Greater Giving Updates

Greater Giving has released new features in Event Software Online 5.0. We’re excited to see these changes increase efficiency for our clients and their events this fall! For these updates and more news you can use, check out our July eNews, hot off the press.

Improvements to managing and tracking admissions gives you a detailed, 360° view of each ticket purchase, including multiple tickets, sponsorships, auction purchases, and donations. You will now be able to view, track, and report on multiple tickets purchased by a single supporter and the individual using a ticket purchased by another guest the same way you can view, track, and report on donations, sponsorships, and auction purchases. This improvement helps you to identify “who’s who” at check-in, speeding guests into the auction to start bidding. And it will give you a far more accurate view of your most significant donors’ investment in your event and your mission to help you with your donor and sponsor cultivation efforts.

Easier management and tracking of table guests. Do you sell tables for your gala event via an online registration page? Event Software Online 5.0 makes it easier to for a table host to register individual table guests online. Table hosts can quickly manage their table seating by visiting your event webpages after purchasing the table and adding to or amending contact information for table guests. This improvement makes it much easier at check-in to match guests with the appropriate table (this feature available when using Event Software Online and Online Payments.)

Sponsorship dashboard helps you to better focus on recruiting and retaining sponsors. Event Software Online 5.0’s sponsor dashboard tells you at a glance how your sponsor committee is performing, so you can stay apprised on progress and appropriately motivate sponsor committee members. Easy-to-read gauges track achievement of sponsor revenue goals, number of sponsorships sold by committee member, and sponsor pipeline, plus “Top 5” sponsors, “Top 5” committee members by number of solicited sponsorships, and what’s needed to achieve sponsorship goals.

Easier management of online campaign images. Event Software Online 5.0’s new consolidated image repository lets you use the same image file for all your online fundraising campaigns. Instead of relying on each member of your event team to store and maintain event-related images, Event Software Online 5.0 will store images in a centralized system so that everyone can use an image in multiple online fundraising campaigns without uploading the image every time.

Marketing Your Spring Event Workshop

The holidays may barely be over, but it’s time to start thinking about your spring fundraising events. Join us for a great morning class on how to effectively and creatively market your spring event. Are you maximizing the opportunity to increase awareness and visibility for your organization? Are you selling out to your event? Is everyone in town buzzing about your event? This workshop will cover the best tactics to marketing your event, and all before lunch!

January 19, 2011 (9AM-12PM)
Marketing Your Spring Event
Increase Visibility & Sell More Tickets
at Planned Parenthood, 3727 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

We will cover:
• Getting creative on a tight marketing budget
• Guerilla marketing
• Social networking
• Press & Media
• Web tools
• Invites, posters, and other collateral

Space is limited, so register today

Pledge Based Events

Does the thought of doing all the work for a big event overwhelm you? Why not engage your most passionate supporters to help do some of the heaving lifting for you!

Pledge based events—a more traditional walk or any kind of ‘a-thon’ like bowling or jump roping or running laps—are fabulous ways to help bring others into the fundraising circle for your organization. Pledge based events allow you to directly connect to your constituents and supporters, and to take their enthusiasm for your organization and turn it into money. You can engage a large group to go out into the community and raise money on your behalf. One person can only do so much, but imagine mobilizing your own little fundraising army! And it’s amazing how those amounts, small and large, brought in by a broad base really add up. By signing up to be a participant in your event, people already know they will be raising money for you. No hard sell needed for them, and then they will go out and tell their personal story to engage even more people, spread the word about your good work, and raise much needed funds.

Pledge based events can be a great addition to your fundraising event roster. The sky’s the limit for what type of event you can have, and it can be a really great way to tailor something to exactly fit what your supporters most enjoy and are excited about.

If you’d like to learn more, join us at our next workshop:

December 9 (9AM-12PM)
Pledge Based Events
Raising Money with a Walk, Run, or Ride
at Planned Parenthood, 3727 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd.

Pledge based events engage others to raise funds for your cause. We will:
• Learn the tools needed to raise money with a pledge based event
• Identify your prospects
• Develop a communications plan
• And begin planning your pledge based fundraiser

Space is limited, so register today!

Early Bird Registration for Fundraising Conference

WVDO Regional Fundraising Conference, May 20-21, 2010

Don't miss out! Early bird deadline: April 2, 2010. Register at: www.wvdo2010.org

Two full days of workshops, keynote speakers and the 17th Crystal Awards recognizing excellence in development.

Keynote Speakers: Eric Utne, The Utne Reader Flo Green, IdeaEncore.org and nonprofit sustainability Madeline Stanionis, Watershed Corp., social media guru

Local Speakers: George Thorn, Jim Lewis, Ellen Bussing, Andy Nelson, Jim Lillis, Helen Kennedy

Meet the Funders with Grantmakers of OR and SW Washington: The Autzen Foundation, Bank of America, The Community Foundation for Southwest Washington, Meyer Memorial Trust, The James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, THE OREGON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, The Standard, U.S. Bank, United Way of the Columbia-Willamette, Social Venture Partners Portland, The Jackson Foundation, Wessinger Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Pacific Corp, Safeco Insurance Foundation and more reservations coming in daily.

Fantastic exhibitors for nonprofits: eTapestry, Target Analytics, NOZA, DonorSearch, MatchMaker Fundraising, Emma.com, Cricket, WaveOne and Samantha Swaim Fundraising, LLC.

Event Sponsors: Bank of the Cascades, Spirit Mountain Community Fund, Safeco Insurance, The Standard, Blackbaud, Wheeler Foundation, US Bank, Bank of America, Phillips & Co., Kinsman Foundation, University of Portland, Pacific University, University of Oregon, The Collins Group, NW Natural

Register at: www.wvdo2010.org Event hosted by Willamette Valley Development Officers (WVDO). Questions: admin@wvdo-or.org or 503-274-1977.

Should we sell art in our auction?

One of the biggest components of putting together a silent or live auction is the acquisition of your auction items. We often get asked about the use of art in auctions. Before we answer that, we always want to know about the audience, because matching your auction to your audience is the key to fundraising.


Art—paintings, sculpture, statues—is one of those commodities whose value can be quite subjective. Unless you are specifically cultivating an art collecting audience, and catering to an art savvy crowd, the odds are slim that you will make what the art is worth on the auction block. Quickly, a $1,200 painting can stall out at $300, and if the artist is in the room it can be a hard moment for everyone. Artwork can bring in great returns, but only when it gets the showcasing it deserves in front of an audience that clearly understands its value.


A great way to incorporate smaller level artistic donors and appealing auction items is to heavily solicit smaller ticket items from the world of crafts. Often these can come from folks already affiliated with your organization. There’s a fantastic market in silent auctions for knit items, jewelry, stationary, purses, quilts, and more. It’s a great way to have items that are unique to auction, allowing your patrons to have a one-of-a-kind takeaway that encourages them to return the next year because they know they can see things they can’t buy somewhere else.

Reaching Your Goal in Little Steps

As seen in the current fundraising efforts for Haiti relief the power of many can have a huge impact. Small gifts collected by millions of people have raised millions of dollars in a very short window of time.

This is the benefit of quick communication around a single goal in a specific time frame. And it’s something that any organization can utilize to reach their fundraising goals.

Case Study:
Sonnet Repertory Theatre Company in New York
Summer of 2009

In the development of a new work, Sonnet Repertory Theatre Company needed to raise $10,000 for workshop costs and needed to raise it quickly. Once the budget was set and the goal was clear, an online campaign was launched. Utilizing the theatre company’s fan base, the artists fan base, and the online tools of Twitter and Facebook over 2,500 people were reached at one time with the solicitation to donate $10 and to pass the request on to 10 friends.

Quickly they wove a web of communication with hundreds of friends and fans acting as champions for their cause. The word was out and $10 donations helped them reach their goal in little steps.

Keys of Success:
Some of the keys to success for an online fundraising campaign…

#1 – Set a specific goal in a specific timeline and communicate this to your audience. If people understand your fundraising needs they are more likely to give.

#2 – Use an online tool to collect donations such as Justgive.org.
You want to make it very easy for folks to be able to give with a simple “Donate Now”.

#3 – Report back to your donors about where you are in relation to your goal. Once they have made a gift, they are interested in your work.

#4 – Set a low dollar request so it is easy for everyone to support you at that level. Then do the math for your donor and explain how many gifts you need, so they help you reach your goal.

#5 – Use the same online tools “Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Linked In” to recognize your donors regularly.

#6 – Don’t just ask once. Develop a strategic plan for 3-4 solicitations. The first is the big ask. The second is a recognition and thank you to those who have participated with an update toward your goal. The third is a “final push” solicitation. The fourth is right up against your deadline with an update, a thank you, and a final ask.

#7 – Get the buy in of your key players. As someone involved in the project ask every member to spread the word, "share" to their base, post updates when they have made a gift or received a gift. Keep everyone talking about it so folks feel the excitement to join in.

Seeking Pledges? $500 in 10 Days

How to Raise $500 in 10 Days


Day 1 Put in your own $25 contribution $25
Day 2 Ask 2 merchants to donate $25 each $75
Day 3 Ask 4 family members for $25 each $175
Day 4 Ask 3 friends to donate $25 each $250
Day 5 Ask 2 teachers for $25 each $300
Day 6 Ask 5 co-workers for $10 each $350
Day 7 Ask 5 neighbors for $10 each $400
Day 8 Ask your supervisor for $25 $425
Day 9 Ask another 5 friends for $10 each $475
Day 10 Ask your significant other for $25 $500

Auction Procurement Worksheet

Auction procurement can be as easy as a few phone calls to good friends. Cut out the cold calls and identify key targets.

Think about the following questions with the following people in mind:

1. Do I know someone who owns their own business and can donate a service or a gift certificate? Restaurant, retail store, cleaning service, garden landscape, legal advise, spa or massage services, yoga instructor, etc?

People I can contact for these:
Friend: _________________________________________________
Family Member: _________________________________________
Business Colleague: ______________________________________

2. Do I know someone who travels a lot or works in the travel industry that can donate air miles, hotel stays, or travel services?

People I can contact for these:
Friend: _________________________________________________
Family Member: _________________________________________
Business Colleague: ______________________________________

3. Do I know someone with a vacation home or timeshare willing to donate a stay in their cabin, beach home, vacation rental, timeshare, etc.

People I can contact for these:
Friend: _________________________________________________
Family Member: _________________________________________
Business Colleague: ______________________________________

4. Do I frequent a place of business that would be willing to donate a gift certificate? Favorite restaurant, hair salon, spa, grocery store, boutique, café, tea or coffeehouse?

People I can contact for these:
Friend: _________________________________________________
Family Member: _________________________________________
Business Colleague: ______________________________________

5. What can you donate to the auction? Are you a service provider? Are you an artist? Do you have a collection of wine you can donate from?

You got them to the event, now how to you engage them?

Increasing Funds at an Event:

1. In tight economic times you may see less money coming in from corporate sponsorships and single ticket sales. People at both ends of the spectrum are getting a little more cautious in their spending, but we are not seeing a drop in table hosts yet. Identify key leaders in the community and ask them to commit early to being a table host. The earlier people are talking about it the better.

2. Get people to turn out. Make sure you are talking about the event long in advance of the event. The more people hear about it, the more likely they are to show up. Cross-promote with key partners in the community.

3. Identify key relationships in the community that can become coalition partners. Ask them to support your event and bring like-minded donors and in turn you support their event. It becomes a win-win for everyone.

4. Don't let the economy effect your special appeal giving. Creating compelling challenges and solicitations are very important. Identify your key speaker early and then train them, prep them, and educate them about their role at the event. Use a video if possible and identify a strong compelling message. Turn to granting organizations and major donors to identify challenge gifts.

5. Silent auctions are all the rage. Increase your procurement efforts to have a really compelling and exciting silent auction. Think about folks who like to shop and give at the same time, it becomes a really easy way to increase your revenue at the event.

Raising Money in a Soft Economy

Engaging Donors and Sponsors:

1. Person-to-person contact is becoming more important than ever. People give to other people, not to organizations. The value of “face time” can be the difference between a yes and a no.

2. Identify a key contact for individual outreach and set up coffee meetings, lunch meetings, and small gatherings to discuss the organization, the mission, and the current fundraising effort.

3. Let it be known that you are fundraising. If people don’t know that you need to raise money, they will not give. Donors are getting a little tighter on their giving and are investing their resources where they think it will make the biggest impact. If they don’t think you need it in order to sustain, they won’t give.

4. Donors are increasing direct service giving. In a down economy the work of direct service organizations becomes very important. Take the time to educate your donors about how you are a part of the solution.