When it comes to benefit auction ideas, sometimes the simplest tips are worth thousands of dollars. This is one. Experience has taught me to never, ever say or reference this when you're on stage at the auction. Watch the video below. What else should -- or shouldn't -- be said when you're on stage? Well, if you're running a Fund a Need at your gala, there is an art and a science to it. It's a process unto itself, often replete with videos, speakers, someone "asking" for the ... Read On >
Appeals / Fund a Need / Raise the Paddle
VIDEO: Seven tips to raise more money in a fund a need
A cash appeal (also called a fund a need, mission moment, and other names) can be an easy way to raise dollars at most fundraising auctions. But there is a process to follow. To get started, use these seven fund a need ideas to ensure you cover the basics of this lucrative gala element. Watch the video below. And now that you've got "the basics" down, what about the rest? Like examples of great videos that have been used as introductions prior to the Fund a Need ... sample ... Read On >
A rose … er, a cash appeal by any other name is still a cash appeal.
A prospective client called me a few days ago. "We conduct a silent auction, a live auction, and a reverse auction," she said. A reverse auction? That was a new one for me. Perhaps more than any other activity during an auction fundraiser, cash appeals are called a variety of names. Let's describe it so we all understand what it is. A cash appeal is a direct request of the audience, asking them to make a cash donation to fund the organization. The crowd is - in effect - giving a ... Read On >
Does a fund a need hurt your live auction proceeds?
One of the first questions I'm asked if a group is conducting it's first fund a need (also called an appeal, mission moment, and a dozen other names), "Don't you think that we'll make less money in the live auction or the silent auction if we also conduct an appeal?" No, I don't. Nor has that proven to be the case at any of the 50 auctions I conduct onsite annually. Instead, my client just raises more money. We raise the same or similar live auction revenue. We raise the same or similar ... Read On >
Seven tips to raise more money in a fund a need
Many auction ideas can help you raise cash, but no other singular activity during your benefit auction will have more financial impact than the cash appeal. It can be such a cash cow that some of my clients have no live auction; they only conduct an appeal. The appeal goes by various names: fund a need, gift from the heart, or any of these other cash appeal names. Whatever you call it, there is a strict protocol to follow if you want to be successful. Here are seven pointers to executing a ... Read On >