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I've been involved in successful fundraising for 12 years. Since my beginning, I have heard it all, seen it all and been asked for it all. One evening, while sitting on a porch on a warms summers night...I think I heard the worst of the worst. This called something to mind that I used to tell volunteer committees many years ago. When the question was posed to me, it started a thought process that lasts even today...and it all started over a "Free" Hat.
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First, I would like to thank Lisa Holmes on my Facebook Friends List. This morning, as I was venting about how life and people seem to be, Lisa wrote this simple message..."It's a crab in the bucket mentality. If one crab starts to escape the bucket, they others conspire to pull them back down. Sad..but part of the human experience...!"
This is sad but oh so true. Lately, I have been speaking with clients as well as many others, who all seem to be going through the exact same thing. In the non profit community, which I and our employees are consultants for, volunteerism is hard to find. Its one of those things, when people initially begin to set up their organization, they are under the belief that they will have a large pool of people who will come to help...but then, they find out that this isn't the case. Good Volunteers are hard to find. In my life, I have met some of the greatest volunteers one could ever come across but more so then not, I have met more then my fair share of those who were not.
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Hello everyone, my name is Frank Bartz (Vice President, COO, and Principal Auctioneer) of BW Auctioneers. We are a full service auction company assisting you with estates, real estate (commercial and residential), business liquidations and appraisals.
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Part 1 - "Product" ~ Marketing for non profits - Part of the Four "P's" of effective Marketing.
Believe it or not, non profits must embrace the fact that they absolutely need to consider Marketing a major tool in the arsenal. Unfortunately, most have this thought "My cause is so incredibly valuable, people will come screaming in to be a part of it. Why shouldn't they? Its "....." and that is the most important issue of our time. Believe me, people will know what we are doing and they will want to help out, we don't need to even think or spend anytime marketing." If this is your belief, then you are 100% wrong!!! Do you know just how many non profits are in your state alone? Never mind the entire United States or the world for that matter? In a tiny state like Maryland, there are 1,700 non profits. So what makes one stand out more then the rest? Everyone is fighting for the same dollar bill.
As some of you know, I am a strong advocate of our non profit clients. Each in their own has merit, but I work with many that overlap each other...or in easier terms, are raising money for the same mission. For instance, raising money for Veterans. When the Vietnam war ended, our troops were treated terribly ~ and the word terribly is tame for how they were confronted upon arrival back in the United States. So now, the citizens of our incredible country are truly in total support of these incredible heroes. But now, there are 1,000's of non profits attempting to raise money to help or support the Troops. Remember that each has a similar mission which means they are trying to tap into the same revenue stream.
When I am consulting our many clients across the United States, I have to explain to them that as a part of our client services, we have to treat what they are doing as a "Product." Some have a negative reaction to this, however, it is a plain and simple fact. I have to look definitively at their mission as a Product in order to determine how we will begin to Market what they are doing. This will determine just how we will be able to market their upcoming fundraiser as well as their organization as a whole. The reason behind this is what will make them stand out above the rest? What will make them more appealable then the other 999 similar organizations.
Have you ever heard the term "No man is an island"? What this means is...in simple definition, that no one is so important that no one else exists. Each non profit that exists must realize that they must adopt a very real marketing strategy. They must understand that with their incredible mission, in order to be able to raise the dollars they need to continue it or grow their financial war chest, then they must market themselves and their mission.
Formally, I was going to call this Blog "Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease" but a better explain lies herein. That title basically means MARKETING!!! It all begins with something as simple as a very cool or eye catching "Logo." You may love your logo but maybe, just maybe, no one else does. Effective marketing begins there...imagine 1,000's of people seeing your logo...does it draw you in?
If your reading this, then I know you are part of Social Networking. Our firm grows and grows each day, our abilities broaden with each passing moment. Just recently, I met someone who is an expert Virtual Assistant. She knows just how important Social Networking is today and how it draws a positive effect on whomever she is currently working with. A virtual assistant aids clients by hosting their social networking pages through Facebook, Twitter etc. Her and I have similar beliefs about marketing and the importance of social networking. In fact, I feel so strongly about her abilities, I am going to heavily recommend her services to our clients to assist them with marketing. Be prepared, because she can truly assist them in many ways.
Today, Social Networking is crucial to Marketing. But you must know this, successful Social Networking is a game that must be played by the rules. I have personally spoke to many people about this topic - Social Networking for Marketing reasons and they stared back at me as if in a trance. To market your product, you must use every tool in your chest...today is Social Networking.
In regard to fundraising for your non profit, our successful team of fundraising experts heavily Market for our clients. For instance, the TMS Foundation's upcoming Gala is titled "Tristan's Playground Gala" or Liberty Lodge's upcoming fundraiser is called the "Out of the Rubble Gala". Why is it just not called the "TMS Foundation Dinner" or "Liberty Lodge Fundraising Banquet"...can you answer the question why?
Now...remembering that your organization and its mission is a "Product" that must be marketed, and that BW Unlimited offers our clients this ability as part of our client services...when should I expect a call?
Stay tuned for Part 2 of the 4 part series - "Place"
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Being 6-04 and 250 lbs., it takes alot of food to fill me up. I can remember as a kid, someone buying a pizza and saying "OK kids, you can only have one piece of pizza each." I think if I heard that now, I would just laugh because that wouldn't even be an appetizer...it would be more of a tease. Because giving me, now anyway, one slice of pizza is just going to make me even more hungry because I know I need so much more to get the job done.
The same is true in a total fundraising event. Throughout our years, serving our clients with every aspect of their fundraising events, we have clearly identified many aspects of an event which require attention. But, as we have learned, many of our clients realize after speaking with us about our complete event services, that there are many other issues which they had no idea about.
So why then would anyone want only one small piece of the event pie? Well, honestly, its because either they had no idea that those other issues were even present. This normally occurs when a business contacts them and that business has limited abilities or know how. Furthermore, the fundraising staff is either very new to hosting events or they have never truly held a high impact, highly profitable fundraiser.
Recently, while conducting a staff meeting, our team was provided a list of bullet points or talking points which go into just "One" four hour fundraiser ~ The list was eight (8) pages long of single spaced talking points. That's just talking points..not the entire explanation of what each point meant. Going over the list took 6 hours to cover each aspect, explaining each in detail. Covering the list took longer then the actual event itself!!!
Why did it take so long you ask? Because when BW Unlimited both plans and manages a "Total Fundraising Event", we run it by our extensive experience without talking about it. Our events take 6 months to plan and execute and that is why they are highly successful.
So lets go back to why clients higher businesses which can only provide one small piece of the pie...or just one small aspect of fundraising...normally because they do not know any better. I highly recommend checking a businesses references...seeing what they have done so far and checking with their competitor's to truly see who would best fit your needs. Check on the events they have done, what the outcome was and what their experience level is. Check to see what they offer and what they offered to their clients in the past.
As a former Police Officer, a good question and answer interview is the best way of determining if your needs will be met.
Fundraising for various causes is vitally important especially in the present day financial climate. There are many different aspects in the professional fundraising world which are offered. Each aspect has merit but again...one ability does not make the total sum of the parts. For instance, the live auction is not the center of the fundraising world nor is ticket sales. The live auction is only one aspect and an auctioneer must be extremely experienced in both real world auction sales as well as benefit auctions. An experienced, professional auctioneer who has a background and experience in both can greatly influence the financial outcome of your benefit auction. Let me ask you this...would you want a brand new doctor conducting your next surgery? Or would you hire a brand new financial planner to handle your life savings? Furthermore, ticket sales to an event is fantastic, however are those people buying the tickets going to spend their hard earned money to support your cause?
That is just two small aspects of a Total Event, a high impact, highly profitable fundraiser...remember I said earlier that there were eight (8) pages during our team meeting.
Again, be sure to ask yourself...do I want just one tiny piece of the pie for my upcoming event...or do I need the whole thing? Remember this too, once you walk away from the table with just one piece and book your event, its too late to turn back...
In order to learn more about BW Unlimited's exclusive total event management services, contact us today.
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