The Special Appeal

Silent and live auctions are powerful tools for raising money for your organization, and a great way to get and keep your constituents involved in your cause. You should also consider other tactics to use in addition to the auction to maximize their giving. Even if your event attendees don’t win the bid on any silent or live auction items, the “special appeal” makes it easy for them to participate or give.

The Special Appeal
The special appeal goes by several names, including “fund-a cause,” “fund-a-need,” “fund-an-item,” “fund-a-cure,” “paddle-raise,” or even “dedicated pledge,” among others. Most likely, if you’re using a professional auctioneer, he or she will be familiar with this. During the planning stages for your benefit event, discuss the strategy for conducting this appeal with your auctioneer to maximize its effectiveness and ensure it complements the auction.

Guests who have attended multiple benefit events have come to expect an appeal at an event. However, pre-event thought and planning is key to maximizing the revenue opportunity. Steven Talbot of Talbot Auctions & Fundraising says, “A special appeal is something the guests anticipate. Many of the largest donations come through the appeal, and many events make more money on their appeal than on the auction itself. It’s all in the planning – from soliciting pre-committed donors to how to conduct the appeal and how to combine pre-committed bids with bids from the audience.”

Strategy and Planning
“We find that the special appeal is the only opportunity during auction night for every guest to give to the cause. It is very important that some thought is put behind it from the starting bid amount to an engaging presentation, as well as the timing,” said Amber Kauhi, Stokes Auction Group.

The first step in planning is to determine the nature of the special appeal. The special appeal should be a concrete, specific need that will benefit the majority of your audience. For instance, if you’re a school, choose something that is going to apply to all grade levels and to all parents, not just a few.

Along with the focus of the appeal, it is essential to determine well prior to the event what dollar amount is needed to completely fund the special appeal. By polling your most committed donors ahead of time regarding the special appeal and the cause it will fund, you’ll get a good idea of how to set your bidding increments in order to reach your goal. More importantly, you’ll get a better idea of their commitment level so you can have reasonable expectations about their giving level, and possibly how to encourage them to donate above their giving level. Larger donations can serve as challenge or matching opportunities and may generate additional interest and excitement, even creating up a bit of fun and a competitive environment in the special appeal section of the event program.

Keep in mind that some of your key donors may not be able to make your event, but they can still give via proxy to the special appeal (Yet another good reason to conduct pre-event research). Proxy bids for absentee donors should be acknowledged, as they will inspire other donors.

Opinions vary regarding when to do the appeal. Some auctioneers recommend conducting it half-way to two-thirds of the way through the live auction. Others, like Talbot, always conduct the appeal based on how they build the live auction roster. Talbot said, “We build the interest of the audience in the first third of the roster, then present and conduct the special appeal. Then we begin the middle third of the roster where the most compelling items are offered. In our experience, this has proven to be the most effective placement.”

Consider your past experience when determining when to conduct your special appeal, or discuss timing with other organizations. Whatever you decide, you should determine timing prior to the event so you can ensure that all the special appeal elements will be in place at the appropriate part of your event agenda.

Execution at Your Event
The ideal person to make the appeal should be committed to your cause and a compelling and passionate speaker. If the speaker is directly affected by the special appeal their address will be even more compelling. However, your speaker needs to be able to get their point across quickly. It’s important to keep their address short, simple, and focused. If it adds to the power of the presentation, and you have an audio visual set up to accommodate it, a PowerPoint slideshow or video can support your point.

Leverage your auctioneer to drive the appeal and keep the energy up during the giving. The auctioneer can cue the lead giver to set the tone for giving with a large donation, whether this gift is $1000, $10,000 or more. The auctioneer can then ‘take over’ to coordinate and accept the bids. The auctioneer should keep the process fun, exciting and playful, and allow enough time for all interested parties to bid at their desired levels. Audience participation is key here, especially if the auctioneer is incorporating absentee bids. High energy generated during the appeal will positively impact the rest of the auction.

“If your organization has done its job (prior to the event), bidders came ready to support your cause, so keep your appeal presentation brief. Respect your guest's time. It's been tested that many people give more money when asked in the right manner. You may worry that this might annoy good supporters. But done right, the appeal actually builds greater support - both financially and emotionally," said Jim Miller, Miller Auction Services.