F U N D R A I S I N G
Planning is the Key
Making Your Charity Event Profitable
By Jason Alpert
The Tampa Bay area is a generous and giving community. Many
worthwhile charities provide excellent and desperately needed
services, and most of them are trying to make their fundraising event
stand out from the rest. It can be done with the right planning and strategy.
Here are just a few ideas that work.
1. Plan waaay in advance. Begin working with your volunteer committee
and your fundraising and event consultant no less than six months in advance
of your event date. No matter how high powered your emcee or auctioneer
is, if he/she walks in one hour before the event without a true plan and
rehearsal, you’ve left thousands of dollars on the table. The consultant can
(and should) help your committee acquire auction items that bring in the best
dollar.
2. Captivate and Engage. Statistics show that typically less than 10% of
attendees will bid in a live auction. You must captivate and engage 100% of
your audience to get the so-called non-bidders to trickle over to the bidders’
side. It should not be just an auction. It’s an auction show full of entertaining
elements, including musical accompaniment, video clips promoting and
enhancing the auction items and testimonials about the auction package. You
might even consider having a committee member planted in the audience to
deliver scripted lines to increase the excitement.
3. Use video. Don’t assume attendees know about the charity and its specific
work. Longtime supporters often bring in new guests. Video can tell the
charity’s story in a dramatic fashion. Hints: Include some members in the
video who will likely be in the room at event time. Keep it reasonably short.
Jason Alpert
When you schedule the evening’s program, placement of the video is a crucial
element in maximizing its effectiveness.
4. Pre-sell Big Ticket Items. No one wants the sound of crickets during the live auction. Work hard to market and sell
your big ticket items before the event, and have them sold to more than one person. Remember, two bidders make an exciting
auction; one bidder is a boring sale.
5. Control the Room. An experienced and talented emcee/auctioneer will be able to control the room. The more people pay
attention to your mission, program and auction, the more money you’ll be able to raise. But, you don’t want nonstop auction
talk. Your emcee/auctioneer should be able to speak to the mission of the evening without hesitation. This shows how universal
the charity goals are. It adds variety and emotion to the program.
6. A Bid From the Heart. Most people come to your event wanting to give. Sometimes, they just have to be asked. Your last
fundraising pitch of the evening should be a Bid From the Heart, in which you ask for straight donations, even very modest
amounts. Ask for dollar amounts associated with tangible items, so that the donor can see exactly where their dollars are going.
For example, at an annual fundraising event for a local nursing home, we asked for people to support a full, half or quarter of a
wheelchair that costs $500. In giving attendees one last chance to participate, we were able to raise significant amounts over and
above the goal. Set a reasonable Bid From the Heart goal to make sure you end your program on a high note.
There are hundreds of charity events in our community every year that are put on by hard-working staff, committees and
volunteers. Pay these people back, along with your event’s attendees who spend their money on your cause, by putting on a
memorable and profitable event.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Jason Alpert is the president of Alpert Enterprises (dba “The Voice for All Seasons”). He is a state licensed and certified
Live Auctioneer and an Event Consultant specializing in Charitable Fundraising. Jason does 60-plus events a year around the country, but
focused on the Tampa Bay area. Visit his website at www.AlpertEnterprises.com; call toll-free at (855) AE-EVENTS; or email
Jason@AlpertEnterprises.com.
160 TAMPA BAY MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015