"2018 Road Dawg Rumble" Law Enforcement Charity Fundraising Event

Opening Ceremonies of the "2019 Road Dawg Rumble" - MSPAA

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.

Charity Myth "BUSTED"

Charity Myth "BUSTED": Many charities believe that it is a bad decision to utilize auction items which are "consigned" - OR - the employees of the charities believe that the charity itself has a rule that they can not use them. The question is why? ✔

To prove this is a myth and/or a mistake, answer these and see if it makes sense:

❌ Aren't employees of the charities paid to help them raise awareness, ultimately raising funds?

❌ Does the charity pay a landlord to rent office space?

❌ Does the charity pay for office furniture, a copier, supplies and marketing materials?

❌ When holding a fundraiser, does the charity pay the venue, pay for food & drinks and then mark up the cost of the tickets?

❌ Some charities attest that their donated items sell for their retail value if not above, however can not prove this to be fact.

❌ Charities rarely know their fundraising event "Net" but report the "Gross" to their Board of Directors.

❌ Does the charity pay for Decorations, a band or DJ?

The answer to all of these questions is "Yes." So why then when making the most important decision about the items which will raise them the maximum amount of money have to be donated or free?

✔ Without checking the reality of the bids, isn't it true that charities never go back and check the winning bids on the donated items in comparison to their retail values?

Does that make sense? It's common sense here.

✔ Do charities track what the "Free Items" actually cost? They sell for 1/4 of what they are worth, many don't sell at all, the time it took to get donated items plus the fuel expenses?

✔ Charities who believe this is a wise decision further decise to agree to major expenses up and to the point when the most important part, fundraising is at play. They pay for everything else but the items they need to raise the money with.

✔ The Answer - A (3) year intensive study across the United States proved that donated items only bring maximum bids of 1/8th to 1/4 of their retail value and many do not receive bids at all.

✔ Charities host local events, with their guests are from the same area with items donated by local businesses.

✔ The facts are that if the guests wanted those items, they would have gone and bought them theirself.

✔ During the study, 175 business owners were questioned about their donation habits: All reported that they are repeatedly asked for donations and can not give to everyone. If they do donate an item, it is something that is not selling in their stores.

These are facts, this is reality. So why then do charities believe this is a profitable way of fundraising?

If you would like our help or would like to contest this, please comment below or contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.
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THE “SECRET”: How you and your charity can raise much more money utilizing this “Secret Fundraising” tool.

Note:  Only the people who took the time to read this will benefit from it.

Prior to launching our company, I was involved with several charities involved in the outdoors.  One of the company’s I was extremely familiar with was and still is “Ducks Unlimited.”  Last year, as reported by Charity Navigator, Ducks Unlimited Total Net Profit was $195,923,938.00.   “DU” as they are commonly known by, is a fundraising machine.  This one charity has fundraising so figured out that they make nearly $200 million dollars each year.  Incredibly successful. 

What does “DU” know that you don’t?  They mandate that anyone fundraising use high quality items which they supply.  Now, the items which they supply are not “Consigned”, the fundraising entities (known as chapters) have to purchase the items directly from “DU.”  After the fundraising events, the cost of the items is deducted from the Gross of the event.  What does “DU” know that you don’t?  The answer is this – they, as well as other charities who have adopted this practice, know that they must have great items in order to make much more profit.  Believe it or not, they do not want donated items.

When we started, our company identified the fact that there were currently 104 Million charities in the United States.  We then took the idea from charities like “DU/Ducks Unlimited” in regard to using high quality items and began to introduce it to the charities outside of the outdoor charities.  However, we decided instead of trying to sell these products to charities, we would consign them.  We came up with the plan that charities would be able to use our items, mark up the starting bid above our costs by at least 20% and no matter how high the profit, they would keep 100% of it.  If the item or items did not sell, they could simply return them at no cost to them.  I understood the importance of it and the fundraising impact it would have for charities – but unfortunately, the charities did not.

Immediately we were met with resistance.  We heard commonly “Our charity does not allow us to use items we have to pay for” or “We only accept donated items” or “We are against using items that are consigned.”  What they failed to understand or realize is simply this – they pay for the venue which they are holding the fundraiser, they are paying for the food, the decorations, the printing costs, the bar and everything else but when it came to the tools which would help them raise the money they need, their thought process shut off completely.  They wanted and would only accept totally free items. 

Over the many years we have been in business, we have studied every single fundraising trend there is.  After specifically studying donated items, we found that donated items only bring 1/8^th to 1/4 of their full retail value.  Why so little?  Because the event is attended by people who live locally, the event itself is local and the items are donated by local businesses – if the guests wanted them, they would have gone and bought them themselves.  Furthermore, after speaking to the same businesses who donated – they informed us that the items they donate are ones that are not selling in the stores.  People are always looking for a deal.  The most drastic thing that stood out is that two (2) of the most common items used in fundraising events are Gift Cards and Gift Baskets.  I have asked our clients for years this question “How many Gift Baskets did you give away to your family or friends for the holidays?” and every single time I have been told “None/Zero.”  Furthermore, I’ve asked everyone how many times have you bought yourself a Gift Card?  Again, they laugh and say “Never” – that is why they are both called “GIFT Cards / GIFT Baskets” because we give them away as gifts.  No one will ever pay anywhere near what they are worth based on this simple observation.  But yet, every single day, charities across the nation still insist on getting and using these unsuccessful fundraising items as the keys to their success.  

No matter how hard I tried to tell or convince them, they were not going to do it.   Slowly, charities began to accept the idea and started using our items.  Those charities experienced immense profit and would commonly say “This sounds too good to be true, what’s the catch?”  My response was and still is “It’s good and it’s true, but it’s not too good to be true – there is no catch” and I put it (our policy) in writing on our website and in contracts.  Slowly it started to catch on.

Then one evening, as if a light bulb went off, an idea came to me which would revolutionize the use of our items and could possibly even change the thinking of the charities who refused to use consigned items or items which they had to pay for.   I am going to share it with you and you too will realize just how brilliant it truly is.

The Secret is “Underwriting” or Sponsoring the items themselves.

As you are already well aware of, routinely charities offer differing sponsorship levels – Gold Sponsorship for $5,000.00, Silver Sponsorship for $2,500.00 etc.  Some sponsorship's are much higher.  However, the fact of the matter is, most people can not afford these levels of sponsorship.  However, they can afford much lower, much more affordable monetary sponsorship's such as $250.00. 

Here is the Secret – Businesses such as Real Estate brokers and Agents, Doctors, Lawyers, Accountants, Dentists, Consultants etc. have nothing to donate other than money.  These people are never approached and asked to donate unlike your local jewelry store.  However, if you offer them a chance to “Sponsor” or “Underwrite” the cost of an item, they will.  Let’s say you approach Jane from ABC realty.  Jane looks at the items available, chooses one and writes you a check for the cost of the item.  You then place the item on your Live or Silent Auction with a tent card in front of it reading “Sponsored by Jane Smith, ABC Realty”, while marking up the “Starting Bid” 20%.  When the item gets bid on and no matter how high it goes, you and your charity now keeps 100% of the funds brought in because “Jane from ABC Realty” paid for the item and received marketing in return.  WIN WIN.

Now here is the best part of “The Secret” – If the item does not receive a bid, you simply return the item back to BW Unlimited and you keep the sponsorship money “Jane from ABC Realty” gave you.  You can not lose.

Using this secret “Brought to you by the great people of BW Unlimited Charity Fundraising”, you will raise more money then you could ever dream of while giving many more people an opportunity to help you.

For secrets like this and many more, contact us at www.BWUnlimited.com.  We would love to help you EXCEED your fundraising goals each and every year.

FEAR - Why Fear is your worst enemy

As a national business owner, I listen to business books (I listen to books on Audible while I drive or in my office because I don’t have the time or the attention span to read them) and watch videos of some of the most successful people in the world.  They all share something in common – their messages.  Oddly enough, if you read them, watch the video’s and listen or read the books, they all same the same things.  And here is probably the #1 thing that separates the successful from unsuccessful people.

Fear kills ambition, fear kills growth, fear kills dreams and goals.  Fear is the #1 reason for two (2) things but they are the reverse of each other:

#1 – Fear keeps most people in their comfort zone.  They are afraid of leaving what they know and going outside of their comfort zone because of fear.  Fear of the unknown, fear of Risk, fear of the “What if’s.”  They would rather be miserable and accept what they have instead of seeing what they could have – if they only leave their comfort zone – but nothing grows there in their comfort zone and the scenery never changes.  They blame and hate successful people because of their wealth etc.

Versus

#2 – Fear is all a part of success.  Successful people live outside of their comfort zone and know that “Without Risk there is no reward.”  In the beginning, they were afraid but decided to move passed it and try.  They made mistakes but used those mistakes to make them better.  They climb the ladder of success by initially getting over their fear and getting use to risk.  Their comfort zone does not exist and they thrive outside of it.  They are hated for their success but it only fuels their desire to become more successful.  The reason the “Rich get Richer” is because they are used to risk and have learned that fear is all a part of the journey.  The “Rick get Richer” because opportunity finds them and then they take the risk and become even more successful.

Why am I writing this?  Because recently I was speaking with a charity who needed our help in the worst way.  Their fundraising efforts were not successful which also stunted their growth.  While speaking to them, they had all the parts and pieces to make them successful which made me even more excited because I could see their fundraising event being incredibly successful.   However, their board saw it differently. 

Even though our fundraising resume is vast with many more 5 stars reviews and recommendations than anyone ever needs, with a track record of insane success with our charity clients – they were afraid.  Their fear had them questioning our integrity even though you can’t swing a stick without coming across our successes.  Ultimately, their fear stopped them from moving forward.  Even though I had clearly explained how they would profit, their ears were closed to my words because FEAR was the cause.  Their FEAR will ultimately stop them and possibly even force them to close their doors.

However, within a day or so, I met with another charity who had the same fear initially.  Prior to meeting with us, they thoroughly “Vetted” us and found out everything they needed to know.  But after hearing everything I had to say, answering all of their questions…they were so excited, they jumped on board quickly and we started planning two (2) events while also helping them with other fundraising efforts. 

What’s the moral to the story – there is no plank that you have to walk out on.  In order to be successful, you must get over your fear of moving forward.  Success lies on the opposite side of your fear and comfort zone.  You must take the leap, assume risk just to see what could happen – success if what will happen.

Here is another story about the exact same thing – my wife and were out for dinner and I saw a young girl running around working her butt off.  She was extremely friendly, had a permanent smile on her face and was working hard for the few dollars left on the table for tips. 

I called her over, introduced myself and told her about my business.  I told her that we were looking for people like her and told her what we pay our employees.  She was shocked and said yes that she was interested.  I gave her my card and told her to email me.  After several days and not hearing from her, I went back to the restaurant and approached her.  I asked her why she hadn’t reached out to me and she said “It sounds too good to be true and other people who work here said there is no way it’s real.”  I told her we are 100% real and invited her to come to our meeting…she walked away.  Several days went by, no message so I went back.  I sat her down and spoke to her.  I told her that very few times in life, opportunity will come knocking on your door.  You have to answer it and take the chance…She came to the meeting and now she is a part of my staff.  She went back to the restaurant and told those who said we weren’t real that we actually are.  She took the chance, got over her fear and now look.

In summary, FEAR will eventually kill you if you let it.  You must get over your fear and accept the possibilities in order to grow.  You have to leave your comfort zone or you will never ever grow beyond what you are already doing.

If we can help you, please reach out to us at www.BWUnlimited.com, we would love to help you.

What are "Paying It Forward Fundraising" Silent Auctions?

https://youtu.be/DqGG-4yGYAc