Giving in 2015 and involving Millennials

I recently attended a presentation sponsored by the Giving USA FOUNDATION entitled “The  Annual Report on Philanthropy for the year 2015”.

We were informed that 2015 was a year of steady and strong giving, explaining that the total contributions for 2015 where $373 .25 billion.  88% of the total contributions came from individuals, bequests, and family foundations. The individual contributions were up 3.8% over 2014, family foundations giving increased 6.5% and bequests were up 2.1%.  2014 and 2015 combined saw giving increase 12.2% which is the largest two-year increase since 2003 - 2005.

I am including a graphic that presents many other interesting facts about our giving in the year 2015. The graphic was created by the Giving USA Foundation.

Now with individuals being the greatest source of contributions it is extremely important we discover the most effective way to involve the next generation of donors, the Millennials. During this same presentation we heard from a panel of experts involved with philanthropic organizations. One of the subjects they discussed and I felt important to share with you is how to encourage and motivate Millennials to participate in the many aspects of fundraising for your charitable organization.

The panel pointed out that Millennials don't give to organizations, they support causes and because Millennials are so connected through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media, they have the ability to influence so many of their friends for your cause.  In order to take advantage of this fact it’s important you use social media not to sell your organization but to tell the world about your cause by sharing stories and pictures and featuring people who have benefited from your service. If the millennial is moved by your message and connects to your cause they will become an influential voice to all their friends and family via social media.

Blackbaud also reported in their Generational Giving Report that 50% of Millennials share information about charities they support with their friends on Facebook.

It was also pointed out that with the millennium's being 18 to 32 years old, the best way to excite them about your cause is to encourage them to volunteer. In the beginning volunteering their time and energy is the path to Millennials becoming your loyal donors.

With the Millennials being the largest generation since Baby Boomers we can certainly see the importance of connecting your cause to this generation.

Written by Connie Waddell, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

Should you have a Live Auction at your charity auction event?

Wondering if a live auction at your next fundraising auction event makes sense?  Well, the simple answer is YES!!!  Live auctions are not only huge money-makers but they provide a high energy excitement that is matched by nothing else.  There are some critical elements to having a successful live auction at your nonprofit or school fundraiser.  I have outlined the most important ones below.

1. Hire a professional fundraising auctioneer.  DO NOT use a volunteer or inexperienced auctioneer here; your results will be much more dismal and your audience will feel like they are having their teeth pulled during the auction.

2. Fill your audience with people that have the means to support your cause.  You have to have money in the room to have a great revenue outcome.

3. Procure desirable, higher dollar items to sell.  Find out what your audience is interested in and the price range they can afford.

4. Don't have too many items in your live auction.  A good rule of thumb is to not exceed 30-45 minutes for your live auction.  It takes me about 3 minutes per item so about 8-12 live auction items is perfect.

Live auctions at your fundraising auction event will be one of your biggest revenue generators.  Whether you have three items or twelve you should be doing one. 

Visit EliteFundraisingAuctions.com today to find out more about our services and how we can help you achieve your goals!


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

The Ultimate Fundraising Auctioneer

Check out this new "movie trailer" video showcasing Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services.  We are so proud to be in this exciting business and LOVE our nonprofits and schools for the good they bring into each community we serve.  If you need a professional benefit auctioneer and consultant we would be honored if you considered us!

 

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

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

Free Fundraising Auctioneer

So you are planning a fundraising auction event for a nonprofit or school and you need an auctioneer, but you are limited on budget and one of your board members knows a guy that knows a guy that will come do your auction for free.  You agree to this and the big night comes, with all the planning completed, all the money spent on venue, food, décor, DJ, sound services and equipment, etc. and you have high hopes for a record breaking year.  The free auctioneer gets on stage and barely knows what your nonprofit stands for, was just handed a list of auction items an hour prior, and has had a few cocktails because you told him if he came for free that you’d give him and a guest a couple spots at a table.  He is more in a guest mentality than a worker mentality.  Many times he doesn’t have any benefit auction training or experience and you are entrusting this guy to raise you thousands of dollars?  

More than likely your fundraising efforts will be a flop, you might have a great party, but your fundraising will fall short nine times out of ten.  

Hiring a Professional Fundraising Auctioneer?  Click Here to see what you're actually getting.

Professional benefit auctioneers are not only a part of your event that night but far in advance of your event as well.  This planning and consulting is what brings your event to the next level.  If you hire a professional benefit auctioneer he or she will show you creative and effective ways to bring in more funds than you would have ever imagined!  The extra funds will far out way the cost of doing business with that auctioneer and make your guests leave the event wanting to attend the next one.  A professional fundraising auctioneer, in essence, will pay you to hire him/her so you are not only saving money, you are making money!  

I leave you with one question:  “If I could show you one technique that would make you more money than my fee, would you hire me?”

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

13 Tips for Your Live Auction Fundraiser

1.  Always have your professional auctioneer help you with putting the live auction items in the best order.

2.  Live auction should be no longer than 45 minutes, but preferably 30 minutes.  It takes approximately 2-3 minutes to sell each item.

3.  It is very important to schedule the live auction early in your program. You want the bidders awake and energetic

4.  We recommend having the live auction during dinner.

5.  At events where there is little to no seating for the bidders it is very difficult to get the best results from your live auction.
 
6.  Make sure you have recorders in place to write down the winning bidder numbers and amounts (We recommend having 3 recorders, pre-designing the recorder sheets, and allowing us to meet with the recorders prior to the beginning of the event).

7.  Find out if any of the items can be sold twice and let us know.
 
8.  Inform us if any of the items have reserve/consignment amounts.
 
9.  We recommend utilizing professional bid spotters (ringmen) during your live auction (1 ringman per 100-150 guests is optimal).

10.  Allow your professional auctioneer to set starting bids and control the increments of the auction.

11.  Make sure that the house lights are brought up and spot lights down so that your auctioneer can see the bidders.

12.  Be careful with consignment items in your live auction.   

13.  Consult with us before choosing consignment items as they can many times take a lot of revenue out of your auction.  We can recommend good consignment companies that we trust.

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