Maximize the Potential of Your Greater Giving Database

Photo by Antonio Harris

Accurate data management is crucial to a successful fundraising event. From entering auction item donations to sponsors and guests lists, being thorough and detail-oriented ensures that your database is up-to-date and correct. The result of this hard work is a night-of execution of your event that is fast and easy for both guests and volunteers.

If you use Greater Giving as your event database, then you're already headed in the right direction. Their software is designed to organize and execute non-profit events. Here are some Greater Giving tips and best practices to help you manage your data and reach your goal or beyond on event night:

1. Every item donation needs a description, restriction, location and value. You need to track what exactly is being donated to you and any restrictions on the item or redeeming it, as they can affect who bids on it and for how much. Knowing the physical location of your auction items is important so everything makes it to the venue on event night. Make sure to adjust the location information as items arrive at your office so you don't try and arrange pick-up of an item you already have. The item's value is used to calculate minimum bid, bid increments and guaranteed purchase. Also, any amount paid over the value of the item is deductible on the winning bidder's taxes.

2. For gift certificates, be sure to also track if it's Donor Provided or Software Generated. Donor Provided certificates were given to you by the auction donor, software generated gift certificates need to be printed from Greater Giving. For Software Generated gift certificates, make sure the donor's contact information is printed on it, in case the winning bidder has any questions about certificate redemption.

Photo by Xilia Faye Photography

3. Make sure to allocate an admission to every guest. This can either be a sponsor / hosted admission, one they've purchased themselves or a comp seat. Regardless, every single person that is expected to attend your event needs to have an admission allocated to them. For sponsored / hosted seats, be sure to include the Group Name when allocating an admission to an attendee. Use the GRP-01 Report to check each Group and the Unassigned Bidder listing to make sure you've entered all guest names correctly and assigned them to the appropriate group. Use the "Bidder Notes" section of an individual's Supporter Record to track individual seating requests, such as "seat Tony B with Cheryl M". These notes appear next to the bidder's name on the GRP-01 report. Include as much contact information for each guest as possible. This helps eliminate the possibility of duplicate entries in your database, but also ensures that you can follow-up with guests after your event if you need to.

The more diligent and detailed your are in the management of your data, the stronger your ability to raise funds the night of your event.

We're Hiring

Job Opening: Office & Project Coordinator
Do you want to help change the world?

Do you thrive on details and have the ability to see the big picture at the same time?
Do you want to join a diverse team with its heart set on working hard to help our clients be the best they can be and have fun while we do it? 

We’re looking for someone to be the glue at our event-­‐based philanthropy consulting firm.
The Office & Project Coordinator works directly with both the Operations Director and Event Directors to provide critical support on internal and external projects. This role enables Event Managers to focus on higher-­‐level strategy by creating the deliverables that are essential to our clients’ success. This Coordinator also provides the operational support to help execute internal systems and ensure the constant upkeep and advancement of our home base. 

To do this job effectively, you must be organized and skilled in the task of taking multiple streams of information and distilling it into easy-­‐to-­‐understand tools that our clients can use for practical application. You must be versatile and comfortable with shifting gears between multiple tasks, multiple times over the course of a day. We seek a self-­‐starter that is comfortable jumping in to do what’s needed. We want your organizational skills to simplify and advance the work we do. You will be the constant at the office for our clients, vendors and others to communicate with. You will organize workflow to support project management. You will be the glue. 

Key Responsibilities

• Strong administrative skills are essential: internal organization, notes, phone, scheduling, booking travel, errands, communications.
  
• Utilize systems to facilitate workflow for both us and our clients, this includes but is not limited to: My Emma, Blogger, Greater Giving, Eventbrite, Basecamp, Dropbox, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, iMovie.
  
• Work directly with Event Directors to provide client project support in the form of deliverables: timelines, workplans, invites, scripts, slide shows, programs.
  
• Provide onsite event support to Event Directors.
  
• Help execute internal marketing plans and provide initial drafts of communications
  and materials.
  
• Help develop drafts of education materials for our classes and trainings.
  
• Manage conference opportunities and applications.
  
• Maintain internal databases and resources. 
  
  
  
  • Research trends in philanthropy, technology, donor cultivation, events and help integrate these into client offerings and workflow.
    
  • Manage RFP process including non-­‐profit, government, education and others.
    
  • Other duties as assigned. 
    
    Skills & Qualifications
    

  • 4-­‐year college degree with a minimum 5 years work experience required.
    
  • Must be highly organized and detail oriented, possess strong written and oral
    communication skills, and be proficient in Excel, Word and PowerPoint. Experience
    with event software, such as Greater Giving, a plus.
    
  • Ability to write in a multitude of styles as dictated by the communication channel
    and in a variety of voices as necessitated by the audience. Professional social media
    strategy a plus.
    
  • The ideal candidate will be a self-­‐starter who enjoys taking on new challenges to
    expand his/her role and is constantly looking for ways to simplify processes for us
    and our clients to maximize outcomes.
    
  • A strong commitment to client service and quality work product is essential.
    
  • Able to work independently, be self-­‐motivated, self-­‐discipline and dependable with
    excellent teamwork and interpersonal skills.
    
  • Non-­‐profit development and/or event production background required.
    
  • A strong desire to be a part of a fun, close-­‐knit team with its heart set on changing
    the world. 
    
    Compensation
    The position is full time with a $30,000-­‐$33,000 starting salary and benefits, DOE. No relocation package will be included. 
    
    Application Guidelines/Contact:
    Send a resume, detailed cover letter and three professional references to Kristin Steele by Friday, January 4th at noon. Emailed materials preferred to kristin@samanthaswaim.com. For attachments please only use PDF or Microsoft Word format. For mail, send to Samantha Swaim Fundraising, PO Box 17191, Portland, OR 97217. No phone calls, please. 
    
    Company Overview
    Samantha Swaim Fundraising believes that dedicated groups of people can change the world. And we think non-­‐profits are at the center of that change.
    We are a Portland-­‐based fundraising consulting firm specializing in event-­‐based philanthropy. Our clients are predominantly non-­‐profits looking to diversify their income by including events in their strategic development plans. We partner with organizations to identify ways to reduce their workload and increase their fundraising so they can continue their great work.
    
  
  

Communication is Key

An engaged supporter at People You Should Know

Community Action had a record-breaking People You Should Know breakfast last week!

They attracted 325 supporters and raised more than $45,000 at the breakfast.

The twist: the event was free with no cost to attend.

How did they use the 'Raise More Money Model' to ensure success? How did they guarantee turnout and fundraising for an event that no one has paid to attend?

It's not as difficult as you might think. There are two key strategies that Community Action employed that lead to their success:

1. They turned their strongest supporters into Table Hosts.
Your supporters are already your biggest cheerleaders. Tap into their passion, and ask your major donors, board members and volunteers to go one step further by reaching out to their personal networks and filling a table at your event.

People give to people, and in particular, to people they have a relationship with. People showed up and supported Community Action because of who invited them to attend—this level of peer-to-peer accountability really helps drive fundraising to your goal and beyond.

2. They regularly communicated with attendees beforehand.
Whether it was from Community Action or their table host, guests received multiple communications including a printed invite and emails leading up to the event. This reminded them of the important details (time, date, location), but also teased out the pieces of the breakfast that were unique and exciting, such as their speakers and program.

If you regularly communicate with your guests, you make sure they understand both the importance of attending your event and supporting your organization's work.

Jerralynn Ness, Community Action's Executive Director

In the end, Community Action saw such great success because they maximized the potential of their existing relationships while at the same time cultivating new and meaningful ones.

Congratulations on a fantastic event!

Stick With Why

Engaged donors supporting Central City Concern
during their appeal

Congratulations to Central City Concern on another successful Working Our Way Home Luncheon last week! One of the strongest aspects of the program was how they told the story of their organization. They stuck with talking about why they do the work that they do.

Central City Concern has many different programs to help people achieve self-sufficiency. But there are too many to discuss in detail at an event like the luncheon and maintain audience attention.

So they took a different approach and distilled their work into 4 simple—and strategic—talking points: Homelessness, Health Care, Employment and Peer Support.

These 4 points were woven throughout the program, by both speakers and the video they played at the start of the luncheon.

By going back to their why—the heart of what they do—Central City Concern was not only able to hone in on why their work matters, but also connect with their guests about the shared values of self-sufficiency and empowerment that brought them to the luncheon in the first place.

Congratulations again to Central City Concern on a great event! To see a fantastic example of how to speak from a place of why, click on the video above.

Fundraising in the 21st Century

Technology continues to change and improve seemingly at the speed of light. It’s amazing how much of our life is lived on our Smart Phone now. So why not use that as a tool for fundraising in a fun, interactive way?

Click here to see Mobile Cause in action

At the Basic Rights Oregon Ignite event, they used Mobile Cause this year with great success. Other ‘text to give’ programs can be challenging in a fundraising capacity because they go through the cell phone companies and donations are limited to $10 each, half of which goes to the phone company for processing.

at the event. This screen also features the ever-motivational thermometer that meters your event’s fundraising success in real time.

The beauty of this system is three-fold:

1. It minimizes the amount of tracking your organization needs to do for an appeal and provides you all the tools to easily collect your funds—without having to give half away.
2. It maximizes the public recognition for your donors in real time and allows you to leverage the spirit of competition and giving in a room for maximum fundraising return.
3. It allows you to have an ACTIVE appeal at your event—which almost always has a higher return—without the need for an actual auction or bidder paddles.

The successful appeal at Ignite

We often tell clients if they’re doing the same way they did it five years ago there might be something that needs to change. Fundraising is an evolving science and those who grow with it will reap the rewards.

A Well Planned Appeal

A special appeal can make all the difference for your fundraising. However, just asking for money isn’t enough. A well-orchestrated special appeal necessitates thoughtful planning.

Check out all of those bid cards in the air!

This year at their Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner, Urban League knocked their special appeal out of the park. Their big growth was the result of some very specific shifts in four different elements. When thinking about how to structure your appeal, keep the following in mind:

1.     Streamline your program. You want to capitalize on the energy in the room. Breaking up your best fundraising momentum with a 4-song concert will only ensure that you leave money on the table.

2.     Make your ask ACTIVE. This means asking people to stand or raise bid cards as their financial commitment instead of leaving envelopes on the table hoping they get filled out. Remove the barriers to people giving money, allow them to get swept up in the emotion of your appeal and give on the spot.

Special Appeal Speaker Cupid Alexander

3.     Make a dynamic special appeal pitch. If you speaker telling their story is petrified in front of an audience, put them on video. How the story is told is as important as the story itself. If your speaker can connect to the room and reel them in, their connection and willingness to give increases exponentially.

4.     Hire a benefit auctioneer to do the collection for your appeal. Have one specific story you tell, and have that person ask the room for money. But then step aside and let the benefit auctioneer do the work. Again, this makes your appeal ACTIVE and benefit auctioneers are well-versed in selling the ORGANIZATION to the room. They will read the room’s energy and maximize its giving potential.

The results of these shifts can be significant. Urban League got rid of the program elements that detracted from their fundraising. They subbed out envelopes on the table and made their ask active with the help of a benefit auctioneer. The result was an energized moment where the organization and donors became emotionally connected and committed to one another. Congratulations to Urban League and their fantastic (and successful!) Equal Opportunity Day Awards Dinner.

Cultivating an Audience that Cares

It was another fantastic Wild Splendor event for Columbia Land Trust this year. The room was beautiful, the auction items were great and the food was delicious.

But their most essential element?

The right people in the room.

This is a mantra we repeat to our clients over and over as their event looms and it seems like the centerpieces are becoming the most essential element. Centerpieces come and go, but they don't increase your revenue. You can build the most beautiful room on the planet, but if you don't fill it with people who are going to support you, you've put on a good FUNraiser.

However, you haven't necessarily put on an effective FUNDraiser.

What Columbia Land Trust does so well is that they fill their room with some of their most passionate supporters. With guests who are deeply connected to the organization's mission and come prepared to show that support. With guests who are connected to someone else who is passionate about the organization.

They tapped into their network, and their network's networks to cull a crowd interested in their work and open to supporting them by writing checks.

Filled seats, are just that, unless you fill them with guests who are going to participate in the fundraising. It's about having the right people in the room. It's about making an event that will speak to them, engage them and inspire them to give and support you and your great work.

Congratulations Columbia Land Trust on a great event!

Why Peer to Peer Engagement Works

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Jackie Pietka, the top camper fundraiser at the Walk this year

It was another wildly successful Walk, Roll or Stroll for Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp. Started in 2008, this event has been a fun and effective opportunity for MHKC campers, supporters and the community to come together and raise vital funds for this camp for children and adults with disabilities.

MHKC was looking for ways to increase the number of participants and the amount of money raised for the event. And so they decided to go to their most vital resource for all things enthusiastic about camp: Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp campers.

People give to people.

This year they instituted a camp ambassadors program, where campers committed to register for the walk and raise money. Then as an ambassador they would talk to other campers about joining them.

The ambassadors and their families were invited to an early-June kick-off party where pizza and brainstorming were the order of the day. Ambassadors were given a bright orange t-shirt with “Ask me how to join my team” across it. And then they were given the tools and support they needed to sign up walkers.

Those campers wore those shirts all summer. And by empowering them and making them leaders in the campaign to recruit fellow walker fundraisers, MHKC reaped the benefits of their peer-to-peer engagement. The campers had fun (always an MHKC priority!) and got really engaged in the fundraising aspect of the event. They tapped their networks of family, neighbors, church and friends precisely because other people at camp were doing it too.

This program yielded the most money raised at a Walk, Roll or Stroll yet. Walks are a great way to energize an army of fundraisers for your organization, who go out and tap their networks—people you might not otherwise touch—for support. They’re already excited about what you do, give them the tools to go and spread the word.

Storytelling and Special Appeals

 Simon Sinek

WHY IS MT HOOD KIWANIS CAMP


WHY IS MT HOOD KIWANIS CAMP

WHY IS PHAME

WHY IS CENTRAL CITY CONCERN

 

WHY IS WRITE AROUND PORTLAND

WHY IS BASIC RIGHTS OREGON

WHY IS NW FILM CENTER

WHY IS OES

The Success of a Content Rich Program

SOLVE empowers everyday Oregonians to become stewards of their local environment and keep our state beautiful, clean and natural.

They have so many different ways to get involved and they wanted to be sure that was reflected in the program for their Celebrate SOLVE Annual Breakfast last week.

The big question was how to do the breadth of their work justice and have a dynamic program that kept their audience's attention.

What SOLVE did was create a content rich program that was able to reflect the diverse work of their organization, and they did 3 things exceptionally well:

1. They used volunteer voices through their program.
Their volunteers were able to speak eloquently and passionately about why SOLVE matters, and they also provided specific examples to the audience in a compelling and engaging format.

2. The Powerpoint presentation that accompanied their program helped paint pictures and tell stories.
As speakers shared their experiences in nature, images of these locations appeared on screen, connecting the audience on a deeper and more meaningful level.

3. Their Special Appeal speaker got at "the why" of SOLVE.
A junior high school student who works with one of their youth-programs told her story about encountering SOLVE and then feeling empowered to make the world around her a better place.

SOLVE's program arc built off of their audience's growing awareness of the organization's mission, scope and values. They didn't just tell their audience what they do, but also why they do it. In the end, people left more engaged with the work and empowered to do more.

The 2012 Celebrate SOLVE Annual Breakfast Team
Photo by Cal Pearson

And an engaged and empowered audience is the first step for a successful event next year. Hats off to Lara, Michelle, Melisa and the rest of the team at SOLVE for a job well done!

Creative Sponsor Engagement

The Pride Financial Partners logo is visible on the back
of bid cards, a creative way to maximize sponsor benefits.

In a slowly recovering economy, sponsors—just like everyone else—are having to find alternative ways to meet their bottom lines while still giving back. Instead of this being an obstacle, we're seeing a lot of creative solutions between sponsors and non-profits.

When you have a sponsor that wants to step up in creative ways to engage your audience and brainstorm how to cultivate a long-term relationship with your organization, you should jump up and down with joy.

Pride Financial Partners in Portland, Oregon is one such nimble and incredibly generous sponsor. An independent firm focusing on risk management, wealth management, and financial planning, the managing partners have made a significant commitment to being actively involved in the community they call home.

When they sponsored a local non-profit's gala and were offered the traditional logo placement choices, they thought bigger about their potential impact. They asked if they could put their logo on the bid cards if no one else had claimed the space yet. And they'd pay for the printing.

The team at Pride Financial Partners.

The catch?

For every card brought in to engage them in services they'd donate additional money to the non-profit they were sponsoring.

Can you say win / win?

When your sponsors talk to you about what they'd like out of their sponsorship and how they can activate your audience, listen to them. They may have an idea that's never come up before and might be just the ticket to get them on board in a significant way.

To hear more about creating great partnerships with your sponsors, join us for our Advanced Sponsorship Class on June 23.

People Give to People

Photo by Rosemary Ragusa

We are often asked, “What’s the secret to sponsorship?”

There’s one easy answer: talk to your potential sponsors don’t just send them paperwork.

That’s both the bad and the good news in fundraising.

It’s the bad news because you can’t hide behind a great sponsorship proposal that you send far and wide and just wait around for all the yeses to start rolling in.

It’s good because it means that having actual conversations with potential sponsors that you have a connection to will often get you so much further than paperwork.

One resonant conclusion keeps coming out of research done on giving and philanthropy: people give to people.

Think of the times in your life you’ve really been compelled to support an organization. Likely it’s because you heard a personal story that turned your head. Or you know someone who is devoted to and passionate about a cause and they ask you to join in.

Photo by Andie Petkus

Your sponsors are people. Yes, many of them have official channels to process sponsorships and that’s where a great sponsorship proposal packet is the follow up. But the initial contact is so much more fruitful when it starts as a conversation.

So when you are prospecting sponsors, don’t make an abstract wish list. Make a targeted list that you and people in your organization have a connection to in some way. Spending time on this list and cultivating these supporters will prove so much more effective in both the short and the long term for your cause than pursuing the big fish that you have no ‘in’ with.

You are passionate about the organization you work for, bring that energy and spirit to your conversations with potential sponsors. A form letter will get put in a pile. Person to person contact will not only help you cultivate sponsors and get them excited about your cause, it makes your potential sponsors feel included in what you’re doing which helps secure them long term.

For more resources about cultivating sponsors join us for our upcoming Sponsorship Class on May 23.

4 Tips for Successful Silent Auction

Hats off to Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp for their wildly successful Speakeasy Gala and Auction two weekends ago! It was an evening full of many successes, and at the top of that list was their well curated silent auction.

Besides creating a distinct look and feel for the silent auction, Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp employed some basic strategies to achieve that level of curation. Here are 4 easy steps you can take to have the same effect:

1. Look at last year's sales totals: What sold and what didn't? Make sure to include the same items that sold well and take out/do not solicit the items that did not.
   
2. Know your audience: For example, the attendees of the Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp gala bid very competitively on home and garden packages, wine lots and restaurant gift certificates. Solicit donations of what you know people will bid on, and package them together in fun and engaging ways.
3. Set clear criteria for the types of items you are soliciting: restaurant gift certificates, unique experiences, travel, celebrity meet and greets, etc., and make sure your procurement committee sticks to it.
4. Be creative: Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp has a loyal following of Kiwanis clubs that purchase tables every year. They also have a competition in which each club puts together a basket for the silent auction, and the club that created the top selling basket gets a visit from the Camp's Executive Director at their next meeting. These baskets are consistently among the silent auction's best selling items.

By following these clear guidelines, Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp saw their silent auction revenue increase significantly over last year.

As with all other elements of events, the more you tailor your silent auction to your audience, the more fun they'll have, the more engaged they'll be, and ultimately, the more money you will raise.

The Traditional Event Arc

Cocktail Hour

Your guests will arrive at your event in varying states of engagement. Your job is to reel them in. A cocktail hour can allow them to acclimate to your event and leave their daily baggage behind.

This time is also perfect to start getting them to engage with your organization through a silent auction, raffle or wine wall. These activities give guests something to do and start raising your organization money.

Dinner & Start of Program

After this social time, transition guests into the seated dinner and program. A great way to focus them here is to show a “Who We Are and What We Do” video after they are seated. Using a video will help center and focus your room and allow you to educate your audience about your organization.

Live Auction

Dinner is a time when your audience will be relatively quiet and is a great time for the live auction. Order your live auction items by perceived value, each building on the next as a way to build momentum to head into your special appeal. Hire a professional benefit auctioneer, you will make more money as they sell your organization not just the item.

Special Appeal

Your special appeal is your single biggest opportunity to raise money at your event. That is why it needs to be timed at the peak and height of your event’s momentum and your guests’ attention. Your appeal also needs to follow a basic formula about one person on a hero’s journey:

The special appeal has three distinct parts:

· The Story: Your appeal story needs to come from a place of why your organization does the work that it does and not this is who we are and what we do. Simplify.

· The Ask: To engage your audience with a call to action, you must concisely, directly and actively ASK people to give money.

· The Collection: Those who plan for an easy and strategic collection maximize their earning potential. This may be done with bid cards, envelopes, cell phones—but keep it easy and strategic.

Candy

Once your live auction and special appeal are completed, move into the “candy” of your event. This is the perfect time for honorees, awards, or headliner entertainment. Guests will stay around and pay attention, but at a lower level of engagement than they had during your live auction and appeal.

Register for our Elements of Your Event class on April 26 to learn even more about how to structure your event program to raise more money.