5 Highly Successful Tips to go from a ZERO to a Fundraising HERO!!!

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. 

Would you ask your Mechanic to diagnose your health problems? www.BWUnlimited.com

I have to admit it, I don’t know the first thing about how to work on my car.  Honestly, I know how to put gas in it, change the oil and change a flat, but that’s it.  Recently, two of my brand new tires started leaking air slowly.  At first, I would fill it back up with air, but then it got to be a pain. 

I have a really good friend, his name is Aaron Younger.  I initially met Aaron when he was the Service Manager at a nearby car dealership.  We hit it off, because I knew right from the start that I could trust him.  Then, I helped him with a charity fundraiser for his daughter’s softball team – the Black Ice. 

So when I took my car in for the tire to be fixed, I went to where Aaron worked.  A few hours later, my phone rang and it was Aaron.  He told me that my brakes were “Shot” and definitely needed to be fixed.  Solely based on the fact that I trust him and that he knows what he’s doing, I told him to go ahead and fix them. 

When I need something done that I truly don’t know how to do, I go to who I know I can trust and who I know is the Expert – Aaron Younger.  While I was there sitting at his desk in his office, we started talking about fundraising because he wants to do another fundraising event for his team.  He told me about all the wasted time they lost while trying to do smaller, lesser fundraising events in the past and how he would love to have me help him with another fundraiser. 

Oddly enough, that is when it struck me.  When I needed help with my car, I went to the expert – Aaron.  I asked him to fix whatever what was broke, which he did perfectly at a very good price.  But, when that same Expert needs help fundraising, who does he turn to?  BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising.

Now consider this – why is fundraising the only time when inexperienced people think they can do it without a professional?  Would you handle your own medical needs or ask your neighbor who is a house painter to diagnose you?  No way.  Would you ask your friend who is a mechanic to handle your legal issues?  Are you kidding, absolutely not!

So when a charity or a group of people desperately needs to raise money to fund or contribute to something or someone, why do they decided to do it without hiring an expert?  Does it make sense?  I don’t think so.  Does a baseball team put a fan up to bat when they are down and about to lose?  Nope.  Does a football team allow one of the cheerleaders a chance as quarterback?  Uhhhhhh No. 

I totally understand that people think that paying a professional is not a good way to fundraise and that you need everything donated – but if you had to decide whether to raise $10k by doing it alone, without help – OR – raise $80k with the help of a professional, which one would you chose.  Well, I already told you that I went to Aaron to fix my car didn’t I?

What you don’t know is, there are a 1,000 different little aspects that need to be taken into account in order for you to host a “ROCKSTAR” of a fundraising event.  Plus keeping up with successful fundraising trends, what people like and don’t like, it’s a lot to understand.  But, we do…we are only charity fundraisers, in fact the best in the business.  Let us help you.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  BW Unlimited's vast knowledge about current successful fundraising trends and extensive knowledge about how to properly plan and manage a charity fundraising event makes them head and shoulders above their competition.  To learn more, contact us today at www.BWUnlimited.com.  We would love to help you.