Because we work with over
1,000 charities each year, meet with many of them and talk to every single one
on the phone, we are fortunate to be able to determine when a charity is caught
in a fundraising “Rut.” But normally,
the reason they are talking to us is to get out the situation they are in and
start on a course of success.
However, we also talk to many
more charities who are not even aware that they are stuck there. Remarkably, they are unaware that their
situation will never change in regard to raising more funds year after
year. When I have the chance to speak to
them, they normally remark that they need to attract “Big Spenders” and ask if
I can bring them to their event. The sad
part is, they don’t realize why they are there and will rarely listen to wise
advice.
To determine if you or your
charity is caught in a fundraising rut, let me ask just a few questions that you
obviously can answer to yourself:
#1 – How many years have you
been hosting your Charity Event?
#2 – Is your charity event a
Fundraiser? An Awards Ceremony? A Community Event? Or all of the above?
#3 – Have your fundraising
dollars increased over that time?
Meaning, have you made more each year?
Or has your fundraising dollars decreased?
#4 – How many guests do you
have attending your charity fundraising event?
Have your guests increased year after year? Or has attendance gone down?
#5 – Has your charity
fundraiser changed or evolved each year?
Or is it the same?
#6 – Based on your event,
have you attracted more and more Event Sponsors? Or lost them?
#7 – Do you go to the same
Donor’s year after year and ask for similar donations as you did the previous
year?
#8 – Do you only use donated
products in your events live and silent auction?
#9 – Do you truly know what
the “Net” or Profit was from your last event?
Do you know the previous years “Net”?
Now, using the above
questions as a baseline in order to determine if you are in a fundraising rut,
we need to first understand what Successful Fundraising truly is. But in the same vein, you should also
understand that Awards Ceremonies and Community Outreach events such as
Festivals are fantastic but cannot be thought of as a “Fundraiser.” There may be a fundraising component to each
of these types of events but the focus should be on the mission of the event
itself – awarding community members and employees or building awareness of your
charity by inviting everyone to come to a Festival of sorts without a ticket
cost.
A successful fundraising
event is structured, planned for financial performance. Guests of fundraising events understand that
the event is being hosted to raise funds with a certain “Ambience” to attract
them. The “Ambience” is a dinner,
drinks, music with various fundraising platforms such as a Live & Silent
Auction and various games/raffles.
To best show a true example
of a charity who understands successful fundraising as well as absolutely needs
the funds to be raised, I will show you their numbers – however, I am going to
call them “Charity ABC.”
Charity ABC fundraising statistics:
Contributions & Gifts: $32,184,911
Federated Campaigns: $406,557
Membership Dues: $18,742,745
Fundraising Events: $22,808,171
Related Organizations: $333,099
Total Revenue: $185,148,845.00
All of the above numbers come
directly from their Fundraising Events.
They sell memberships to their Charity at their Fundraising Events, in
fact, you must purchase a membership in order to attend – it’s a part of the ticket
price. They conduct their campaigns via
their events and gain mailing lists for other campaigns from their fundraising
event guest lists. Related
organizations? That is other charities
donating money at their fundraising events.
This charity, like other
charities similar to them, determined several years ago that a successful
fundraising event is the absolute best place to grow their organization. Why you ask?
Because people attend their events for the “Event” of it and not
necessarily to support their charity.
Charity ABC employs many
intelligent people who understand the above statement “Attending the event for
the Event of it and not to support their charity.” Using that knowledge, by the time the guest
leaves, they are members and receive quarterly newsletters for one (1) year.
Most importantly, Charity ABC
and the other charities similar to theirs, all utilize a similar fundraising
tactic – great items in their Live & Silent Auction.
FACT: I recently met with an employee of Charity
ABC and he bluntly told me that they refuse to rely on donated items, in fact, they
discourage their use. They insist on
PURCHASING great items for their events – because great
items, attract great people and higher bids.
By the way, “Charity ABC” is
Ducks Unlimited.
How to get your charity out of their fundraising “Rut”
In order to break out of your
fundraising “Rut”, you must understand that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It takes determination and discipline. If you would like to see your fundraising
dollars skyrocket, you first must understand that it is not on a one (1) year
plan. What that means is, you can’t
change your event around and expect immediate results.
However, here are the keys to
success:
#1 – Guest Training – If you have been hosting a
mediocre fundraising event which
has had either similar or declining results,
you must begin to train your guests on your spending expectations. Recently, we were assisting a charity and their
guests routinely asked where the cheap items were. After they saw our items mixed in with many
donated items, their spending went from rock bottom to extremely high on the
donated products – beyond the expectations of both the Chairman of the Board
and several of the volunteers. You must
train your guests on what is expected of them plus you must stick with it for
more than one (1) event.
#2 – Type of Fundraising
Event – If you are hosting an event which has a small fundraising component or
fundraising is not the main focus of the event, separate the two (2) events –
host an Awards dinner or a “Community Outreach” event with a small fundraising
component. Then plan a Charity
Fundraising event and let the focus be on that specifically.
#3 – Argumentative Staff or
Volunteers – If your staff or volunteers argue that they like the “Old Way”
they were doing things but you and the leadership know they need to make a
change, have the discipline to explain why you are changing the tactic and
why. Remember, argumentative staff means
they have passion for your charity – use that to your benefit.
#4 – Understanding and
accepting fundraising reality – Perhaps the hardest part of this is both you
and your staff understanding and accepting the reality of successful
fundraising in 2014. I have written
blogs on this topic but in summary, putting it bluntly, businesses cannot
donate fantastic items. They can only
donate items which they either want to get rid of or are not selling in their
stores. You must have items available
that attract people while urging them to bid – and bid high. Using our “No Risk Auction Items” benefits
you and your charity and in fact, is guaranteed.
In summary – while planning
your next fundraising event, if you are “Aiming Low” financially, you will hit
low. But if you have the discipline to
train yourself to “Aim High” financially, you will hit high.
But the question is – are you
ready? If you are, BW Unlimited Charity
Fundraising would love to help. Contact
us today at www.BWUnlimited.com. Let us help you and your charity break out of
the Fundraising Rut you are in.
BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a Charity Fundraising Leader in North America in a “One Stop
Shop” setting. The staff at BW Unlimited
Charity Fundraising is the foremost experts in regard to planning and executing
a successful Charity Fundraising event.
BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can not only consult you on how to plan
and host your event but can also provide you and your charity with a wide array
of “No Risk Auction Items” such as Charity Travel Packages, Autographed
Memorabilia, beautiful Decorative items as well as exquisite jewelry. If you would like our help, contact us today
at www.BWUnlimited.com. Let us help you with your next charity
fundraising event.
Kathy is an expert Gift Basket
Builder, building and displaying gift baskets that are truly amazing. Unlike most charities across the country,
Kathy shops (spending money) all year around for awesome deals on discounted
items because she understands that she can not depend on donations. Then, she uses these items to
build fantastic, very high profile baskets.
Then, this is what I am most
proud of – she primarily uses all of her baskets in a Raffle. When most charities would place them on the
Silent Auction, she knows and understands why placing them in a raffle brings
much more money than in a silent auction. 
Knowing the above and using
Kathy’s knowledge about building baskets, Santa Claus can help you this year
with the Gift Baskets for your next event.
What happens after Christmas in stores like Walmart & Target? Everything gets deeply discounted in order
for these businesses to clear their Christmas inventory right?
Similar catalogs are sent to
chapters of other charities as well. The
items range from Art, to equipment, kitchen wares, tools, decorative items,
jewelry, outside and inside furniture etc.
Do you remember the movie
Field of Dreams? What was the main quote
from that movie? “Build it and they will
come.” In this blog, I will help you
begin to build it, and they will definitely come and come in droves.
To attract people to your
charity, you first must put out the “Bate” in an essence. What does everyone across the United States
enjoy? A great time right? Great place with good food, great friends
etc. So, in order to attract people to
your charity, you first must plan an event which provides the above – simple
right? The cornerstone of any great
event is both the location and the menu quality.
We all love to read good
news, but great educational news is even better. Forbes Magazine just published an article
reporting that charitable giving is up 4.9% from 2013 and gave the credit to On
Line Giving and a strong Social Media presence.
As reported to Charity
Navigator (www.Charitynavigator.com),
in 2013, here are their numbers:
If you