The A-Z on Fundraising Events.
Welcome to Season 3! Episode 54: Is A "Friendraiser" a Waste of Time? Is A Friendraiser a Waste of Time? Are you wasting time and money on “friendraisers” that barely generate any donors or volunteers? In this episode, we are going to chat about the goal and purpose of a friendraiser. What is a Friendraiser Let’s first define what a friendraiser is. It’s a non-ask event. No request for funding. It’s a way to educate guests on the great work your organization is doing but in a friendly way, a casual way. And what I am about to say is really important, there is no cost to attend a friendraiser. It’s free. However, while I’m suggesting to you that the event be casual in nature, they do serve a very important purpose for your organization. And there are specific reasons you want to host this type of event. Do you know what they are? Well, i got good news. I’m going to tell you. There are 6 reasons you need to be hosting several “friendraisers” throughout the year. But first let’s talk about what a “friendraiser” looks like in regards to how they are organized and logistics, etc. A “friendraiser” is typically a small, intimate gathering held in someone’s home. Perhaps a board member or supporter host the event. The host invites friends, family and colleagues to attend. The list of attendees is usually small, 15 to 20 people. Maybe there are light appetizers, tea and coffee served. The event is about an hour in length. Fifteen to 20 minutes of the event is spent on someone from the organization, usually the Executive Director, addressing the crowd in an informal on the mission of the organization. Now that we know the logistics, let’s dive into the reasons to host one that will clearly show why they are NOT a waste of time. Reason #1 Build awareness about your organization. I do believe with all my heart that this is the primary reason you should host this type of event. If you attempt to host one of these events with a greedy heart and mind, I think it will be evident to the guests. Your aim is to share your mission, stats, impact stories, and testimonials to those in attendance. The hope is the guests will learn about your organization and the values will be aligned. The next reason has to do with capturing leads to convert leads into donors and volunteers. This leads me to reason #2 Reason #2 Recruit volunteers to help support your programs and services This one is pretty straight forward. If your organization is volunteer run or heavily assisted, hosting a friendraiser can be a fantastic way to grow your volunteer base. During your presentation, you can talk about ways to volunteer and the impact volunteering has on the organization. Tip: Have a way to capture names of those showing interest in volunteering. It can be as simple as a sign-up sheet that gets passed around the room during the presentation. Reason #3 Recruit for board members For this one, it’s not going to be easy to spot a potential board member in the room while hosting one of these friendraisers. For this, you’ll have to rely on the host to provide you information about each guest and ask your host to be sure to tell you if there is a guest that’s going to be present that’s an ideal candidate for becoming a board member. Reason #4 Identify folks willing to host a friendraiser in their home Something I believe strongly is people want to help! There’s no better or easier way for someone to help your organization then by hosting a friendraiser in their home. Again, during your presentation, ask who might be interested in helping to spread the word and host an event “just like this” in their home. Again, send around a sign-up sheet for those who are interested. Remind your potential host that the event they are attending tonight is a great example of how easy it can be and add that they may want to ask the person who invited them for tips and tricks on how to invite and host. In fact, sometimes a host will introduce the ED of
Episode 53: Why Your Fundraising Event ISN’T Generating 6-Figures! Year after year, you recruit volunteers, plan the party, rent the venue, send the invites, but for some reason you only seem to break even or come slightly under that goal of hosting a 6-figure fundraising event. What went wrong? Where did you fall short? Like me, many of you are members of fundraising groups on Facebook. I think I’m a member of 5 or 6 for sure. And, I’ve noticed a theme in the kinds of questions being posted to the groups in regards to fundraising. This prompted me to create this episode to help YOU hear first hand what it takes to host a 6-figure event. PREVIEW If your new to hosting events be sure to check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. SIMPLE BUT NOT EASY If I know you! I know you did everything I just mentioned and likely you did a ton more. I want you to know that hosting a 6-figure fundraising event is simpler than you think. Notice I didn’t say easier so let’s be clear about that. And for the next 30 minutes or so, I’m going to dive into three things you need to be doing in order to break that 6-figure ceiling. Here’s the good news, these things are economy proof, doesn’t matter what season you’re in, these three things work for getting consistent revenue at your annual fundraising event. Now, many of you know who I am and that’s why you tune in but for some of you, I’m new. For the newbies, I’m Lisa Clark and I’ve been raising money through fundraising events for over 20 years. Not only that, I’ve taught nonprofits how to host their very own 6-figure and high 6-figure fundraising events. So, I’m very excited about what I’m about to share with you right now. I want to help you break that darn ceiling! Step #1: Fundraising. This means you need to be focusing on revenue generation. I mean really focus and have a strategic fundraising plan for your event in order to reach those fundraising goals. Really, Lisa?!? I know you think that’s obvious but if you’re not reaching that 6-figure goal then you aren’t focused ENOUGH on the fundraising. You’re likely too busy planning the party. Now, I’m not sure if you have money blocks or think that simply because you sent out a few emails asking for donations for your event that the funds will appear. I’m not sure if you think because you’re raising revenue on ticket sales the funds will come in. But, I’m here to tell you that while you are focused on the party, money is changing hands all over the world for those who are doing their part to ask for it beyond just a few email invites, a few underwriting letters. There are 4 reasons the money isn’t coming your way: 1) You’re not asking in ALL the ways you can ask for it. Not enough revenue generators. 2) You aren’t presenting the right offer to the right people, the right donors. 3) You aren’t asking ENOUGH people. You are making some money cause you are asking some people but not enough people. If your issue is you don’t have enough people to ask, then stick around cause I’m going to get into how you can change that up. (pipeline events that lead to larger event) 4) You’re simply not asking for more; hence, leaving money on the table as we like to say in the fundraising world. So, if I was to sit with you and if I was working on your event with YOU the first thing I would ask you is “What’s your fundraising plan, your fundraising strategy” for this event and the next question I would ask you is “How many revenue generators do you have for this event?” Cause here’s the thing, let’s say you charge $50 per person for your event. That means you would need to sell 2,000 tickets in order to reach your goal of $100K. That’s ridiculous. If you truly want to reach $100k at your event, you are going to have to ask for more per ticket. $100
The #1 Thing I Did to Reach Our Annual $5.2M Budget! You did ALL THE THINGS that you do annually to reach your revenue goals but somehow fell short of reaching your annual budget. For some reason all those ideas that were buzzing around in your head at the beginning of the fiscal year that you wrote into a high-level strategic fundraising plan didn’t work! Why? Strategic plans are fabulous. They’re a great way to put all those fundraising ideas down on paper. And, let me guess, you likely did more than just write-up a plan. You likely met with your ED to go over ideas and got his/her approval on moving forward with your ideas. And the board likely approved the ideas, too! If you designed this high-level strategic fundraising plan right, it probably included the following: Securing Grants Securing Individual funding such as annual gifts and major gifts Hosting a new fundraising event Participating in the annual online giving campaign of some sort ALL THE THINGS! They were there on paper ready to be……. Executed Upon! Ding, ding! Let’s take a deeper look at the word “Execute.” First of all, It’s a verb! The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it like this: 1 : to carry out fully : put completely into effect execute a command. 2 : to do what is provided or required The cat is out of the bag. The #1 thing I did to reach my annual fundraising goals was “EXECUTE.” Let me ready you some famous quotes: “A Good plan, violently executed now is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.” - George Patton “Most leaders would agree that they’d be better off having an average strategy with superb execution than a superb strategy with poor execution.” Stephen Covey author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People “To me, ideas are worth nothing unless executed. They are just a multiplier. Execution is worth millions.” -Steve Jobs And for this episode, I want to use the word “try” and “execute” interchangeably. So back to how I met my annual fundraising goals. I wrote the strategic fundraising plan and all I did was try! That’s it folks. I worked the plan! I executed. To help me make sure I stayed on task, I created tracking sheets and dashboards that I used to track my progress. I used the dashboards to keep my boss up to speed and used the same dashboard to update the board of directors. Now, I’ll remind you that the larger and more detailed information was inside my high-level strategic fundraising plan document that I’d created at the beginning of the fiscal year. It had all the details! And it was inside that high-level strategy document that I wrote down all the ideas, all the plans that I would execute upon throughout the year! Now here’s the thing. Did I accomplish all I set out to do? Was it easy? Truthfully, no. I recall setting a goal to host 10 small mini events between the months of September to the end of November. The hope was to create a pipeline of new prospects that would get funneled into attending our annual marquee fundraising event. I didn’t end up hosting 10 but instead hosted 8. Not bad! Right! Some of the events had 75 people in attendance but one event in particular had 3 people show up. That’s it. Overall, these events averaged about 50 attendees per event. That means these small events added up to about 400 people into our donor database. I was pretty proud of that number! But, hosting an event where 3 people showed up isn’t something I’d call a success. Did that stop me? No way. I kept going. I kept executing on my plan. I kept trying! I want to end by saying I can give you all the tools like tracking documents and dashboards and all the fanciest strategic plans but if you FAIL to execute on these plans then quite simply you might FAIL at reaching your annual fundraising goals. So this next year do me a favor and do 1 thing - Execute! Try! Plan your work and work your plan! Bonus Tip: When I wrote the annual budget, I wrote it for more than our goal knowing that I would lik
Episode #51 The Weirdest but Coolest Fundraising Event I ever planned! What I’m about to share with you on today’s episode is NOT about ANOTHER GALA ( insert eyeroll ) Let’s face it, trying to come up with a cool and unique fundraiser to help your nonprofit raise funds can be challenging. And if you’re like me and you’ve been in this game for a while, you’ve likely hosted or at least attended a big Gala, or a casino night or golf tournament. Am I right! You and I probably agree that there’s nothing wrong with these types of fundraising events. Done well, they can be quite fruitful. But, when I decided to add a second fundraising event to our annual fundraising goals, planning the "go to" gala or casino night didn’t feel quite right. So, what type of event did I come up that was weird and cool and different? Hold UP! I HAVE A GIFT FOR YOU Before I dive into the weirdest fundraising event I ever hosted, I have a gift for you. If you’re trying to build up that pipeline for new donors, I have a free guide to help you get started. I’ve included a link for you in the show notes. https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ THAT’S RIGHT NOT ANOTHER GALA BUT INSTEAD A GOLF TOURNAMENT OR SO WE THOUGHT.. So here’s how the story goes. It was decided that our organization would tack on a second fundraising event during the second half of the fiscal year. I had presented a strong case for the organization being able to host a second event and assured the board we had the budget, the time, and the staff support. I had sold them on hosting a golf tournament. We had a board member who was a member at a very prestigious private golf club. And, he was willing to allow us to use his membership to host the event. I did my due diligence and spoke with the golf course organizer and was able to come up with an entire budget. It would include 90 golfers, lunch and dinner in the private dining room. I convinced the board that it would be easy for them to recruit for foursomes and highlighted the opportunity get sponsorships and have a silent auction. They got VERY excited! The approved it with a very enthusiastic YES! I CHANGED MY MIND That’s right. All the time I was trying to “sell” the board on a golf tournament, something wasn’t quite right. I couldn’t connect how we would educate golf foursomes about the work we do. There was no connection between golf and at risk youth. Something felt off so I started to try to understand how or why a golf tournament was a good fit. This involved me asking myself and others some critical questions. I asked myself these questions: 1) How would I educate golfers about the work we do? 2) Would our donors and volunteers even be interested in underwriting for a golf tournament? 3) What does golf have to do with incarcerated youth? If I feel a strong disconnect between the event and our organization, would others feel it too? And, just because I know how to plan a golf tournament that could likely do very well, doesn’t mean I should. It doesn’t mean it’s right for the organization. COOKING, 49ER SOUS CHEF’S, VOLUNTEER AWARDS, SILENT AND LIVE AUCTION, PROGRAM EXPO So privately, behind the scenes I began masterminding another fundraising event option. And I came up with a list of things that were important to the organization, important to the values of the organization and were aligned with fundraising goals. In line with our donors and volunteers. I also intervIewed some of our closest funders. I needed to learn what made these funders attend fundraising events they had been invited to in the past. What was their “why” for attending? I also wanted to know what a successful event looked like and what it didn’t look like for them. Their input and guidance helped me to create the weirdest but coolest event I had ever planned. Here’s one thing I knew for sure, we had donors and volunteers and foundation supporters that got invited to some very cool fundraising e
Episode 49: Help, My Board Won’t Fundraise for Our Annual Event! Raise your hand if this is a problem in your nonprofit: Your Board doesn’t invite guests to the annual fundraising event, and they don’t fill a table. They don’t contribute to the auction by donating an auction item or purchasing an auction item. Worst yet, you schedule all of these fundraising event planning meetings, and they don’t even come! They simply don’t do their part to help your nonprofit succeed. Does this sound like any of you? Does this resonate with you? If this is you, let’s hear it. Now, I’m going to help you figure out what to do next.
Nobody is buying tickets to your fundraising event! Why?? Tune in to learn why no one is showing up and what you can do to turn that around!
What Comes Before The Ask? Tune in to learn about the 4Rs of the cultivation cycle and how much time you should be spending on each R!
Creating a Story Bank! Ever wondered how to capture stories and images of all the great work your organization is doing? Then check out this episode on how to create a story bank for your organization!
There is tons of information out there in the vastness of the internet. There is so much free content out there that can really be helpful to get you started. But that’s the thing. It’s there to get you started. If you’re someone that is constantly consuming free content, you might just be addicted to the free swag. The free swag will only get you so far my friends. It’s time to think about if it’s time to invest in yourself and your organization! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 What Is Swag? We’ve all received some sort of swag. From little stress balls, cooling packs, to pens, we’ve all gotten little freebies from different organizations or businesses. Companies push out swag in order to attract people to them. They want to attract you so that they can get to know who you are and pitch a product or service to you. Others use it as a thank you and they want to be the brand in your home and in your life. It’s a way to get their name in front of your face so it stays in the forefront of your mind. Sometimes you get things that are super useful and practical. Other times it’s just a bunch of junk collecting in a corner that you never look at. A lot of it just simply provides you very little value. Soaking In The Free Content I know there are a lot of you out there that are taking in a lot of free content or swag out there on the internet. You watch the free webinars, watch all the videos, but don’t commit to buying the product. The free content that people are posting online is to attract you to their community or product, where you’ll get even more tools. Something that will give you incredible value. This free content that you are consuming is great to get you started, but is it really the way to go? Piecing This Together Take all the free content in the world, can be beneficial. DOn’t get me wrong gaining knowledge is something that I can only commend. However, if you’re trying to piece together everything in your nonprofit from free content, it’s going to show. It’s going to be apparent that you’ve pieced this together, and while it has some value it needs more. Investing in your Organization If you’re stuck in this “free zone” within your organization, I have to encourage you to invest in it. Putting money into your organization to move it forward can result in a bigger payoff for your organization in fundraising, or just help you move the needle to make it better. Looking to the experts in this field will help you build strategies to continue to grow and become bigger and better! Also, it’ll take the stress off you feeling like you are missing that missing piece you keep searching for. Look to the people that have been in this game for a while now. You don’t have to make the same mistakes. You can learn from them. You don’t have to keep feeling alone in this. You can invest in yourself and your nonprofit to take the next big step. If you’ve been thinking about investing in my course “Fundraising Events that Deliver” now is the time to do it! The price right now is $497, but that is going to go up SOON! New material and resources are going to be added soon that you will get access to, but once it’s there, there will be an increase in price. Now’s the time to get access to my full system to create successful events, and have the opportunity to pick my brain when it comes to your specific event. I can’t wait for you to join me! Click here for more info: https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/fed/ --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
We started planning this back in September so it’s been a massive undertaking for everyone involved. This particular event went towards remodeling and making homes safe in the San Francisco Bay area. This includes changing out plumbing, re-roofing the home, fixing the electrical or whatever might be necessary. This is an organization that has been around for 30 years, and this particular event has been hosted by the Stanford Shopping Center for 17 years. Needless to say, there are many key takeaways you can incorporate into your events to make them successful like ours was! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 The Gala Itself I had the honor of helping with this event this year, and I am so proud of the success that we’ve had. Historically, they have used the same set-up and on average has raised $400,000 to $500,000 run by volunteers. There are usually around 300-400 attendants. It didn’t start this way, but this is a longstanding successful event that has slowly evolved to be as successful as they have been. They use five different revenue streams in order to achieve their fundraising goals: Ticket Sales A Raffle An Auction Fund A Need Underwriting Packages They have a great partnership with Stanford Shopping Center and the auction items that they promote. The main feature is life-size playhouses that are absolutely huge and gorgeous. Some even have to be moved by crane! While this is quite an undertaking, this is an incredibly fruitful event for this organization. Changing It Up With Fund A Need In the past, the organization would auction off 12 of these houses, but this year they implemented Fund-A-Need due to the decline of the number of funds raised from auctioning off the playhouses. Decreasing the number of houses on auction, and creating these Fund A Need options allowed there to be more opportunities for people to donate who otherwise couldn’t have. Creating this new source of revenue paid off! Having a Ton of Options Any large auction that I have attended has an option for everyone’s pocketbook. While you could think that it could be overwhelming for your guests, having more options that can appeal to any budget will only bring you more funds for your organization. People will donate if they have the option. Opening up this new revenue stream, allowed the attendees to donate even if bidding on the playhouses wasn’t something that they could afford. Organizing the Fundraiser In the past, this event has been run heavily by volunteers with the Director of Development overseeing things. There were different chairs that took care of the playhouses and maintaining the relationship with the Shopping Center and the builders. Then there were two people that oversaw the decor. There would also be a committee chair that would oversee the auction to make sure that it all ran smoothly and the auction items were organized. The Registration Team would also be in place to get people signed up, pass out name tags, etc. This year, with Fund A Need in place, there was a pre-registration option for people’s credit cards for when they would bid on the playhouses. A team would also be assigned for recruiting auction items and sponsorships from shops within the center. The final team would then go to restaurants to solicit for catering options for the event. In our case, we were able to get McDonald’s french fries, Sprinkles Cupcakes, California Pizza Kitchen and more. Having these different team can sound like a lot, but having different teams assigned to these teams really helped to ensure that things were planned. As this event was mainly run by volunteers in the past, this year they brought me on because there were many volunteers that weren’t able to return to help. This changed things up, but in the end, recruiting help was necessary to have this event run smoothly this year. It was also beneficial to bring help on, as Fund A Need was a new thing they decided to put into place. Sometimes getting help with your event can pay off in a big way! Underwriting Packages For Sale In partnership with the Development Team and the Executive Director, the Underwriting Chair made a home run with selling underwriting packages! This package includes being featured on all the possible places that the event was being promoted. In our case, there were banners in the shopping center, on the event’s website, social media, and more. Not only that, these sponsors received perks that were exclusive to these packages. The sponsors get tickets to invite their own guests, have a VIP table, had access to Champagne and Wine(Thanks Tesla!), early check-in, and front row access passes to the auction. These kinds of packages are really appealing to businesses and big spenders. Offering them are a nice way for people to be able to simply help your organization and have you thank them for being involved! Marketing The Event This organization took advantage of both the old fashioned and new ways of generating interest in the event. This included: Email Marketing Social Media Facebook Ads Advertising Banners in the shopping center Hard Copy Invitations Local Publications While I don’t have access to the stats from the Facebook Ads, they were able to attract attention to the organization through them. Without these ads, the event may not have reached the locals that it would have otherwise not been in front of. Taking advantage of social media is a great way to get in the face of new people for your organization. If you would like guidance in how to promote your event through social media be sure to check out my course: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/offers/DhnDgrxn/checkout Investing in Your Event The full scope of this event was huge! Seeing 500 chairs dropped off by a rental company can seem crazy. Then there are the catering fees, beverage fees, etc. to tag on top of everything else. This event cost the organization around $60,000, but they raised $470,000. What I’m here to tell you is that if you invest in an event, you will see the return on investment. I encourage you to make a bold move to try something new! What I also want to point out, is don’t be afraid of the numbers that I reference. My numbers are going to be different than yours. While I might have had to spend $2,000 for a venue, you might only need to spend $300. Get out there and start getting quotes. Know what’s available to you and don’t be afraid thinking an event is going to cost you a crazy amount! This will be different for each event, based on location and time of the year. Getting Help This is an established and fairly successful organization, but things have to change with the times sometimes. WIth the lack of available volunteers and then having volunteers need to fulfill other obligations in their life, there was a lot of pressure put onto the event board to help this fundraising event come together. The choice this organization made to get the help they needed, was essential in my opinion to help this event continue to be successful and fruitful. While I think we all are self starters who want to do it all, there are times when changing up how you run things can keep you from floundering in the end. If you’ve been thinking about investing in my course “Fundraising Events that Deliver” now is the time to do it! The price right now is $497, but that is going to go up SOON! New material and resources are going to be added soon that you will get access to, but once it’s there, there will be a an increase. Now’s the time to get access to my full system to create successful events, and have the opportunity to pick my brain when it comes to your specific event. I can’t wait for you to join me! FUNDRAISING EVENTS THAT DELIVER Go from barely breaking even to having a sold-out annual fundraising event! …all while creating amazing donor relations, surpassing your goals, and supporting the cause you believe in! OH YES! I WANNA KNOW MORE! Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
I’ve worked with a number of nonprofits raise money through fundraising events, but I also coach nonprofits to help them level up their fundraising game. I wanted to sit down with you all and go over why someone would want to give to your organization. There are strategies that you can use to help you connect with your donors in a real way. I’ve got nine things to go over to help you understand the behavior of your donors. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Consider your Audience Before I get into the different tactics you can use, I want to remind you to consider who it is that is donating to you. People will have different motivation behind their annual giving. It could be someone who just kind of picks an organization at random every year to give to. There are others that have a family trust that they discuss with the members of their family what organization they are going to give to. Then there are those people that have directly been affected by your organization whether that be through your products and services, or your mission aligns with their values. There are others to consider, but I wanted to list these to get the ball rolling. --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ- BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
In my opinion, raffles can be kind of boring. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate the raffle items that I’ve seen donated over the years or the funds they helped to bring. I genuinely do. I just know that there are definitely ways to make raffles more fun, more inviting, and more exciting! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 It’s Been The Same Since the 90’s... Back in the day, the organization I worked with hosted a raffle. We sent out letters to every restaurant and merchant in the community. Everyone got a letter! What ended up happening is we got tons of gift certificates to put up for raffle, weekend, packages, and over 200 individual items for this raffle! I’m referencing this raffle because people are still doing things the same, and it’s time to shake it up. Tons of Winners We had tons of people winning. Every 15 minutes we would be able to announce a winner! This got the audience into wanting to bid on items. We had the items go so fast that people were excited to bid on the next ones! This got them frantic but in a good way to open their wallets and donate to the cause! Another example is if you are only having one big raffle, why not have a few? This ups how many chances there are to win. Instead of having 1 out of 600 chance of winning, the chances go up to 1 out of 200! We’re currently experimenting with this with the raffle I’m currently working on at Stanford and we’re genuinely excited about it! Having more winners announced also helps people to stay to the end because they want to win. Make Packages We made packages of the items that we received. This makes the items more exciting. For example for a date night you might include: -A spa treatment -Wine gift certificate -Cheeses -Movie Tickets All this could be in one basket to put up for bid. Be sure to get creative to make your items more valuable! You might think you don’t want these small items that companies might give you. But honestly, you do! Just buff them up with a few other items and you have a wonderful item to put up for raffle. When You Have a Large Crowd Now, in the past I helped with an event that had around 800 people. Let me tell you, having 100 items up for raffle and then trying to keep 800 people’s attention is pretty impossible. So what I will say about this is that when you have that large of a crowd, announcing winners every ten minutes does not work as well. People stop paying attention and it just gets a little chaotic. So stick to around 200 or so for this technique. Don’t Be Lazy Fundraisers I know this talk is not necessarily the longest or most in depth but raffles have stayed the same for as long as I can remember. So I want you to change it up! Don’t be afraid to get creative! What are things you’ve seen that are effective? What are the most interesting strategies you’ve seen at events! I want to know! Be sure to watch the video to hear some of the creative events that I’ve been to in the past. --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
There’s a school of thought that says that you can never have enough event production timelines. Each aspect of an event will have its own production timeline in place. In my opinion, it isn’t necessary. In my experience, keeping it simple while having every one informed in the way to go. So let me share my advice to help you create the best possible event production you can for your fundraising events! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Committee Timelines Each team should have their own event production timeline made in order to map out their responsibilities. Especially if they have tasks that have nothing to do with anyone else. Everyone needs to do what’s right for them if you have many sub-committees. Even when you are just a one to two person team running this event, having each group of tasks broken down can be helpful. A Two Timeline System This type of system has worked really well for events I’ve been involved in that are for auctions. They will split it up into the tasks that need to be done before the event and then the day of the event. This can be helpful so that you stay focused on task and with auctions, you know if you have hosted one, that there are a lot of moving parts that need to work together the day of the event. It really just depends on what system would work for you. Snapshot Calendar These are just calendars set up with the basics. It helps to have a visual and it’s easy to send out to everyone on your team. You could even have this set up in Google Calendar and share it with everyone! Then they’ll all have the dates in place to know what days that all the different aspects of the event are taking place. Personally, I like this method as it’s an easy visual and keeps everyone informed. Here’s the way I like it… Personally, I prefer an all encompassing document that is easiest to format within Excel or Google sheets. There will be two tabs at the bottom. The first has a master timeline with everything in it. Catering, decor, solicitation, etc. up to 6 to 9 months before the event happens. Then the day of tasks will also be included. The second tab will be that same thing broken up by each committee. This tab will just have it broken down with the tasks assigned with each specific committee. Keep this simple. There doesn’t need to be a lot of details in this. This is supposed to be a document that is quick and easy for everyone to view so that they are informed! Why I find this helpful is because if you’re just getting a question answered and you want to know when a certain thing is happening in regards to your event, you’re able to look at the document and know! It streamlines communication so that other people can coordinate. Everything is mapped out for you so you can see it month by month for everyone. Project Management Tools There are tons of project management platforms that can help you with organizing your events. Here are just a few: Trello Asana Monday If there are things that aren’t able to fit into your master timelines, then you can use one of these project management tools to help you organize each committee. It helps to make checklists and assign people specific tasks with more details. They can also be used to have documents all in one place. I hope that you can take away some advice from this episode to help your events be as easy as possible to coordinate. Don’t be afraid to play around with different tools and timelines to create a system that works best for you and your fundraising events! See you guys next week and be sure to let me know if there are any tools I didn’t cover in this week’s episode that you find helpful! Want even more details on how to grow your following? Then sign up for my training! This is a three-part video series that will go over how to help you make your website, optimize your Facebook, and so much more. Let’s walk through together and help you feel confident marketing your organization now! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/offers/3CjFfBGY/checkout?fbclid=IwAR3N6q4gMUg1f0u29D9QR953sJfjv39yqwF4NFOd4z9ZSOHUeW-LbrNBhFs --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
I’ve been running events for years, and like anyone that’s done anything for a long time, I’ve learned a lot of things during this time. These are just some of the things that can be daunting when planning your first event. Trying to determine how much of beverages you need to purchase, thinking of how people are eating at your event, the time weath, etc. It’s a lot to think about and I hope this episode gives you a nice guide to determining these things! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 How Much Beer, Wine, and Liquor Do I Need? This is something that boggles the minds of a lot of people, but having a rough estimate of the amount of alcohol that you should buy for your event can help save you money! Here are a few tips: You can base it on per hour, per person, or 2.5 drinks per person per event. If you’re talking wine, then just remember that there are around 4.5 to 5 glasses per bottle if you are filling up glasses with 4 to 5 ounces. Beer kegs are another option. If you’re filling glasses with around 12 ounces, there are almost 2,000 ounces of beer per keg. This equals around 165 people per keg. A standard bottle of liquor that is around 80 proof contains approximately 25 ounces per bottle. If you do 1.5 ounces per shot that is around 17 drinks. One pound of ice per person and don’t forget weather can play a role so if it’s hot, you’ll need more ice and more white wine then red wine Offer mocktails to those that don’t drink You may need to adjust this estimate since you know your attendees better than any one, but it’s a good start when starting the process of ordering alcohol. You also need to inform your bartenders the amount of alcohol to serve depending on the type. If you don’t, then they will most likely free-pour and your estimates will be off. Also negotiate to purchase liquor by the bottle rather than by the drink. It will be cheaper in the long run to buy the liquor for 20 to 25 drinks in one bottle rather than paying per drink - just like buying a keg of beer is cheaper per glass than buying individual bottles or cans. Agree up front with the catering manager on a system for auditing the used and unused bottles of liquor before and after the event. Coffee, Tea, Soda, and Water The amount that people are going to drink depends on their environment and time of day! Here’s a breakdown of what that looks like: Average consumption of beverages in the morning will be roughly 65 percent hot (coffee and tea) and 35 percent cold (juice, iced tea, and soda). In the afternoon, beverage consumption will average about 65 percent cold and 35 percent hot. In the evening, this ratio changes if you have alcohol available since most people will head for the bar. Coffee and hot water for tea are purchased by the gallon, which equals about 128 ounces and produces roughly 20 6-ounce cups. Final thoughts on beverages, if that when ordering you need to take into account the time of day, weather, type of event, and the attendees into consideration. My tips are just here to help you guide you through this thinking process so that you order enough for your event! There’s nothing worse than the feeling that you’re running out of beverages while you’re already in the middle of trying to make sure the rest of your fundraising event is running smoothly! Cash Bar vs Open Bar It’s true that people drink less at a Cash Bar so you’ll have to plan for 1.5 drinks per person per hour. When you have an Open Bar the drinking ration goes up to around 2 to 2.5 drinks per person per hour. Makes sense right? While a cash bar might seem like a more cost-effective option for event planners since attendees are purchasing their own drinks, keep in mind that you are still responsible for the cost of the bar setup, any necessary labor, and the bartender (and possibly a bar-back helper). Always Have A Vegetarian and Gluten-Free Option Look, there are a lot of different diet preferences out there in the world. It’s hard to cater to everyone but having at least one vegetarian/vegan and gluten free option is standard. You want for people to not have to worry that they won’t be able to eat at your event! Hungry people aren’t necessarily happy people! Don’t have this be an afterthought. Be intentional with the choice that you make. And be sure to label your foods to designate what dietary needs! It can be as simple as: GF- Gluten-free DF- Dairy Free VG - Vegetarian VEG- Vegan NF - Nut Free Sure, this doesn’t cover all of the allergies and dietary needs out there, but having a few simple options shows you care. This goes a long way with donors. You could even have the option for people to let you know if they need special accommodations with a food oriented email that lets people know what the menu is and a contact button just in case. This way your staff can be informed and a dish can be made for someone that needs that accomodation. Appetizers Some of your events will only be serving appetizers which is completely fine! Finger food can go a long way. But one thing I want to mention when it comes to appetizers is that you should only make them in one to two bite portions. I’m mentioning this since some events don’t have seating arrangements as part of the plan. People don’t want to be walking around with food the whole time! Make them quick munchies that can then be disposed of so that its convenient! Theatre Setups I’m currently planning an event that has theatre style seating. If you’re in the same boat, plan for 8 square feet per person if no AV presentation is involved. If AV will be used, increase the space to 10 square feet per person. Theater setups allow you to pack the most people into the smallest space, and are fine if attendees won't be taking a lot of notes and sessions are short. Classroom Setups Allot 12 square feet per person if you want three people per 6-foot table, or 18 square feet for two people per 6-foot table, allowing 44 inches between each row of tables. For classroom configurations with AV, plan a minimum of 15 square feet per person. Classroom setups are better for serious training sessions or when people need room to take notes. Banquet and Reception Banquets and most receptions with a bar (or multiple bars) and standard buffet tables require 10 to 12 square feet per person. Banquet rounds are best for in-depth, small-group discussions, and they allow for quick room reset for food functions. In my experience 66-inch round tables seat 8 people nicely. 72-inch round tables can fit ten! You can fit 12 people at these, but you need to consider your audience. One time I hosted an event for footballers and there was no way that I could have fit 12-people at the tables. Calculating Ticket Prices There are a lot of formulas out there on the internet so you definitely can use what works best for you. However this is what I have found to be the most useful solution to this dilemma. To determine your event's registration fee (RF), divide your fixed costs (FC) by the number of anticipated attendees (AA) and add your variable costs per person (VC/P). Example: If the fixed cost for your event is $200,000, the variable cost per person is $500, and you anticipate 1,000 attendees, the registration fee should be $700. The formula is: (FC/AA) + (VC/P) = RF (200,000 / 1,000) + $500 = $700 What Are Your Tips? I’d love to hear what advice you would give to other individuals that are planning events! We all learn from different experiences so I’d love to hear your perspective. I really hope that this helps to answer some of your questions when it comes to planning a successful event. These kinds of things can seem mundane, but they can save you money and help you to run a smoother event with no last minutes runs to the grocery or liquor store. I wish you luck and success with you upcoming events!
So, you have the auction all planned. You’ve followed the steps in my last blog post “The Live Auction Blueprint” and now you’re just worried about getting people in the door. Now, this isn’t going to be a quick process. You’re going to want to start marketing you advance around six months in advance, but I promise you’ll see that it’s worth it when you have tons of people attending your fundraising event. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Save the Date You want to get it out there on your social media, email, in-person, and any other platform you can think of, the date of your event. Whether it’s a Google Calendar link, or a flyer, you want to motivate people to put it on their calendar. Even make a Facebook or Meetup event so that people can RSVP and get alerted about your event on their phone. Eventbrite is another great resource for this but you might want to research what event platforms are more successful in your area. Auction Items Now, I know your event is going to be fantastic and you should let people know that, but what about your auction items? Are you using those as part of your marketing plan? How are you announcing to your people? Do they know what is up for auction? A mystery is fun and all, but you’re missing out on attendees by not marketing your items. Sending out email blasts letting people know about those amazing auction items will only intrigue them more. It gets people thinking “Wow, that would be a great vacation or item for my family” and they’ll want to show up. Update your social media and your email list as you secure auction items. Write a blurb about the item to let them know what they’re signing up for. I promise you’ll get people excited this way. Proxy Bidding System You may have people that want to buy your items but they won’t be able to attend your event. This is when a proxy bidding system will be put into place. This is when people can’t attend and someone stand in their place to bid on the item they are vying for. This happens all the time so there’s no shame in this game! Let people know this is an option so that they can still support you even if they aren’t there. Survey Says At some point during your marketing, you’ll want to create a survey to segment your email list. This quick survey will help you to identify what kind of person they are. You want to know who wants what kind of content they will appreciate the most and what kinds of events they’ll attend. The more you get to know about your email list the more you know about your email list the better your marketing can become. Marketing is all about knowing your audience and this is a great way to do so. Throughout this process, you’re going to want to let people know how they can get involved, what your organization is accomplishing. Cause let’s be honest, you do great work! And I want to see you succeed in this. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to let me know! Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Auctions are an amazing way to get money for your organization! But how do you go about beginning the process of planning it? How do you optimize your auction to meet and exceed your goals for your fundraising event? In this episode, I give you a breakdown on how I’ve prepped and set up auctions to get the best possible bids on auction items! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Want even more details on how to grow your following? Then sign up for my training! This is a three-part video series that will go over how to help you make your website, optimize your Facebook, and so much more. Let’s walk through together and help you feel confident marketing your organization now! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/offers/3CjFfBGY/checkout?fbclid=IwAR3N6q4gMUg1f0u29D9QR953sJfjv39yqwF4NFOd4z9ZSOHUeW-LbrNBhFs --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Through the years I have learned that many organizations don’t have many expectations for fundraisers at an event. But I can't tell you that you’re leaving money on the table by not having a strategy on site at an event. All of you can play a part in the day of your event that allows you to do what I talked back in Episode 36 before the event, during the event, and after the event strategies. However, I want to go more in depth in the different tasks that you can do during an auction to get more money for your nonprofit organization. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Want even more details on how to grow your following? Then sign up for my training! This is a three-part video series that will go over how to help you make your website, optimize your Facebook, and so much more. Let’s walk through together and help you feel confident marketing your organization now! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/offers/3CjFfBGY/checkout?fbclid=IwAR3N6q4gMUg1f0u29D9QR953sJfjv39yqwF4NFOd4z9ZSOHUeW-LbrNBhFs --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
I know many of you in here are founders or director’s of development and have a small staff. This isn’t the stuff you want to be done, but I promise if you start now that you are a young nonprofit you will be so happy! 10 years from now you’ll be thanking yourself! You might be the one to do this marketing stuff now, and I know it’s a lot, but one day you’ll be able to have a social media team or marketing team to do all this stuff. I just want to help you map out a simple marketing plan to help you gain an audience starting now! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/11214... --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/... Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithl... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGy... Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwith...
You’ve worked hard on your event and it’s finally come to fruition. The tables are set! The music is going and your guests have had an amazing time! The efforts of your team are appreciated and everyone feels fulfilled knowing the work they did creating a fantastic fundraising event. While I want you to feel proud of your event, the work doesn’t stop there. This week I when over what should be happening after your event to keep your donors attention! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/11214... --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/... Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithl... YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGy... Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwith...
When you think about the venue, decorations, food, and so many other aspects of an event it can become overwhelming. On top of that, you have to plan everything else. If you’re feeling lost in the shuffle, I hope you sit down and let me, help you focus in on how your dollars should be spent. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
If you know my story, you’ll remember that I started out helping at my children’s school fundraisers as a volunteer. The schools really embraced volunteers owning thier role. There wasn’t someone who was bossing us around. Instead, we owned our role and we all valued the roles that we had in our subcommittees. How did they do this? They have well-defined volunteer roles! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584 Organizing your Volunteers The first step is to get organized. If your volunteers don’t know what you need or how to help, they won't’ be sure what to do. Have a list of tasks that they can complete. Let them know what goals you’d like to reach within your organization. Even outline how many hours minimum you’d like them to dedicate to your organization. Not only that but creating roles for your volunteers can be incredibly helpful. Let me break it down into three buckets to help you create roles for your volunteers: Auction Decor Volunteer Coordination Underneath each of these buckets are many roles for your volunteers can be assigned. This will give them a clear understanding of the expectation you have on them, and a clear idea of what their tasks are. --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog There's also access to the free downloadable there too! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
These days are when a corporation urges its employees to volunteer in the community. An example of this is employees will be required to donate a certain amount of hours of community service. These hours are then submitted to their place of employment, and that company will match an amount of dollars per hour to the nonprofit of choice. Sound like a great opportunity? It really can be! As we go over this subject, keep in mind big corporations that are in your area. You never know where opportunities may lie for your organization with these companies. So let's get you on these lists and let you know who you need to contact! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Corporate Giving Days are an amazing opportunity for you and your organization. Not only does it help raise funds for your organization but provides you with amazing networking opportunities. I hope this episode helps to inspire you to get out there to get on these lists! --- Want to learn more? Be sure to check out my blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Is Your Nonprofit Too Small? Absolutely not! Looking at these other organizations can give you inspiration for changes or strategies that can really improve your fundraising efforts. There’s nothing wrong with looking at what other people are doing and learning from them. We all have the same goal, right? To raise donations for amazing causes. Build Your Relationships Standford University did this amazingly well. The key to their fundraising plan is creating amazing relationships with their donors. How do they do this? Through events! They host many events all over, in all kinds of different spaces. The variety they provide attracts different demographics of donors and keeps their donors involved in their organization. These events drew people in and we were able to partner and network with so many different people. Never forget how much you can learn about your donors during these events and don’t forget the power they have to connect your donors with your organization. You Have To Get In Front Of Your People Creating events leads to a momentum that continues on long after the event. Doing outreach for your event by contacting potential donors and corporations only helps to broaden your network for your organization. You never know what is going to come of events through these connections. Hosting events also gives you the opportunity to education. Giving people a chance to learn and be updated on what’s happening within your organization helps you to stay in their mind when they are thinking of causes they want to be a part of. Get your Plans and Services in front of them, and you’re sure to help them see what amazing work your organization does for your community and beyond. Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
I did a bonus episode this week over on my Facebook Page to help you get your board on track with your fundraising efforts! I know how frustrating it can be working with people that are not aware of the benefits of fundraising. Believe me, I’ve been there. So this week I wanted pop-in and tell all of some of the ways I’ve found to get your board “on board” with your fundraising needs. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Tune it and watch the video to hear my tips and tricks on how to get your board members, well...on board! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
When people think of staff retreat, they think of something really fancy. But let me tell you, that you don’t have to be a big, fancy organization to pull this off! Finding the funding to do it can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be a huge getaway. But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Corporate Retreats When you think of a corporate retreat, you may think of high budget get togethers with guest speakers, and maybe even an off site location that is glamorous. These kinds of images can scare a small nonprofit away from doing a staff retreat. I want to talk to you about some that I’ve been a part that doesn’t come with a large price tag. One of the best retreats I’ve ever been to only had four staff members! Why is it important? Hosting a staff retreat can be amazing for presenting your gameplan to the members of your organization! Get your plan for the year together and present to the members where you were the year before. Everyone will be on board and informed with the goals going forward with a newfound appreciation for how far you’ve come. Please listen to my latest episode and I hope it helps you think of new ideas and way to get everyone in your organization motivated for the year ahead. Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Auctions are a great way to get your community involved! When you’re thinking about pulling your auction together reach out to your local businesses! Restaurants, hotels, sports centers, sports teams, theaters and so many others will be more than happy to donate to your cause! It’s time to get creative with your baskets and I have tips for you to think about when pulling your gift baskets together to help you maximize donations! But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Time to Get Creative An auction is a win-win for everyone. The businesses you reach out to are getting exposure and you’re getting money to meet your annual fundraising goals. After reaching out on a number of Facebook Groups I’m a part of, I compiled a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Lottery card trees or baskets Date night baskets: Have the basket full of items that will create a date night for the couple that bids on this basket. Couple massages, tickets to a local show Beer or Alcohol Baskets - Reach out to your local micro breweries or liquor establishments! It’s not about promoting drinking, it’s about letting people experience new flavors! Wine Baskets: Having a basket with wines and cheese pairings can be a real hit! If you have local wines in the area, they are a great establishment to reach out to! Or just compile a basket with wines from all over. Make it international! Family night: Have baskets with games, movies, and popcorn to promote families to sit down and spend time with one another Golf Baskets: Different country clubs or public golf passes with tees and golf balls can be a real hit for your local golfing fans! These are just some of the favorites that me and others have come up with over the year. Just remember to have fun! Don’t forget to watch the video to find out what two gift basket ideas were shared with me! Consider your Audience Don’t forget that when you are making your auction baskets you need to appeal to as many budgets as possible. Not everyone will want to bid on a $10,000 trip to the Bahamas (if you’re lucky enough to get sponsored for one). Try and think of who will be attending. You don’t want people to feel left out when it comes to the bidding and to giving to your organization. Also when you are brainstorming remember who you are trying to attract. Whether it’s elderly, millennials, families or mainly couples, each one is going to have certain auction baskets that appeal to them. So get thinking, be creative, and don’t limit yourself. Don’t Doubt the Power of Your Auction If you’re hosting your very first auction, you might hear comments like “Auctions are so outdated." I don’t think so. An auction is an amazing inspiration and a great way to start reaching out to your community. If you feel you’re under the radar within your community, having the motivation of an auction behind you to reach out to businesses you hadn’t thought of before can help get your name out there! It can also be a really fun night. As I’ve said, have fun! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
If you’ve ever been in sales or a company, you’ve most likely heard of an ideal customer avatar. In business, these avatars are “created” so that the business knows exactly who they want to attract. While it’s nice to think the world is your oyster, it’s not. It’s a big mistake to try and sell to everyone. Not only is it exhausting, but you could be talking to people who aren’t even interested. This same concept can be applied to fundraising and fundraising events. Do you know who you are trying to attract to your organization? But Who Am I? Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/11214... Who’s already involved? When you look around your organization, who are your donors and volunteers? What kind of people are you already attracting to your organization? If you aren’t sure, then it’s time to get to know them! Learn about your donors and volunteers. Even send out a survey to uncover what hobbies they have, what social media they use, and whatever information you think would be beneficial to you. This process can get as specific as you like and i want you to come up with three to four different ones. From there you’ll be able to create new approaches to attract these people to your organization. The reason for this is so you know how to appeal to those that would be willing to hear you out. Download my Free Ideal Donor Questionaire Refine your message Once you have an idea of who you would like to attract to your organization, you’ll have more motivation to actually seek out these people. You’ll understand the meaning behind wanting to seek out a specific demographic, rather than seemingly random connections. And let’s be honest! The more your have meaningful conversations with the right people, the more success will come to your organization. Be sure to watch the video to hear all about my experiences and the advice I have to give around this topic. [FREE TRAINING] Wanna discover the 5-step framework for a sold-out fundraising event that has allowed me to raise an outrageous amount of money for the organizations I’ve worked with and causes dear to my heart? Get my fail-proof plan to leverage fundraising events to inspire goodwill, grow your donor base, and get money rolling in. OH YES! I WANNA KNOW MORE! Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Over the last few months, there's been a lot of talk about abundance, whether there's enough money to support your organization, and growth mindset. There’s a lot of fear around fundraising and whether of now you’ll “make it”. I thought today I’d discuss this topic and see if we can get over the hurdles you're facing mentally. Let me Introduce Myself Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Do you have a Fixed or Growth Mindset? There’s a book called “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success” written by Carol Dweck that discusses this in depth. She’s known as a mindset guru and her teachings have been implemented in public and private schools. Her philosophy or theory states that there are three aspects to having a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset. I want you to think about some questions. Do you believe you can learn new things? Do you believe people can learn new things? Do you think people can change or are they unable to change who they are? These questions help to shape your reality and even how you perceive yourself. In general a growth mindset is about believing in yourself, having something you believe in, and having the ability to adapt and take action to get what you want. That ability to adapt requires being able to learn and change aspects of yourself to improve. I want to apply this theory to fundraising so you can reflect and see if there are things holding you back when it comes to raising money for your nonprofit. Do you have a strong belief in your organization? You need to believe in your organization’s mission and vision. You could be in a situation where as you get more involved with your organization or just your job, and you feel that there is something missing. You don’t have the passion that you want to feel. If you don’t have that passion or that belief it’s going to hold you back from being motivated to help them with their vision. You want to make sure that your organization aligns with your core personal beliefs. If you don’t believe in them, how can you convince other people to be passionate about your organization? Are you doing the work? If you’re thinking “Lisa, I love my organization and what we stand for,” then are you taking the actions you need to help your organization grow? Without action, you’ll get no results and if your actions are benefiting your organization in the ways you want it to, it’s probably holding you back from meeting your goals. You need to make sure to do all the things that will take you to the next level, such as: Creating a strategic plan Cultivating and stewarding donors Building donor lists Seeking out prospects and volunteers You need to take hardcore action every day. Not just sitting out your desk hoping that things come to you. You need to take action to seek out the results that you want! Are you looking for new ideas? As a fundraiser, are you taking the time to look at previous years and see what worked? Are you learning from your mistakes? If you’re just skating by and thinking “There’s nothing else we can do,” then here’s your main block when it comes to meeting your goals. When it comes to fundraising you have to think of new ways to shake things up! Try something new to see what can help your organization grow. Constantly keep challenging yourself and your organization I promise you’ll discover that you and your team can create amazing events that will lead to growth. Do you have a fundraising mindset? I speak more on all of this in the video. Please sit down with a cup of tea with me, but I want to leave you with this. Mindset work is hard but the key question is “Do you believe in yourself?” While your organization could have communication issues or morale issues, but if you don’t believe in yourself then you’re not going to find the solution easily. I want you to have passion and confidence in everything you do. I want to challenge you to cultivate yourself. I want to challenge you to constantly learn and growth. It’s worth the effort. Want to design your event with me? Join the waitlist for the next wave of sign-ups for my course "Fundraising Events That Deliver", a 5-module course where you'll learn the best tips and tricks I've learned over the years and get access to my exclusive system to make every event succeed. Link to the Course https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/fed/ Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ I get questions in both my facebook page, in my email, and in real life all about event fundraising! And I get it! It can be hard trying to navigate it all! If you have a question be sure to leave them in the comments below and I can answer yours in the next q &a ! Want to design your event with me? Join the waitlist for the next wave of sign-ups for my course "Fundraising Events That Deliver", a 5-module course where you'll learn the best tips and tricks I've learned over the years and get access to my exclusive system to make every event succeed. Link to the Course https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/fed/ Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Managing volunteers can be super challenging, to say the least. There are some that are super needy, and a few of them are like know it alls and they often feel more entitled to know the inner workings of the organization and provide feedback on the day to day operations and expect you to see things their way. They also want to be a part of the decision making for nonprofits. Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ But at the end of the day, How I REALLY Feel About Volunteer Management and volunteers, is GRATEFUL! I recently oversaw a very special volunteer. He’s an 86-year-old retired Chief Marketing Officer of a local tech company in the Silicon Valley. While I don’t oversee him anymore, he ‘s still providing tours for families whose child is receiving heart surgery. He provides the tour of the cardiac unit for the parents while the child’s in surgery. He lets them know the lay of the land - where they can grab a cup of coffee in the cafe, he makes sure they have parking passes cause families getting treatment don’t pay for parking, where to sleep, how to check out a bed, where to store food for those staying for long durations of time, how to order door dash, where the family resource center is in case they need toiletries or want to check out a book. He knows more about the hospital resources than hospital employees! He takes his volunteer role very seriously and shows up for his one shift every week. He’s done this for over 10 years. And, he doesn't just go on vacation and NOT tell anyone. He lets everyone know he’ll be gone. He goes to Lake Tahoe. And you know what? He is very missed when he’s gone. How can you not be grateful for volunteers!!!! If that doesn’t show you how valuable volunteers are to an organization here’s more reasons: Here’s why: They serve as an incredible resource and offer up a variety of different talents They save organizations thousands of dollars but doing tasks that cost money! I’ve mentioned in past episodes that I’m the Corporate Partner Programs Manager for Stanford Children’s Hospital and our Corporate Partners have volunteered 3200 hours of volunteer work. Collectively that’s the equivalent of a full-time employee! Volunteers help with fundraising They help support fundraising events They help with operations and provide support for everyday tasks The list goes on and on! So, with that said - how do you best recognize them for all their hardwork? A little goes a long way so writing them a good old fashion handwritten note means the world to some people How about Swag - give um agency logo’d t-shirt, hat, coffee mug - who doesn’t love that! Another nice thing to do is after a big volunteering session such as envelope stuffing for hours, or cleaning up a park, or cleaning toys at your shelter, - perhaps add a pizza night following this. Every once in a while goes a long way! Here’s a bigger way to recognize your volunteers - Create a volunteer service award and honor your volunteer at your annual fundraising event. Want to design your event with me? Join the waitlist for the next wave of sign-ups for my course "Fundraising Events That Deliver", a 5-module course where you'll learn the best tips and tricks I've learned over the years and get access to my exclusive system to make every event succeed. Link to the Course https://raisingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/fed/ Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Delving into the world of social media can be difficult. Believe me, I know. But it is a tool that is available for you and your organization. Social media can be a great way for you to reach out to new people, donors, and build a community. Not only that, it's a great way to promote your events! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ This week I asked my virtual assistant Jessica Robinn to join me for a quick chat on how to help you gain "Non-Profit Engagement Through Social Media". We go over some of the basics of psychology behind the different platforms, how to choose what platforms to invest your time in, and resources to streamline your workflow. We even answered some of your questions specific to your organizations! Jessica Robinn has been in the social media realm for the last 12 years. While working with Billi Maddox years ago, she was bitten by the social media bug. "It’s the creation of content combined with analytical data in order to discover more about the people that you want to attract. The mixture of creativity, logical thinking, and psychology is something that I’ve yet to grow tired of." Now she works with a number of companies to help them gain a following on social media that's genuine. If you'd like to learn more about Jessica then please check out her website: http://jessicarobinn.com/ The main thing she wants you to take away from our talk is to have fun! Whether you're on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or LinkedIn there's always something new to try and learn. Social media is something that requires creativity and experimentation. While analytics are important, don't obsess over the numbers. Keep your goals in mind with each post, and constantly try something new. No effort is too small, and you never know what might just be the next best thing for you and your organization. Those that attended the live stream, you know we went over a lot. Here's a list of all the resources and things we referenced throughout the Q&A session. Social Media Scheduling Tools Tailwind - https://www.tailwindapp.com Later.com - https://later.com/ Event Websites Meetup - https://www.meetup.com/ Eventbrite - https://www.eventbrite.com/ Social Media Teachers We Follow Sunny Lenarduzzi - http://sunnylenarduzzi.com/ Jade Darmawangsa - https://www.youtube.com/user/jadeliciousjoy Rachel Pederson - https://rachelpedersen.com/home Gary Vaynerchuk - https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/ Jasmine Star - https://jasminestar.com/ Rick Mulready - https://rickmulready.com/Pat Flynn - https://www.smartpassiveincome.com/ Billi Maddox - http://bit.ly/SmallYoutubeChannelTricks Graphics Resources Canva - https://canva.com Unsplash - https://unsplash.com Pixabay - https://pixabay.comFlat Icons - https://www.flaticon.com/ Lisa's Tutorial on Canva - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-v6ondCNqE Want to design your event with me? Join the waitlist for the next wave of sign-ups for my course "Fundraising Events That Deliver", a 5-module course where you'll learn the best tips and tricks I've learned over the years and get access to my exclusive system to make every event succeed. Link to the Course https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/events-driven-fundraising-course-waitlist-sign-up-form/ Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
There a hundred reasons why an event doesn't work out and sometimes it's hard to decipher what went well and what didn't. I get it. I've seen it all. I started as a volunteer and built up to running events that raise millions of dollars! Please let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Designing your event is key to its success. So how do you go about preventing a "flop"? In this weeks episode, I go over things I've learned to avoid and to make sure are on your to-do list whenever you are planning an event. Want to design your event with me? Join the waitlist for the next wave of sign-ups for my course "Fundraising Events That Deliver", a 5-module course where you'll learn the best tips and tricks I've learned over the years and get access to my exclusive system to make every event succeed. Link to the Course https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/events-driven-fundraising-course-waitlist-sign-up-form/ Also, here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Are your donors engaged in your organization? I know it can be one of the most difficult hurdles to tackle! While the traditional modes and methods are essential, it's time to also up your game to keep up with the time. Before I get into how to help you engage your donors more, I'd like to introduce myself to anyone just joining me here. Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Here are some of my tips to help keep your donors involved and interested in your organization. Tell great stories through your content. People don’t forget a good story and they want to be a part of it. Be clear on the impact of donations. They should clearly be able to see the change. No ambiguity. Use testimonials, endorsements and social proof. If others are happily doing it, they can too. Make making donations easy. Thank people who engage and respond to your message. A little gratitude goes a long way. Never underestimate the power of storytelling and how it can pull at the heartstrings of those already involved in your organization and newcomers! Putting a little more effort into your events can have a huge payoff, but don't forget to have fun with it. I also have an exciting announcement. I am going to have FREE webinar on September 5th and 6th! Click below to sign up. You won't want to miss this. The 5-Step Framework For A Sold-Out Fundraising Event Masterclass https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/5-step-framework/ Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Don't forget to connect with me on other social media platforms as well! Blog: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsGyPtskQ-BVPVDoMcRnNaQ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark/
Before I provide you with some tips on how to gain more awareness in your community, allow me to introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ In this episode, I share stories on how I applied this checklist and how it worked! Making sure your passion for your cause comes through in all your communications with potential donors can only help make them feel excited along with you. Connecting with as many people as possible can only help you be successful in your endeavors. How do you know if your charity, cause or organization is the best-kept secret in town? It’s there, doing the good work, but lacks growth. Your marketing is limited to your core group of donors. You’re unable to reach new people and attract them into your circle. What should you do to change that? Work on the clarity of your vision (not only mission). Learn to articulate your vision well. Communication is the KEY here. Create a list of people/organizations that resonate with your message and then get in front of them through targeted marketing. Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ When you're planning your fundraising events, your focus goes to your annual fundraising efforts and meeting your goals. But what if I told you that there was another avenue you could take to acquire large donations? Lori Kranczer, Founder of Everyday Planned Giving, LLC, has over 18 years of experience advising nonprofit organizations on conceptualizing and building planned giving programs, training volunteer leadership and staff, soliciting and closing significant planned giving arrangements, and working with donors, their families and advisors on structuring the appropriate gifts to meet their philanthropic goals. An experienced attorney, Lori applies her knowledge of complex giving structures to the practice. In this weeks episode, we discuss what Legacy Donors are and how they can benefit non-profits. It can be a difficult subject to bring up with people while you are fundraising, but it's well worth it to be knowledgeable on the subject. We hope you enjoy this episode of Raising with Lise Clark and don't forget to download my FREE Checklist on "How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser?". Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, which is a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ When thinking about hosting a fundraising event, I know how daunting and time consuming it must seem. Especially if you are considering planning an auction of some kind. It’s a solid year of planning EASY! And, I know there are so many mixed messages out there when it comes to fundraising events. There is an entire school of thought that says to avoid them. But, how do you then build up your donor list? It’s a catch-22 for sure! For all of my show notes, past episodes, and so much more be sure to check out my blog post for this episode here: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog/episode-19-what-is-an-ask-event If your new to hosting events be sure to check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. You can also watch my recent Masterclass on Network For Good on “How To Create A Pipeline Of New Donors From Low Cost Events.” Here’s the link to that as well! To Access Lisa's Network for Good Webinar - Video: http://bit.ly/2LlUcl6 Presentation: http://bit.ly/2Oi6XdY Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
In case you don’t know me, please let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, which is a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/11214... I came from an organization that was steeped in tradition. A common sentiment was “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Or, “we’ve always done it that way.” These two sentences can be the death of creativity and hold you back from hosting a wonderful and profitable event. If your new to hosting events be sure to check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. You can also watch my recent Masterclass on Network For Good on “How To Create A Pipeline Of New Donors From Low-Cost Events.” Here’s the link to that as well! Network For Good Webinar Video: http://bit.ly/2LlUcl6 Presentation: http://bit.ly/2Oi6XdY Fundraisers were meant to be FUN. If you’re worried about changing it up, I’m going to give you five ideas to help you put the flare and fun back into your event. Before I go over the five suggestions, I want to tell you a story. If you haven’t noticed by now I always like to share a story before diving into my suggestions. It helps me drive my point across. As I mentioned before, I worked on an event that raised 1.8M in one night. I had the four most amazing auction chairs. In particular one of the chairs was in charge of decor. Past events of this organization were always way over the top when it came to decor. In fact, at one event there were live camels onsite. But this time, these auction chairs were determined to leave their mark on the organization and do something different. They did a lot of things different but one thing they did was completely different from years past was change up the decor at the dinner and live auction. They introduced “Harry Potter Style” dining. Long tables that sat up 38 people at the table. Something like that… Some tables had fewer people at the table and some tables were very long and had a ton of people at the table. The hope was to provide family style dining. Before the event, lots of people grumbled but in the end, the event raised the most money the organization had raised in prior years. It raised $500k more than the previous year. My point: don’t be afraid to change it up. Access my show notes. past episodes, and more over on my blog. Click here to check it out: https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/... Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co... Don't forget to connect with me on other platforms! Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwith... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithl...
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, which is a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ When crafting, designing, or painfully creating your annual budget, and you are deciding on what to spend on your first fundraising event, I’m here to tell you some good and bad news. If your new to hosting events be sure to check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. You can also watch my recent Masterclass on Network For Good on “How To Create A Pipeline Of New Donors From Low-Cost Events.” Here’s the link to that as well! Ok, back to event budgets. If you’ve been thinking about budgeting for your first fundraising event and aren’t sure how much to budget or what to budget for, I’m here to give you a list of items that are sure to be included in your budget breakdown. Now, some of the costs are fixed and some are flexible. As I go over the list, it will be obvious which are the fixed ones and which ones can go up or down depending lots of things like what means more to you like having fancy food or good food or open bar or cash bar, etc. For my full show notes be sure to check out the blog! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog/episode-17-how-much-should-you-budget-for-your-fundraising-event Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Please let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ What are some great indicators you’re hosting a successful event? Well, there are many things that you could be doing right and there are things you should never do again. While at the event you’re likely to hear positive feedback from your guests and hear things like “The food is so good” or “l love the centerpieces.” You might also witness smiles, laughter, groups of people chatting and engaging with each other. But, I’m not sure you’ll hear about what could be improved upon that night at the event. Speaking of places to host mini events, check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. You can also watch my recent Masterclass on Network For Good on “How To Create A Pipeline Of New Donors From Low Cost Events.” Here’s the link to that as well! Ok, back to surveys! So here are a few things to help you get started in creating your post event survey. First, I recommend surveying your guests, your board, and your staff. Surveying your donors and board are for obvious reasons - they are your supporters! You want to know if they were happy and satisfied with the event. But why survey your staff? Chances are they’re asked to work the event and have worked many events for the organization in the past. They’ve seen things go well and not so well. They hear side chatter from supporters. You’d be really surprised how much you’ll learn from surveying your staff. But the most important reason, for me, is you will build morale, buy-in and show your staff that you appreciate their thoughts, feedback, efforts. They matter and asking them to fill out a survey is one great way to show them that their opinion counts! Next, when sending out your request for them to participate in the survey, mention that you’ll be providing everyone the results. In your email, be sure to highlight that you’re an organization that values learning and improving so you take their comments and feedback very seriously. It’s what helps you grow as an organization and helps you serve your supporters even better! Lastly, keep the survey short and simple. I realize that I’ve provided you with a long list of survey questions to ask, but feel free to condense some of them or use the one’s you feel be represent your fundraising event. One final, final thing is Survey Monkey is a survey platform that I highly recommend for building a free survey but you are limited to only 10 questions. I’m certain you’ll be able to get all the feedback you need in 10 questions or less. Now, build those surveys! Who to Survey: Survey attendees immediately following the event while the event is fresh in their memory Survey your board and create questions that are unique to their experience Next, survey your staff. Next, select 3 to 5 key supporters who attended the event and survey them over the phone or in person. Survey your vendors (caterer, party rental company, venue staff) What questions to ask your attendees: Was this the first time you attended the event? How did you learn about the event? Would you attend again? Would you invite friends? Was the ticket price a good value? Was there a good assortment of silent and live auction gifts? Did you enjoy the program? Did you enjoy the food? Did you learn something about our organization? Was the event easy to find? Was check-in organized, fast and streamline? How would you rate our auctioneer? What did you enjoy most about the event? What did you enjoy least about the event? If you won a silent or live auction item, was checking out an easy process How would you rate the event overall? What questions to ask your board? How does this fundraiser compare to other fundraiser’s you’ve attended in the past? Please comment below. If you didn’t invite friends, would you invite friends to attend next year? Was the ticket price a good value? Was there a good assortment of silent and/or live auction items? Was the silent auction starting bids too low or too high or just right? Was the starting bids for the live auction too low, too high, or just right? Please rate the food? Please rate the decor? Did you learn something new about the organization? Did you feel the ticket price was a good value? Do you feel this event provides a good opportunity to get to know our supporters better? Is there anything you would change about the event? Please comment below. Was the event easy to find? Was check-in organized, fast, and streamline? How would you rate our auctioneer? Did we do a good job highlighting our programs and services? Does this event provide a good opportunity to identify future volunteers? Rate the MC’s overall performance? Questions to ask staff: How does this fundraiser compare to other fundraiser’s you’ve staffed in the past? Please comment below. Please rate the food? Please rate the decor? Do you feel this event provides a good opportunity to get to know our supporters better? Is there anything you would change about the event? Please comment below. Was the event easy to find? If you worked the registration table, did it seem organized and streamline for our guests to check-in? How would you rate our auctioneer? As a staff member do you feel we did a good job highlighting our programs and services? What programs or services would you like to be better represented at the event next year? Does this event provide a good opportunity to identify future volunteers? Rate the Executive Director’s (or whoever MC’d the event) stage presence? Rate the Executive Director’s/MC/s overall performance? CTA Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Before I describe how to plan a picnic auction, please let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ I know trying to come up with cool ways to raise money is a huge challenge for both large and small nonprofits. And, planning an auction isn’t easy as I’ve said in the past. They are very time consuming and take half the year to plan (for a mid to large sized one). Some people don’t get enough ROI out of um, too. Same all questions come up where do we host and who will come? Speaking of places to host mini events, check out my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. I give you some ideas on where to host mini events. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. Ok, back to the picnic auction. I was asked to be a part of a campaign to raise money for our church and school. We needed to raise $1m in four months. How we did this involved a variety of activities and one of them was this picnic auction fundraiser. That darn little event brought in $10k with very little effort on our part or the host’s part. Recently, I did a webinar on Network For Good (be sure to check it out). Anyway, I mentioned that I planned this picnic fundraiser and a few people inquired about it so I thought I would share with you how we planned this event. When I think back to the planning of this event one word, well two words come to mind, “Easy Peasey.” Here is the breakdown of what we did: 1) Secured a host willing to host the event in their backyard AND provide desserts and beverages. They kept it simple and had a signature drink, lemonade, tea and coffee. The host also had to designate a table to place all the baskets on and around. The host also had ice chests on hand in case someone needed to keep a food item chilled. 2) The host also invited their network of friends, families and colleagues and allowed us to add names to the invite list. That is how the invite list was formed. 3) The invite included the details of what each guest was expected to do and this included preparing a picnic meal for two with a budget of $50 and the meal had to be an entree and side dish. It also needed to include the paper goods (utensils, napkins, plates). One final important detail is we encouraged folks to make sure to prepare a meal that is good at room temperature and to bring their own coolers if they need to keep something chilled. Or, provide ways to keep their items warm if necessary. For some reason this wasn’t an issue. Whew! 4) The guests were also instructed to provide a description of the meal being served (we didn’t worry about allergies but this was back then so you might need to have a mix of meals like vegan and vegetarian) boy have we gotten complicated over the years! 5) Next, you need to secure a dynamic and charismatic person to auction off the baskets. 6) While guests participated in the cocktail hour, picnic baskets were given a number and descriptions were collected and organized. 7) We had paper bidding paddles and everyone was given a bid number when they checked in. 8) The bidding started and folks were able to pay via credit card, check or cash. We had about 50 people and the baskets and some baskets sold for $200, $500 and even $1,000. Everyone took great pride in creating an exceptional basket and meal. This event was done several more times in different peoples homes and it got improved upon year after year. This was pre-internet or at least right around the time the internet got started. If we could pull it off back in the day, there’s no telling how much better it can be done now! I say go for it! Don’t over complicate it. Keep it simple and true to the style that was intended. A no fuss way to raise money and have fun, too! Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Before I dig into auctions and why I think they’re not something you should consider doing unless you can answer yes to a few questions, please let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ If you’ve ever planned an auction you can sympathize with me and the others and admit that it takes a village to plan a good one! There are so many things that need to get done including marketing the auction, marketing the event, planning the event, fundraising at the event, awareness building and so on and so forth. I can see why nonprofits shy away from hosting one. I get it! Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. Back to auctions. For this topic, I’m going to answer these four questions: 1) Why are auctions so difficult to host, plan, do? 2) How do I make room for an auction with my already existing and very full fundraising load? 3) What strategy is involved in hosting an auction? 4) How do I create a well-attended and well-run auction? Before I answer these questions, I want to share a story with you about my very first auction. Back in 1994-95, my daughter was entering kindergarten at a private Catholic School. It was actually the school her father attended. It was steeped in tradition and built around families and community. Great school. Every year the school hosted a silent auction dinner/dance to raise money for reading books for the next academic school year. The auction had been an annual tradition for years and years. Not knowing a thing about fundraising but feeling like I did cause I planned a wedding, LOL, I signed up to be a co-auction chair with my dear friend, Lil. Oh, boy! My co-auction chair and I quickly learned that it was the Church and Schools Jubilee year aka 50 year Anniversary. That meant we were being asked to plan a school reunion fundraiser. The event we thought we’d be planning for 250 parents quickly turned into 800 parents and alums. The good news is we learned we had helpers. Volunteers. They would be assigned to various tasks including solicitation of auction items. Again, thinking cause I planned a wedding before that planning an auction was the same exact thing. Clearly, I had no clue! Our little volunteer committee consisted of 10 volunteers in charge of decor, working the day of the event, working registration, doing solicitation, etc. We had 7 months to plan it. We had a venue. The same place it was hosted in year’s past. Basically, the same dinner and same entertainment, too. What could be so difficult. Well, I quickly learned that an event committee does not there in make an auction committee. NOT THE SAME THING AT ALL! But, little did I know that I had a secret weapon. I had a close friend that signed up to run the sub committee of securing auction items and she was a freakin’ dynamo! She began her efforts almost immediately and every single day she secured gifts ranging from bikes to televisions (remember it was 1994) to restaurant gift certificates, and vacation homes. All these items were being stored in my den so I saw the fruits of her labor on a weekly basis. How the heck did she know what to do? Great question! Well, her father was a politician so she got schooled at a young age on what it meant to truly fundraise! And, I watched her in complete awe and learned so much from her. I am proud to say because of her or mostly because of her and her team we raised $300K that year. Here’s the thing, a well-run auction can be a wonderful thing IF you know what’s involved. IF you have a plan. IF you have an auction committee doing the work. Tune in to hear my thoughts and learn from my experiences on how to host a successful auction! I’ve proudly raised $1.8M in one night and it was at a high school. I’ve learned a few things so join me to learn more…. Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Before I provide you with my thoughts on which is best in regards to development associate or event planner, let me introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Look, I completely understand how challenging and time consuming it is to plan events. I also know how important it is to have customer service, donor-centric minded staff. I also know come event time, you don’t want to be in the office printing out name tags or managing the attendee list. I also know how tight it can be working for a nonprofit and if you’re only allowed a certain headcount due to budget constraints which do you choose to hire? A development associate OR an event planner? Speaking of event planning, you’ve got to pick up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraising event. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. So back to the question at hand. To be honest, I’ve been arguing with myself the entire time I’ve been writing these shownotes. I can make a good argument for either case but I have a story to tell you about why I think you need to go with the position that encompasses some strong qualities that I’ll list in a moment and that’s the qualities of an event planner. OMG, I can’t believe I just said that…… I’m part of a nonprofit facebook group and this question got asked a couple of weeks ago. I think I even said to hire the “development associate” and NOT “the event coordinator.” Look at me now. As I began to write down the qualities of an event planner, one quality stood out. But first, let me tell you the story of my development associate. She got hired by someone else so I inherited her. She was a wonderful coordinator but not exactly a development coordinator and not exactly an event coordinator. What I needed her to be was a donor engagement coordinator aka event planner with special skills. LOL. Reasons to hire an event planner….and call him/her a donor engagement coordinator Strong attention to detail They care about appearances, beautification. Why does this matter? They will make sure the event looks stellar for donors. They have great pride in their work. This means they will also take great pride in the donor’s journey and not just at the event. They will have the desire to create an experience, a special one. When everyone else is dragging their feet around event time, they are high as a kite. You need this type of energy as the event draws closer. They are outgoing. This type of work requires you to interact in a professional manner. What does this mean, next point…. They have excellent customer service skills AKA donor relation skills. They are organized. A planner must create production timelines to track every detail of an event. How does this translate? They will track your donors giving. They get it!!! They understand spreadsheets, tracking data, tracking production! Last bonus tip, you can use this as a list to guide you in hiring your next development coordinator but I highly recommend you call them a Donor Engagement Associate or Coordinator. And, that you are clear that the role requires them to love events, love customer service, love planning, and love donor relations aka people lovers! If you do, you will have a winner of an employee! Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
Before I provide you with some tips for how to highlight all the wonderful things your organization is doing, allow me to introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Hosting an annual fundraising event at the same “Bat time” at the same “Bat place” can definitely cause donor and board fatigue. Right! You might be on year five of the event and perhaps attendance is going down? Or, you just don’t see the spark in your guests when you ask them “Hey, are you coming again this year?” They reply, “Maybe???” Your staff might be a little bored, too. Before I get into how to make your programs and services a integral part of your event, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. My FREE checklist will definitely help to create a pipeline of new funding so check it out. Speaking of which, your annual fundraiser likely provides some decent funding to your annual campaign. But, year after year, staff and donors and even the board can grow a little tired of the same thing. Does this mean you should change the venue and change the theme. Not necessarily. I’m going to give you a few reasons that warrant you changing the venue and the theme AND give you a few reasons you need to stay put! But first, I want to share a story with you about how an annual golf tournament hosted at the same time and same place worked for over 20 years and is still going strong to this day. While working at Stanford University, Athletic Development, I helped to organize an annual golf tournament called, The Shultz Cup.” The tournament was aimed at raising money for the Men and Women’s Golf program. A Golf Tournament is a perfect example of a theme you really can’t change. This was the daily agenda for the golf tournament: 1). Checkin 2). Meet and mingle with guests 3). Lunch 4). Pledge of Allegiance 5). Tee Off 6). Cocktail Reception 7). Welcome and State of the Union by George Schultz 8). Dinner and dessert 9). End Approximately 100 golfers every year. Same men and women. Actually, over the years, more and more women participated. That was nice to see. This event wasn’t broken. No need to change it at all. It worked. No one complained. Everyone looked forward to attending. The ONLY thing that changed each year was the giveaway and the State of the Union Speech by former Secretary of State, George Shultz. That’s it. Oh, and we switched back and forth from chicken to beef year after year! LOL! Now, here is an example of an event we decided to change up. We hosted an event at a venue that had a capacity of 225 headcount. We hosted a VIP cocktail reception followed by a cooking class with a celebrity chef followed by standing dinner and live auction. It was a huge success. So much so that we sold out every year and basically, outgrew the venue. Good problem to have but we had to make a decision to find a new venue. We did this because we believed we were leaving money on the table. It was also a challenge to find a celebrity chef year after year. We ended up moving forward with a different space. We were super nervous but it ended up being the right move. When we made the move, we elected to introduce a new them as well. Reasons to Change it Up: Capacity issue - you outgrow the venue. You see a drastic drop in attendance two years in a row. You see a drastic drop in funds being raised two years in a row. You break even year after year. You do an evaluation of expenses and realize it’s cheaper to go with a different venue and this change allows you the opportunity to possibly change up the theme, too. This also allows you to announce to your supporters that a change in venue and theme will be more dollars raised for the organization! Ok. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Connect On Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com
Before I provide you with some tips for how to highlight all the wonderful things your organization is doing, allow me to introduce myself! Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Link to Join Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Like I said, are you having a tough time figuring out how to make your programs and services a part of your annual fundraising event? When you host your fundraiser, are you scrambling to include them last minute? Is it an afterthought? Does your program staff even want to participate in the event cause they just don’t know what to do once they’re there? Are you too busy trying to sell silent and live auction items that you don’t allocate an appropriate amount of time to make sure your guests walk away knowing exactly what your programs and services are all about? Before I get into how to make your programs and services a integral part of your event, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be provided below. My FREE checklist is about hosting mini events so check it out. Now, what I really want to talk about are some special ways you can highlight all the good work you do, day in and day out! I want to tell you a story. Back in 2013, I interviewed 3 foundations and asked them what made them attend a fundraising event of an organization they supported? What events had they actually attended and what was special about the event? One foundation Executive Director mentioned how every year she would attend an event as she was invited by one of her best girlfriends. She went as a favor. She would have a great time. But, sadly, she couldn’t even tell you what the mission of the organization was or what their core services were. That’s not good! Her biggest tip to me was to make sure I hosted an event where every guest walked away knowing exactly what our programs and services are all about. This advice stuck with me. So, I decided to partner with our Programs team to create a special event. Here’s what we did: We played a game that allowed guests to learn stats and interesting facts about our organization. In fact, we designated an entire room to playing different types of games that were aimed at teaching attendees about our work, We involved senior program leaders in fundraising efforts. I assigned five of them the duty of meeting 3 to 5 guests and asking them very specific questions and sharing details about our programs and services (if appropriate) and then debriefed with said staff to get their answers. I would then enter this data in our CRM. I made my program staff mini spies. Sort of…. We had a youth give a testimonial and talk about going through one of our programs. It was super meaningful!!!! We worked with the youth to create a well thought out speech and had them practice with program staff. It was wonderful and a very proud moment for the youth. It also taught them public speaking skills. Next, we created a program highlights video played to super touching music like “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” You know, that Hawaiian guy’s version. Soooo goood! We also included Fund A Need in our live auction. This was one great way to show our guests the need and the program that would be supported. Volunteer and Board/Supporter Award. I’ve had the opportunity to give both an award to volunteers and an award to a large supporter. For the volunteer award, we had staff nominate volunteers for the award. We created a nomination form and staff could fill it out and nominate their choice volunteer. They had to answer specific questions about why they believed their volunteer should win the award. Staff loved it. Volunteers loved it, too. Nominating a volunteer, I’m not going to lie, is easier than nominating a board member or large supporter. Most board members or large supporters don’t want the recognition. They’re private and want their donations to be private as well. How we got around this is we honored our largest long-term donor. It wasn’t an individual but instead a foundation. This is sometimes easier to do. Giving an award allows you to talk about the reasons the foundation got involved in the organization and this tactic allows you to talk about them and talk about your programs/services. It’s a win-win! Well, that’s the list and to make it easy for you, I’ve numbered the list below. llllllllll Games. A Trivia game allows attendees the opportunity to do something fun and learn about your organization at the same time. Assign Program staff to mingle with 3 to 5 donors and provide staff with 3 to 5 questions to ask the donors they are assigned to. Then, host a debrief and collect the answers and update your donor tracking system or customer relationship management system so when you meet with the donor again, you have some talking points or bits of information about them which deepens the relationships and connection Testimonials: Provide the opportunity for someone who has benefitted from your programs/services to do a short speech about the program they participated in and how it changed their life. Highlight Video: Make a short video or slideshow played to a song that represents your organization nicely. The video and/or slideshow should be highlights of your programs/services in action. It should include volunteers and staff as well. Fund a Need. Include Fund A Need in your live auction. It offers a way to describe what your organization does and associates it with a need! Volunteer Service Award for work in Programs and Services Donor or Board Member Award: Someone who has generously donated year after year in time and service and financial support. As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Connect On Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com
I know that trying to come up with different ways to create a new revenue stream can be challenging. And, I also know that adding an additional fundraising event to your already busy schedule can make you lose sleep at night and have you chewing off your fingernails. But, I have 5 important key points for your to consider before you secure the venue for a second event. Before I get into the reasons, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be in this post! So back to the issue at hand. Should you ramp up for a second fundraiser? Here are the five key points to help you decide if you and your organization are indeed ready for this challenge. I encourage you to watch the video as I provide more details and stories to help you in your decision making! There’s a Hole in Your Fiscal Year (FY)? What does that mean? It means that you might do a lot of activities the first part of the FY to help raise annual dollars but you can see that there is not a whole lot going on the second half of the year. So the organization actually has the time in the calendar to add an event. You’ve successfully hosted an annual event for at least 5 years and that event is a “well-oiled machine.” The means you have experience running a revenue-generating event. You have the bandwidth staff-wise. This means you and your staff can fit this into your daily schedule without feeling like you want to pull your hair out!!! You need to cast a wide net to recruit more volunteers and donors. You need to spread the word about your organization. You need to create a pipeline of new funding. You have secured grants, both foundation and government, you have a fairly decent individual giving campaign but you need to enhance it. This is one of the best ways to do so, in my opinion. Lastly, I give you a bonus reason to justify hosting a second event but you’re going to need to watch the video to hear it! FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Connect On Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! LINK TO FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/
Before I get into telling you about what happened when I hosted my very first online auction, I would like to introduce myself. I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! LINK TO FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ It’s hard enough hosting a silent auction much less entertaining the thought of hosting an online one. Modern technology has allowed us to move our ways of doing business online. It’s wonderful but it’s also more work to consider. Are you leaving money on the table if you don’t host an online auction in addition to your onsite silent auction? Before I get into this online auction thing, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be in this post! Ok, now back to whether or not you should host an online auction. Well, that’s a great question. I personally have hosted an online silent auction AND I also previewed my silent auction items online but didn’t sell them online. I know, I know kind of confusing but let me explain. First, I dabbled in previewing all my silent auction items online and this gave donors/supporters the chance to get a sneak peek at the items we would be offering onsite. It wasn’t much work at all due to the fact that we took photos of every item that would be hosted in our silent auction and we did this regardless of the online auction. This was something we had to do anyway. We also had to write a blurb about each auction item donated so we basically posted the same descriptions and used the same images online that we ended up printing out and placing ONSITE at the event. I do hope this makes sense. Basically, it wasn’t a whole lot of extra work! Bottom line, so worth it. Tips: Photos taken for online auction can be repurposed and used for your signage at the onsite silent auction and same goes for the blurb you use online. Use that same copy when you do your description of the item for the onsite silent auction. Hosting an online auction (preview only) is a great way to market your items and give extra advertising to those who donated the items. It’s a great incentive. I was blessed with having the most amazing four auction chairs. They truly wanted to leave their mark on the event. They brainstormed and masterminded hosting an online auction for the very first time. This would be in addition to the silent and live auction hosted at the event. That means the organization offered 3 auctions. YIKES! The live auction typically generated $800k to $1M, the silent auction generated roughly $300-$500K. Fund a Need and Underwriting $300-$500k. Me and the auction chairs had no idea what the online auction would generate in revenue. But here are the reasons we decided to host one and some of the decisions we made about the online auction: Not everyone goes to the auction dinner so this gave all supporters the opportunity to participate in an auction and support the event! We allowed our board and key supporters to go beyond the organization’s list of supporters to market the online auction and offer new people the opportunity to bid What we offered at the online auction was NOT offered at the onsite event We hosted the online auction for only 7 days and closed it promptly the Sunday before the event We used the online auction to host the smaller donated items such as gift certificates, or services donated, etc. We reserved our bigger ticketed items for the onsite event We offered one to two big ticket items for online auction only So big question, how much did we raise? We raised $130k. Not bad but not as good as the onsite silent and live auction. Was it worth it? Well, I can tell you the organization is NOT doing an online auction anymore. Does this mean you shouldn’t? Absolutely not! But I will say that you should NOT host an online and silent auction at the same time if you’ve never hosted an auction before. And, if you’ve never hosted an auction before I say start with an online auction and consider these tips. Start small. It’s not that hard. I promise! And there is such great auction platforms out there like BiddingOwl that make it easy and affordable Yes, you do have to pay a hosting and transaction fee for hosting an online auction Another benefit of hosting an online auction is it doesn’t take up space at your live event Whatever you don’t sell online you can always bring onsite and give folks another opportunity to bid Finally, hosting an online auction is just another pipeline of revenue you use to help you reach your annual fundraising goals and get your guests more involved and offer them another way to give to your organization! It can be excited and fun if done right! As I mentioned earlier here’s my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser? Click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easy to implement! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Connect On Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com
I have often been asked how important it is to host an event every year in the same month, in the same venue and using the same theme. I’m sure you have grappled over this decision every year. You fear your event will grow stagnant, boring, and you’ll likely lose the interest of your supporters leading to low attendance and low revenue. I have often been asked how important it is to host an event every year in the same month, in the same venue and using the same theme. I’m sure you have grappled over this decision every year. You fear your event will grow stagnant, boring, and you’ll likely lose the interest of your supporters leading to low attendance and low revenue. Before I get into the reasons, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, click the link here: https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ Now back to the question at hand. Should you host an event every year at the “Same Bat Time, Same Bat Place, Same Bat Theme?” Does it cause your supporters to take the event for granted because if they miss it one year they can attend the next year and NOT skip a beat. Do your corporate sponsors stop sponsoring after a few years due to the event being same theme year after year after year and they are afraid their marketing efforts and corporate sponsorship marketing doesn’t provide as much allure to guests as it did in year 1 or 2 or even 3 but now that you are in year five, your corporate sponsor has decided to pass on sponsoring the event. Here are 10 important reasons to host your ANNUAL event the same time every year, at the same location, and utilize the same theme. Don't forget to check out my blog for my script notes and more! https://www.raisingwithlisaclark.com/blog/episode-7-annual-fundraiser-same-month-same-venue-same-theme-yes I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ Connect On Social Media Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithclark Check Out My Website: http://risingwithlisaclark.com
Before I get into the reasons, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. Click here: https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/ So, maybe your organization has been tossing around the idea of having a fundraising event. But, you feel having an event, randomly, doesn’t make a lot of sense. You feel like there should be a good reason, something that will entice donors to attend. You worry your organization might not be ready. You wonder how you know when a good time will be? Well, I have three solid reasons to host an event and that includes knowing if you’re ready to have one! First, we all know the goodwill it brings. I don’t know too many people who attend a nonprofit fundraising event that walk away saying they had a terrible time. If done right, your guests should walk away feeling connected, and be feeling somewhat spiritual and inspired. A second reason is a fundraising event helps you build awareness about your organization. It’s almost the sole purpose. Lastly, it helps you raise funds. Ok, but when is the right time to host one or when do you know your organization is ready? But, here are three even more important reasons: Reason #1: It’s your organizations 10 Year Anniversary. If so, this a great time to reflect back on the past, the present and the future of your organization. Look at us now! It’s also a good time to acknowledge your oldest supporters from the onset so honoring a key donor goes hand in hand with the anniversary and celebration! Reason #2: You have the funding to support it and would be OK if you didn’t make any money your first time doing it. And if you lost money it wouldn’t impact the organization too much and create a huge burden. While I’ve never seen that happen, I just want you to consider that point. Reason #3: You need to find a new funding stream to fund your annual campaign. You need to diversify as much as you can for whatever reason: losing a huge grant, need to build a pipeline of new donors, need to launch a new program or service. For full details be sure to watch the video - I give a bonus reason!!! There's also a highlight video available on Youtube. Click here to watch: https://youtu.be/MBpunyWlaqs Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raisingwithlisaclark Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/raisingwithlisaclark Check Out My Website: http://raisingwithlisaclark.com I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! Join My Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/11214...
Hi! I'm Lisa Clark and I help nonprofits and fundraisers like YOU raise money through events so you can meet your annual revenue goals! I'm also the host of a free Facebook Group, Raising with Lisa Clark, a free group for fundraisers, NPOs, development team members, volunteers, and supporters. I included a link below so you can request to join right away! LINK TO FACEBOOK GROUP https://www.facebook.com/groups/112148672944584/ So have you ever created a revenue stream that didn’t work out? What did you do? Did you abandon it? Crawl in a hole? Well, you’re not alone. I’m going to tell you a story about how I royally screwed up Fund A Need. Listen, I can totally relate to trying something and failing! Before I get into the story, I want to make sure you’ve picked up my FREE mini checklist on how to create a pipeline of new donors for your next big fundraiser. If you haven’t already grabbed it, the link will be in this post! Ok, so back to how I messed up! I created an event that was aimed at raising money for the second half of the fiscal year. One of the fundraising activities I did was Fund A Need. Well, it didn't turn out so good. Tune in to learn why! One last thing! If you haven't already received my FREE Checklist on How to Create A Pipeline of New Donors for Your Next Big Fundraiser, click the link to get the instantly downloadable checklist that's easily implementable (is that a word?)! https://risingwithlisaclark.lpages.co/donorchecklist/
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