Oprah Using IML Silent Auction & Pledge System
On May 21st of this year, a fundraiser held by poverty fighting organization Robin Hood helped generate over $72 million for residents of New York City in need. Remarkable about this fundraiser was that despite all the money raised, not a single prize was given away.
Before the event, Robin Hood engaged with iml to rent audience response keypads to be held in the hands of each gala guest. Spurred along by emcee Jon Stewart, and celebrity attendees Anne Hathaway, Eli Manning & Brian Williams, attendees were encouraged to donate simply by entering pledge amounts into their keypads.
Philanthropic events, such as the gala held by Robin Hood, typically experience less than a 10% participation rate among attendees when asking for pledges. The most recent event held by Robin Hood, however, experienced a 72% participation rate. Was this astonishing jump in participation due to the naturally compelling nature of Anne Hathaway and Brian Williams, or was there something more?
Quite simply, it doesn’t matter if one is a celebrity, athlete, or a gala guest – everyone is spurred on by competition. Emcee Stewart did not just simply ask attendees to enter a pledge into their audience response keypads – he threw down a gauntlet – pitting table section against table section, challenging them to outbid each other.
Segmented by table section, large monitors detailed in real-time the total amount of pledges raised and participation rate. While bids could be placed by individual attendees anonymously, everyone in attendance knew exactly how much their table section needed to raise if they wanted to win the friendly competition. The result?
“We were blown away by the number of people who responded this year and the $72 million raised. Not only did audience response keypads from IML help us increase the night’s overall revenue, but they made it easy and fun for everyone to get involved, “ states Mark Bezos, SVP Development & Communications at Robin Hood. “When attendees saw their respective section’s total rising in real time… the energy in the room was electric!”
The success experienced by Robin Hood is just one of many unique fundraising ideas generating results in today’s otherwise uncertain economy. Have you been a part of other successful fundraising endeavors, or found new ways to engage audience members at events? If so, we encourage you to share your stories via a comment below.
