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5 Tips to Ensure a Successful Golf Outing

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With summer quickly approaching, it’s time to start thinking about your organization’s annual golf outing. Summer is a great time to supplement your larger fundraising events, or possibly create a golf outing that becomes your donor’s new favorite way to benefit the cause during the warmer months.

There are many ways to take advantage of a golf outing, but it’s important to make sure you have the ability to maximize its potential. We’re bringing you 5 tips to ensure your next golf outing is a successful one!

Have a flow planned out

Many times, golf outings are day long events. While you only have a few hours to wow your patrons in a charity auction event, impressing your donors at your golf outing is just as important. Not keeping their experience a fantastic one throughout the day can make for a VERY long event. Make sure you have a set schedule that has every moment coordinated with everyone involved to make for an enjoyable day.

Add additional activities

In addition to the golf tournament, you may want to add in additional activities throughout the tournament.  Think about adding in contests for longest drive, longest putt, and drive closest to the pin.  You can even add this in as a different ticket option during registration that allows the golfers to participate in the extra games for a few extra bucks!

  1.  Offer a ticket for dinner only. Be sure to offer a dinner only option for your golf outing.  This can often be overlooked, however, it’s crucial to increase attendance and fundraising opportunities! Offering a dinner only option allows you to include friends or family of the golfers to attend the dinner portion of the evening.
  2. Include an auction.  While the golf outing takes up the majority of the day, it may be beneficial to include an auction during the dinner portion for those that did not participate in the golf outing.  Auctions at a golf outing tend to be a tad smaller than an event based around an auction.  You should be set with 10-25 items up for auction!
  3. Provide merchandise.  Be sure to offer some cause branded merchandise to your golfers for participating. This could also be a great way to showcase your sponsors! Allow your sponsors to offer some merchandise to the participants as well. You could do this for a few bucks or give it out for free!

There are many ways to make sure that your golf outing goes well. Be sure to start your planning early and offer some great options for the golfers, as well as their family or friends!

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3 Ways to Boost Your Event’s Ticket Sales

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Ticket sales are something that every nonprofit struggles with at some point. Whether your event is in its first year,  or your organization just celebrated 50 years of fundraising – everyone starts somewhere. Overcoming this challenge can be one of the most frustrating obstacles you come across when building your event.  Over the years, we’ve found a few things that can help increase ticket sales at your event, so why not give them a shot!

Pricing Tiers

We know this can be a bit overwhelming at first, but hear us out. Why not add a couple ticket options for your ticket sales? You can offer a VIP option at a higher rate – include a free drink or a free raffle ticket, maybe even early access to the event! In addition, you can also add a lower pricing tier. If you’re doing mobile bidding for your auction, maybe someone just wants to bid off-site and can’t make it to your event! You can easily list a ticket for off-site bidding only and sell it at a lower rate.

Group Discounts

This is becoming more and more common! Instead of only selling single tickets, you can group them together. Pairs, foursomes, you name it! We see this done very commonly when selling tickets based on how many seats are at a table.  If you have an 8 person table, consider selling a pack of 8 tickets at a ‘buy 7 and get 1 free’ type of rate. This way your attendance will increase at a faster pace!

Increase prices

While this is usually a last resort, increasing pricing on tickets is something that should still be considered! Let’s break this down. For example, your event last year sold 300 tickets at $100 apiece. If that was the case, you brought in $30,000 in ticket sales.  Let’s say that this year you decide to increase your pricing by 10% and bump your tickets up to $110 apiece and you sell 300 tickets again. That puts you at $33,000 in ticket sales. So a 10% increase, which in this case is only an extra $10 a person just gave you an extra $3,000!

There are so many ways to increase ticket sales for your event, but we figured these were pretty feasible for everyone! Try these methods out at your next fundraising event. Happy fundraising!

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Avoiding a Non-Profit Nightmare

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A well organized and well-executed event can do great things for your organization. It can strengthen your relationship with donors, generate new donors, and raise funds for your cause. However, a disorganized event can have a negative impact on your organization’s reputation.

Here’s some insight into a few common mistakes that are made, and a potential fix to get your non-profit on the right track.

 

Having a Schedule That’s Not Set

While it’s important to be able to be flexible in your schedule if conflicts arise, you should still have a set schedule for your event. This helps to create a positive event experience for all guests, including those donors we love so much!

Having an event that runs too long, or is unorganized will have guests focusing on when they can go home rather than supporting your organization’s cause.

When you create a schedule, make sure you stick to that during the event. This will help with the run of show being as smooth as possible, as well as ensuring the guests are happy! Make sure you plan your event around the main stages for your guests.

 

Picking the Right Event Type for Your Organization

Choosing the right event for your goals is crucial. If you’re just trying to raise a few thousand dollars, this could be accomplished with a 5K or bake sale. If your goal is $20,000, it may serve your organization better to hold a live or silent auction.

Make sure the event type of your choosing is able to accomplish everything you need. You’re holding this event to reach your goals, therefore, you need to ensure that you’re giving your event every opportunity to do so.

 

Get the Word Out

You’re going to be putting a lot of hard work into making this event as successful as possible, so you need to make sure you’re getting the word out about your event.

Social media is a great way to do this – it’s free and it reaches a large audience.

In addition, you should consider save the dates, e-vites, and try to advertise with local businesses.

This can help aid in obtaining sponsors, getting more donors, and increasing the number of attendees.

 

Planning and organizing a successful event can be stressful and very time consuming, and yes, it does take a little bit of money to do. Since you’re investing so much time and money, approach your planning stage with discussing all of your options and make sure you’re paying attention to detail. Consider your event from a sponsor’s perspective. These few tips won’t be all you need, but they’re sure to get you on the right track.

Why Auctions Work

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From fine art auctioned at Christie’s to a pair of second-hand slippers auctioned on Ebay, the truth is that people love the thrill of bidding. Even though in the end, they have to hand over cold, hard cash for a purchase, their psyche is still celebrating because they “won”. Everyone likes to be a winner and that is why auctions are so successful.

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Auctions Today

Today, registered auctioneers report that one-third of the events they host are for charity. That translates to charitable auctions ranking number four in the auction industry today.

Two-thirds of registered auctioneers report that they conduct at least one charity auction on an annual basis.

Bidding Psychology

Interesting things happen when an item is auctioned. More often than not a product sells for a grossly inflated price compared to its actual value. What causes this phenomenon to happen? Economists suggest it is because of the element of competition.

Humans loathe taking risks when it comes to spending their money. However, once another human indicates through a competitive bid that they believe the item has greater value, the other human feels compelled to match and raise the bid. As this matching and raising continues, those survival skills etched into human DNA kick in, motivating a person to stay in the bidding until they win. Winning an event is a proxy to surviving a threat. Auctions are brain-games.

Recipe For Great Auctions

Hallmarks of successful charitable auctions are:

  • Items: Have what donors want as well as interesting, curious and intriguing items that are irresistible.
  • Anticipation: Pre-event marketing should be titillating, with the event promoted far enough in advance to allow interested bidders the opportunity to plan to attend, gather their resources and invite their friends.
  • Sneak Peeks: Without giving too much away, a preview of a few tasty items will seal the deal for those who might have had second thoughts about attending.

Venue With Most Potential

To maximize audience potential, there is no better opportunity than online auctions. With the obvious success of online auction venues like Ebay, there can be no doubt for success for online charity auctions. Creating a stellar event is as easy as six simple steps:

  1. Go live.
  2. Research your audience and deliver the items they want.
  3. Expand your reach with novelty items.
  4. Inspire interest with intriguing introductions about each item.
  5. Price point range should offer items affordable for every donor budget.
  6. Quality images make a difference.

Building An Audience

Without an audience, however, even the most exceptionally prepared online auction will be a flop. Marketing and promotion are a must. Promoting successfully means developing and performing the following:

  • Clear Message: What is the purpose of the fundraiser? How will the donations be used?
  • Organization Introduction: Introduce the non-profit organization behind the fundraiser.
  • Kick-Off: Launch promotion campaign in advance of an auction. 30 days is a typical promotion period.
  • Graduate Intensity: Promotional messages should increase with frequency as the auction date approaches.
  • Versatility: Create several promotional strategies that will appeal to the unique differences of benefactors. Social media promotion, traditional outlets like press releases or radio spots, and formal promotion through local Chamber of Commerce.

Making Auctions Easy

All the necessary details of promoting and hosting a charity auction may seem overwhelming. Some non-profits may lack the right tools to make the auction process go as smoothly as possible.  Mobile bidding software has revolutionized the non-profit sector and made auction events for non-profits a breeze.

Taking your event to the next level and maximizing donations as simple as contacting the correct people and utilizing the right tools. 2017 may be THE year that online charity auctions claim their spot on the non-profit map. This form of fund-raising will grow in popularity not just because it is convenient for everyone involved, but because it retains that competitive element that bidders crave.

Let us help you with your fundraising goals.

Creative School Fundraisers

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Winter break is over! Your kids are back in school. Now you want to help give back to that school and help raise some money. Well, here are some of the most successful school fundraiser ideas that we have come up with to help you on your money-making endeavors:

Raffle: Sell those tickets! Take the time to think of a great prize that everyone would be interested in. Whether this is a draw for cash, a school-related item, or a gift basket.

Bake Sale: This one is fun for everyone! Parents can have the opportunity to bond with their children while baking some goodies and the staff can contribute as well.

Pancake Breakfast: Have the students be a part of a delicious one-day breakfast event. They could sell tickets for food and drinks. This makes all the students come together.

Craft Sale: Let’s get crafty! Not only will this promote parents and children to create some fun crafts but it will let the students’ creativity fly. This could be done individually or as a classroom.

Dance-A-Thon: These are very popular! Take pledges based on how long a student will stay on the 24-hour dance floor. And the most important part? Good music to groove to and plenty of drinks & treats throughout the event.

Not only are these all wonderful fundraiser ideas, but you could turn them into something more and have each one of them be utilizing mobile bidding as well.

Bid Early; Every Bid Counts! | WEDO Charity Auctions

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Bid early; Every bid counts! WEDO makes it easy for your nonprofit to raise money. What’s better than bidding on the day of the event? How about opening the bidding portion up EARLY to get ahead of the curve. By opening up your bidding early for your fundraiser, you are able to get in front of your donors before the day of the event and collect any donations.

Make it a part of your day; get a head start! Before the event even begins, with the click of a button, you could sit back and relax on your couch while watching the big game AND bidding for your favorite charity or cause. You can use your smartphone or even an iPad! WEDO Charity Auctions makes mobile bidding simple. What a great & easy way to help raise additional funds!

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New Years Resolutions; Nonprofit Style

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Pop the champagne and write down your reso’s. 2015 is coming to a close, which means it’s a great time for your nonprofit to re-evaluate your year and start planning some goals for 2k16.

Every business (nonprofit or not) needs resolutions, so don’t feel silly for doing so. You’ll be ahead of the curve. Of course, being realistic about those goals is important too. It’s wonderful to aim high, but don’t aim TOO high where you know you will not be able to accomplish anything, but rather, set goals that are more obtainable for your organization.

  1. Bring on a new board member. Looking for a fresh face? Post a job listing and search the web for that perfect-someone. Word of mouth is also a great way to add potential staff to help your cause. Spread the word and see if anyone’s son or daughter is looking to get their foot in the door with the nonprofit industry. Don’t be afraid to use your resourcse! There are plenty of ways to find individuals to be a part of your organization.
  2. Revamp your website. Tired of the same old layout on your website? Time for a clean-up! Take the time to completely redo your website to make it looking more fresh & fun for the new year. You’d be surprised with how much a font or color change can make a difference by appealing to new eyes. A little change goes a long way.
  3. Thank your sponsors and volunteers. Go out of your way to personally thank all volunteers and sponsors within your organization. People want to know that they are doing a good job, they want the attention of a “thank you”. If it’s not a face-to-face communication, then a heartfelt, hand-written note is personable as well.
  4. Stay connected. A lot can happen in a year and it’s easy to forget about a certain achievement or situation. Be sure to stay connected to everyone involved in your organization; from your clients to your cleaning crew. No one gets left behind.
  5. Make a personal goal. Lastly, make a checklist of personal resolutions for yourself. Whether it’s learning more about other organizations or going to more networking events; whatever the case may be, in turn, this will help you grow with yourself and in your nonprofit field.

There is change coming! Get ready for a clean slate and new beginnings. Cheers to mobile bidding!

Indy WNBA Gets Involved With Nonprofit

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Indianapolis WNBA Gets Involved With Nonprofit

Tamika Catchings, the star of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, created the Catch the Stars Foundation in 2004. This foundation empowers the youth to achieve their dreams by incorporating goal-setting programs which promote literacy, fitness, and youth development. Tamika & the Catch the Stars Foundation just recently had their 10th Annual Back to School Celebration this past July and it was a huge success.

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During the Back to School Celebration event, over 500 local youth in Indiana are able to receive backpacks, school supplies, and a fun community fair to participate in. Since most of the children at the event are unfortunately not able to afford the items, such an event is invaluable. Without the help of Tamkia and the Catch the Stars Foundation as well as all the donations, these 500+ kids coming to the event would have much less in their hands today.

Social Media in the Nonprofit Industry

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Nonprofit organizations have simply embraced technology and social media. Creativity is key. It’s especially important for nonprofits to get creative on their social sites because there is so much competition within the social media world. Social media will contiue to have grand impacts with the nonprofit industry and should be levereged and utilitzed as a top priority.

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DID YOU KNOW?

59% of people donate after becoming a follower of a nonprofits social netowork.

DID YOU KNOW?

48% of people donated to an organization because of they read a story via social media.

DID YOU KNOW?

49% of nonprofit supporters on social media wanted to do more after seeing a photo.

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CHARITY SPOTLIGHT

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Charity Spotlight: Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County

Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County supports individuals who are elderly, disabled and homebound by delivering nutritious meals, reducing hunger, improving health, and promoting independence.

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MOWHC is focused on one service, providing nutritious meals to those in the Hamilton County community who are not able to provide for themselves. One or two balanced meals, depending on the individual’s need, are delivered Monday through Friday to Hamilton County residents who are enrolled in the meal service. Meals are delivered by compassionate volunteers who provide socialization and conduct a welfare check to observe for any unusual symptoms or signs of distress that may require medical attention or notification of a family member or caregiver. Additionally, volunteers often identify other special needs that clients may have which are referred to other partner social service agencies within the Good Samaritan Network in Hamilton County.

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In 2013 alone, they assisted more than 400 people which totaled to about 54k meals. That’s a lot of meals!

Interested in knowing more or want to get involved? Visit the Meals on Wheels of Hamilton County website or give them a call at (317) 776-7159 for more information.

Enroll, Volunteer, or Donate today!