Fundraising Galas and Live Auctions are not a thing of the past

Now is not the time to cancel your fall fundraising events. Be innovative, try a new method for hosting your gala virtually!  It is highly plausible that it will cost less to host an event online and bring in more revenue to sustain your organization through COVID-19 and beyond.  Who knows, perhaps it is possible that virtual events become the ‘new normal’ even after physical distancing becomes a thing of the past. Now is your opportunity to try something new.

COVID-19 has really impacted non-profits around the world and limited their abilities to host the fundraising events that they rely on in order to continue operating.  With many communities shutting down and enforcing physical distancing protocols as of March 2020, most non profits were forced to cancel their spring fundraising galas which was devastating to many.  Now that we are entering into the fall and winter season, I am here to tell you … do not to cancel your fundraisers!!  You can tweak your events to happen virtually at a lower cost and with the potential to raise even more money than you hoped.

New online fundraising platforms offer flexibility to users to design campaigns and events however they want.  For example, you could start a silent auction two weeks in advance of your gala so that supporters can bid online leading up to the big event while getting notifications to their phones reminding them to bid higher. The live gala would still serve as an opportunity for important remarks by your CEO, Board Chair and key supporters in addition to the live auction and fundraising appeal, but would become a much shorter event as you would no longer have a cocktail hour, dinner, and dancing (all things that cost money to plan and facilitate).

I want to help you innovate and think differently about fundraising so I have partnered with a company called Trellis.org that has developed a new application to facilitate online events including live auctions, fundraising appeals, silent auctions, raffles, donations and more.  This application allows bidding in real time so all supporters can see how much money they are raising for the cause.  Check out the website to see which charities have already tried them out and learn how some of them have raised more money than they ever have in the past by going virtual.

If you are interested in hosting a virtual event, and want to learn more about Trellis, contact me and we can schedule a call. I can better explain how the platform works, and can brainstorm with you some ideas on how to customize an event for your charity.