The
following tips are for both novice and expert fundraisers. However, if a Novice follows these tips, he
or she can immediately appear to be an Expert or the Champion of Champion
Fundraisers. Fundraising is highly competitive
since there are nearly 200 million fundraisers across the United States. With that many fundraisers going on across
the country, you must be noticed in order to be successful.
If you are
an experienced fundraiser, meaning you have held or were a part of planning or
hosting a fundraiser before – here is some information that will test the fact
if you were successful or not. Remember,
you are only lying to yourself if you truly don’t answer the question.
What was the
“Net” (Profit after paying all the bills) of you event? How many guests did you have at your event?
FACT: The beginning of successful professional
fundraising in North America is $100.00 for every guest – 300 people =
$30,000.00. Do the math for your event
and what is the answer. If it does not
equal the same result above, your event was not a success. Depending on just how much of a discrepancy
there was, that is just how truly unsuccessful you were.
Here are 5 tips
& tricks that will take from ZERO
to a HERO Fundraiser:
#1 – BUILD A TEAM – The single most
important task that you can do is to build a large, motivated team to help
you. “Build it and they will come” – The
larger your team or committee is, the easier it will be to sell tickets to your
event and also acquire financial sponsors and donated items. To be successful, like playing “Tug of War”,
the larger your team, the stronger you are and the easier all the tasks will
be. Anyone can help, ask everyone you
know and ask them to ask and recruit their friends. People outside of your charity can help. Everyone wants to be a part of something
exciting and big, everyone wants to be on the “Winning Team.”
#2 – PLAN TO BE UNIQUE – Do not copy last year’s
event or even worse, an event you attended before. The reason you don’t want to copy another
event is solely based on the fact that you truly don’t know if that event was
successful or not. Just because
something appears to be one thing, it can be the exact opposite. Plan your event based on…your event only.
#3 – SOCIAL NETWORKS – If you are not on
Facebook or Instagram, you should be. If
you are one of the very few people who think that the social networks are
foolish, you’re not in the right arena.
Find someone who can help you take advantage of the networks. Remember, advertising or marketing here is
100% free. You can pay to boost your
posts, but it’s not necessary….there are definite and successful ways to
utilize the social networks (especially Facebook) to absolutely maximize the
exposure of your event without paying a dime.
Advertising on the Social Networks is absolutely and highly
effective. You can also advertise what
is in your Live & Silent Auction, your sponsors and donors.
#4 – FREE VS. PAID – This topic is not
popular because most charities are still thinking in the “Old School” charity
way of thinking. Believing that you
should get the food for free, the place (venue) you are hosting your event,
entertainment and all the items for free or donated is exactly
counterproductive to your success. Do
you recall the popular saying “You get what you pay for”? The people or donors you want to attract will
not be attracted to a “Less than” event where everything is for free. You want to host your event at a very nice
place with great food – not at a free place with free food. Many charities still believe that the items
on the Live & Silent Auction should or must be donated. However, if you just think for a second, you’ll
figure this out on your own. If you go
out, go crazy getting tons of donated items, think about where your items came
from? I would bet from the local area…the
same area in which you are hosting your event.
The attractiveness of the items is not that spectacular because in
reality, your guests are “Local People, attending a Local event with items
donated by Local businesses” – if your guests wanted those items, they would
have gone to those businesses and bought it themselves. People are looking for a deal. You must have items which people get excited
over, not a $25.00 Gift Certificate to a restaurant nearby. Charity guests will not and never ever pay
face value despite what people think. In
order to attract high bids, you should have items which will attract extremely
high bids. Acquiring “No Risk” consigned
items at your event will definitely make you money. If you are paying for the food, the bar, the
band or DJ or anything, why aren’t you doing the same thing for the items which
you are utilizing to fundraise? For some
reason, charities tend to shut off their thinking when it comes to this. Go back and read Tip #2 – be unique. Having high profile items and experiences at
your event will make your event much more noticeable.
#5 – HIRE AN EXPERT – Do you allow your
neighbor to diagnose your medical problems?
No. Hiring an expert will have a
very high pay off. The best in the
business will never be free, they are the power players. If you want to win the game, don’t you want
the best players? Professional
Auctioneers who know and fully understand charity fundraising as well as
Charity Fundraising Event Planning & Management companies will seriously
have a huge impact on your final financial result. This investment is absolutely the best
decision you can make. A professional
fundraiser will also guide you through the myriad of mistakes toward a huge
success – making you look like a HERO instead of ZERO. In our lives, we want the best when it comes
to Doctors, Lawyers, Builders etc. Ask
yourself this – are you an expert fundraiser?
If you are an accountant, mother, father, mechanic, doctor, store
manager full time but once a year, you are asked to be a fundraiser – do you
know the current fundraising trends?
Have you ever held an event that was highly successful? Consult with an expert and hire the one you
believe will help you the most. That
expert can help you raise $100,000.00 instead of $10,000.00.
BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a
convenient “One Stop Shop” setting. BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising plans incredibly successful fundraising events
across the country on a daily basis and has been for 10 years. BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising can help you
plan, manage and host your event as well as provide you with high profile items
for your Live & Silent Auction such as Worldwide Travel Packages, autographed Celebrity & Iconic Sports Items, Beautiful Jewelry and incredible Décor on a “No Risk” or consigned basis. We would
love to help you go from a ZERO to charity fundraising HERO, contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.
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