“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.”
You’ve heard it before, and now more than ever. It’s buzzing on social media. Your annual fundraiser is on the horizon and a voice at the committee meeting drops the latest and greatest thing she just heard from a friend of a friend whose auctioneer said “Live auctions are being replaced with the paddle raise and we shouldn’t be doing it anymore.” Cheers arise around the table, three high-fives. No more soliciting for these big items or worse “Consignment Items” Oh My!
The Paddle Raise, also known as the Fund-A-Need, The Give, Fund-A-Mission, Fund-the Cause, Item, Scholarship. You got the idea. Guests give cash directly to the cause and the world is all better in 14 minutes of paddles in the air at designated levels. Designated levels you ask? $5,000, $2500, $1000, $500 and so on. It adds up quickly and boom we’re done. Or are we?
Not so fast. One size does not fit all in event fundraising, or any fundraising for that matter. Be careful. It is not black and white. Sure, it would be great if everyone wanted to just give money to our organizations because our case for support was overwhelmingly motivating; but the real endeavor boils down to who is in the audience and how do they like to give?
The quandary lies in the false belief you must define the intentions of the gift. Was the donation “item driven” or “cause driven”? (transactional vs philanthropic) Do you thank donors differently after the event depending on how their gift was given and can you cultivate a live auction winner into a long -term donor? Live auction winners are already your major donors and they like to be seen playing the game, out bidding and giving in a way that is joyful to them. You should be matching the Live items to your audience anyway.
“Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Get some items and sell them for 400 -800 times over value. Five or six items in 10 – 12 minutes and a take-off say 10K to 300K for example.
Add a Comment