The “Reality” of Donated Items: What is the true value of donated items?

Before I give you the answer, just imagine these facts:

#1 – Today there are 104 million registered U.S. Non Profits – many have charities which could be considered sub-charities for which there are at least 50 million.  Adding those into the 104 Million, we are now up to 154 million, and then consider the “Benefit” events.  A “Benefit” Event is when a group of people organize a fundraiser for a specific cause which is NOT a charity such as storm damage, illness of a child etc.  Adding these “Benefit” events, we are now nearly 200 million charities or organizations across North America holding fundraisers.

#2 – The U.S. Census reports that there are 27.9 million small businesses in the U.S. with a total of a little over 65 million total businesses.

These are facts reported by the Small Business Administration, a part of the U.S. Government – you can find these facts by simply running “How many businesses are in the U.S.” on Google. 

Comprehending and fully understanding what this means is that for every business – there are a total of (3) more charities. 

Each one of these businesses are owned and operated – 27.9 million are small businesses. 

Let’s pause for a minute – as you can already agree, the number of charities compared to the number of businesses (especially small businesses) are staggering, don’t you agree?

However, here is the reality – most charities across the United States still believe that fully donated items are the only way to hold a successful event.  They believe that businesses should fully donate items because they are deserving – which they are.

Here is the myth – Charities believe that fully donated items are 100% free and that they will either raise 100% of the value of the item and again, that this is the only successful method fundraising and that utilizing items they have to “Pay” for is unsuccessful.

Hold on – here is where you won’t want to hear the “Reality of donated items and their true value.”

The Reality:

This video is a client in Twin Falls Idaho speaking about the "Reality of Donated Items" - This is not us saying it, it's a charity!!!

The reality is, businesses across the country are BOMBARDED by charities requesting they donate items for their charity fundraiser. 

***BW Unlimited LLC. did a comprehensive 3 year study comparing the success rate of donated items while also interviewing well over 500 business owners about this topic.

The reality is this – business owners cannot possibly donate to every single charity, organization or group who asks for a donation.  Many companies have put “Stop Gaps” in place to deter or defer these requests.  They use the method of telling these groups to go to their website, fill out a form or provide them a form and it will be sent to their corporate office who will determine if they will donate.  They know that 80% of people will not complete the task and it also allows an entity away from their business to say “No.”  It’s simply a “Brush Off.”

Next, we must understand that business owners (especially small business owners) must pay their bills to keep their lights on.  They cannot possibly donate to everyone because they have to keep their doors open.  Business owners report that they will commonly donate items which are not selling in their stores – basically items no one wants.

Charities are still repeating the very old but untrue statement of “It’s tax deductible” when the reality is that businesses can only claim 30% of their donations and after that…they are losing money.  That statement is simply FALSE.  This changed when President Obama changed the tax laws.

Consider this as well – A local charity is hosting a fundraiser in a local place with local people attending the event.  If the guests wanted those items, they would have gone and purchased them themselves.

Common items you see in every charity fundraiser are – Gift Certificates/Gift Cards and Gift Baskets.  However, ask yourself these questions and answer truthfully:

#1 – Have you ever bought a Gift Certificate – for yourself?  No.

#2 – How many Gift Baskets did you give to your family or friends for the Holidays?  No.

The 3 year study proved this to be true.  The reason these items are not successful in charity events is based on the very first word in their description “Gift.”  People purchase these items to give as “Gifts” but not for themselves.

Donated items, across North America, are only bringing 1/8^th to 1/4  of their retail value.  At the very most, very uncommon, will bring 50% of their value. 

If you are the charity, deduct the time and fuel costs to get these items.  If you are being true to yourself and being open minded, are these items “Exciting” or do they appear to be like a “Yard Sale” without a theme?

Simply put ladies and gentlemen, if you still believe donated items are the best way to raise money, you are unequivocally mistaken. 

Then add in this – Rarely do business owners donate anything of great value.  If they do, they are most likely a part of the charity.  However, (This is a very real scenario and we have witnessed it first hand), imagine when the item that they donate does not raise 50% of its value, what does that say about the business who donated it?  It actually “De-Values” their store and their items.  We have witnessed donors get up in anger and leave the fundraisers.

I know you’re asking me this question now “So are you saying donated items are bad?”  No, not at all – but there is a way to ensure they are successful and still bring 100% of their value if not more – Raffles.  Raffling donated items ensures full value since everyone will purchase a raffle ticket.

Another common mistake that charities continue to do is to use the same donations year after year.  The very first year, the item will bring it’s maximum bid, the next year the audience gets smaller and smaller which means less and less money is raised using the item or items.

To summarize – please understand the facts surrounding the “True Value of Donated Items” and the reality of charity fundraising before you make an assumption or a mistake with your next charity fundraiser.

If you would like our help maximizing your next charity fundraiser, raising above and beyond your goals – contact us, we would love to help you.  Understanding the “Reality of Charity Fundraising” is part of the road to your success.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising Leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  Contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.

Tickets will NOT be Sold at the Door

There are 100’s if not 1,000’s of mistakes charities can make which spell disaster but the most major mistake a charity can make when planning their fundraising event is to either allow people to pay at the door or to actually tell your supporters & possible guests that they can pay at the door.  Just don’t do it and here is why.

Eight years ago, while helping with a Therapeutic Program in South Carolina, I fully instructed our client on how to sell correctly and successfully sell tickets including not allowing people to say they will purchase them at the door.  Our client, let’s call her Sarah, had rented a large plantation house which also included the menu with an open bar.  During the planning process, I routinely checked in with “Sarah” and she would report that on each occasion, her guest numbers were increasing astronomically finally selling out completely.  I was very proud to hear how successful Sarah and her committee were packing the plantation.  However, here is where the story goes sideways and overturns.  About a week away, as we were preparing to go to South Carolina, Sarah called telling me that the Plantation was looking for final payment which is very routine and she asked what she was supposed to do.  I simply said “Well, write them a check from all of your ticket sales money that you put in the bank.”  She said “Uhhhh, I don’t have any money in the bank and don’t have any way of paying for it now.”

 

I paused, to allow what she had just said to catch up and I could derive what she

was saying.  I said “Sarah, please tell me you listened to what I was telling you, to sell tickets and deposit the money.  To not allow people to tell you they will pay at the door.”  That is when Sarah exploded “This is the south, you don’t know people here.  What they tell you is what is going to happen.  Their word is gospel.”  With my head in my hands, I knew what was going to happen.  I said “Sarah, those people are not going to come to your event, I told you to not do that, your event is going to be a disaster.  You better hurry up and collect all the promised tickets immediately.”  That is when Sarah said “I can’t believe you’re not listening, you’re fired” and promptly hung up the phone.  Needless to say, Sarah was contractually obligated to us but what made matters much much worse, she also was financially obligated to the Plantation, the decorator, a band and several others.

Several months went by and while heading to upstate New York (to help Cornell University), my phone rang.  It was her boyfriend who told me that they were no longer together while asking if I heard what happened.  Exactly what I said would happen, happened.  Out of the 450 supposed people who were paying at the door, only 18 showed up.  Sarah had to take a personal loan out to pay for the event and she was forced to close down her charity.  He said and I can hear his words now “George Sir, you were right, she should have listened to you, I’m sorry.”

 

Here is why telling people tickets will be sold at the door or allowing people to tell you they will pay for them at the door is a MAJOR mistake:

#1 – Caterer – The venue will ask for a head count prior to your event so that they can prepare food for the number of guests who are attending.  However, if you are selling tickets at the door or allowing people to pay you at the door, you truly don’t have an accurate count on how many people are coming.  There are two negatives to this:

a.    Your guest count is high – People do not show up at your event and too much food is prepared which you are paying for.  Eventhough you believed they were coming, the caterer will want to be paid for the amount of people they prepared food for.

    Your guest count is low – Many more people show up to the door than you had planned or paid for and the caterer did not prepare enough food.  The guests who had paid prior to the event do not get enough food which causes them to have a negative experience.

#2 – An Easy Excuse or Brush-off – A very easy way for people to give an excuse for not buying tickets is to tell you “I’ll buy them at the door.”  It’s easy since they don’t want to make you mad or look bad.  But it most certainly is a brush-off. 

#3 – Pre-selling ticket success – By only Pre-selling tickets and telling people they are not available, people will be much more apt to purchase tickets and you will have a much better chance to sell completely out since you will know what your true ticket count is.

Summary:  If people do not spend money than they have nothing to lose.  A common saying is “They have to skin in the game.”  If they didn’t pay for the tickets, they have nothing to lose.  You know yourself, you may just simply change your mind or find something else to lose.  BUT if you spent money, you are most certainly going to attend.

Please heed my warning;  NEVER EVER tell people they can pay for their tickets at the door or allow people to tell you they will buy them at the door.  You will definitely be much better off telling everyone that “Tickets will NOT be sold at the door.”

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a full service company and a North American charity fundraising leader in a convenient “One Stop Shop” setting.  We can help you avoid the 100’s of pitfalls and direct you toward hosting a highly successful event.  Contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.

If you think its expensive to hire an Expert, wait till you hire an Amateur.

I say this all the time so just like everything I say, its become a part of my script.  The reason it’s became a part of my script is based upon its meaning and importance.  So here it is:

“If you had a bump on your neck with spiders crawling out of it, would you go to your mechanic or a Doctor?  If you were building a house, would you get advice from your Doctor or talk to an Architect or Contractor?  If you had serious legal issues, would you go to your Contractor?”

Obviously, the answer is No – simply No, you would seek the advice of an expert. 

However, when it comes to fundraising, we as charities commonly make the mistake of asking someone with no experience in fundraising and no understanding of it. 

Unfortunately, fundraising is not just something you “Wing” especially if your charity or organization truly needs to raise money to pay for your activities or mission.  Why place something so vitally important in the hands of someone who is not an expert?

Fortunately, there are experts across the country – Charity or Benefit Auctioneers and/or BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising which is truly the only Charity Fundraising Event planning business in the world.  BW does not plan weddings and birthday parties – we only plan fundraising events. 

If you go to an event planner, the event planner will have a background in planning birthdays, weddings and Bar Mitzvahs and they are the experts in their fields.  If you’re getting married, don’t come to BW because we will look back at you with an empty look but we won’t say “Sure, we can do it.”  No, we will tell you to find a wedding planner.

Yes, a Charity Fundraising Event such as a Gala is an event – but the importance of the event is the fundraising capability and result.  Event planners look at the actual event, however, with a fundraising event, the event begins months before with ticket sales and finding financial sponsors.  There are elements inside a fundraising event in regard to the fundraising platforms that you must know and have a depth of knowledge in.  The Why’s and How’s are the most important.

In summary, if your charity truly needs to raise money – seek the help of an Expert, an Expert Fundraiser whether it’s BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising or some other person or company, get the assistance of an expert – don’t leave it in the hands of an amateur. 

There is a very famous saying that is so incredibly true – “If you think an Expert is expensive, wait to you hire an amateur.”

If you, your charity or your organization needs help, please contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com or email me at George@bwunlimited.com.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a convenient “One Stop Shop” setting.  BWUCF is the only full service, charity fundraising event company in the world with an extensive resume in regard to hosting highly successful charity fundraising events.  If we can help you, contacting us is free at www.BWUnlimited.com.

Charity Fundraising “Flat Line” – The “Sophomoric Syndrome”

There is an old saying that says “If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward.”  This is incredibly true for charities that experience success early.  However, as their charity ages, they tend to get set in their ways and lose track of reality.

Furthermore, no one likes to hear the reality of things.  Most charities believe that their mission is the best and deserves the most but what most don’t realize is this – people give because they want something in return.  Whether it is acknowledgement of some kind, satisfaction or whatever, they want something.

The competition for charities trying to fundraise is stiff.  With over 104 Million charities in the United States, Non Profits need to be on their game per se.  They must grasp the plain and simple fact that in order to attract people or supporters to their charity, they need to be a “Dancing Monkey” of sorts.  Laying out the bait to gain the attention of people shopping the charity superstore is extremely important.  The best way of accomplishing this – is to host an incredible event for people to attend.  Making it more about the event and less about the charity and the fundraising aspect.  Does this make sense?  No it doesn’t but then why are BW Unlimited events so large and always so successful? 

Test Case #1:   Recently, we were asked to help a charity which had not been successful raising money for 6 years.  However, when we came on board, we were given “Carte Blanche” to do what we wanted and how we wanted.  This charity had a very hard time getting people to attend their small functions and within the 6 year period, they had only raised a grand total of $6,000.00. 

They did not question our methods, in fact, we provided guidance and they followed it a “T.”  Everyone prior to during the beginning discussion stages, was very critical saying that it would never work, people won’t come etc.

End result – 1,000 attendees and close to $80,000.00 in profit in the bank “PRIOR TO” the event.  People are excited about the charity and the next event – which will be much larger and much more profitable.

However – this leads to the next problem – a very real issue referred to as the “Sophomoric Syndrome.”

What is the “Sophomoric Syndrome”?  It’s when a group is extremely successful and the following year, they lay back and think that last year’s success will come rolling in without much work.  They don’t go after as many donations, they believe people will just buy tickets because of last year, they don’t go after financial sponsors as hard…they lay back and think people are going to come to them. 

Oddly enough, you need to work twice as hard.  Remember the “Dancing Monkey”?  People get distracted and want to be entertained.  The event needs to change and evolve to keep people interested and involved.  The charity must GROW to stay relevant.  They need to lay out the “Bait” thick and keep attracting more and more to their event.  Their event has to grow bigger, become more impressive etc.  Growing the committee is more important but the committee too must understand the “Reality of Charity Fundraising.”  Why people and businesses donate – because they want something. 

They must understand that they are not the only Charity in existence, because there will be 100 charities behind them asking them for donations and giving them what they want – the donor can sit back and make demands to see who wants their money.  This is reality folks.

Have you ever seen one of those business graphs with profits and losses going up and down?  Well the same holds true with a charity.  Charities must think like a business and use strategy to run it.  They need to ask themselves these questions: 

#1 – “How do we grow and become more profitable?” 

#2 – “How do we stay more relevant?”

#3 – “What can we do to attract more people to us?”

#4 – “How can we compete in such a competitive market place?”

And perhaps the most important question….

#5 – “Are we doing this for fun or do we want to do more, grow and become much more successful?”

Be realistic – ask yourselves the above questions.  How do you combat the problem detailed above?  Each year, you need to start over, keep everyone engaged and excited about what lies ahead.  Get rid of any negativity and grow your infrastructure.  If not, this is when the “Charity Flat Line” starts to happen.  You can tell this is happening when donations slow down. 

Let’s be real for a minute – do any of your charities walk out to the mailbox in the morning and find stacks of checks waiting for you?  No.  That is why you must go nuts when it comes to fundraising!!!  You absolutely must work even if you hire us – we will teach you how to stay relevant, how to stay competitive but in the end, it’s up to you to ensure your pulse keeps beating.

Everything ladies and gentlemen has a shelf life.  Case in Point – there was a very well-known Veterans charity with a very recognizable logo that just a year or so ago everyone loved.  Millions upon millions of dollars poured into this charity but then they lost their way.  It became more about the charity and marketing then it did about this mission.  People became very critical and before too long, investigations began, news stories exposed them and now where are they?  Gone.

Everything counts – EVERYTHING.  You must stay ahead of the pace.  Everything matters, your web presence, your mission and your fundraising efforts.  If not, your pulse will stop and your charity will flat line.  There are plenty of examples of this. 

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a charity fundraising leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  We can help you and your charity understand the competitive nature of charity fundraising and guide you toward a bright future while helping you by planning, managing and hosting highly successful charity fundraising events which will not only help you raise the money you need but grow your charity in ways you could not have predicted.  Check out our website at www.BWUnlimited.com or call us directly at 443 206 6121.  We would love to help you.

Fundraising 101: Do you truly want to host a successful fundraising event?

Testimonial from Jermaine Shoatz of the Prince Georges County NAACP Branch.

https://youtu.be/A83PKx5izzM

Are you already knocked out before the fundraising fight even begins? www.BWUnlimited.com

Have you ever watched a boxing or UFC match when the two (2) fighters are so wrongly matched that the novice boxer gets knocked out in the very first round?  It’s almost hard to watch.  But I can bet, the novice fighter thought that they would come out the winner, getting their hand raised at the end.  But, professional, experienced fighters who train and study always come out victorious.  It’s just common sense.

Same with Charity Fundraisers.  Novice fundraisers with very little experience, who don’t study fundraising trends always think the same thing.  They don’t know their opponents or their guests.  In fact, a common statement which I hear all the time is “Our people don’t spend like that.” 

Do professionals think this way?  Does the professional boxer watch his opponent and plan for every possible outcome? 

How do you possibly know how your guests will spend their money when you only have lesser priced, cheap items for them to bid on? 

In order to go from novice to a professional formidable charity fundraiser, you have to understand the “Reality of Fundraising.”  The fundraising myths, mainly that donated items are the best way to raise money because you keep 100% of the money, is truly a novice approach. Not that I’m trying to sell you or your charity on using our items, I’m telling you that the reason our Auction Items exist is because they are proven.  No one wants left overs, no one will bid over the retail price of an item that only sells in a store for $30.00.  You sooner have a better chance of finding Bigfoot then for this to ever happen. 

Novice charity fundraisers always refer to bigger spenders and ask how they can attract those types of people.  The first novice method is to plan your event “Low.”  Another issue, you don’t know until you at the very least try.

Go from the skinny kid in the ring to the Heavy Weight fundraising Champion by asking for our help.

BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising is a North American Charity Fundraising leader in a “One Stop Shop” convenient setting.  BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising helps over 1,400 charities each and every year all across North America.  BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising’s real approach to fundraising, studying the successful fundraising trends, makes BW the #1 fundraising firm in the country.  If you would like our help, contact us today at www.BWUnlimited.com, we would love to help you.