Charity Fundraising Events
are a lot of work. With months of
planning, meetings after meetings all boil down to it being worth the work if
the charity fundraising event is a success.
If your last event wasn’t a success, maybe these are the reasons why:
1. You focused on the “Party”
and not fundraising:
You want your guests to have
a great time so that they will contribute to your cause and bid on your
auctions.
2. You did not to market your
items before and during your charity fundraising event.
Because you want your event
to be the “Rock Star” in your area, you need to let everyone know what to
expect. If you don’t, they are not going
to be prepared – prepare them. Post a
list of the items available on your social networks like Facebook and send out emails
to everyone with a “Preview Sheet.” Let
them prepare themselves with a strategy and with their spending. They will see how much better your event is
then all others in your area.
3. Your items were
run-of-the-mill. Who cares?
Fascinate them with things
they can’t get at the mall or at nearby stores. Experiential, Unique and Hard to Find.
4. Your focus was on awards and speeches instead of fundraising.
Your fundraising event was more about awards and speeches instead of focusing on fundraising. Speeches and presentations should accent your fundraising efforts to let your guests know what you are doing in your community.
5. You didn’t have enough
Bid Spotters.
Find Volunteers who love to
have fun and want to be an active participant in your event. Having enough bid spotters in your audience
is essential from turning a dead auction to a very lively, entertaining
event. Remember, people love to have fun…bid
spotters can absolutely add to your fundraising success.
6. You forgot it’s the live
auction that brings in the big money.
Live auction items don’t need
to be ridiculously expensive. But the
live auction items need to be placed in a way to maximize the auction. The Live Auction items need to be placed
prominently in your event to get maximum attention and away from your Silent
Auction. The best place for the Live
Auction items are directly in front of your stage. If you have the ability to have a video
screen, show the items on a loop throughout your event.
7. Your silent auction was a Yard
Sale.
Did we mention your goal is
to make money? Inexpensive items by definition don’t cut it, wasting valuable
table space. Use them sparingly to give the low-spenders a way to contribute or
bundle them to create more attractive items.
Offering these items in a raffle setting guarantees financial success.
8. Did you openly ask your guests to donate?
Hoping and wishing your guest
donate will not make it happen. Openly
ask them too donate by having a “Fund a Need” or “Paddle Raise” at the end of
your Live Auction. By placing envelopes
on the table and hoping people fill out a donation card, won’t bring you the
money you are hoping to raise.
Acknowledgement of a donation is key, let people openly show their
support.
9. Your event is either too
long or too short.
Your guests want to enjoy
themselves, have a great meal and a few drinks, get the items they want and go
home before the baby sitter starts calling.
By having an incredibly long event, with many long speeches will ensure
your guest early departure. Also, by
leaving your fundraising platforms (Live & Silent Auction, Raffles &
Games) open too long will also tell them not to bid because they are
leaving early. However, by having a short event, the
momentum of your fundraising efforts will not have enough time to truly get
going.
10. You had the Wrong
Auctioneer.
After getting a beautiful
venue, ensuring you have a fantastic dinner for your guests, getting someone
from your Board or a local celebrity to conduct your auction is entirely a bad
move. Professional Auctioneers are a
major part of your event and play a critical role to its success. A Professional Auctioneer is truly a key to
ensuring you raise the money you need.
Also, getting someone free to do your auction guarantees “You get what
you pay for.” Hire a professional
Charity Auctioneer to conduct your Auction – it will make the difference.
BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a leader in North America in a “One Stop Shop” convenient
setting. Known all over North America as
the most reputable and respected “No Risk Auction Item” provider, the expert
fundraisers at BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can guide you to ensure that
your fundraising efforts are not wasted.
Through many years of experience involved in 1,000’s of charity
fundraising events, the experts at BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising will bring
your last fundraising event from “Run of the Mill” to a “Rock Star Event” that everyone
will talk about. Contact us today to
learn how we can help you at www.BWUnlimited.com
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.
If you