Get Creative With Your Next Sponsorship Package With Curated Auction Lots

Posted by Jordan Morris on 13 April 2017

Engaging corporates and major donors to support your fundraising events can be a challenge, and in most cases acquiring sponsors is crucial to the success of the event.

Jon Haward, Director at Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC), wanted to refresh the opportunities his charity offered to potential sponsors. He approached us with the tantalising idea of creating a sponsorship package consisting of a specially curated selection of our auction items.

Prior to their annual gala the team at RMHC were on the lookout for approximately five silent and two live auction lots to increase the numbers and compliment the items that had been donated by their supporters. The preference was to avoid having items in the auction with a set reserve and still ensure that 100% of the guests winning bid went directly to support the work of the charity.

Givergy and the RMHC worked together to create a custom package of items at a set cost. The package was then presented to the corporate donor to successfully gain their sponsorship.

We are very fortunate to have some extremely supportive corporates at RMHC and by offering a package of interesting auction items we were able to maximise the fundraising potential from their donation and raise more vital funds during the live and silent auction at this years gala, Jon commented.

Here are 6 key benefits your sponsors and your charity will gain by investing in a sponsored package of auction items:

Sponsor benefits:

1. Return on investment. Selecting the right items for your audience is key. When mixed with a fun and competitive bidding environment your sponsor can easily see their initial investment raise much more on the night for the charity, which is great for all involved. RMHCs custom sponsorship package cost under 9,000 and on the night of the event the auction items raised an amazing 12,000.
2. Flexible package deals. Regardless of the level of support on offer from your sponsor, our experienced lots team can tailor a package that will not only suit your audience and compliment the donated items already received, but also enable you to choose the cost of the package to offer. You will also be eligible to receive associated discounts on the costs for Givergy’s fundraising technology service at the event.
3. Further sponsor exposure. Its likely that guests will scroll through the lot list intermittently for the majority of the evening, and this will give your sponsor far more brand recognition. If you decide to get the bidding going prior to the event through a custom online auction your sponsor will receive that additional exposure in advance through the website as well.

Charity benefits:

4. 100% charity profit. By having a sponsored package of auction items for the live and/or silent auction fully donated, the guests can be comfortable in the knowledge that every penny of their bid will go directly to the charity.
5. Relieved stress. Relieve some of the pressure on your committee or fundraising team. Obtaining interesting and unique auction items year-on-year is a significant challenge and takes months of calling in favours and approaching businesses and key donors. A selection of sponsored items can help take some of this pressure away and enable you to focus on the quality of donations rather than quantity so you can make the most of your fundraising opportunities.

RMHC used this custom package of auction items:

• The golden age of travel for 2 people
• Make your own champagne for 2 people for 2 nights
• England vs Australia in the 2017 Autumn internationals for 4 people
• Private performance from a pianist or harpist
• Take That experience for 4
• Olympic experience for 4 people

6. Risk free. If an item doesn’t reach your desired reserve during the auction, fear not, as you can still make great use of it at your next event or perhaps consider putting it on givergy.com to help you to reach a wider audience.

Jordan Morris

Givergy

Jordan joined Givergy after studying Politics with International Relations at the University of York. He has over two years experience within the charity sector working as a face-to-face fundraiser and as a constituency campaigner. After experiencing the sector from within and knowing first-hand the impact digital solutions can make to fundraising strategies, Jordan is now dedicated to innovating the way charities fundraise to ensure they maximise returns from every fundraising campaign.