San Diego Business & Nonprofit Crisis Support Network

Thank you fo the San Diego Business & Nonprofit Crisis Support Network for aggregating resources for local organizations. Their spotlight video highlighted DonationMatch Co-founder Renee Zau, who is offering pro bono services of up to an hour per organization (business or nonprofit) to assist with in-kind (unpaid) marketing strategy and fundraising event coaching as we adjust and recover from COVID-19. To apply, use the link in the Free Consultants and Coaches section of the San Diego Business & Nonprofit Crisis Support Network website.

4 Bold Predictions for Benefit Galas in a Post-Pandemic World

Guest Post By Alex McDonald, Director of Customer Experience at TravelPledge

If you’re like thousands of nonprofits, the 2020 coronavirus pandemic left you scrambling to cancel, postpone or stream your annual fundraising event.

Now you and your team are probably wondering, “Will event fundraising return to business as usual once we have a vaccine?”

Almost certainly not.

In this post, I make bold predictions for event fundraising in 2021 and beyond.

Prediction #1: “Hybrid Galas” Will Become the Norm

The benefits of virtual galas are undeniable. Nonprofits can engage donors who moved away, feel uncomfortable in crowds, or are unwilling to leave their homes. Moreover, nonprofits save on staff, food and venue.

Unwilling to part with these benefits, nonprofits will incorporate virtual elements into their in-person galas to form a “hybrid gala.”

For example, some supporters will attend the gala in person, while others will stream it online and use mobile bidding software to participate in the silent auction and Fund-a-Need.

As a result, the nonprofit will serve a smaller in-person audience of presumably major donors while involving all who want to participate.

Prediction #2: Live Auctions Will Take a Back Seat to Silent Auctions & Fund-a-Needs

If indeed the hybrid gala gains rapid adoption, it stands to reason that the live auction revenue will shrink as a percentage of total event proceeds. Here’s why:

An organizer of a hybrid gala will have only two options for their live auction:

1. Make the live auction available to in-person attendees only (and allow pre-bidding by remote attendees).

2. Utilize mobile bidding software during the live auction.

With Option 1, bidding won’t be as competitive since there will be fewer in-person attendees. With Option 2, organizers risk their in-person audience getting distracted on their phones, which is why many benefit auctioneers insist on bid paddles.

The Fund-a-Need, by contrast, can be executed with bid cards for in-person attendees and mobile bidding software for remote viewers. There’s no bidding, so donations can be committed in any manner at any time.

For the silent auction, mobile bidding software makes it easy for all participants to find items, read descriptions and pay. Additionally, the nonprofits will sell more items since bidding can start days before the gala.

Thus, while the live auction will likely have decreased participation, the Fund-a-Need and silent auction will likely have increased participation and revenue.

Prediction #3: “Elevated” Virtual Experiences Will Be Paramount

The most commonly envisioned form of virtual participation is someone streaming the event on their laptop and bidding on their smartphone.

Creative organizers will seek to elevate the at-home experience to increase engagement. Some examples:

• Partner with a restaurant to deliver dinner to remote attendees.

• Recruit “living room captains” to host people at their home to stream the event. Captains can distribute paddles and record Fund-a-Need pledges.

• Show photos and tweets from remote attendees on the live stream and on the event’s big screen.

The organizers who can best engage the remote audience will enjoy the highest donor attendance, giving and retention. Further, their costs as a percentage of revenue will decrease as they move more of their audience online.

Prediction #4: Some Organizers Will Opt for Smaller, More Frequent Events

Improved fundraising technology, plus organizers and donors becoming comfortable with virtual events, will make virtual events more cost-effective and quicker to plan than ever.

Thus, while many organizers will throw a single big hybrid gala, others will throw multiple smaller events throughout the year to tailor each event to an audience segment.

For example, a nonprofit may throw a small in-person auction, then a virtual streaming event, then a virtual golf tournament (i.e., teams have a two-week period to complete their round). Donors will attend only the events that fit their lifestyle, schedule and interests.

As a result, nonprofits will engage donors in a deeper way, but at the same or lower cost as before. Moreover, event revenue from sponsors will increase because businesses can sponsor the event that best aligns with their target customers.

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Alex McDonald is the Director of Customer Experience for TravelPledge, the benefit auction’s connection to generous business owners. Alex manages TravelPledge’s content strategy and customer onboarding. He is passionate about helping nonprofits exceed their auction goals.

The views and opionions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer or company.

Why Both Charities & Companies Can Benefit From Product Donations

After months of planning for an upcoming charity event, now comes the time where you have to reach out to multiple businesses and ask for product donations or auction items for the event.  As a resourceful problem solver, avoid becoming timid or hesitant when you make the request, feeling like you’re asking the business for a handout. Instead, it’s important to realize that a product donation actually does benefit the business!

Having an item showcased at an event is an excellent marketing opportunity for businesses, allowing both you and the company to share in a win-win situation.  Understanding that both the nonprofit and the business can win is the key to receiving a successful amount of product donations. Below are some additional tips that can help to prepare as you approach a business asking for product donations or auction items.  

Do Research Upfront

Try to first learn what your attendees would prefer to purchase and then find businesses offering those items.  This ensures a better fit for both the attendees and the donor. Also, make sure you understand the demographics (age, gender, location, etc.) of the people attending your event.  Then when speaking to the businesses, you’ll be able to confirm that the event attendees are their ideal target audience.

Promote Social Good

With the topic of social good on the horizon, many companies are beginning to realize that supporting a cause can provide the business with successful ROI.  A study by Cone Communications found that 87% of Americans will purchase a product because a company advocated for an issue they cared about.  A business is not only receiving the opportunity to support an important cause, but is also being offered the chance to promote their product or company to hundreds of people at the event, with very little effort needed on their part.

Prepare a List of Benefits

Before speaking to the business, be prepared by compiling a list of benefits you’re able to provide to the organization.  For example, the company will benefit by having a room full a attendee at the event that are their ideal target market, while being able to benefit from a low cost method of marketing.  They will also benefit by being one product among a limited amount of featured items or businesses at the event. This will help the brand in standing out as a featured product. Don’t forget to offer the opportunity to help promote the brand through social media or provide the company with a social media image or video post-event.  Companies would also appreciate receiving links to their site from the event website. Feel free to ask what the company values that you can deliver. It often doesn’t cost more to deliver an additional benefit to the company and it could compel them to increase their donation.

If you can follow these steps when approaching a business regarding product donations, then you should be able to achieve a more successful outcome with a win-win for both your nonprofit and donor businesses.

Events With Benefits® Podcast

Experts in the fundraising arena, Renee Zau, Danny Hooper, and Ian Lauth, have pooled their nonprofit expertise to create an educational podcast called Events with Benefits®. Covering topics related to nonprofits and fundraising, the podcast steps inside the world of event fundraising, seeking to provide insights to event planners, nonprofit staff, and volunteers. The episodes are designed to assist nonprofit organizations in achieving success with fundraising events and raising money.

The Events with Benefits podcast episodes are each 30 to 40 minutes in length, allowing listeners to gain quick access to new ideas for future events. Episodes feature special guests from many backgrounds within the nonprofit industry, who share their personal experiences and lessons learned. Listeners can subscribe, stream or download the podcast episodes, which are available on iTunes and at EventswithBenefits.com

One of the most popular episodes is #6: Thinking Big with Noah McMahon, Founder and CEO of Anonymous.  McMahon, who specializes in holding multi-million dollar events, explains his 3 building blocks for having a lasting relationship with donors and event sponsors, in order to multiply the impact of funds raised.  He also shares many extremely helpful event planning tips.  

Meet the Podcast Hosts:

• Renee Zau, CEO & Co-founder of DonationMatch.com, has personally worked on over 50 charity events and mentored over 100 business owners.  She personally has experienced and understands the frustrations and challenges that people face during the in-kind donation process.    

• Benefit auctioneer Danny Hooper has had an award-winning career through thousands of on-stage performances and the creation of Danny Hooper Productions.  He has also had experience as a recording artist, motivational speaker, comic emcee, and celebrity benefits auctioneer.

• Ian Lauth, VP of Marketing at Winspire, works for a company that provides unique experiences for charity auctions or fundraisers, allowing users to place exclusive travel packages into their charity auctions.