Can you sell tickets to your virtual gala? Can you charge people to attend a virtual fundraiser? Will they come? ===================== When virtual galas started in March 2020, they were an emergency response to shelter-in-place lock downs. Those even…
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On June 4 The Chronicle of Philanthropy published Michael Theis’ article, “Trust in Nonprofits Rises as Confidence in Government Covid Response Slides.” Two of the survey results shared are of interest to those working with auction ga…
Continue readingIt’s been about one month since COVID-19 checked into the gala scene and prompted a wave of cancellations and reschedules. In that short period of time, the ingenuity of our industry has been on full display. Virtual gala fundraisers are mutati…
Continue readingMore likely than not, you’re reading this from the comfort of your own home. We are, as my friend Amy said, on forced sabbatical. It’s not our ideal sabbatical, but here we are. During this imposed break, I’ve been following the journ…
Continue readingI was going to share some thoughts about school class art projects today. But that was before one of my Kansas City readers asked a question about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). “I’m curious,” she wrote, “if you have …
Continue readingIn one fell swoop, some long-time Gala Co-chairs “recruited” a new auction committee *and* announced they’d no longer be overseeing the school auction.
Continue readingWhat you deem “normal” for your school auction depends on where you live. Here are three short stories about school auctions you might find unusual.
Continue readingIn my last blog post, I reflected on some of the more creative auction themes I saw in 2019. Today, let’s look ahead and consider a few trends I’m seeing in fundraising auctions. Auction Trend #1: Three popular auction themes In 2020, I ex…
Continue readingOf the ~70 galas I worked in in 2019, these were fundraising events of 2019 which I thought had the best auction themes.
Continue readingGenerally speaking, I’m not a fan of comparing the numbers of your benefit auction to other events. Results vary by region, guest capacity, the cause, the type of event, and other factors. Furthermore, unless you are able to see all of the data …
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