In the current economic climate, fundraisers face a tough challenge: Trying to garner financial donations when donors simply don’t have as much to give.

And yet, that didn’t stop Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston from raising $1 million at its annual “In Party” silent auction fundraiser.

In a recent BizBash article, the hospital’s three secrets to success are revealed:

1. Keep it Simple. Organizers of the silent auction fundraiser moved away from overly elaborate decorations. Instead of expensive floral centerpieces, paper rectangles spanned each table, spelling out the party’s themes: innovation, inspiration and incredible care.

2. Reinforce the Cause. Event organizers also used the table centerpieces to constantly remind donors of their worthy cause. Every table included paper cards with detailed facts about the hospital programs affected by the event.

3. Make it Easy to Donate. Event organizers leveraged IML silent auction and pledge technology to streamline and simplify the bidding process. Guests were able to place bids from the comfort of their own seats. Plus, guests’ personal information was registered beforehand to make the bidding process even more convenient.

If you’re planning an upcoming silent auction fundraiser, implement these tips to ensure the current economic climate doesn’t stand in your way of raising funds.

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Silent Auction Fundraiser Raises $1 Million Despite Tough Economic Climate was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Large-scale events – from silent auctions to shareholder meetings – require careful planning, monetary resources and manpower. And a few tried-and-true tips for event planning don’t hurt, either.

In a recent podcast and whitepaper from promotional product retailer 4imprint, Paulette Wolf and Donielle Levine, authors of the book “Event Planning Made Easy,” offer what they consider the first and most important tip for successful event planning:

Establish the 5 “W’s” and 1 “How.”

One by one, those 6 elements include:

1. Who are the guests or attendees?

2. What is the event being planned?

3. Where will the event be held?

4. When is the event scheduled?

5. Why is the event being held—i.e., what’s the goal of the event?

6. How much is in the budget?

Of course, those steps are just the start. From there, the detailed work begins. We’ve come up with the next 6 “W” and “How” tips for event planning:

7. Who in my organization is willing and qualified to assist in the planning?

8. What channels should I use to promote the event?

9. Where can I find tools available to ensure full audience participation and interaction?

10. When should each planning milestone be reached leading up to the event?

11. Why did similar past events succeed or fail, and what lessons learned can be taken from those events?

12. How can I maximize fundraising ROI?

What tips for event planning would you add to the list?

12 Must-Read Tips for Event Planning was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Not all silent auction events are created equally.

But the upcoming Inaugural Integration Auction, Scatter Categories 2010 – hosted by Brand in Entertainment (BiE) – is truly in a class all its own.

You won’t find luxury vacation packages, department store gift certificates or state-of the-art flat screen TVs at this silent auction event. On Jan. 20, corporate and ad agency representatives will gather to outbid one another for the chance at integrating their brands into the hottest upcoming films and television shows.

BiE helps weave national and international brands into pop culture through entertainment sources like movies, TV shows, plays, Webisodes and novels. We’re not talking product placements here, either. Think back to 1983, when all of America had to have the Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses donned by Tom Cruise in “Risky Business” during the infamous dance scene.

To make the silent auction event even more captivating and unique for guests, BiE has decided to collaborate with IML. Leveraging IML silent auction and pledge software, guests will be able to place bids on electronic keypads from the comfort of their own seats. Plus, they’ll be able to track bidding activity in real time on large-screen plasma TVs throughout the room.

For 2010, BiE currently has 33 films and 25 television projects scheduled, including “Henry’s Crime” starring Keanu Reeves and James Caan, and “Unamerican” starring Jessica Biel and John Leguizamo.

With electronic, interactive bidding and auction items you can’t get anywhere else, the Inaugural Integration Auction is sure to be an auction unlike any other.

Silent Auction Event Puts Brands on the Big Screen was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Whether hosting a fundraising event for a school, church, non-profit organization or any other entity, certain planning requirements remain the same. In a recent post on The Fundraising Authority blog, several steps were identified to incorporate into planning. We’ve added to the list to create the 13 essential steps of any successful fundraising event.

1. Determine the event’s purpose. Is the goal to raise funds, gain publicity or develop a presence in a new market? In some cases, events have a combination of goals. For example, a charity dinner might be hosted to gain publicity for a non-profit organization, with a secondary purpose of raising funds.

2. Set a fundraising goal. The goal should be based on what the organization would like to net after accounting for all expenses. The event host committee, organization staff and key fundraisers can all help in determining this goal.

3. Plan for a budget. Budgets must encompass staffing, venue, food and drinks, entertainment, invitations, and security costs, among many other possible items. The most successful fundraising events also account for unexpected costs during budgeting.

4. Decide on a host committee. This group of donors, business leaders or celebrities can help an organization reach its fundraising goals by contributing funds and encouraging others to do the same. They may not be responsible for planning the event, but they’ll be vital to reaching fundraising goals.

5. Pinpoint the target audience. Determining who will be invited to the event will dictate much of the planning. For example, is the event geared toward a group of business leaders, parents of school children, families or other specific group?

6. Nail down event details. This includes choosing the location for the event, the food and drinks to be served, the required dress and special activities or entertainment for guests.

7. Ensure audience participation. A host of resources exist to help ensure maximum interaction among guests, including audience response text messaging systems or keypads with interactive quizzes.

8. Market the event to the target audience. Whether organizers choose to market the event through direct mail, telemarketing, word of mouth or via social networks, creating a marketing plan is critical. It may be helpful to think of the event as you would a product launch.

9. Create a procedure for ticket sales and donations. In addition to determining logistics like who will sell tickets and how they will be delivered, organizers should consider setting different contribution levels. For example, organizations could set a general ticket price for the actual event, and also offer a VIP level that would give attendees access to an additional reception.

10. Brainstorm ways to maximize fundraising. Successful fundraising events involve raising the highest amount of money possible. One way organizations can achieve this is through automated silent auction software. This technology allows guests to place instant bids during silent auctions directly from their seats.

11. Hold a quick event run-through. For all parties involved in running the event, organizers must ensure their roles and responsibilities are clearly communicated and understood. The larger the event, the more preparation needed.

12. Encourage audience participation. Audience participation is crucial for two reasons: First, it ensures all participants engage with one another and enjoy themselves. Second, the more audience interaction at an event, the more likely guests will be to donate funds. Discover how one high school was able to maximize donations at a fundraising event by soliciting audience response through electronic keypads.

13. Show appreciation to donors and participants. It’s important to keep all donors, vendors, staff and volunteers happy, so they will want to participate in future events. Saying “thanks,” even through simple notes, can go a long way.

Keeping these 13 steps in mind – whether planning a large or small affair – will ensure a successful fundraising event for all parties involved.

13 Essential Elements of Successful Fundraising Events was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

For charity organizations, a down economy presents a conundrum of sorts: the worse the economy, the greater the need for fundraising donations—and the greater the difficulty in securing them. When brainstorming fundraising ideas, it’s vital to consider how to maximize fundraising ROI.

But which fundraising ideas produce the best results? And which donor groups should be targeted to gain the most return?

Blogger Norman Olshansky, of non-profit consulting firm NFP Consulting Resources, presents some useful statistics to maximize fundraising (based on “Fund Raising: Evaluating and Managing the Fund Development Process” by James Greenfield) in a recent post.

In other words, to raise $1 through direct mailing general lists, you’d have to spend $1.15. But to raise $1 through soliciting major gifts, you’d only need to spend $0.05 to $0.10.

When you’re planning your next fundraiser, keep in mind which efforts produce the best results. Then brainstorm ways to maximize fundraising for the method you chose—whether that’s a direct mailing campaign or a gala.

For example, in October, Keep a Child Alive held its 2009 Black Ball to support children and families in Africa and India who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. The fundraiser included such high-profile names as President Bill Clinton, Alicia Keys, Queen Latifah, John Mayer and Sir Richard Branson. To maximize ROI and attendee participation, the group utilized a silent auction software system that allowed guests to pledge donations right from their seats.

The event experienced a 30% participation rate, compared with the less than 10% average participation rate of similar events. In the end, the Black Ball was able to generate more than $70,000!

What ideas do you have to maximize fundraising ROI?

Maximize Fundraising at Your Next Event was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

In December 2005, Associated Content offered twelve ideas for how to run a silent auction with the article Organize A Silent Auction.

Despite being nearly four years old, some ideas in the article are timeless, including:

• Set a deadline for items to be entered into the auction
• Ensure you have sufficient lighting wherever the auction is to be held.

In the four years since this article was published, silent auction software built into hand-held Communicators from IML has ensured the success of hundreds of silent auctions.

As such, we are delighted to expand on the list of ideas for how to run a silent auction:

1. Allow Anonymity: Attendees at your silent auction are there to spend money.  As an event organizer, your job is to make sure they spend as much as possible.  Anonymous bidding will help you do this by eliminating the risk of collusion between attendees, where friendly bidders work together to keep the final price on items down.  This collusion is replaced by bidders driving up prices of items as they never know who it is they are bidding against.

2. Make Bidding Easy: Make no mistake, when attendees are at an event they are in full-scale stay-, or even va-, cation mode.  This means that the more complicated it is to place a bid, the less likely it is for an attendee to follow through with a bid.  Whenever possible, make placing a bid as easy as pushing a button.

3. Lose The Paper & Clipboards: Silent auction software helps attendees post bids securely and electronically.  Attendees are also notified if someone dares outbid them.  Ever seen a fight break out at the end of a silent auction with two attendees hovering over a bid-sheet?  You won’t with silent auction software.

4. Who Needs Prizes? A recent event hosted by poverty fighting organization Robin Hood encouraged attendees to bid for no other prize than the spirit of competition.  Attendees in numbered table sections used IML Communicators to outbid competing table sections, with real-time results posted for all in attendance to see. In all, this event raised over $72 million for the New York poor.

5. Have Fun: Is this the most obvious idea, most important idea, or both?  The more enjoyable the event is for the attendees, the more positive energy will be created. And this, more than anything else, will encourage attendees to spend.

Discover more ideas for how to run a silent auction with complimentary case studies available on our website.

Share some of your own ideas for how to run a silent auction via a comment below.

5 More Ideas for How to Run a Silent Auction was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

A recent article in Profit Quests Fundraising titled “A New Trend in Fundraising,” details both the history, and per its title, unique new ideas in fundraising.

In regards to historical fundraising, the article offers an interesting history on the emergence of fundraising galas and events.  When discussing new trends, the article cites new philanthropic support companies, like eTapestry.com and Kintera.com, “that have put an electronic twist to the old fundraising methods.”

At IML, we’ve seen hundreds of fundraising events achieve unprecedented success when using new technology to support unique fundraising ideas.  Below, are two of the best:

• The Silent Auction: Paul VI Catholic School, needing money to upgrade school technology, hosted a silent auction where attendees could electronically bid for items at their own pace.  Since bids were placed electronically, attendees were also alerted electronically and could immediately respond if someone dared to outbid them.  The results were $30K more in donations than projected.

• The Prize-less Silent Auction: Much like the example above, but with one difference you can probably already guess – not a single prize was up for bid.  At this silent auction, attendees in numbered table sections were encouraged to bid for no prize other than outbidding the table section directly to their left or right.  Results updated instantly on mammoth screens in the middle of the gala, spurring more bids by turning the night’s event into a contest.  The result was over $72 million raised for the New York poor.

Full disclosure, the events above achieved success, in part, because of electronic innovations like audience response systems and silent auction software created by IML.  While we may be a bit biased in bragging about these stories, we would also be remiss in not sharing these stories.

Now, we want you to share your stories.

What other unique fundraising ideas, supported by technology, have you seen translate into success?

Unique New Fundraising Ideas Heard on the Purple Carpet was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

On May 21^st of this year, a silent auction held by poverty fighting organization Robin Hood helped generate over $72 million for residents of New York City in need. Remarkable about this silent auction was that not a single prize was up for bid.

Before the event, Robin Hood engaged with IML to rent audience response keypads to be held in the hands of each gala attendee. 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 just a simple gala attendee – 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.  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.

Audience Response Keypads From IML Pit Gala Attendee vs. Gala Attendee was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com

Photo Credit: Tiffany Oelfke

When you host a corporate meeting, fundraiser or silent auction, you risk rolling out a red carpet no different from any other in the eyes of your audience.  If you are renting out a conference center, in fact, you may be rolling out the exact same red carpet.

In helping thousands of organizations and non-profits host successful red-carpet events, audience response systems company IML has learned that audience interaction is key to a memorable gala or meeting.

Using our systems, organizations and non-profits have hosted red carpet events that have resonated so strongly, the shade of the red carpet transformed into a deeper shade of purple.

To share these successful purple carpet stories with you, and help you write some of your own, audience response systems company IML proudly launches our blog, “The Purple Carpet Event Blog.”

Concepts you find here will help you host successful red carpet events with topics including:

• Interactive voting solutions for efficient corporate meetings
• Creative ideas for exceptional fundraising dinners
• Profitable suggestions for silent auctions that exceed projections

We commit to ensuring the information you find on The Purple Carpet Experience will be invaluable as you plan your next event.

If you have questions or topics you would like to see in upcoming posts, please leave ideas below in the comments.

Audience Response Systems Transform Red-Carpet Events Into The Purple Carpet Experience was posted at Purple Carpet Event Blog. | http://www.purplecarpeteventblog.com