Sarah The Auctioneer

10/12/2021

2 great events this weekend! Different formats, but both wildly successful!

08/24/2021

What a week it's been! And it's only Tuesday.

Calls and emails are coming through reminding me of a Monday back in March of 2020. Nonprofits are starting to make the call to go back to virtual events for the fall of 2021 when they had confidently believed just a couple months ago that they'd be able to host an in person event. Many are still cautiously moving forward with Hybrid Events, but most larger scale events are opting for virtual.

Let me tell you it's not an easy decision to make, but given the current circumstances, it may be the best choice for certain organizations.

Over the past 18 months, I've helped 25+ nonprofits transition to virtual events and many many more through my DIY Virtual Gala Course.

If you have questions about virtual events, I have a slew of free resources to help you as you transition. To see the resources or check out examples of successful virtual galas, you can find those here:
sarahtheauctioneer.com/virtual-events

As always, Happy Fundraising!

08/16/2021

Do you were planning on an in-person event this fall, but now you’re not so sure 🤷🏻‍♀️

I hear you! After a year and a half of virtual events, I am so ready to get back to in person events, but is it in the cards for this fall?

Optimistically, I want to say “heck yeah!” However, guests may feel differently.

On Wednesday I am hosting a live class to help you determine how to move forward with your events this fall. Should you go Hybrid or make the call and go virtual? It’s an incredibly personal decision and will be different for every organization, which is why the live class will be so valuable.

Register at sarahtheauctioneer.com/live-class

P.S. I don’t know who to credit the Tonya Harding meme to, so if you know please tell me!

06/27/2021

Wondering what it looks like to have me as your auctioneer? You can watch an entire fund-a-need and live auction here...

Watch as Sarah Jean Knox, professional fundraising auctioneer, raises over a million dollars for her client in an engaging and entertaining Fund-A-Need and L...

04/25/2021

Worked my first Hybrid event last night. It was so great to be with a live audience! Also, their last auctioneer sold this package for $5k... you’ll have to see what it sold for last night 😉

04/19/2021

In case you’re new here!

03/17/2021

Hybrid Events are in the works! While audiences are going to be able to meet soon, many will still feel more comfortable at home, so I've pulled together some notes on what to think about when planning Hybrid events. There will be A LOT more of this in the coming months, but you'll want to start planning now!

Exactly one year ago, I opened up my inbox and found it full with emails from my contracted clients telling me they needed to cancel their fundraiser due to the pandemic. My heart sank, first for me as I watched my entire business disappear in an instant, but I knew I wasn’t the only one suffering...

07/23/2020

How do you get die-hard donors that support your organization whenever you give them the chance?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You have to court them, woo them, DATE them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Are you okay with a kind of crude analogy? If not, just go ahead and like this post and move on 😜, but if you are willing to go along with it... keep reading.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You wouldn't put out on a first date, would you? Probably not. Maybe if your date was able to create a sense of trust right off the bat, but we all know trust takes time.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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It's the same with donors. They need to be dated. As fundraisers we need to earn their trust and get them to CARE about us before they will, um, put out (aka donate).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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That's all fine and dandy, but how exactly do we do this?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
I'm glad you asked 😊⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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1️⃣ You have to let them about the problems your organization solves. Don't talk about yourself... talk about the problems themselves (human trafficking, urban hunger, healthcare inequality, whatever your organization solves)⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2️⃣You will tell them stories and examples of people who are examples of these problems and this will help get your donors to care about the problems your organization solves⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3️⃣ You are going to tell them how YOU solve these problems and invite them to be a part of the solution, and then ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
4️⃣ You are going to thank them. You are going to make them feel appreciated. You are going to make them think THEY are the ones doing all the work with their generous donations. I know you, as the organization, are actually doing the work, but as a fundraiser, I'm in the WOO business and we are going to WOO the heck out of these generous folks. Thank them. Appreciate them. Love them. Ask them questions about how THEY are doing. No matter their donation level. Your low-level donors, treaded well now, will become your big donors in the future.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You've got this.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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07/22/2020

Let me tell you a story.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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In March, when the whole world shut down at once, I received emails from nearly all of my clients canceling or postponing their events. At that time, I knew something had to be done. These organizations are what lifts up our communities and they could NOT afford to miss out on their biggest fundraisers of the year. Enter: Virtual Galas⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Some of my clients were hesitant to move forward with this idea, but others, like , were on it. They take the people they serve seriously and knew they needed to bring in the revenue they needed to support the growing need for their programs.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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We worked together, along with some other industry experts like , and ALZ's amazing internal PR, Marketing and Development teams to plan this event. At this point, no one *knew* if it would work, but we all moved forward with the confidence that it would anyway.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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They hyped it up with their donors. They found creative ways to include their sponsors. They created engaging video. They trusted me to communicate their organization's message and connect with their donors, and, before the 45-minute program was done, their event had grossed $644,304!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When the event ended, every cheered and took a huge sigh of relief. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I am so proud of them for taking the "risk" of producing a virtual gala, but in hindsight, the bigger risk would have been to cancel their event. I can't wait to see what they do with their BIG in the fall. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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💜"I am still reeling over our beautiful Gala and how things came together to showcase our organization....I feel so proud and can't tell you how many wonderful things I am hearing from friends, family and other folks in non-profit organizations who were so impressed by our final "product.""💜

07/20/2020

What if you could raise $50,000 or $100,000 or $500,000 with a 30-40 Virtual Gala streamed from your home or office?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What if instead of missing out on your biggest fundraiser of the year, you could meet your revenue goals WHILE keeping your donors safe? ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What if you knew how to create an engaging timeline and show flow that called your donors to action?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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What if you had the technical skills you needed to live stream a beautiful and profitable virtual gala?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This can 💯 happen for you and your organization. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I've been helping organizations just like yours transition their in-person fundraising galas to Virtual Galas since march and have seen what works and what you can do to make them profitable. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Don't Cancel Your Event!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Instead:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Learn the elements of a PROFITABLE Virtual gala⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Empower your donors to action and acquire NEW donors⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Learn the technical skills you need to live stream a virtual gala⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Engage even your most "tech-challenged"donors⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
✅Meet your fundraising goals at a fraction of the cost it would take to produce your in-person gala⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Get The DIY Virtual Gala Course RIGHT NOW so you can get the tools you need to start planning, producing and live streaming your virtual gala. The earlier you get started, the more spectacular your Virtual Gala will be! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Click the Link to learn more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
https://courses.sarahjeanknox.com/p/DIY-Virtual-Gala-Course ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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