Getting to the Heart of the Special Appeal

At the heart of every successful event, is a successful special appeal. And at the heart of every successful special appeal, is a compelling story with characters whom the audience can relate to and care about. Basic Rights Oregon got this spot on when choosing their most recent special appeal film subjects, Paul Rummell and Ben West.

Both Paul and Ben were eloquent speakers who were willing to open up their lives to Basic Rights Oregon in order to help the audience understand how marriage equality would affect their lives in very real and understandable terms. They spoke of building their family and taking care of their child and, also, taking care of each other. They spoke both of their struggle to find acceptance in their extended family and the community that had embraced them fully. They fearlessly shared issues that all families face and other issues that most families will never have to face. All of these things that they shared spoke directly to everyone in the crowd, demonstrating the importance of marriage equality on a small scale so that it could be more easily understood on a grand scale.

In just four short minutes of video, Paul and Ben were able to share an emotionally compelling story that resonated with the audience. They showed the audience members how they could insert themselves directly into their incredible story—by supporting Basic Rights Oregon, the audience would be supporting Paul and Ben. They were able to build an experience for the viewers, transporting them into the story. By choosing just the right people to tell just the right story, every non-profit can improve its fundraising dramatically.

All of the incredible storytelling and honesty in Paul and Ben’s story lead to an exceptionally successful appeal with energy and excitement increasing in the room all the way to the end. And Basic Rights Oregon raised significantly more than they had anticipated, allowing them to fight for families like Paul and Ben.

Thank you to Paul and Ben for sharing your lives with us all. And great job Basic Rights Oregon on another successful Oregonians Against Discrimination Business Leaders Lunch!

Putting the Party in the Party

How can a VIP experience help you raise money? Auction it off!

At the recent Mount Hood Kiwanis Camp Prom gala, the live auction was kicked off by the sale of a VIP table. This ramped up the excitement right off the bat, building momentum that ran into the rest of the live auction.

The VIP table was a front-row table set specially with elegant tableware, centerpiece, and linens. At each of the 10 seats were a VIP gift bag, delicious Dagoba chocolate and a cupcake from Cupcake Jones. The table had an upgraded menu, consisting of a steak and lobster 5-course dinner served by their own dedicated wait staff. It looked like the ultimate party.

The VIP table creates a party within the party.

Dianne Hosford, from Oregon Brand Management, was the icing on the cake. She displayed her extensive knowledge of wine and indelible charm as the table’s private sommelier, serving wine pairings with each of the five courses. The constant action at the VIP table drew attention throughout the evening.

As guests entered the event, the VIP table took center stage, but no one knew who the VIP guests were. As the program began, the attendees learned that they would have the chance to sit at the VIP table, as it was the first live auction up for bid. The winning bidder moved his entire table of 10 up to the VIP table for a party within a party.

The VIP table ended up being the highest selling auction item.  As the table required minimal procurement (just some donated chocolate and cupcakes) from MHKC staff, the cost to benefit ratio was very high. And the excitement that this party within a party created in the room was priceless and undoubtedly helped MHKC to raise significantly more than they had expected.

The VIP table helped to create a fun, celebratory atmosphere for everyone at the dinner. There was a lot of interest at the table throughout the night with the special courses, wait staff, and sommelier. Key bidders were already talking about bidding on it again in 2014. Having a VIP table proved to set an exciting, celebratory tone for the entire night.

Inspiring Your Audience to Join You in the WHY of Your Organization

We spend a lot of time with our clients developing their Special Appeal video. It’s your largest fundraising opportunity on the night of your event. But it’s most effective when you’ve taken time at your event, before the Special Appeal, to educate your audience about who you are and what you believe.

This does not mean standing at the microphone listing all of your many programs. This does not mean talking about your staff. This does not mean patting yourself on the back. It means outlining your organization’s vision of the future and what you are in the business of making happen every day through the work that you do. It means streamlining the story of your work into a narrative that a guest—who has quite possibly come to your event with no idea of your mission—can repeat on the elevator the next day.

It means influencing your audience to align with your commitment to make the world a better place. This work will help them want to give you money later during the Special Appeal.

The Anti-Defamation League has been around for 100 years. They are a civil rights/human relations agency fighting anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defending democratic ideals and protecting civil rights for all. That is the WHAT of their work. They have a ton of educational programs. They have legislative and advocacy programs. Those are the HOWs of their work. But all of that work is driven by a vision. It’s driven by a WHY. And in a one-minute and twenty-second video they communicate that mission in a way that is both impactful and specific.

Imagine A World Without Hate

One minute, twenty seconds. Simple. Beautiful. And quite memorable. That’s what you want your organization to be isn’t it? When you start with WHY, you connect to your audience emotionally and bring them on board. The WHAT and the HOW come in time. You are telling your story to an audience with limited attention spans, make the most of them.

Storytelling and the Special Appeal

Everyone wants to know the key to successful fundraising.  And while that sweet spot has a host of different elements, at its heart is always a well-told story—getting your audience to pay attention and go on a journey with you.

 

The essence of good storytelling is a lot like the essence of the work of many non-profits: the journey of an individual who starts in one place, works through internal and external conflict, and is then delivered to another, better place. For your special appeal your organization is the change agent for that journey.

A successful special appeal is a result of great storytelling.

We have been acting on this storytelling impulse for all of recorded history. Humans felt compelled to draw on the walls of caves. And while it happens through vastly different technology now, it’s pretty much exactly what we’re still doing. Facebook does call them “wall posts,” right?

 

And audiences engage at the hint of a good narrative.

 

Why?

 

As humans, we’re actually hardwired to absorb information via story better than via a litany of facts.

 

Buffer co-founder Leo Widrich says it this way:

 

“It's in fact quite simple. If we listen to a PowerPoint presentation with boring bullet points, a certain part in the brain gets activated. Scientists call this Broca's area and Wernicke's area. Overall, it hits our language processing parts in the brain, where we decode words into meaning. And that's it, nothing else happens.

 

When we are being told a story, things change dramatically. Not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but any other area in our brain that we would use when experiencing the events of the story are too.”

 

That means that, in a way, storytelling actually creates the experience for the listener. They are taken on a journey simply by listening. Your statistics—while great for a lot of things—can’t transport a listener in the same way.

 

So, when you want your potential sponsor, guest, supporter or champion to connect with your organization and your amazing work, don’t throw numbers at them first. Tell them a real story. One with cause and effect. One where there’s a hero on a journey. One where your organization is the change agent creating a better trajectory for their journey.

 

Narrative will engage your audience and connect them to you and your work in a way no spreadsheet or PowerPoint presentation ever will.

 

Getting the Special Appeal Right

A successful special appeal is never an accident.

At Going Places With Ride Connection, the special appeal speaker, Marja, knocked their special appeal out of the park. But this success was only possible with a lot of hard work from many people.

The first thing Ride Connection did impeccably? They found the perfect speaker. Marja was a perfect match for the event’s audience, telling the story of how Ride Connection changed her life. Marja is blind and lives in Salem but many of her medical appointments and errands are in Portland. This lead to her frustration and isolation as resources for these trips seemed non-existent. Enter Ride Connection, who taught her how to utilize mass transit in order to make the travel she depends on happen. The result? The assurance for Marja that she can do anything she wants and the confidence gained from having a life of freedom. She’s used what she’s learned and is now passing it along to everyone in her life.

Marja, the perfect example of a special appeal speaker, tells the story of how Ride Connection has changed her life.

Photo by Lavoie Images

We advocate that our clients use a video, if they can, for their special appeal. It captures people’s attention and allows the organization to very specifically control the timing of the speaker and to keep them on script. But, often, resources can’t be stretched enough to make this sort of line item happen.

So Ride Connection did the next best thing. They worked directly with Marja, helping her write and edit her story. Marja practiced and practiced. The best part? No surprises at the event. Ride Connection knew exactly what was going to be said and when it would be said. And Marja did the best thing possible, she told her amazing story. She didn’t stray from her message. And at the end she actually ASKED for money from the crowd.

Which leads us to another way Ride Connection knocked it out of the park: they made their appeal active. Instead of envelopes lying limp on the table, this year they used a benefit auctioneer and bid cards, collecting their appeal that way. Active, accountable bidding yields more participation.

The result? An amazing growth in the number of donations for their special appeal, helping them hit their highest amount of money ever raised. One person, telling her story of transformation, with the organization presented as the change agent that made it happen. This combined with a tightly scripted, active appeal is a recipe for success.

A big congratulations to Ride Connection!

Checklist for a Brand New Event

The Oregon Social Business Challenge had big
goals and a strategy to launch with a big splash
Photo by Andie Petkus

You want to add a new event into your fundraising program for the year, but you're just not quite sure where to begin.

Our new event checklist gives you all the basics you need to figure out feasibility and hit the ground running planning a fun and successful event for your non-profit.

Here are six steps to keep in mind:
 
1. Set goals that are realistic and attainable.
How much do you want to raise? How much are you willing to spend? How many people do you want in the room, and are there any tangible results from your call to action that you want to achieve?

Figuring out all of these details on the front end gives you something to work toward as you're planning, and a benchmark to measure the event's success after the fact. Set a strategy in place to ensure your success at reaching these goals.
 

Putting a plan in place early can help you build
relationships with potential sponsors like Basic Rights Oregon

2. Develop a fundraising strategy.
Take the amount you want to raise at your event and break it apart into categories like sponsorship, ticket sales, special appeal and auction. Set realistic goals based on other events, experiences or the values of items. Make sure to evenly spread your expected revenue across multiple streams so you can adjust targets and goals if one area comes up short.

Delve even deeper into your goals and break apart sponsorship and special appeal goals by each level, and who you can target for each level. For example, how many $10,000 sponsors and $2,500 special appeal gifts do you want and who are your potential donors? Include a push goal as well, something additional for you and your committee to reach toward once you hit your targeted goal.  
 
3. Establish your needs and timeline.
Set your event date and then work backwards to plan how to get there from today. When writing your plan, remember to focus on the fundraising first, and hold yourself firm to deadlines and goals around securing sponsors, selling tickets and procuring auction items.

Be sure to include important deadlines and milestones for the other aspects of your event in your workplan, like writing your script or deciding your menu. Hold your planning committee accountable to those dates but also remember to be flexible and adjust them if you need to.
 
4. Research and secure your venue.
Venues book up quickly, so as soon as you find a venue that fits your budget and attendance needs, book it before someone else does. Take note of important venue details as you research, like who are the preferred / exclusive caterers and what A/V and rentals are included with the space.
 

Certified benefit auctioneer
Johnna Wells in action
Photo by Jonny Shultz

5. Book your auctioneer and key speakers.
Auctioneers, like venues, book up as far as a year in advance, so you need to get them locked into place early. The best money you can spend is to secure a certified benefit auctioneer.

Key program speakers also have busy schedules that can be difficult to navigate. The earlier you ask them to speak at an event, the less likely they are to have a conflict, and the more time you have to use their name to help promote and build excitement about the event.
 
6. Pull together a committee.
A volunteer planning committee can expand your reach and bring in new resources. They are eager and vocal cheerleaders for your organization, and can use their personal and community connections to help procure auction items, secure sponsorships and sell tickets to the event.