Timing is everything: Why putting your fundraising last is losing you donations
I heard a dangerous, and potentially costly, phrase the other day:
“That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
Just because that’s the way you’ve always done something does not mean that’s the way you always have to do it.
Allow me to share an example. Recently I met with a client and we were reviewing the timeline for their event. Most organizations have four traditional components in their fundraising events: silent auction, live auction, formal program and entertainment.
During this conversation my client told me they always end their event with the live auction. I asked her the reasoning for this decision and her response was…you guessed it, “That’s the way we’ve always done it.”
Here are five reasons why you should not put your live auction last:
1. People are not sitting: The best possible live auction results are when you have people’s undivided attention. Getting this at an event is almost impossible. People are networking, socializing, drinking, you get the point. But, if you hold your live auction at the start of your meal, people are forced to sit while they eat. They are also chewing. What this means is they are stationary and quiet. Double bonus for a successful live auction.
2. People are not with the person they came with: The demographic breakdown of most events will be married couples or couples in a committed relationship. These couples often have an established amount of money they can spend without the other’s two-cents. If they are separated, their bidding may slow or stop completely. While we can joke about what we do when our spouse isn’t around, our research shows that spending money at a fundraiser isn’t one of them.
3. People don’t feel they have to stay: People come to fundraising events because they want to give back to your cause. They also come because they want to be seen or out of social obligation. For these reasons, people feel obligated to stay until the program portion of your event is over. If you hold this first, people feel more open to leave after the meal is over and the program is complete, even if that means before your live auction.
4. People have had a little too much fun: You want your guests to have fun but there is such thing as too much fun. Most organizations serve alcohol during their event and as we all know, some people get more enthusiastic about situations while drinking. You do not want people to regret a purchase they made or worse, try to back out of paying for it.
5. People are tired: Many events are five hours in length. If you wait until the fourth hour, people have had their attention spans pushed, food has been put in their stomachs and they have had a few drinks. All of these factors create tired people. Tired people want to go home and lose interest in what is going on around them.
Creating an effective timeline is an important step in your event and will impact your revenue. If you always hold your live auction last, consider mixing things up. Innovation and life changing ideas are not born within four walls of the traditional box.