Are You Looking for a "Magic Pill" to bring in MORE MONEY at Your Fundraising Auction?

We all know that a "Magic Pill" doesn't exist in the physical sense, but what if I tell you that doing one simple thing could double or triple your fundraising auction revenue; would you believe in a "magic pill" then? 

There are so many facets that make up a successful fundraising event: great venue, good food, dedicated board, etc.  I can speak for us at Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services when I tell you that our team of dedicated fundraising professionals will take your revenue to the next level and you will think that you just took a magic pill.  We have time and time again proven that we can consistently increase revenue to double or triple what the previous volunteer auctioneer was able to attain.  We do this with pre-event consulting.  We don't just show up the day of the event and you hand us a list of auction items and off we go... this is how you guarantee poor results!  We work with your committees and board up to a year in advance and guide you through every up and down of the fundraising event roller coaster with simple, yet effective techniques that guarantee to show you spectacular results.  Click Here to find out what consulting will give your organization. 

The greatest thing about our "Magic Pill" approach is that we have a super secret way that we actually pay you to hire us... Visit our website to find out how to get one of these "Magic Pills" for your next fundraising auction event!!  EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

What is the most important ingredient to a successful fundraising event?

Is the most important ingredient the type of live auction items or what kind of food you serve or how many silent auction items you have, etc.?  While all these are important, the answer is NO!  The single most important ingredient for a successful fundraising event is having the right people in the room. 

So you may ask “Who are the right people?”  These are simply the people that believe in your cause and have the means and desire to support your cause through monetary giving (Whether that be in a silent auction, live auction, fund a need, or any other type of revenue enhancer.  

A FUNDRAISING AUCTION EVENT SHOULD FOCUS ON FUNDRAISING!  

This sounds so simple yet many organizations get away from this and focus on the party.  Your event should be seen as an opportunity to raise as much money as possible and spread your Nonprofit’s message.  If your guests are coming just to have dinner and not support your cause monetarily then you are missing your opportunity to have a super successful charitable event.

Quite simply, you are looking for QUALITY NOT QUANTITY.  

You would rather have 150 guests with the means to support your cause than 500 guests who are there for the party or there because the boss gave them tickets.  For example, if you take those 150 attendees that have the means to support your cause and they give an average of $500 per person then your organization would raise $75,000; not to mention the fact that you will pay less for your venue, less for your food and less for your beverages, ultimately raising your net.  If you take the 500 guests that were mostly given tickets (i.e. from bosses, friends, etc.) and most of them don’t have the means to support your cause, you may be lucky to have them give an average of $100 per person.  This equates to $50,000, which is 50% less than the example above.  Your net figure is also going to be much lower because you will need a larger venue, more food and more beverages.

When your committee sits down for its first meeting, the primary objective should be putting people with the means and desire to support your cause in the seats!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

What Food Should You Serve at Your Next Fundraising Auction Event?

Just about all of us love to eat and what you serve can have a definite impact on what you raise when it comes to fundraising auction events.  If you are wanting to raise a substantial amount of funds then serve your donors high quality food like steak, lobster, prawns, etc.  It definitely sets a subconscious message to your guests for the auction and fund a need giving.  This all depends on the style of event you have of course, but I'm speaking in more of a general sense. We always recommend a plated dinner versus a buffet which you can read more about HERE.  The picture to the left (from gorare.com) screams high class and high value, which is the mindset you want your bidders in when they are about to donate to your important cause.

Another piece of advice is to stay away from desserts that involve ice cream for the simple fact that ice cream can easily melt, and you never know the exact amount of time dessert may be put on hold to finish fundraising efforts.

Overall, if you are having a classy event that you are expecting large donor participation at high levels then serve them a great meal so they know you appreciate their generosity and count on them to return the generosity when they give.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

Have a Thank-A-Thon with Your Donors After Your Fundraising Auction Event

We all understand, or should understand, that thanking your donors after your fundraising auction event has concluded is an absolute must.  However, the way that you thank your donors for their generous contributions to help your cause is so very important.  Many organizations simply send out a form letter showing what was purchased/donated and a generic message thanking the donor for their contribution.  This is obviously a good idea for their tax purposes, but how personal is this for the donor and does it make them feel special?

Imagine being a donor that just gave $5,000 or $1,000 or $250 of your hard-earned money to a cause that you believe in and just receiving this form letter, which is really a must for tax purposes anyway.  Do you feel special in any way?  Do you feel that the organization values your participation in such an important event?  Do you have any excitement or feeling of obligation to attend their next event?  In some cases yes, but in most cases not really.

I suggest that you get together your entire board and staff and have a Thank-A-Thon party.  Provide some food and beverages for your board and staff and start calling your donors on the phone.  Spend 30 seconds to a minute explaining how thankful your organization is for their donation and how the funds will be utilized to better your cause.  The purpose of this call is not to ask for anything but to simply thank your donors and inform them of how the funds will be or are being utilized to better your cause.  If the donor does not answer just leave them a message, no need to keep calling until they answer.   If you had 150 people give at your event then a board and staff of 10 people have to spend about 15-20 minutes each or about 15 phone calls each. 

Most organizations do not do this simple step, so imagine how much this will put you in the minds’ of your donors versus other organizations that they give to throughout the year.  Simply put, it makes them feel special and valued which can many times equate to future support.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS  
EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

How important are recorders for your live auction and fund a need?

One of the most important jobs at a fundraising auction event are the recorders.  These are the people that are logging in the winning bid amounts and donation amounts from the live auction and fund a need.  They will also be the people running the recorder sheets to the check out personnel.  Sounds simple right?  We see more mistakes made here than almost any other volunteer job… it is a tragedy because this is where serious money can be lost!
 

Here is the formula for success with your recorders: 

1. Don’t have volunteers that like to drink alcoholic beverages handling your recording.
   
2. Assign this job to three people with identical recorder sheets to prevent missed bid amounts or bidder numbers.
3. Have pre-designed recorder sheets that are simple to understand.  Lay out your live auction sheet in the same order of the actual live auction and let recorders know if there are any items that have the potential to sell twice.  Design your fund a need sheet in columns with the same levels your professional auctioneer will be asking your guests to give.
4. Make sure that the three recorders check each other’s sheets and combine to one sheet for the checkout personnel.
5. All recorders need to be placed in a quiet corner close to a speaker, so they can hear, and just listen, logging in data based on what the auctioneer says.  DO NOT HAVE RECORDERS TRY AND FIND THE BIDDER NUMBERS THEMSELVES; THIS IS A RECIPE FOR DISASTER!
6. Have the recorders meet with the auctioneer prior to the event to go over the system.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS
EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

How many items should we have in our live fundraising auction?

How many live auction items should we have?  This is one of the most popular questions asked when planning a fundraising auction event.

In a standard “Gala style” event with silent auction, welcome speech, live auction and fund a need there is what’s called a “Golden Hour”.  I would suggest that an hour for a live auction at a fundraiser is a bit too much, but it is a good rule of thumb to keep your live auction no more than one hour long.  I really like to be more in the range of 30-45 minutes if possible.  

Now, that brings up the question: “How many items does that mean we can sell?”  A good professional fundraising auctioneer will take around 3 minutes per item (including the item description).  If you do the math that means that 15 items are the most you should be selling, but ideally you want to stay between 8-10.  Be careful of filling the auction with lower quality items just to say you have ten items!  I would rather have quality, not quantity in the live auction; even if that means having an auction with 4-5 items.  You only have a short attention span with your guests, so make it count!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS

EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

How Important is Audio/Visual at a Fundraising Auction Event?

Having great, not good, not okay, but great sound is imperative to your fundraising auction event’s success.  Here are some tips regarding audio/visual at your fundraising event:

• Never use the in-ceiling house system.
• Always surround the room with speakers (Don’t leave out the attendees in the back). 
• Always have screens with auction items displayed during live auction. 
• Don’t forget to have high quality sound in your silent auction area as well (If located in a different area). 
• Don’t have too much treble or too much bass. 
• Have a professional A/V company handle it!

I am no expert in designing or setting up the A/V equipment and I’m assuming you are not either, so have a professional do this step… it can make thousands of dollars difference in your bottom line!  Just picture yourself at a fundraising auction sitting at one of the tables in the back of the room when there are only two speakers in the front and people around you are chatting with each other.  All you can hear is a rumbling sound but you can’t quite make out what the auctioneer is saying… you can’t bid if you can’t hear so the result to the non-profit or school is less money.

Not only is it important to have enough speakers but it is equally important to have enough amperage to power the speakers.  You want rich, deep sound when the auctioneer is chanting or your emcee is speaking.  I leave you with one final thought: “Is it worth paying a fee to an A/V company if you can make significantly more at your event?”

Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS
Chief Auctioneer/Consultant
Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services
http://www.EliteFundraisingAuctions.com