Tall centerpieces hurt fundraising auctions

Everyone wants their event to look great. The challenge is to strike a balance between form and function, especially when it comes to the centerpieces.

Even though they are see-through in the middle, the paper planes on these center-pieces are obscuring the podium.

As auctioneers, our ability to engage a crowd is dependent upon two things: the crowd’s ability to hear us, and our ability to see them. It isn’t just the bidder’s paddles or numbers that we need to be able to see: we need to be able to look people in the eye, because it reveals a lot about their personality. Do they want to be played with? Do they want recognition? Are they smiling? Do they look to their spouse for the go-ahead between every bid? Are they looking to see who is bidding against them?

There is a lot we need to see from the stage, all of which enables us to raise more money for you in your fundraising auction. Tall, bulky centerpieces that block the line of sight from the stage to attendees’ faces hinder fundraising. They wind up costing you money – usually much more than you paid for them – in lost auction revenue.

If I can’t see the bidder as auctioneer, it means I have to move around on the stage until I can see them. Provided I know they are there, and know that they are trying to bid. But when I’m working around tall centerpieces, I usually just get to see the paddle number, jutting out over a mass of flowers.

If a bidder feels like they aren’t being seen, they either stand up or put their paddle down. Either are sub-optimal ways to get your crowd to engage.

Short, theme-appropriate centerpieces work best. They enable the people in charge of décor to flex their creative muscles without their vision literally getting in the way of raising money. If a designer insists on doing tall centerpieces, make sure they are as transparent as possible.

When in doubt, sit facing the stage at a table and ask yourself, “Could I look the auctioneer (or any other speaker) in the eye?”  If the answer is “no” you have to decide if there is anything you can do about it that night, or if it is an issue you’ll need to address the following year.  Because our goal is to lower barriers to supporting your cause, not build them.

Creating desirable packages for your live auction

Procuring enticing packages is one of the most challenging aspects of organizing a fundraising auction. Solicitation committees often get hung up on comparisons to other events and focus on the lots they see doing well at other fundraising auctions.

And while there is value in learning from one’s peers, we never encourage our clients to focus on specific auction lots. It can be frustrating, and it seldom yields results.

For example: I’ve sold “Breakfast with Bo Derek the morning after the auction” for over $20,000. This was wonderful for the event that had Bo as a supporter, but it is useless to the rest of you reading this right now (unless you are good friends with Bo as well).

Instead, we encourage our clients to focus on the types of lots that sell best and then work to find the most desirable packages in each of those types. There are three levels of desirability across all types of auction lots: Retail, Access, and Relationship:

• Retail is the ground floor of desirability in an auction lot. If your attendees can find a price for it online, they’ll bid accordingly. There are types of auction lots that do fine when sold as straight retail, such as trips. Generally speaking, however, it is the least desirable.

• Access denotes an experience bidders could not enjoy otherwise, something that is not available through retail channels. Lots that offer access engage your crowd to spend more, and make your auction more memorable. 

• Relationships are the hottest selling lots in any auction we do. “People support people” is one of the oldest adages in fundraising, and nowhere does this prove more true than onstage. Relationship lots offer access to a “celebrity,” and the definition of celebrity varies.

Creating attractive packages for the live auction is one of the most crucial elements of the pre-event planning we consult on, and one of the areas upon which we focus the majority of our consulting. As such, we’ll be discussing this and brainstorming desirable auction lots in person at our upcoming workshop: “Raise More, Right Now: Advanced Fundraising Auction Strategies.”

Personalize your paddle raise

The paddle raise is the most important component of most fundraising auctions, often raising more than the rest of the auction combined. The way it is introduced is crucial to engaging the crowd and ensuring success.

A good paddle raise pitch tells stories that connect your audience to your mission on a personal level. It doesn't have to be long, it doesn't have to be overly dramatic, it just needs to be honest and engaging. Like this video of Trent Yaconelli, associate executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of St Helena and Calistoga, at their BIG Night gala.

One way the election will impact your fall auction: communications

Last week we explored the upcoming presidential election’s impact on fall fundraising auctions, and concluded that the popularly held beliefs are misconceptions (see our blog post on the topic for an in-depth analysis). But there is one area where the fall election cycle is going to impact fall events: direct mail, mailing houses, and the sheer volume of communication people will receive.

The first week of November is consistently one of the top three busiest weeks of the year for mail. If you are planning on sending an invitation or direct mail to your attendees between October 1st and November 4th, make sure that your mail house is not going to be inundated with political work. One event planner we work with only contracts mailing houses that don’t do any political work; she wants to ensure her clients are top priority.

Non-profit communication always faces stiff competition for recipients’ attention, and during an election year that competition is much fiercer. It is no longer limited solely to direct mail, either. Since the 2010 election, political campaigns have come to rely more upon email, social media and other electronic outlets. For events in November, this means that your two-week prior touch-base with attendees to confirm their attendance and get them a copy of your auction catalog is going to be competing with a lot of other noise.

Your most ardent supporters will know who you are and open your emails to them – but their guests might be another story. Relationships rule development, so leverage all of the connections you have. Utilize your network of supporters: have table captains reach out to their guests directly on your behalf to market your auction (see our blog post on the subject). And start now: I am a big fan of expectation management through clear communication. If you get your supporters committed to making your event a success in advance, they will help continue that tradition every year.

Tip your teacher

For the past several years, I have auctioneered for a school that utilizes a ‘teacher tip contest’ in a way that’s fun, honors the school’s hardworking teachers, and generates good revenue for the fundraiser as well.  Here’s how it works:

During the reception the teachers take turns as ‘bartenders.’  At this K-5th school, the K-1, 2nd-3rd grade, and 4th-5th grade teachers each take 20-minute group shifts at the bar. They chat with parents as they serve them beer and wine, while the parents fill the teachers’ tip jars, either with cash or “tip slips,” on which parents can simply write their paddle number and a tip amount.  Friendly competition between the grade levels is encouraged.

During the live auction, usually at the beginning of the Fund a Need, the totals and winners of the tip contest are announced.  The teachers then ‘donate their tips’ to the school; and in a nice touch, the total of all teacher tips (this year it was over $4000) serves as the highest bid level for the Fund a Need.  “Who can match your teachers’ generous $4,218 donation this evening?” 

Note:  Just as with classroom art projects, there is often much more interest/action on the part of the newer parents (in this case the K-1 parents) than those of the oldest, one-foot-out-the-door students (here, the 4th-5th grade parents).  If there are more grade levels than time shifts, it’s usually best to put extra teachers together at the higher grade levels to give them a fighting chance in the competition. 

Also, revenue enhancers like this require a learning curve and buy in from the community over time.  Especially the first time out, it’s good to explain this contest clearly, and repeatedly, to the crowd.  Once they do buy in, though, it can make for a fun way to unite a school’s parents by grade level, honor its teachers, and raise money at the same time.

Save the date: two Bay Area fundraising auction workshops in October

Stellar Fundraising Auctions, in conjunction with Beth Sandefur Events, Greater Giving and Lux Productions is producing back-to-back fundraising auction workshops in the East Bay and San Francisco this October. Raise More, Right Now: Advanced Fundraising Auction Strategies is an in-depth fundraising auction workshop focused on maximizing your event’s existing potential.

Mark your calendars now for either Tuesday, October 25th at the Veteran's Memorial in Lafayette, or Wednesday, October 26th at the Log Cabin at the Presidio in San Francisco. The cost of either workshop will be $50, which includes a continental breakfast and lunch.

Session topics will include:

• Selling your story 
• Creating successful auction lots
• Revenue enhancers
• Silent auction
• New technologies that stretch your audio visual budget
• Marketing your auction
• Mobile bidding

Registration and more information coming soon. 

How will the election impact your fundraising auction?

Arguably, 2016 is the most contentious presidential election in my lifetime. The emotional impact is extremely high, and very few people in my network are unaffected by it.

Charitable giving infographic created by Beth Sandefur.

The majority of the spring fundraising season was complete before either party had finalized its candidate. We didn’t see events suffer negative impacts that we could attribute to directly the presidential campaign. But now that the candidates are set, the conventions are over and the fur is starting to fly, how will the election impact events in the fall?

The commonly held “wisdom” is that charitable fundraising falters in an election year, for a variety of reasons. The predominant theories being that donors give to campaigns instead of charities, or donors are scared away by uncertainty or fear. A recently released study by Blackbaud sheds interesting light on both of these theories.

The report is based on data from the 2012 election, and focused on 143 national 501(c)(3) organizations. Blackbaud found that donors who contributed to political campaigns also increased their 2012 charitable contributions 0.9% compared to the previous year. Donors who were engaged in the political process increased their donations to charities.

Donors who did not make a political contribution in 2012, however, gave 2.1% less to charitable causes than in 2011. Donors who were not engaged in the political process decreased their donations to charities.

Charitable fundraising as a whole was up 1.7% in 2012, but mainly because contributions to religious organizations was up 6.1% and contributions to education was up 1.6%. If you take those two categories out of the mix, charitable giving as a whole was down 1.7%. Individuals donated an estimated $258.51 billion to charitable organizations in 2014 (results for 2015 have not yet been reported). So a 1.7% swing at that level could wipe out numerous organizations.  Unless you were a school or a church, your category of charity saw a decline in charitable giving during the last presidential election.

Blackbaud doesn’t offer any deeper insight into their numbers, but we can draw a few conclusions. Obviously, unless you are a religious organization or a school, you are going to have to work harder to make the same amount of money as you did last year.

If your support base is energized by this election, it is a good sign for your event. People who are engaged in the process are more likely to engage with your cause. I would theorize that this is because people who engage in the political process believe in it and believe that they can make a difference in the process; and then that “actionable optimism” carries over to their charitable beliefs. 

According to the statistics, the potential problem for charities is the donors who are not contributing to politics at all this year – because they’ll be contributing less to charity as well. There is a lot of fear, uncertainty and doubt surrounding this election, and it is easy to imagine people cocooning until Thanksgiving. If your donor base buries their collective head in the sand, you and your clients will wind up paying the price. But only if you can’t effectively communicate you and your clients’ needs.

It always comes back to messaging, communication, and conversations: Establish why you are asking for money and empower people to help change the world by supporting your cause. You always have to compete with a lot of external noise to get the attention of your donors. This year that noise is much louder than usual, and you’ll have to work harder than usual to make your case.

Cultivation is a conversation, not a one-off ask that happens only at your event. Engage your donors. If you are worried about the election, discuss it with them. Work with your biggest supporters to formulate strategies specifically for your donor base. Engage, engage, engage. This year and every year.

Statistically speaking, the election is bound to have little impact on your event. But from a practical standpoint, it is best to assume the election will impact your donors, and then work hard to make sure it doesn’t. 

Create your own traditions for your fundraising auction

2016 marks the 35th year that the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has held its annual wine auction. 2016 also marks the 22nd year that Atkinson’s Market has donated a collection of seven 3-liter bottles with an image of Sun Valley etched and painted across all seven bottles.

It is a big, impressive, beautiful lot. It is a definitive collector’s lot, and you see previous sets on display in major donor’s homes all over Sun Valley. And over the course of the past 22 years it has raised one million dollars.

The Atkinson's Market annual collection of etched and painted 3-liter bottles is one of many traditions at the Sun Valley Center for the Art Wine Auction.

Every year the image on the bottles changes, making each set unique. Discussions about the art on the bottles, who bought it last year, and who is interested in it this year are all part of the fabric of the weeklong event. Over the course of 22 years, the Atkinson’s Market lot has become as much a tradition as the Wine Auction itself.

I see lots of other examples of traditions like this: the dinner that takes place every year in the same supporter’s home, the trip to Italy to stay in one of the biggest donor’s vacation villa, the chilled magnum of champagne to open the auction. Whatever it is, traditions are a valuable part of any fundraising auction. Traditions provide a sense of continuity, and hopefully make things easier for your solicitation team by not requiring a major revamp of your auction every year.

Whatever your traditions are, acknowledge them, embrace them and make them a part of the fabric of your event. And if you don’t have any traditions yet, now is a great time to create your own.

Creative & memorable save the date card idea

The sheer number of fundraising auctions makes it difficult to stand out from crowd. Every event sends a save the date card, and most of them that come through my mailbox get a cursory once-over before they wind up in the recycling bin.

But this save the date card from the John Muir Health Foundation popped out from the first moment I saw it. Maybe it's a lifelong fascination with holograms, or maybe it is the fact that the card is vibrant and interactive. Either way, this save the date card is unique and eye-catching. 

What is the most creative save the date card you've seen or done?

The most creative save the date card we've seen in a long time, thanks to holograms!

The pre-event marketing that will change your event’s bottom line

If you want your fundraising auction to succeed, you have to market your auction lots in advance of the event. Pre-event marketing can make the difference between an average and a spectacular auction, and different forms of marketing yield varied results.

We often see events focus on methods of broadcasting instead of leveraging individual relationships. For example, we see lots of events focus on publishing the live auction catalog on the Internet or sending it out via hotsheets, email, and social media.

These all have value and are a valid component of any pre-event marketing campaign. However, the most important element of an auction’s success is much more direct: reaching out to individual bidders in person, by phone, or email.

The most successful auction chairs and committees invest time and energy identifying potential bidders for specific auction lots and contacting them in advance to interest them. The most successful auctions have at least two individuals committed to bidding on specific lots in advance.

It is incredibly valuable if you can line up two bidders for each and every lot in advance of your auction – but it’s also an unreasonable amount of work to demand for a longer auction. The truth is it doesn’t have to be done on every lot in an auction, but should be done on a few select lots, including:

• The first two lots in the auction; they set the tone for the rest of the auction. 
• Any lot that has an exceptionally high value; or is more valuable than any lot sold at your auction in the past. 
• Trips with set dates or extended trips that require air travel. 
• Buy-in parties/events.
• Art and jewelry
• Unique access that pertains to the tastes of someone you or the committee knows.

In each case, we are aiming to create momentum, avoid dead-air, and insure that challenging lots are successful in the heat of the moment. The first two lots, for example, set the pace and tone for the rest of the auction. Art and jewelry are the most challenging items to include in most any fundraising auction, and if we must have a certain piece or art or jewelry in the auction, it is important to make sure it succeeds.

The expectation put on these bidders isn’t necessarily that they must commit to bidding until they buy. We are looking to them to get the bidding going; and hopefully drive up the price. If your pre-committed bidders wind up becoming so interested in a lot that they vigorously bid on it and win, fantastic! But it’s not the expectation. At a certain point, we have to trust the process of an auction, and any momentum boost makes that process more successful.