Description
How to double your fundraising event revenues in 15 minutes using a paddle raise / fund a need!
Fund a Needs are called different names – Paddle Raise, Special Appeal, Fund a Mission, Mission Moment – but the gist is the same: Ask guests to raise their bid paddle to make a straight donation to your cause.
This element will often generate more than a live auction in its entirety.
Can you imagine nearly every one of your guests raising their hand to make a contribution to your cause?
Your donor base SWELLS with new contributions from new donors … and it all happens in 15 minutes.
In this course, you learn the latest (as of 2019) techniques and trends for generating the most money.
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What you’ll learn:
THE BEST APPROACH for your cause. Should you give guests a choice of tiered levels, ask them to donate a set amount (like $500), or fill out pledge cards? Learn when to do each. (Not every appeal needs or should be tiered.)- SPECIFIC PHRASES that flip guests to a “I must donate” attitude. This insider language triggers psychological responses so guests raise their paddle right then.
- WHERE TO START your paddle raise. What’s ridiculous and what’s on the money when initiating giving.
PERFECT PLACEMENT: When and how to introduce the Fund a Need for ideal timing in the program, regardless of your event style (sit-down dinner versus food stations).- HOW TO LEVERAGE UNEXPECTED DONATIONS that often “scare off” smaller donors. Learn how to use it to compel increased gifts instead.
- My formula for WRITING A COMPELLING “ASK.” Follow this step-by-step to eloquently deliver an authentic presentation to encourage donations.
BEST PRACTICES IN VIDEOS. You’ll have access to 33 real-life Fund a Need videos, covering all types of “needs.” Some are professionally produced while others are amateur-made, but all have ideas to use.- HOW TO CREATIVELY MARKET YOUR MESSAGE throughout the gala, so guests are saturated with your cause.
- GAMES, SURPRISES and “TRICKS” that make the Fund a Need fun and inspire up to 40% more gifts.
- REBEL ROUSING DIFFERENCES. What makes one appeal “work” and another “bomb?” Beyond the basics of good Fund a Mission management, learn the “special somethings” I like to do at my events, to further enhance the activity.
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Got an UNUSUAL SITUATION? You’ll hear about how Fund a Needs have been adjusted to accommodate these circumstances:- Anniversaries and landmark years: Master milestone celebrations with these paddle raise activities best reserved for “big” years.
- Monthly giving programs: How nonprofits have rolled out programs and signed up recurring givers onsite.
- Sustainer levels: Trying to boost your higher level $1000+ donors? Hear how we change the paddle raiser to inspire guests to dig deeper to donate more.
- Capital campaigns: See how nonprofits adjust their paddle raise to support the quiet phase versus the public phase of their campaign.
- Running multiple paddle raisers in one event: One client targeted four needs; another funded two distinct causes. Get the inside scoop on two ways to manage this effectively.
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The Fund a Mission has changed dramatically in recent years.
Techniques have been introduced to make raising more money even easier.
Well-managed appeals generate tens of thousands of dollars; poorly managed ones generate pennies.
It’s a LOST OPPORTUNITY if you don’t run this activity properly.
Look at how simple changes affected these groups:
From $50 to $45,000: A Maryland nonprofit showed a compelling video and raised a mere $50 (yes, $50) from their pledge cards. After tweaking the process, the next year the donations ballooned to $45,150. Same crowd – different technique.
94% increase: A Kentucky school was OK with the money raised ($25,600 with an average gift of $39) but felt they were missing something. Tweaking the Fund a Need generated $49,670 with an average gift of $90 a year later. (Now it’s nearly $100k.) Same crowd – different technique.
A new level: A Florida nonprofit hit a new high of over $130,000 using new techniques.
A big surprise: A New York nonprofit received a spontaneous $1 million gift during the paddle raise.
94% increase: A D.C. nonprofit jumped from $26,000 to $50,400 in one year. Same crowd – different technique.
First-year effort: A Maryland school that raised over $70,000 in a first time Fund a Need.
Boost of $36,000: A New York nonprofit adjusted an already successful appeal to raise an additional $36k, moving from $250,000 to $286,500. Same crowd – different technique.
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Who should invest in this training?
This master class is for all experience levels.
Read the reviews — some students have run Fund a Needs for years and were excited at the new techniques they learned.
If you’re planning an event that gathers supporters together, you can run a Fund a Need. Even casual college alumni events and adult birthday parties have spontaneously organized paddle raisers to raise thousands of dollars.
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What you’ll receive …
Recordings of three live training webinars. Approximately 3.5 hours total, including the final Q&A.- One training video for your volunteer secretary to watch. In the course, you’ll learn the best way to track the donations, and this 17-minute video teaches your volunteer clerk the easiest way to record the numbers.
- Two types of recording sheets to match the type of appeal best for your event.
- A companion document with slides and 8 transcripts from some of my Fund a Needs. You’ll literally read “what I said” on stage so you can model it for your own paddle raise script.
- Paddle raise videos from real events. Tucked into the course, you’ll watch best-in-class videos presented at real fundraisers across the country. Furthermore, you’ll see live speakers present, giving you an understanding of how the flow actually works. One of the favorite student videos is one whereby I deliver a real Fund a Need, but break the steps down for you as I’m delivering the message on the stage.
Jessica Squier –
I hesitated to do this webinar because it required a significant investment of money and time. But it was worth it! The webinar included a lot of practical advice that could work for a variety of organizations–including organizations with limited resources. I’m delighted to report that our Fund a Need this year (which implemented many of the strategies from the webinar) raised more than 10 times as much as we had in previous years. Thanks for a great webinar!
Cristy Morrell –
I just finished taking Sherry’s fund-a-need course and couldn’t be more pleased. I felt like my organization was doing a good job but after taking her advice, I know this year we will blow it out of the water.
Her pointers on when to run your fund-a-need, various games that make auction’s fund-a-need exciting and more profitable, and special videos and touches you can add to draw bidders in are all terrific. I’ll be signing up for her other classes for sure. This training is well worth your time and money.
Cristy Morrell
Critchlow Adkins Children’s Centers (Maryland)
George Cervantes –
Whether you’re considering doing a Fund-a-Need for the first time, or whether you’ve had one for years, I think you’ll get something out of this course.
We’ve been doing one for a few years, and I got some great ideas that I’ve already eagerly shared with the Gala Chair. I particularly valued Sherry’s guidance on marketing and running the event – both regarding what to do, and what not to do. Access to the library material is another plus, especially seeing the video of Sherry running an actual Fund-a-Need, and the training video for your clerk. I’m looking forward to incorporating some of these ideas at our next event!
George Cervantes
Dominican House of Studies (Washington, D.C.)
Lowell Noreen –
I just finished the 3 day live session of Sherry’s ‘fabulous Fund a Need’ series.
There was a lot of material to cover but Sherry brought us a tremendous amount of great information for an organization to try a ‘FAN’ program or like us who have done this program in our previous galas to pick up several points and good ideas as to what or what not to do to increase our total giving.
I highly recommend her FAN seminar when she next presents it because you will definitely get your money’s worth for the training and then some. A bonus is to have access to the library of material presented to share with your gala committee.
Thanks so much for this program and your sharing, Sherry. We will have a great Gala next month for our organization with these fresh ideas and will exceed our expectations.
Lowell Noreen
Africa Partners Medical (Minnesota)
Julia Halvorson –
Sherry went above and beyond with the Fabulous Fund A Need Course! She tailor-made added resources when requested by the participants such as adding slides to accompany the videos, answered specific questions and responded to specific requests.
Her ideas and resources are so insightful and we all benefit from her experiences! I can’t wait to share the ideas presented to our Fundraising team! I have no doubt that using the knowledge gained will result in increased donations during next year’s Fund A Need!
Julia Halvorson
Minnesota Connect Aphasia Now (Minnesota)
Scott Pike –
I just watched Sherry’s Fabulous Fund A Need videos for the second time. What a resource! My organization did it’s first fund a need event 5 months ago and it did OK, but I learned some super, and easy ideas to make it so much better next time. I’m excited to try these ideas out.
Sherry has a ton of information and gives it out in an easy to understand format with lots of examples. I’m sure I’ll watch the videos again; she has so much to share.
Scott Pike
Enfoque Ixcan (Oregon)
Sherri Rodgers-Conti –
I am amazed at how many useful ideas Sherry shared with us about Fund-A-Need auctions! This course was well worth the registration fee, and I look forward to raising more money using her strategies at our next gala event!
Sherri Rodgers Conti
Southeast CASA Program (South Dakota)
Kim Carone –
WOW! I learned so much in just 3 sessions. Although we’ve run a fund a need before, we never ran one like Sherry taught us in this class. From learning where to put the fund a need in the live auction, to getting a momentum gift & matching gifts. And I just LOVE the popcorn & last hero games!
I walked away from this training with so much knowledge, that I can’t wait to put it to good use.
The next time Sherry is offering a class (any class) you can bet I’ll be signing up right away!!!
Kim Carone
Farmingville Elementary School PTA (Connecticut)
Peggy Stypula –
The Fund-A-Need course gave me so many new and inventive ideas and I’m looking forward to a huge increase in next year’s event total. The discussion you provided will strengthened our approach and make this a more integral part of engaging our audience. The videos and shared experiences added thoughtful ways our event can be more efficient, engaging and successful.
Thank you Sherry for your continued teaching and helping us raise the bar year-after-year!!!
Peggy Stypula
Laila Rose Foundation (Virginia)
Kelsey Davidson –
The Fabulous Fund-A-Need course was very informative. The selections of videos, scripts, and other useful info is going to be invaluable as I work on planning my school’s gala. I feel better prepared with new and fresh ideas that I think my school will be excited to implement.
Kelsey Davidson
Ramona Convent (California)
Patricia Kirby –
The Fund-A-Need course was an eye-opener and gave us lots of ideas to incorporate to work smarter, not harder. I like the creative ideas shared from other organizations too…we’re all working to make the world a better place. Thanks for some awesome guidelines to make it happen!
Patricia Kirby
Special Olympics Rhode Island (Rhode Island)
Christine Gilles –
The Fabulous Fund a Need Webinar gave me several ideas I can’t wait to implement at our upcoming Gala in January. The course was definitely worth my time.
Christine Gilles
Holy Rosary Catholic Church (Indiana)
Susan Loucks –
Thanks Sherry. We are still months away from our next gala, and your webinar really was great!
Last year, we had a bit of a nosedive with an auctioneer that browbeat the audience. Yikes. It will be great to do something different: a video, we hope; a more organized Fund a Need (both on stage and during the tracking); and perhaps even a popcorn or Last Bidder Wins element. I am looking for more fun, more participation, and more $.
Thanks again, Sherry. It was also fun to watch you in action auctioneering.
Susan Loucks
Neighborhood Falmouth (Massachusetts)
Holly Lee –
We have done Fund-A-Needs at our auction for the past 10 years so I took the course thinking I knew most of what Sherry was going to teach. I was wrong.
Sherry gave me several ideas to incorporate this year to bring life back into our Fund-A-Need tradition. She is smart, experienced and fun to listen to. The training was definitely worth it!
Holly Lee
Sycamore School (Indiana)
Kristin Zitlow –
Fabulous Fund A Need Secrets was my first webinar with Sherry and she knocked it out of the park. I appreciated that she took the time to relate to a number of attendees with scenarios and the pre-webinar video homework. She has made me think a lot about areas we did well in our previous galas and areas we need to improve on.
I am the Special Events Coordinator at a PreK – 12 private school. I have only been in this position for a year, and our Fund A Need is an area we are looking to build on and this webinar helped to highlight ideas we can implement.
Our first Fund A Need was done in 2018 with 249 attendees and we raised $9,675 using an envelope ask. Last year, in 2019, our Chief Development Officer and myself opted to use electronic donations with an ask for teacher wages. With 174 attendees and a $10,000 match we raised $12,550 making our total for the Fund A Need $22,550 with a 40% participation rate. During the webinar it was touched on that both of these things, teacher wages and electronic donations, were no-no’s and we will hopefully see more money raised using a “need” that touches the most hearts and in hand paddles for people to raise this year.
I would definitely register for another webinar with Sherry. She goes above and beyond to make sure you have all the information you need to be successful! Thank you for your time and dedication!
Kristin Zitlow
St. Mary’s Springs Academy (Fond du Lac, WI)
Annual Fund/Special Events Coordinator
Karen Whelan –
I attended the Fabulous Fund a Need webinars and found them extremely helpful and full of new ideas and great detail.
I am the Director of Development at a private K-12 school and have been in charge of our auction for 10 years (I started as a volunteer). I found Sherry’s website early on and literally every idea I have learned from her and implemented has been a success. We started the paddle raise 2 years ago and raised $23,000. Last year we raised $54,000. I am looking forward to seeing how we will do this year.
One thing I am going to change this year, based on what I learned from the webinars, is to have the paddle raise either before the live auction or close to the beginning. (we have 20 items in our live). I am not sure I would have trusted that advise from anyone else but Sherry!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom and going above and beyond helping us plan successful events!
Karen Whelan
Nashville Christian School (Tennessee)
bsmith –
I have been following Sherry and Red Apple Auctions for about 10 years. I attended her webinar on Silent Auctions years ago and put several of her tips and recommendations into practice with extremely successful results! Her most recent 3-part webinar, Fabulous Fund-a-Needs was full of real-world examples and models of successful FAN components. I will be putting some of those ideas into place this year.
I particularly value her sharing all the examples of real-world Fun-a-Need videos. There are more included in this webinar than I would be able to see first-hand in many years!!
The resources Sherry makes available are so valuable, and her honest insight to which ideas work and which we may want to think twice about is an added value that you can’t get from others. While there are a number of Auction or Fund-Raising “experts” out there, Sherry and Red Apple is always the first, and normally the only consultant I ever need to check with to answer my questions or for new cutting-edge ideas. We have a large number of non-profits running galas in my geography, and often our agency is the first one to try something new – usually because of Sherry’s out-of-the-box guidance in her webinars.
The 2019 Fabulous Fund-a-Need webinar was well worth the time and we will be implementing the “popcorn” idea as well as getting credit cards registered at check-in as a result of our attendance.
Thanks so much, Sherry for your vibrant presentation and deep understanding of the varied needs of a Gala Chair (who is also the Executive Director!)
B. Smith
Always Home (Connecticut)
Lisa Vincent –
I first found Sherry about 11 years ago when I did some auction training on games to incorporate, then I went in a different career direction. I was thrilled to see that Sherry is still out there and has done so much over the years to help us raise money.
This class was awesome and just what we need to jump-start the planning for our 40th Anniversary Gala. Having never done a Raise the Paddle, I found the explanations and videos to be very in-depth and informative.
It’s great being able to see Sherry doing this and we will definitely share all this training with our committee. I can’t wait for our event to see how well this goes!
Lisa Vincent
Granite State Independent Living (New Hampshire)
Christina Haselhorst –
After resurrecting a stagnant fundraising auction here at our community college last year and having an amazing result, we were flying high. However, our fund-a-need portion of the live auction tanked terribly (only yielded $1300).
I’ve since then spent a lot of time trying to decide if we even try this again. I received one of your emails regarding the Fund-A-Need class/webinar and I decided, “why not?”
I was hooked within the first 15 minutes of class. All sorts of things that we did wrong the first time became glaringly apparent. I took copious notes, took the ideas to our administration, and we are off and running for the upcoming auction on November. I’ve already met with our auctioneer, showed him the bid tracker sheet, informed him about the script that we will have this year, and watched his eyeballs get huge with wonderment. We are excited to try these new ideas!
I highly recommend this class. Sherry is very helpful and takes the time to truly answer questions (even when off topic). It is because of one of these off-topic questions, that we will be changing our auction checkout process as well! I’m definitely coming back for more education! Thank you, Sherry!
Christina Haselhorst
Dodge City Community College Foundation (Dodge City, KS)
Heather Topich –
I am so glad that I signed up for this class. The videos will be perfect for our new auctioneer to watch, and the sample scripts are SO helpful to me. This class came at the perfect time, as I still have five months to keep reviewing and tweaking.
Thank you, Sherry, for your sharing your excitement and knowledge!
Heather Topich
Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School (Richmond, VA)
Gary Peterson –
Sherry is fabulous! I loved the content.
She loads the course with tons of videos so you can see the appeal and even her in action. I’ve never done a FAN, but after the course and products she provides, I’m confident in pitching this at our next planning session. Bring your questions and concerns to the course and she is happy to answer.
I couldn’t attend during the actual sessions, but she makes it so easy to log-in and watch the sessions afterwards. I can also go back anytime and review certain areas.
Loved it and highly recommend.
Gary Peterson
New Mexico Veterans Integration Center (New Mexico)
Emily Johns –
This has been an amazing and enlightening class! We have been wanting to add a Fund-a-Need to our next fundraiser but we wanted to do it right. We are so excited to put these techniques into practice. I will have to let you know next year how it turns out. Thank you Sherry!
Emily Johns
Ignite Change (North Carolina)
DonnaMcGee –
I listened to the Fabulous Fund a Need course this week. We have had a live and silent auction at our Gala raising money for St Jude’s for the last 5 years. We now have a benefit auctioneer and that made a huge difference. The Fund a Need has not been very successful in the past. I believe the idea of having it before our live auction and naming it something different will make a huge impact on what we raise.
I loved the videos to gather ideas on how to do ours. There are many valuable lessons to be learned from Sherry. Thanks!
Donna McGee
WillPower Foundation (Louisiana)
Kelly Watson –
The webinar was very helpful.
We’re a first time auction and taking several months to plan our inaugural event. You explained the concept in such a way that even those in the group who were unfamiliar with Fund a Needs now have a clear understanding of how to set it up so it works best.
Kelly Watson, Resource Development Associate
Raising Special Kids (Phoenix, AZ)
Natalie Upp –
Great course, as always!
Awesome examples and very clear cut! I haven’t had a chance to implement the ideas from the webinar yet (our event is a few months away), but I’m definitely adding a number of these strategies. Can’t wait to put them in!
Natalie Upp, Development Director
Horizon Academy (Roeland Park, KS)
Kathy Maurer –
I implemented tips from the webinar at our wine event in June, and our paddle raise increased from $9,000 to $23,000.
So YES, the webinar was worth it! Focusing on this piece of the gala with my committee paid off!
I will be implementing what I learned in the webinar at another event scheduled for October. The paddle raise at the October event has traditionally done quite well, so it will be interesting to see how much BETTER we can do with some of these minor tweaks.
Kathy Maurer, Special Events & Marketing Director
Providence Health Care Foundation (Spokane, WA)
Laurie Respass –
The information you provided in your Fund a Need Webinar had a wonderful impact on our auction ask.
I took the tools you provided and shared them with my executive staff. Our Executive Director did a bit of pre-work (per your suggestion) and had $13,000 committed within 15 minutes. That was more than half our goal for monetary contributions for the evening, and we were weeks before the event even happened.
When it was all said and done, we raised over $15,000 more than we had budgeted using your tips, and we raised double what we raised in the previous year.
We used your marketing examples, scripts and tally sheets to help pull everything together. The webinar was money well invested and I highly recommend it to anyone doing a fund a need appeal.
Laurie Respass, Development Manager
Deborah’s Place (Chicago, IL)
Mary M. Hoffman –
So glad I participated in the Fund a Need Webinar!
On our very first attempt, we were able to raise over $7,000 for new equipment. With more lead time in the coming year, we are looking forward to an even bigger result. The DVD and workbook were super because I had something tangible to share with my committee members and the staff who produced our video.
Mary M. Hoffman, Volunteer Program Director
Henderson Harbor Water Sports Program (Henderson Harbor, NY)
Kathryn Wilson –
Your Fabulous Fund-A-Need Secrets guide proved invaluable as it gave us additional NEW ideas for how to promote the fund-a-need (and the school has been doing auctions for 16 years), and tips for how to get people to bid more.
The six different transcripts showing the actual language used by the auctioneer for six different auctions was probably the most useful part as it showcased different techniques for motivating people at the different levels.
Kathryn Wilson, Auction co-chair
Gig Harbor Academy (Gig Harbor, WA)
Kirstin Fritz –
This past weekend I put on my very first gala fundraiser. When I was hired 20 months ago, it was clear that this event was going to be critical to our fundraising efforts. I had never done anything like this before and neither had my organization. So I needed to learn a lot in a short time, with a very limited (independent non-profit senior center) budget. I found Red Apple Auctions blog to be a wonderful resource.
I purchased three webinar books – Fund A Need, Rockin’ Raffles, and Simple Registration – and they made a huge difference! I got lots of compliments from my 30-person volunteer committee about how organized and knowledgeable I was. I frequently cited Sherry’s recommendations when one of my committee or Board members had an idea that just wouldn’t work. Everyone had a fabulous time at the gala and things ran very smoothly.
Bottom line – if everyone pays their pledges – my first time event will net over $130,000! I am amazed by these results and grateful that I found your website! I’m happy to share pictures and testimonial if you would like.
Kirstin Fritz
Senior Center, Inc. (Charlottesville, VA)
Amy Silver O’Leary –
We followed your format and raised $10,000 in ten minutes through a direct appeal.
Normally, that’s about how much we net from our entire auction. The format made it really easy and natural to do the ask. Thank you!
Amy Silver O’Leary
Frankford Friends School (Philadelphia, PA)
Bethany O’Connell –
I work for a small independent school in Montana and we made 2 big changes to our event last year: 1) We moved from a spring gala style auction/live auction to a fall family friendly event and 2) We used your Fabulous Fund a Need Secrets to raise money for technology and professional development and followed your book’s every detail. Our goal was $20k (high for us) and we raised $35k!
It was a huge success and I am bringing it out again this year for our Fall Family Round Up. I also shared the book with a development director of another school who had never asked for a raise the paddle at an event before and was terrified it would bomb. She thanked me and said they surpassed their goals as well. I’ll let you know how we do this year with our biggest ever goal.
Events are not my strong point- I’ve relied on you many times and hope someday to have you be our host at our next fundraiser! Thanks so much, Bethany
Bethany O’Connell
Missoula International School (Missoula, MT)
Linda Caron –
We held our first Fund a Need using your suggestions on May 29 and it blew us out of the water! We learned a few things we might not do next time but I thought I would give you an update.
Our goal was to raise $40,000 and we actually raised $245,000 in about 10 minutes.
The donors were a little surprised (we haven’t ever done fundraising at this particular event), but we gave them a bit of a heads up. We raised the regular $22k we usually do via ticket sales and sponsors, but the auction was a stand-alone success.
Thank you!
Linda Caron, Event Coordinator
Collingwood G&M Hospital (Ontario, Canada)
Rachael V. –
Our auction has improved immensely from the training workshop I attended in Chicago, the workbooks we have purchased (Cool Class Projects, Fabulous Fund a Need Secrets, Rockin’ Raffles for Auctions, and Simple Auction Checkout), the webinars we’ve attended and your great website. Thank you for all that you do!
Rachael V. (Brookfield, WI)
Ida Furente Doolan –
I am so excited to report that our first Fund A Need conducted at our 26th annual fundraiser was a huge success! Thanks to Sherry’s “Fabulous Fund a Need Secrets,” we raised an additional $12,200 in just 10 minutes! To be honest, I was skeptical about doing this appeal; however, I needed to make it work so I used every tip in your book and modified your sample scripts for our purposes. The fact that we conducted the appeal directly after a dynamic speaker clinched the deal! I would recommend this book to any nonprofit wishing to try this for the first time.
Ida Furente Doolan, Director of Communications
SERV Behavioral Health System, Inc. (Ewing, NJ)
Celena McCord –
The Fabulous Fund A Need was very helpful, as we finally added a Fund a Need to our auction in November 2015. We had kicked around the idea for years and never came up with a compelling ask presentation, but with the tips from your webinar, we added it to the event and raised $60,000. Your tips helped us create a compelling video, find the right person (a nun!) to deliver the ask, come up with the right name (Fund the Mission), craft a compelling script and work with our auctioneer to make it work. I’ve seen plenty of these fall flat, and plenty of successes. Our first fund a need exceeded our expectations, and we are already planning how to do it again in 2016.
Thank you for creating such fun and informative webinars. I especially enjoy the examples and real life photos and examples (good and bad). You are my go-to auction resource, and I refer many of my peers to your site and webinars. Thank you!
Celena McCord, Annual Giving Director
St. Anthony Foundation (Oklahoma City, OK)
Jenn Barrett –
I did your Fabulous Fund a Need course last year, and we raised an additional $67,000 the first time we ever tried it!!!! Genius! That amount was on top of an already successful live auction. We ran our regular live and tacked the Fund a Need on to it.
Jenn Barrett, Director of Development
Belleville General Hospital Foundation (Canada)
UPDATE September 22, 2014: Year #1 Fund a Need we raised $67,000. Now in Year #2 we raised $93,500. All it took was ten minutes of our time! This year we funded cancer equipment. Donors were so moved to give, some even raised their paddles with tears in their eyes. Sherry, you have a fool-proof system!!!