Paddles Up Tips

Most of us are familiar with what is referred to as a Fund-A-Need program or “Paddles Up”.

These programs are simply a call for a pledge at a special event that focus on a special cause or need that everyone responds to at once and in public. They can be used anytime the participants in an event are gathered together, but work best as part of a Live Auction and is much better and more effective than simply putting a card on a table and asking people to fill it out if they feel called to.

The program is most effective when delivered in charity auctions that are designed to support the beneficiary nonprofit. Sometimes it is called a Fund-A-Cause, Fund-A-Cure, Give, Helping Hands and Raise Your Paddles to name a few. These can be very effective in generating additional revenue and special appeals are recognized by charities and nonprofits alike as extremely effective tools. Our own personal record is $155,000 raised in about 9 minutes but some Auctioneers have topped $300,000 and more a bigger events.

It’s a simple method. After an appeal from a volunteer or recipient of the Charities good work, and an explanation of the program to the crowd, the Auctioneer says,

“Raise your paddle in the air and I’ll read off your bid number. It will be recorded, and that amount will added to your Auction Bill at the end of the evening. Who will make a contribution of $1500 to the cause tonight?”

He then reads off the numbers , “ 202, 456, 234,001, 78, “

Now how about $1000? Who will contribute that amount?” And he reads off the numbers again,“ 34, 65, 290 , 321

And he goes down lower and lower till he reaches $100.. By this time cards all over the room are going up and sometimes it's hard to keep up with them all...

In short, what you are doing is giving everyone the opportunity to participate regardless of their income level.

Here are some steps to follow in making this work. Some of these ideas are taken from the QTEGO website at http://www.qtego.com/auction/how-to-run-a-fund-a-need-program/

In our opinion you must first decide on the need that you will fund. It is imperative that you describe the benefit that will be achieved. Create funding levels that most people who attend your event can participate in. For example: $100 will feed a child for a month, $500 will provide new clothes, etc. Avoid the same rationale per dollar amount. (Example: $1000 will buy 100 basket Balls, $500 will buy 50 Basket Balls ect. ) This is not effective.

Then, contact key donors before the event to determine their level of commitment and find those willing to contribute matching funds. Always start the effort at a level where you KNOW you have a gift secured. Nothing is worse than an initial ask followed by silence or crickets.The energy in the room is gone.

Your next step is to determine how to schedule the program into your benefit auction. There are different views on timing but everyone agrees that timing is crucial. If it is too early in the program, the energy may not be built up and no one is paying attention. If it is after the live auction, it will seem like a separate item on the agenda and the energy of the auction will fade and people may even leave the room as they think things are over. The perfect time will depend on your specific event, but be sure to consult with a professional Charity Benefit Auctioneer. Most of them recommend half-way through the live auction or in some cases two-thirds of the way through.

It is important to select the method you will use to record the gifts ahead of time and make sure you practice it with the Auctioneer and Auction Team. Using a system like QTEGO or Greater Giving, makes the Fund-A-Need checkout easier by recording each donation, whether the guest sends their donations by text message, phone call or raise their bid cards or paddle numbers in the air. But be aware that this effort needs to be a bandwagon effect. Numbers need to be called out by the Auctioneer so that the excitement builds and everyone wants to join in.

The speaker who makes the appeal should be someone who is directly involved with the cause and a volunteer, not a paid staff member. It would be ideal if they are a success story that benefited from the work of the organization. They should be passionate and articulate but brief ( About 3 minutes) moving the donors to give and inspiring them to action. If you make them cry, they’ll buy is a saying we heard once. A video may be used at this time, but again be brief. Avoid the temptation to tell a long story and overwhelm the audience with facts and figures.

If done correctly, this program will revolutionize your benefit auction and you can generate more revenue than the actual sale of goods does. We have clients that have an Auction as an “Excuse” to conduct a “Paddles Up”.

You can identify new donors and connect with existing ones in a new way.