Fundraising Platforms – A Complete Fundraising Event

In every charity event, your guests represent a multitude of yearly incomes and giving potential.  Let’s take a look at a pie chart which represents these facts:

25% - Guests who have a high income/giving potential

50% - Guests with a moderate income/giving potential

25% - Guests with a low income/giving potential

Acknowledging and understanding the above facts will help you to target various event platforms in your next charity fundraising event that will reach its potential and not missing anything.

A common issue we see all across North America is fundraising events which truly are not fundraising events.  Charities will host an event that is more about honoring their volunteers or sponsors with fundraising being a sidebar.  If you are hosting that type of event and you are not concerned about fundraising, then this may not apply to you. 

WARNING:  If you do not plan your event to effectively use all of the methods described herein, your event will not reach your fundraising goals.  Don’t complain after that you did not raise the money you needed or wanted to raise.

A common problem today is that charities will plan an event, getting direction from someone who doesn’t understand successful fundraising or don’t know how to fundraise whatsoever.  At their events, they will only have one of the Fundraising Platforms.  Or plans to have more than one of the platforms but does not plan their use effectively.  To be 100% effective, you must know the trends in fundraising across North America.  Event planners should consult with Professional Event Fundraisers to ensure that you are providing your clients with the best. 

Anyone can have these platforms, but understanding their effectiveness is key to it’s and their success.  For instance, anyone can build a house, but when it falls down because you didn’t know how to build it correctly, don’t complain.

Fundraising Platforms

There are four (4) potential fundraising platforms in a charity fundraising event.  But their total, correct use in your event will make it highly successful.  But, if you chose not to use any one or more of them, your event will not reach its potential.

We are going to explain the platforms in reverse so that you can understand the “Why” – use the above Pie Chart for this explanation:

1.      25% High income/High Giving Potential – LIVE AUCTION:  In your event, there is a section of your crowd who can afford to bid on items which have a very high bid potential.  The Live Auction is meant for two reasons – entertainment and competition.  The Auction brings out the competitive nature in the guests who have the same personality.  The items available here should be higher profile then what is found in your Silent Auction or Raffles/Games. 

NOTE:  75% of the people attending of the people present will not be able to bid on these items.  The Live Auction should not be very long, but long enough to have momentum (that’s another Blog idea).

 

2.      50% Moderate Income/Moderate Giving Potential – SILENT AUCTION:  In your event, 50% of your crowd can not bid on the items in your Live Auction due to their high bid potential, basically they cannot afford to bid.  This is where the Silent Auction say’s its grand “Hello.”  The Silent Auction must have a range of items with both low and moderate bid potentials.  It should also have enough items to the attention of your guests.  The number of items should be 1/3 of the amount of guests you have present.

NOTE:  Oddly enough, the same guests who can afford to bid on the Live Auction, can also bid on the Silent Auction.

 

3.      25% Low Income/Low Giving Potential – Raffles/Games:   At your event, the remaining 25% of guests attending your event cannot afford to bid on the items in your Live or Silent Auction.  In fact, they
      only supporting your event by attending.  This Fundraising Platform is perhaps the most important due to its potential.  Furthermore, this platform is the absolute best place to use the DONATED ITEMS that your charity has received (Another Blog
      to focus on this).  The 25% of people who only purchased tickets to support your charity and cannot afford to bid on your Live or Silent Auction, can afford to buy Raffle or Game Tickets.  This platform also plays on the thought that everyone there loves to “Win” something.  This platform also brings the “Fun” in your “FUNdraising event.” 

 

100% Extra Credit – Now that you understand all of the platforms above because you are a great “Fundraising Student” and you have planned them effectively in your fundraising event, let’s go for some “Extra Credit” and bump up your events fundraising potential!!!

Obviously, you are hosting your Charity Fundraising event to…FUNDRAISE.  Charities would not need to fundraise if they received checks in the mail all year long.  Commonly, charities will place an envelope on the tables at their event and ask people to place a donation in it – RARELY happens and if it does, the donations are low.

This platform is effective due to its potential and non-implied donation “Pressure.”  It is called “FUND A NEED.”

 

4.      “Fund A Need” – Direct Plea:  During your event, people are meeting your staff and learning about your charity and your great work.  This is the time to capitalize on it.  Happy people willing to donate money to your cause.  The wrong approach to this fundraising tactic it to either not ask for donations or to place an envelope on the table and hope people donate. 

    This fundraising tactic comes at the end
of your Live Auction and is successfully accomplished due to the momentum of the Live Auction.  This is when you still have your guest’s attention and they are in a “Giving Mood.” 

    The reason it is successful is due to its “Non Implied” financial pressure and also allows your guests to see who is donating to your cause.  This fundraising tool is HIGHLY EFFECTIVE.  For more information on how this works or how to effectively to perform this, contact BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising today.

 

In summary, if you are hosting a fundraising event, you should ensure that it as successful as possible.  All of the above are like chain links – if you use all four (4) Fundraising Platforms in your event, you will come out of the event extremely happy with its results.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is the Leading Charity Fundraising firm in North America.  Unlike other businesses, we only specialize in assisting Charities with hosting highly successful, highly profitable events.  If you would like our assistance, contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.