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►Tech. Production. HELP!
Jenelle in studio

One thing we’ve learned in the past 18 months (and I hope you didn’t have to learn the hard way) is that your production team is EVERYTHING. Sure, there are fundraisers over Zoom. In some cases, bidding happens in the chat box. But all of these events rely on tech.

I’ve seen costs for event production this year from $3000 to $50,000. Crazy range, right? That means you need to get at least 3 quotes, and you need to learn enough to communicate what you’re asking for, what you envision. Will your speakers need a TelePrompTer? Will you need an afternoon in advance to pre-record some segments or speakers? Will you need a dress rehearsal? What about editing for your videos? Planning to film on-site or in their studio? (Do they even have a studio??)

Conversations with multiple vendors will help you learn the tech speak you need to get an accurate proposal and cost estimate. If you’re still not clear, reach out to a nonprofit whose online program you like to find out what it took to get that result.

Or, you can call me. I’ve got a list of specs compiled from the various streaming events I’ve done.

►Writing Your Speech

Your fundraiser is a conversation (hopefully an entertaining yet emotional one) with your supporters. If you’re the ED (Executive Director) or CEO or Board President, you may have to craft a series of inspiring stories or “Mission Moments.”

Here’s the framework I use when I help my clients write, revise and edit (yup, that’s something I include that most other auctioneers do not):

Project:

Date:

Speaker:

Purpose:

Objectives:

Tone:

Desired Audience Response:

General content:

Format:

Future uses of end product, if any:

Figuring out the tone you want to create, the emotions you want your listeners to feel, and any future uses of the content/video – do these 3 things before you start writing. It will make your message cleaner, tighter, more impactful and more valuable over time.

Call me if you need help!

►Fall 2021 Events
photo of an online charity fundraiser

Based on what I am seeing (and hearing from other auctioneers across the country) I am hopeful that supporters’ generosity will continue as 2021 continues and that a sense of optimism will only grow.
While in 2020 the buzzword was “virtual,” there is no doubt that the most-used event phrase of 2021 is going to be “hybrid.” The great news for us is that we have 5-6 months to learn the pros and cons from spring events in case we decide to combine the best of both models.

In practice, what we envision as hybrid events -and what many people think will become the new normal – likely is not, for 2 reasons: added cost and added planning. My guess is 50% of orgs that host annual in-person fundraisers will try a hybrid event in 2021 or early 2022, but that only 30% of those who try it will opt to make it their ongoing model. To do a hybrid event well (as opposed to solely live streaming the program, which won’t have the same appeal for at-home viewers) will require planning the in-person event and paying for that in-room technology while also planning a distinct but thematically connected steaming “tv show” of sorts, with all the requisite planning and cost. I suspect planning what amounts to dual events simultaneously will prove to be more than most already overtaxed teams can manage, especially given that even more responsibility may fall to volunteer chairs and committee members due to COVID-related staffing cuts.

Confused? Frustrated? Overwhelmed? Worried? Stuck?

I can help you and your nonprofit figure out what fundraising steps to take next. We’re all about Future Focused Fundraising. Let’s figure out your next best step.

►Virtual Galas Work!

Here’s a review from an October online gala:

I have been chairing/co-chairing our Sarasota/Manatee area Annual Gala for eight years.  October 4 was our first VIRTUAL meeting. 
As you might imagine, my co-chair and I were new to the entire process.  Jenelle took us by the hand and guided us through the amazing learning curve.   
This was not the first time I worked with Jenelle.  She was our live auctioneer in our 2019 event.  
She was personally responsible for raising more money that we would have been able to do on our own.  She knows what she is doing and always open to learn more!
 
Jenelle charged us a flat fee.  Robin and I were fascinated by the amount of time she spent with us and how available she made herself.  
She more than earned the amount she charged us in the last month alone!
 
Jenelle is a true professional, with an amazing amount of patience.

-Lucy

►Live Auctions & Virtual Galas

When we started pushing events online 5+ months ago, the “2-screen” experience was typical: view the live streaming program on one screen while bidding/donating on another. This approach has been used successfully (in some cases very successfully), yet questions arose. Were we losing any bidders due to 2-screen viewing?

So the scramble was on…all of the sudden, “1-screen solutions” were being feverishly promoted and created. The thought was, if viewers could bid on the same screen as the livestream program, well, that would just solve everything, right? I mean, it would be *just like an in-person gala, wouldn’t it? What could go wrong?

Curiously, (but – in hindsight – to be expected) new challenges arise with 1-screen online event software. “Latency” emerges as a buzzword. During an in-person bidding experience – say, in a ballroom – every audience member receives the auction bidding info at the same time and anyone can raise a bid paddle. However, for online virtual galas, numerous inequalities arise. Are viewers on laptops, smart TVs, tablets or phones? How fast is their internet connection? Which cable or phone provider? 

And, perhaps we really can’t replicate the in-person bidding experience virtually for other reasons.

Most benefit auctioneers would tell you that it takes an average of 3 minutes per item when selling from the stage. While other types of auctioneering calls for liquidation and efficiency (selling 1-2 items per minute), charity fundraising auctions necessitate entertainment and mission reminders along with the selling.

And one of the main reasons fundraising auctioneers like myself get hired is audience engagement/stage presence. While we are highlighting the best features of that item and asking for bids, we are doing 2 other CRITICAL things: scanning the faces and reading body language. Based on our observations of the audience, we decide when to ask for a different dollar amount, add more package details, or mention how another bid helps the NPO do their mission. All while staying mindful of our tight timeline, looking out for distractions in the room, etc. 

Now, in the Virtual Gala world of today, all of those critical audience cues are gone. People are either bidding exactly at the moment we’re asking – or they’re not. And we can’t know why. Is it a technology issue? Viewers aren’t interested in the item? Or some are interested, but got distracted just this minute? Or the auctioneer isn’t compelling? 

Thus, it’s *Much harder to know when to call an end to the bidding. And, for viewers isolated in their own homes versus watching the action with friends at a gala table, non-bidders are even more disconnected from the auction. Doesn’t that make their attention span even shorter?

So do we close each “live” auction item after 2-3 minutes of real-time bidding, or “check in on the bidding” and leave it open?

Discuss and decide with your fundraising auctioneer. Your decision affects all viewers, and, very likely, your $ raised.

Previously published on LinkedIn.

►Get $10,000 each month from Google?

Have you heard of the Google Ad Grants for nonprofits? https://www.google.com/nonprofits/offerings/google-ad-grants/

Ad Grants provides access to $10,000 USD of in-kind advertising every month for text ads.

As stated (verbatim) on their website, most of my nonprofit clients are eligible:

“To request a Google for Nonprofits account, you must be a nonprofit charitable organization in good standing, and meet the full eligibility requirements in your country.

Please note, some types of organizations are not eligible and will not be verified. Please confirm your organization is:

  • Not a governmental entity or organization
  • Not a hospital or healthcare organization
  • Not a school, academic institution, or university (Google for Education offers a separate program for schools)

Whether targeted online ads are completely new to your NPO or already helping you gain support, $10,000 a month in essentially free money is huge. Take the leap that helps you learn!

UPDATE: One of my NPO clients just told me they use a firm called Nonprofit Megaphone (“they’re awesome”) to manage this Google ad grant.

►Virtual Galas – Start Here

When the world changed in March 2020, the days of fundraising galas in hotel ballrooms screeched to a halt, at least for now, and the whole new world of Virtual Galas sprung up to fill the financial and social gap. While I believe ballroom galas will come back some time in 2021, I understand that you need help now. I’ve been immersed in virtual galas for months now; I’ve seen more than 30 different types of online events and identified 26 variables. While the transition might seem overwhelming, I assure you, we can do this. If some groups in California could pivot their event in 36 hours (and break records!) then success is possible, and I can help. I’m planning multiple VGs right now and will add more as the weeks go on. Please reach out to chat and I’ll show you the 5 things you must do when planning a virtual fundraiser. We can do this, but let’s get your event planned sooner rather than later. Who knows what lies ahead.

►When a Bidder Backs Out-Part Two

See Part One for 3 things you can do to (hopefully) safeguard your gala and stop this from happening, but, if it happens, here’s what you can do:

(Excerpt from a recent conversation with a client:)

I would 
-start by trying to address the exact issue: is the winning bidder just now realizing the blackout or expiration dates? If so, contact the donor to see if you have any wiggle room. Is the amount of the purchase too much at one time? Offer to break up their total into payments. Is the top bidder claiming, “It wasn’t me?” Show him or her your back-up confirmation system, whether clerk sheet, signature, video of the auction, or all 3. Did anyone from your team have a conversation with the winner immediately after the purchase? Your bidder may still back out, but make sure you’ve done all you can, because trying to sell an item after the event can be a headache.

If you’ve tried your best to be diplomatic and solve the issue to no avail, ask the person who no longer wants their live auction item if they’d like to donate the item back and instead make a 100% tax-deductible straight donation to your organization. I’ve seen this done multiple times.

If you still end up with the auction item, you now have to monetize it somehow.

  1. Is there an upcoming event you can use it for? Will the expiration (if applicable) still be far enough in advance? If that event isn’t suited for this size or type of prize as a live auction item, could it become a raffle that you sell chances to win for over time? (check your local raffle statutes).
  2. Can you sell it internally, to a board member or staff member or volunteer?
  3. If you have to open it back up for bidding or buying, try the guests who were in the room and heard the promotion/saw the images.
    Email every table host individually and say something like
    “Thank you for attending and supporting us! We had a wonderful night and are so thankful for you and your guests.We have some exciting news! We have something in the works where guests may be able to still place a bid for a _________________ valued up to _____________. We’ve spoken with (donor) and the offering would be___________________________. (Our auctioneer thinks) there may have been a guest at your table bidding during the Live Auction, and we wanted to extend this opportunity. If you know of a guest who had been bidding, we’d love to share this updated info with him or her.”

If you don’t get any responses from that, you can put the item on your website or an online bidding platform to find a new offer (or two or three).

As I said to my client, “I’m sorry this happened. Sometimes people are…people.” 

►When a Bidder Backs Out-Part One

It happens.

Not very often, but it happens.

Sometimes it’s because the person drank too much. Beware of Open Bar combined with a too-late live auction. It’s an urban myth that you should get your guests drunk so they “bid more.” Drunk is NOT the goal, should never be the goal. The guideline fundraising professionals use is “Two drinks good, 3 drinks bad.” Get your fundraising FINISHED before your guests have finished a third drink. People who’ve had too much to drink (more than 2-3) tend to be louder, talkative, self-absorbed, unable to focus on the larger agenda of the whole room, and -in extreme cases -not thinking clearly. Oh they might bid, but they’re the first ones to cry “buyer’s remorse” and refuse to pay, leaving you with a multi-thousand dollar auction item and no crowd left (on Monday after the event) to sell it to.

There are other reasons people refuse to honor their auction bid, and there are a few ways you can minimize your risk, so start building these safeguards into your next event:

  1. Videotape your live auction and paddle raise appeal. If you’ve got them on video raising their Bid Number, it will be harder to claim it was a mistake.
  2. Get an instant confirmation after each item is sold. We often create a separate invoice for each live auction item and a runner gets an immediate “Print, Phone, Signature” – printed name, phone and confirming signature acknowledging the item and the purchase price. If using mobile bidding, one of the reps can go to each winner and immediate confirm acceptance by asking for his/her phone number to tie that item to an account on file.
  3. Make sure your clerks are writing down the back-up bidders, too, in case you need to reach out to them after the event. (Side note: remember that ALL bidders during your live auction – everyone who raises a bid number – was trying to give you money that night, and only a few were the final winning bidders. It’s a GREAT idea to follow up with all bidders after the event and thank them, see if you can interest them in supporting in another way, invite them to join the committee for next year’s auction, etc.)

Despite all of your efforts, someone calls on Monday and backs out/won’t honor their bid. Now what?

Check out Part Two…

►February Gala Themes

You’re in luck! One of the most elegant and beloved themes should be back on your radar – Hollywood’s Biggest Night! The decor and dress code are upscale and lux, the theme suggests all kinds of movie and celebrity tie-ins, and you can sell a Viewing Party buy-in opportunity in someone’s home for top dollar! I’m happy to chat about ways to wow your crowd, and – in the meantime – mark your calendars: 2021’s Academy Awards ceremony is set to take place Feb. 28 and 2022’s on Feb. 27.

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