The 5 key ingredients to effective fundraising are:

  • Knowing what motivates individuals/groups to donate;
  • Knowing your project;
  • Being aware of potential sources of funding;
  • Developing a strategy;
  • Being familiar with your organization and its resources.

Some of the PROS of special event/activity fundraising include:

  • Usually fun, entertaining
  • Easy to ask for dollars in a relaxed atmosphere
  • Dollars available on the spot
  • Community involvement helps to build cohesiveness
  • Good potential for positive public relations

The Four Objectives of a Successful Fundraiser. We've discovered four objectives that are accomplished in all successful fundraisers.

  1. Guests are made to feel important.
  2. Guests gain a desire to support the cause at hand.
  3. Guests want what is being sold.
  4. If there is a live auction, guests get caught up in the thrill of bidding.

So how do WE help YOU achieve these objectives? Here is the answer simply stated:

  • Guests can be made to feel important by pampering and entertaining them.
  • Guests can gain a desire to support your cause by educating them and making an emotional appeal.
  • Guests can develop a desire to want what you're selling by applying proven marketing techniques.
  • Guests can get caught up in the thrill of bidding by putting show-business into the live auction.

Generosity is an emotion, and the amount of money people spend at your fundraising event will depend on how they feel. From the moment your guests step into your event until the time they leave, they are in YOUR realm of influence. What you do (or fail to do) during that time will make a difference in how generous your guests feel. Here is what we have discovered --- If your guests:

  • feel like royalty,
  • get choked up with emotion over your cause,
  • want what you're selling, and
  • discover the thrill of bidding;

Not only will they give you a lot of their money, they will thank YOU on their way out.

A skillful auctioneer makes giving fun, which means more dollars raised.

Bid Calling

We have discovered that guests react differently to the different styles that auctioneers use when calling for bids - be they professional auctioneers or not. Some styles can actually be boring and uninspiring - even irritating and insulting. After all the work you've done, you want an auctioneer who can get the highest bids and be entertaining at the same time.

Charity Auctions Benefit from using a Professional Auctioneer:

  • A growing number of charitable organizations are using an annual auction as their top fundraising event, and that raises the question of who will act as their Auctioneer.
  • The trend has steadily turned away from the old practice of using a local celebrity (such as the TV news anchor or weatherman) because groups are realizing that a Professional Auctioneer can generate more revenue and a better organized and entertaining event.
  • A career Auctioneer is skilled with reading the audience, utilizing many tactics to stimulate bidding. A Professional Auctioneer also understands the proper order of sale and grouping of appropriate items for best revenue.
  • Also, a non-professional Auctioneer likely does not understand auction laws that govern bidding and purchases, and could put the charitable organization at legal risk if a disagreement occurs between bidders.
  • Charity auctions are great fun to attend, and they help worthy causes. But these organizations and events are not as simple as they were many years ago, with computerized systems and electronic gadgetry now being a mainstay of current auctions.
  • A Professional Auctioneer advises groups on preparation of the auction, marketing, timing, set-up of items, length and conduct of the auction and many more details that make a great difference in the bottom line revenue and the smooth running of the event.