baskets like “grills night out” or “grills just want to have fun” with a bunch of grilling essentials all packaged in a small tailgating-ready weber grill. Also, if you have an idea for a basket and need someone to create a pun, please reach out because I will be ready with ideas. I am 💯 percent serious.

Lucky Lotto

This item received the most tickets. I can’t guarantee that it would be as profitable as a silent auction item, but for a basket raffle it made bank. This basket was filled with lottery tickets, scratch tickets and other lottery-based items. You could add a giftcard to your local Casino. Most of our local Casinos donate a one-night stay which includes a buffet for 2 to most nonprofits for fundraisers, so you could reach out and get an overnight to make this prize even more compelling!

Margarita Madness

This basket included all the fixing for a Margarita night. Vodka, Margarita Mix, Margarita glasses, salt for the rim, some small batch craft salsa and guacamole mix. The winning bidder just needed to provide some friends and chips for a great time. This is another basket that received a lot of tickets in this basket raffle and the winner had a lot of fun taking home! Some other ideas would be some fixings for tacos or gift cards to a local favorite Mexican restaurant.

Craft Beer Basket

Your town likely has a thriving craft brewery scene. A great basket to offer is a Craft Beer Basket including some of your favorites. In my experience if you approach your favorite local breweries with a pitch for your nonprofit, you will probably get a growler or 6-pack along with some brewery swag to add to your basket. It’s a great chance for them to get exposure and give back to their own community. Sure it’s easy to buy craft beer and add it to the basket, but your local breweries may surprise you, don’t be afraid to ask. See my post on how to get beer, wine and liquor donated for tips on how to get these items for FREE!

CRAP Beer Basket

This one made me audibly laugh out loud. I have never seen this one before, but place it right next to your “Craft Beer Basket” to amuse your guests and get some engagement. This would not be a profitable silent auction item, but worked great as an option in the Basket Raffle. Throw some of your favorite domestic options in this one. I know our craft brew scene is strong, but you may have some bidders who like their classic easily drinkable domestic beers. While this didn’t get the most tickets, it definitely had people talking. Very cheap to assemble but it is something people will remember.

Single Cocktail Basket

This Old Fashioned Whiskey Basket was a hit among the guests. As a craft cocktail lover myself, I can imagine having an entire basket raffle filled only with single cocktail baskets. Think Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Moscow Mules, Margaritas, etc. Purchase everything you need to assemble the perfect cocktail, including glassware, and add a recipe card so the winner knows exactly what they need to create the perfect cocktail at home. The creator of this basket picked some tasty whiskeys which was definitely a selling point. This would be a great item to pitch to local liquor stores as a donation for some free publicity and community outreach!

Italian Dinner Basket

This basket includes everything you need for a delicious Italian dinner. Pasta, wine, seasoning, sauces and more. Like the Old Fashioned basket above, this item is a great jumping-off point for brainstorming basket ideas. How many meal-inspired baskets could you come up with? Juicy Lucy Basket, Homemade Sushi Basket, Instant Pot Success Basket, etc. The possibilities are endless. This was a fun addition to the basket raffle and inspires so many more ideas. I’d love to hear what you come up with in the comments!

Self-Care Basket

This self-care basket included home facial masks, a luxurious Volcano Candle from Anthropologie, a self-help book by the inspiring Brene Brown and more. You could also include salon or spa giftcards, bath bombs, body lotions and oils, hotel giftcards (which you should 100% be getting donated from local hotels), essential oils, spotify gift cards, babysitting coupons, wine, coffee, a cozy one-size-fits-all robe or anything else that you would consider self-care. Think of what you love to have to pamper yourself and add it in this basket for the most competitive bidding.

What are your ideas?

I would love to hear some of your most creative ideas for baskets for silent auction or raffles. Have you ever done a basket raffle? Give it a try. It gives donors a chance to pick which prizes they want to be drawn for while skipping over the baskets that don’t give them much interest. It also lets the guests who just want to win, stock pile their tickets in the baskets with the fewest tickets so they increase their chances of winning! Thanks to the Fridley Schools Foundation for letting me share your wonderful baskets!

Golden Ticket: A Fundraising Auction Enhancer to Raise Money At Your Next Event

The Golden Ticket is an exclusive high price point Raffle Game where the winner gets to pick ANY of the Live Auction Items as the prize.

I work with some local and regional nonprofits that have amazing donors and raise good money at their events through the Live Auction and Fund-A-Need, but struggle to solicit high value items. Their largest item may be a trip valued at $2,500 (though it would sell for more in the auction). The Golden Ticket is an excellent game for organizations like theirs because even though they may “lose” a live auction item through the Golden Ticket winner, the proceeds from the Golden Ticket sales far exceed what the item would have sold for in the auction. And, in my experience, roughly 50% of the time my clients play this game, the Golden Ticket winner donates their item back to the auction, generating even more revenue, because people are just amazing sometimes.

Who would benefit from offering this game?

This would benefit your organization and enhance your event if…

1. You are a small to mid-sized event (250-999 guests) that has live auction items with values all under $5,000.

2. You are an organization hosting a gala of 1,000+ because you have a larger pool of donors to whom you can sell the tickets

   Who should skip this game:

   If you are hosting an event with less than 500 people and are offering auction packages that have values over $5,000 there is a good chance you could actually lose money by offering the Golden Ticket to your guests. It works better when the ticket sales will exceed the price of your most expensive live auction item.

What you need to play?

• A roll of raffle tickets

• Dynamic and engaging Volunteers who can sell the tickets

How to set up and play:

Determine how much you want to make from the game:

Set a goal for how much revenue you want to earn from the “Golden Ticket” Game. Your goal should be equal to or higher than the value of your most expensive Live Auction item so you don’t end up losing money on your game.

Say your biggest Live Auction item is a trip to Italy valued at $6,500, your goal should at least be to sell enough tickets to meet $6,500 (though, if you have enough attendees, shoot for higher). For the sake of the instructions, I’m going to use the goal of $10,000, but know that depending on the number of people you have attending and their giving capacity, you will need to adjust your personal goal.

Decide how many tickets you should sell and how much to sell them for.

If you are hosting an event of 1,000, you should easily be able to sell 100 tickets and could likely sell them at $100 a piece to reach your goal of $10,000. You could also try for 200 tickets at $50/piece or 50 tickets at $200/piece. Remember the higher the price, the more challenging they are to sell, but the exclusivity of the raffle increases a lot which will be appealing to many of your donors.

Selling your tickets somewhere between $50 and $100 is a great place to start and fill in your numbers from there. If you have a group of 250 people, a goal of raising $10,000 with the Golden Ticket may be too high (unless you have exclusively high rollers at your event), but you could work to sell 50 Tickets at $100 and raise $5,000.

Keep in mind the winner may pick your most expensive item, so whatever you raise in the Golden Ticket needs to make up for the potential revenue you might sacrifice on that Live Auction Item.

Get the most charismatic and sales savvy volunteers you can and sell those tickets out STAT

This game can only be truly successful when you completely sell out your tickets. These volunteers should be fun, extroverted and feel comfortable chatting with strangers and know how to clearly communicate the message. I’m sure you can think of a few volunteers right now who would be perfect for this job. They will feel honored when you let them know they were the first person you thought of for this role!

EXPERT TIP:

If there is a trip or dinner experience for multiple people (say 6-8) on your auction lineup, have your volunteers go up to groups of people that are clearly friendly and have them each buy a ticket to increase their chances. “Hey, you should ALL buy one or two and then if one of you wins you can still all go to Mexico! Do it! How fun would that be?!” I have seen tables of friends go absolutely WILD when they win a trip with their besties!

Pull the Golden Ticket Winner right before the Live Auction

Bring the raffle tickets up to the stage and have the auctioneer (or whoever you want) pull the winner. Your auctioneer will remind the audience,

“I am about to pull our Golden Ticket winner. The winner will get the choice select any of the Live Auction Items we have tonight or donate it back to be bid on in the auction. Now let’s see who our lucky winner is…..Which item are you going to claim tonight?”

I like to give the choice to give it back BEFORE selecting the winner because it is off putting and a shame strategy to put a donor on the spot after you’ve called their name. Remember, every part of your event is about nurturing donor relationships because that is going to make you more profitable in the long run.

Remove the item from the live auction

When they announce their selection, congratulate them cheerfully and have your AV team remove it from the slide show or have the auctioneer skip it during the live auction, acknowledging the winner and thanking everyone who participated in the Golden Ticket Raffle.

Are you going to try it?

This game is a fun way to get more revenue out of your live auction items! It’s exclusive and a great way for donors who may not be able to afford bidding on the Live Auction, but have their eyes on certain items. They get a fighting chance as 1 of 50 people for only $100 instead of dropping a couple thousand on what it would actually sell for in the auction.

Comment below if you’ve tried this or have any questions.

I’m always happy to give feedback to make sure your event is a success!

Wine Pull: A revenue generating game for fundraising events

The Wine Pull is a great way game to play throughout the night of your fundraising auction or charity event. The majority of the wine pull will happen during the cocktail hour or silent auction.

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What you will need:

• A variety of donated wine: a couple really nice bottles, mostly $10-$15 bottles, and you can even throw in a one or two $3 buck chucks if you are feeling particularly silly (see here how to get wine donated for auction items). Ideally 25-50 bottles.

• Wine sized paper bags (these would work, but even though these are a little more expensive, people appreciate having a handle so they can still mingle while carrying their wine).

• Corks (as many as you have bottles), so start drinking. Only sort of kidding, you can get some on amazon too. I’ll let you decide how you acquire corks, but I know which one sounds more fun.

• A basket or something to place the corks in

• Permanent Markers

• 1-2 volunteers to run the booth

• optional: Red and White ribbon. This is if you want to give your guests the option of selecting a red or white wine. Poll your committee and see if this matters to them. I don’t believe it impacts the success of your wine pull, but some guests may appreciate it.

• optional: gift tags

How to set up the wine pull:

You will start by collecting all your bottles and placing them in the paper bags and then number each one. Then take your corks and use a permanent marker to number the corks. You will have the same number of corks as you have bottles. You can reuse the same corks year after year (yay!). If you are choosing to let your guests choose red vs. white, make sure you separate the corks with the corresponding bags so they don’t get mixed up.

When you get to the venue, you will have all the bottles out on the table, with the numbers facing forward. (note, if you would rather have the bottles on display, you can use gift tags to number the wines).

Place the numbered corks in a basket (two separate ones if you are doing red vs. white)

How to play the wine pull:

After the guests pay to play “Wine Pull” the volunteer will hold out the basket and the guest will pick a cork. The volunteer will grab the corresponding wine bottle for the cork.

Side note: many guests will ask if the volunteers can hold their bottles until the end of the night. This is why I recommend using the bags with the handles because it allows the guests to take the wine with little inconvenience. If you have multiple volunteers at the table, you could receive the bidders name and bid number and bring the bottle to silent auction checkout. It’s a hassle, so my recommendation is that you just encourage the guests to carry the bottle with them so there are no mix-ups at the end of the night.

How much should a single “wine pull” cost and how should they pay?

If you are asking the guests to pay cash, it should cost $20. Most of the bottles donated will be around that $10-$20 mark, but a few will be worth way more. This is the fun of the game.

If you are using a mobile bidding software, talk to your contact with the software you chose and they can help you set up an option to buy a turn at the wine pull in the mobile bidding software. This is my recommendation because fewer people are bringing cash to these events since mobile bidding makes purchasing items and donating so accessible.

If you are not using a mobile bidding software, and you want to offer your guests an option other than cash, have the volunteers collect the guests’ names and bidder numbers and then they can pay at the end of the night during checkout with the rest of their auction items and donations.

Fundraising Event Tip: How to make donors WANT to give to your organization

What would it mean to your organization if donors not only came to your fundraising event and made a donation, but also became die-hard donors who you could rely on for years to come?

I know how much the money you raise at your event means to your bottom line. It is incredibly important to your ability to keep doing the amazing work you do! Wouldn’t it be amazing if your donors not only gave, but completely and 100% bought into your mission and became the motor that moved your organization forward? Incase you were wondering, the answer to that question is HECK YES!

How to make donors give at your event?

There are several techniques to getting guests to give at your fundraising event. They may give through the auction or play your revenue-generating games, and I’ve even witnessed guests be guilted and bullied into giving to an organization.

One of the best tools your organization has at your fundraising event is the Fund-A-Need (cash auction, paddle raise, giving moment, ask for donations, whatever you want to call it). The question I get all the time from nonprofits is “how do I get people to give during my fund-a-need?” And can you blame them? You may be asking the same question right now.

So I took the tools I have personally used to help my clients consistently have record-breaking fundraisers, and put it into my 3 part Fund-A-Need Framework for you (ABSOLUTELY FREE).

What will the Fund-A-Need Framework do for you?

You will learn to craft your nonprofit’s story in a way that will engage and empower donors.

You will learn how to use your event to turn casual attenders into die-hard, long term donors.

You will learn the 3 steps I ask my clients to integrate into their events that will prepare their hearts and minds to become financial partners before I even conduct the ask for donations.

If you are ready to set your Fund-A-Need up for success, download your FREE Fund-A-Need Framework here:

3 Ways to get Wine and Alcohol Donated for Auction Items and Fundraising Games

One of the most important questions to ask yourselves about auction items is, “Does this item have broad appeal?” Meaning, is this something a lot of people like and would be willing to bid on? If there is one thing that you can guarantee a lot of people could bid on it is….(drumroll please)… alcohol.

There are several different auction packages you can compile around a theme of wine, beer and/or spirits. To see some ideas, check out this post on Alcohol-related auction items or grab my FREE AUCTION ITEM GUIDE below:

Once you brainstorm a bunch of items that you know will get your guests’ hands high in the air, the question remains…

How do you get wine, beer and other forms of alcohol donated to use at a nonprofit auction or for fundraising games?

When I go to events, I see the three different types of donors of wine/beer/alcohol items.

1. Ask a local, privately owned, Liquor Store to sponsor your auction item or game.

   What do I mean by this? Say you are doing a Wine Pull and need 50 bottles of wine. You can pitch this to local liquor store owners and ask if they would be interested in Sponsoring it. You could even name the game after them: “Anderson Liquor’s Wine Pull.”
   How does this benefit the liquor store? The same way any sponsorship (either cash or in-kind) benefits a person or company. They get name recognition and advertising at the event. Asking them to sponsor a game is especially appealing because they are typically in a prime area at the event and get a lot of attention. They should also be listed in all other places that sponsors are listed.

2. Ask the board to come together and donate

   Alcohol-related items are commonly donated by the board. Things like the “Wall of Wine” or “Wheelbarrow of Booze” that are compiled of several different types of wine, beer and spirits can be pulled together by several different people. Ask the board to contribute one to two bottles of their choice (remind them they need not be stingy 😉). This is a great way to easily collect a wonderful collection that can be used in auction items or for a game like a Wine Pull or Whiskey Pull.

3. Reach out to restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries in your community.

   Similar to reaching out to a liquor store, the local restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries in your community can gain name recognition, advertising and good will with your guests through sponsoring your event by providing beer, wine or spirits. This is a great option if you have a venue that allows you to bring in your own alcohol at the event because they could even sponsor the bar.

   Could they sponsor the bar, or offer up one case/keg to sell at the event?

   I went to an event recently and a local brewery was willing to donate a keg of a crowd favorite beer. At the event, the organization let everyone know that if they selected that specific beer 100% of the proceeds could go back to the organization. So instead of paying $8 to the venue, they were racking up $8 donations one after another.

   Could they donate an alcohol-related experience?

   Could they host a tasting or a tour? Could their craft bar tender put on an exclusive cocktail class for 12? If they can add some food to this, even better! This is a great LIVE AUCTION item!

   Could they put together a basket or donate a gift card to the silent auction?

   I go to a lot of silent auctions… A LOT of them and since my husband loves craft beer, I keep a close watch on the brewery donated items. It will usually be a couple 6-packs, a brewery gift card and some swag (sweatshirts or coozies or anything with the name on it) and even in the silent auction these items go well above retail value because of their broad appeal. It’s a great, low cost way for the breweries, wineries or distilleries to give back and be involved in their community.

Give these a try and watch those donations come in. Keep coming back for more ideas on auction items, fundraising ideas and how to get donations.

How many live auction items should you have at your fundraising auction?

Today, I want to focus on something easy. I am often asked how many live auction items you should have in your live auction. 

In the past, auctioneers recommended having 8-12 auction items, but over the past couple years the intrigue of the live auction has faded and with the rise of the Fund-A-Need, it has become the primary source of revenue for most of my clients. This means that the live auction is evolving and becoming a source of momentum that leads up to the giving moment. How many auction items is perfect for building momentum and raising lots of money?

The number of Live Auction items I recommend having in your Live Auction:

4-6

Why? 

Because your guests don't have the attention span for any more than that.  

I have found that after 6 items, you begin to lose your audience's attention. You may engage the few people interested in those last items on your list, but other than that your guests are tapped out. 

Why this is important? 

For most of my clients, the Fund-A-Need is conducted after the live auction. And you want everything in your program to support your Fund-A-Need. Sometimes it is even more profitable to have the Fund-A-Need before the Live Auction, which is a topic for another day. For today, I want to focus on how the live auction can build momentum up to the Fund-A-Need.

What's the big deal about the fund-a-need? 

The fund-a-need is where most of my clients bring in the majority of their revenue. It is when they can involve everyone in the audience and welcome them to join in on the incredible work their organization does. If you want to learn more about that, please watch my videos from last week and the week before to get a very thorough overview of how to have a profitable fund-a-need.  

You actually lose money by having too many live auction items

You do not want the live auction to run too long because it will only engage a small percentage of your audience, and the rest of your crowd will eventually tune out and you will have lost their attention for the Fund-A-Need where they are mostly likely to give.

While I make sure my live auctions are fun and exciting and that everyone is in on the fun by making jokes and playing with the audience, after a while it becomes a lot of the same. You do not want your auctioneer to take away from the work your organization does.  

By including 4-6 live auction items in your program you will: 

Cultivate Competative Bidding

By having fewer items in your live auction (this is actually true of your silent auction too), the few items you have will go for more than they would have if you had more items in play. I have many clients who cut their live auctions in half and made the same amount of revenue (if not more) in the live auction and made even more in the Fund-A-Need. 

Create Momentum

This is a stop while you are ahead mentality. The live auction is fun and exciting and I get everyone laughing and playing along. You want to stop at the height of your energy and conduct the fundraising appeal or Fund-A-Need. People become swept up in the energy and are ready to give at this time. 

Build Trust

This is probably the strongest argument for having the live auction before the Fund-A-Need (again, you do not have to do it this way). As the auctioneer, I am an outsider. Your audience does not know me, and therefore they don't trust me. I have no credibility with them at the beginning of an event and therefore no authority to ask them to give money. After about four or five live auction items, we've gotten to know each other pretty well. I approach every auction with authenticity and quickly build a rapport with my audience. This means when it is time to do the ask, they trust and respect me and are more comfortable opening up their pocketbooks when I tell them to. 

Determining Donation Levels for your Fundraising Appeal and Securing a Momentum Donor

Doing a Fund-A-Need or any sort of formal ask for donations at your fundraising event can be intimidating. How do you know if someone will bid? Where should you start it? What if no one raises their hand? Don’t worry, I will not let this happen to you!

Determining Donation Levels for your Fundraising appeal.

First, you need to decide how many donation levels to have. There are a couple amazing mobile technology companies I get the pleasure of working with, but there is one called Auction Harmony based in Minneapolis who I think just has the most beautiful donation display on their Kindle Fire Tablets. There are 9 spaces. That is for 8 donation levels and one "other" section. This is a great rule to follow whether or not you are using technology for your fundraising appeal.  

So how do you determine your levels?

The first way, is by assessing who you have on your guest list and determining their donation levels.

If your organization has never received a donation over $5,000, you are not going to want to start your initial donation at $20,000. Does that make sense?

Securing a momentum donor 

You are going to want to identify a few donors who have potential to be your highest level donors and approach them about being momentum donors during your fundraising appeal

If this is not your first fundraising event, you can probably get by with looking only at the records from previous events. Who has given a large amount in the past? These would be the first people I would talk to. However, you are also going to want to consider donors who gave at other times throughout the year, because they clearly care about your organization, and you could provide them with an opportunity to inspire others to give by being a momentum donor. 

I understand how hard these conversations can be to initiate, but trust me when I say it is worth it and you will probably want to queue your major gifts officer in on this because they are skilled at having these conversations. You will want to thank the donor for their previous contribution. Then you will want to make sure they are planning to attend your event and explain the amazing project your guests get to fund at this year's event. Explain that you are going to fund it in one evening, and that it's going to be exciting and create a ton of energy, and ask them if they would want to be the hero to set the tone for the evening. Be transparent about your goal and include them in on the strategy and how impactful a momentum donor can be. It is so exciting for the audience to see that first hand go in the air quick which sets an expectation and excitement over generosity. This donor has the unique position to be able to create that, if they an commit to giving at a specific level that you decide with them in the meeting. Then it is important to ask if they would like to be recognized by name and make sure you communicate that to your auctioneer in advance as well as tell them exactly where the donor is sitting so they recognize it when the hand goes up! 

Frame this as an opportunity to start something amazing. Because you are reaching out to donors who have given in the past, your success rate should be fairly high. 

After you've had a couple of these conversations and have determined what the highest amount someone has committed to in advance, that is a good place to start. Hopefully you have a couple of people at the first couple of donation levels to get the show started. Once other potential high level donors see the applause and energy around this donation, it is likely you will receive a match at these levels.

Say your highest commitment is $10,000, I would recommend making that your highest level. Then go down 7 more levels after that: 

$10,000
 $5,000
 $2,500
 $1,000
 $500
 $250
 $100
 $50
Other

The reason, you ideally want to start where you have a committed donor is because when you start too high and have no donors, it kills momentum, which kills energy which discourages giving in other levels.

The fundraising appeal is a momentum game.

Every part of your program should be strategically leading up to this point of engagement, then BOOM! You get a donor right away and it is a domino effect. More hands fly in the air or everyone whips out their phones to secure their donation and see their name on the screen. 

If you don't have a starting momentum donor and have no idea where to start, try starting at 10-20% of your total goal and break it down from there, again I highly encourage you to brave these conversations. They may feel uncomfortable, but focus on the donor and it will take the pressure off you and make it more exciting for them to commit. You will be so glad you did this!

This should give you a good start on determining donation levels for a profitable fundraising appeal. If you have any additional questions, please share them below. I would love to answer them. 

How to Pick a "Need" For your Fundraising Appeal

Today we are going to cover How to Pick a "Need" for your fundraising appeal. 

This is often why we call it a "Fund-A-Need" at events. 

First, let me do a super brief history of the fund-a-need: 

Once upon a time, people had fancy pants galas and they brought in an auctioneer with a cowboy hat and bow tie who looked sharp as hell who sold 10-12 auction items. This meant 10-12 people got to be donors for the evening, and the other 478 people were chumps who just got to eat a chicken dinner and enjoy the open bar. Then one day, the auctioneers said, "hey, we're missing out on some money here, because the losing bidders still have some cash in their pockets." So after their auction, they would say something like, "hey, if you didn't win anything, you can still give money." And the fund-a-need was born. Fast forward 10-15ish years, the fund-a-need is the bread and butter of every event.  

Now, you should also know MY personal fundraising philosophy.

I believe that every single person wants to feel impactful. They want to know that at the end of their life, their existence made a lasting difference in our world. I believe it is our job as fundraisers to give them that opportunity. The opportunity to make a meaningful difference. When we begin to look at fundraising through this lense, it becomes just as important as the work you do directly through your organization, because it allows us not only to serve the people (or animals, or environment, or whatever it is you serve), but it also allows us to serve your donors, but giving them a genuine opportunity to make a meaningful difference.

With that in mind, why should you pick a "need" in the first place? Why can't you just raise "as much money as you can" towards your general fund? 

This is a great question that I get all of the time. So let me address it.  

Your guests are more likely to give if they can tangibly understand who or what they are helping. You may do great and amazing world-changing work, but if your guests do not understand what they are funding, they will not give. It's that simple.  

Let's simplify it for them so they don't have to think about it. All they have to do is raise their hand. 

Select a "need" that is inspirational.

If you can make them cry, that's perfect. Inspirational may seem obvious, but it is a key characteristic to conducting a successful fund-a-need. If your need, isn't that "sexy" try looking at it from a different angle. I had a client two years ago, who had to build a bathroom facility in a Haitian Village they serve. Toilets are definitely not sexy, but rather than focusing on all of that crap, we focused on human dignity. We focused on the jobs it would create to build these bathrooms. They shared stories of what it was like to go to the bathroom in that village. Using a toilet in private is something we all take for granted here in the US, but they showed their audience that they could provide a sense of dignity to the people of Haiti. Because of this inspirational take on the least sexy subject ever, they were able to build the bathrooms. And when the hurricane hit the following fall, it was the only facility left standing, which was a testament to the heart and quality they put in to this project, which made it even easier the following year when we had to rebuild the dormitories for this community.

Give them a "need" that is financially transparent.

They should understand where their money is going and that it is going to directly impact lives or make this world the kind of place they want to live in. The majority of your guests have a limited amount of resources. If this is not you, you are #blessed. But for most nonprofits, you know that charitable giving is competitive, and you have to prove to your guests that you are going to use their funds wisely.  I'll use the potty example again. This organization is 100% volunteer run out of someone's home, so they were able to share that. The donors knew that all of their money would be an act of love as they provided a sense of dignity to this Haitian Community. You are probably not a volunteer-run organization and that's okay, because you are able to commit more time and energy to the work you do. I encourage you to find a project or a need that will use 100% of their gift towards affecting change or solving a problem. Then reassure them that their money will be going directly to this project. It doesn't take much here other than something like, "100% of the money you give tonight will go directly to fund scholarships for young women in the Congo." And then follow up with them with updates about the young women they impacted. This is their reminder that they did well and that their contribution made a difference.

Your "Need" should be achievable.

This means that you need to fund it in completion that evening. Assuming the number of attendees you plan to have stays the same year over year, shoot for a project that is approximately 10-20% more than you raised last year. I will circle back to the bathroom example. They decided to fund it by breaking down the costs of the facility. I don't always recommend it, but with building projects it makes the giving super tangible. The frame and roof will cost $10,000, the labor will cost $5000, the sheetrock will cost $2500, the tile costs $1,000, a toilet costs $100, etc. For this group, since they did not have a "momentum donor" which I will talk more about in detail next week, I would try to find 10 people to fund the frame and roof at $1000 a piece and go from there. It works for this group. What I would generally recommend is being clear about the cost of the project as a whole and starting higher at $5,000 and go all the way down to $25 explaining that $25 will fund a day of work for one person, so that those $25 donors know how impactful their donation is.

I bet you didn't think I'd use a bathroom project as a good "need" to select. I'd love to hear what you have funded in the past! Let me know in the comments. Also, if you are working on framing your fundraising appeal right now and are trying to decide which way to go, share that and we can work as a community to give you feedback and ideas! It's all about how to inspire your donors this year!