We are lucky
and extremely fortunate due to the fact that we are asked to assist charities
all over North America, assisting well over 1200 charities each year. With that amount of exposure to charity
events, our collective knowledge has grown dramatically. I am a student and a “Big Time” fan of
charity fundraising. I love to see
successful fundraising while also interested in what fails to rise to the same
level. Honestly, I look for the failures
and spend hours, days and weeks determining how to improve the outcome but
using a different method.
Probably the
best example of the above is two of the most prolific items, donated items
found at nearly every single charity fundraising event across North America –
Gift Baskets & Gift Certificates.
Charities
spend days putting gift baskets together while investing in the supplies to
build them. However, commonly, gift
baskets receive very low bids in Silent Auctions. When I meet with (either in person or via a
conference call), I ask them this simple question “How many gift baskets did
you give away during the holiday season to your family or friends?” 99.9% of the time, I only hear laughter
because the answer is “None.” However,
charities invest a lot of time getting these donated while also spending time
for the materials to make them.
Along those
same lines, Gift Certificates are next.
In order to better understand the success of gift certificates, we have
to step outside of our role as the charity and look at it in the role of the
guest potentially bidding on the certificate.
Understanding
that your charity is attended by local people with the certificate donated by a
local business, if your guest truly wanted it, they would have gone to the
business and purchased it themselves.
Furthermore, truly everyone is looking for a “Deal.” Charity guests regularly bid only 1/2 of the
Retail value.
Ponder this –
when your donor donated the above two items, do you think they would like to
hear it only brought in half the retail value?
No.
So how does
a charity get the retail value or much more for these two highly popular
items? By placing them in a raffle or
game. Remember, people love to win….and
also enjoy even having the chance to win something. By placing these items in a Raffle or Game
Setting such as a Stretch or Balloon Raffle, charities will make 10 times the
retail value while providing a fun atmosphere for your guests. Plus, your donor will enjoy learning the
items they provided brought you an incredible profit.
At your next
event, try our suggestion above and watch how it will greatly impact your
fundraising events success. If you would
like to learn some great raffle or game ideas, contact BW Unlimited CharityFundraising today at www.BWUnlimited.com.
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