Live Event Fundraising Success

How to Optimize Your Live Event for Fundraising Success

Steve Roseman and Jay LoveJune 27, 2013

Live Fundraising Event Success

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How do you produce a great event every time?

Cater to your patrons!

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Live Fundraising EventCommon Live Event Gala Awards Social Cocktail Style Awareness & Community

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Pre Event DecisionsWho do we want attending the event?

- Current Supports, Attract New Supporters, Affluent Individuals, Etc.. - This tells us what type of items to acquire and how much to charge for the event

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Patron Attraction

How do you market your event?

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Do we market our events properly ?(Think Like Corporate America)

- Gala, Social, and Themed Events: Fun and exciting on top of the cause

- Award: Making your Award winner feel special and huge honor

- Awareness & Community: Fun, exciting and family oriented

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Fun & Exciting Flyer

While stating your mission or cause!

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Making your Award winner feel special and huge honor.

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Improving Our Auction Items Treat our auctions like a retail store!

- People shop for what they like and others are attracted to the sales.

Find out what our patron like and will spend money on.- Auction Reporting and Tracking - Call and ask

What makes our auction stand out?- Change up our items from year to year- Put items together to create something different and higher value.

- More items do not always create more income- Have price points for everyone in the room

Current Must Have Item: Men's watches, Cigar Boxes, Pet Baskets, Candy Baskets, Sporting items during that season, Sports and Celeb Autograph items, Classic Jewelry, Gift Cards to the top restaurants in your area, 3 Day Vacations

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It’s Auction Time

Trends in Auction Functionality Mobile & Online Auctions Pre Launching the Auction Pre Authorizing Payment Silent Auction Closing After Live


Mobile & Online BiddingPatron Benefits

- Creates fun interactive activity for the patrons during the event

- See and bid on items before the event even starts

- Instant notification with they get outbid so they don’t forget what they are bidding on

- Allows patron to enjoy the event and not stand by the bid sheets all night

- Leave right after the auction is over without standing in a long line


Mobile & Online BiddingOrganizational Benefits

- Start Raising money before event starts- Patron does not have to attend to participate- Less volunteers need to run the auction- Allow the staff to interact with the donors and sponsors- No stressful collecting of bid sheets and data entry- Instant Reporting - Fast and Easy Checkout process


Why Pre Launching Your Auction

This allows us to market and build excitement for our silent auction and event

Patrons can start bidding and donating before the event starts


Pre Authorization Eliminates the checkout process and patrons

can now pick up their items with no long lines.

Your organization is guaranteed to receive their funds and do not have to worry about collecting after the event.


Increase Auction Activity Promote bidding from the front of the room. Don’t rely on a text

message to move people.

Create a large excitement as the clock ticks down

Leave silent auction open for 10 minutes following the live auction. (This allows those patrons who lost in the live auction to jump back into the silent and bid more)


Checkout

Fast & Efficient - This is the last thing people remember at the end of the

night.- Pre Authorization create a pick up line with no payment- Multiple line for credit card and one for cash/check- Proper amount of volunteers to help patrons get their items


Tracking for Our Next Event

Whether we use mobile technology or pen and paper we must track the activity in our auctions.

- What items had the most bids- What created the most amount of money- How money people participate - Who bought what - Top donors


Key Points We must know what type of patrons are attending our event and cater the theme and

marketing to them.

Know what your patrons will be interested in purchasing in the auction

Create a fun, enjoyable and easy way for individuals to bid

Develop a fast process for our patrons to checkout

Keep track of our results and data for the next auction (CRM)


Step #1

Retention Success After Any Event


Step #1


(Requires a Top Notch Database Which EVERYONE Can Use!)


Step #1


(Requires a Top Notch Database Which EVERYONE Can Use!)

Even Fundraisers/Executives . . .


How?


How?

CRM or Database so Intuitive


How?

CRM or Database so Intuitive

(No training needed, period!)


Design Philosophy


Simple and Clean

• Intuitive, just begin using!• Use on any device• Avoid features that don’t benefit a majority of

users– Most NPO databases use less than 20% of the

functions within them!– Avoid the classic “Feature Buying Mistake”


Show Login Screen



Step #2

Build in Best Fundraising Practices


Step #2


A. Donor Retention/Engagement


Step #2


A. Donor Retention/Engagement

B. Prospect/Donor Communications


CUE THE EXPERTS:

Dr. Adrian SargeantBloomerang Chief Scientist Professor of Fundraising at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University holding what is presently the world’s only endowed chair in that discipline.Top 10 Most Influential People in FundraisingRenowned expert on Donor Retention and Donor Loyalty

Mr. Tom AhernBloomerang Donor Communications Head Coach One of the world’s top authorities on donor communicationsAuthor of 4 books on Donor CommunicationsWinner of 3 prestigious international IABC Gold Quill awards


“A mere 10% up in retention can increase the lifetime value of the fundraising database by 200%”

“70% of All New Donors Never Renew!”

Dr. Adrian Sargeant

Professor of Fundraising at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University holding what is presently the world’s only endowed chair in that discipline.

Professor of Nonprofit Marketing and Fundraising at Bristol Business School (U.K) and an Adjunct Professor of Fundraising at the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies.

Top 10 Most Influential People in Fundraising


To Fully Understand the Quote . . .

We Must Define Lifetime Value?

To Fully Understand the Quote . . .

We Must Define Lifetime Value?

“The total net contribution that a customer/donor generates during his/her lifetime in your database”


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Dashboard

• More like your retention “cockpit”• Show snapshot of current

– Retention rate– Revenue– Campaigns

• Frequently used reports and constituents



Automatic Engagement Factors


• Recency and pattern of giving

• Cash donors vs. sustaining donors

• # of years giving +• Upgrade /

Downgrade + -• Lapsed -• Event attendance +• Opens email +• Click links in emails +

• Unsubscribes from email -

• Has stated communication preferences +

• Has inbound interactions +

• Has soft credits +• Volunteers +• Social Media

(coming soon)• …and a whole lot more!

DONOR COMMUNICATION BEST PRACTICES

Mr. Tom AhernBloomerang Donor Communications Head Coach

"Successful direct mail appeals are quite simple. At heart, they are love letters to donors & prospects, woven through with clear cries for help."


What is the donor’sengagement over time!

Highlight vital “communication” information---



Next Gen Database/CRM

Easy Enough for All (Even the CEO to Use!)

Enables Fundraising Best Practices!

Q & A

Steve Roseman and Jay LoveJune 27, 2013