Canada WHO
Highland Property is a nationwide real estate network with a strong commitment to giving back to the communities in which they work. For the past decade, they’ve partnered with Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation, and through their annual Blue Lunch event, have raised over $1.5 million dollars in essential funds to support clinical care, research, education, and advocacy.
The 2024 Blue Lunch marked its 10th anniversary and was the event’s most successful year to date. While 2022 saw 400 guests in attendance, this year over 600 supporters gathered at Sydney Town Hall, all united by a shared goal: to raise vital funds for back-of-skull healthcare equipment.
Highland used Givergy’s platform to run their silent auction prior to the event, for the night itself and in the months leading up to the event to sell raffle tickets for a Range Rover Evoke.
Fundraising Challenges
Managing the significant increase in attendance posed a notable challenge. With nearly double the expected number of guests, the surge in interest placed considerable strain on the venue’s entrance hall. Highland emphasised that clear and effective communication is essential in such situations. Despite the initial bottleneck upon entry with so many guests arriving at the same time, once all attendees were ushered into the event space, the day unfolded seamlessly.
Event Highlights
Highland’s Blue Lunch organisers had noticed at previous events that giving guests an occasion to celebrate and keep them excited increased their generosity on the day. Thus, at this year’s lunch, the highlight for Highland was seeing how much fun guests had whilst giving to a good cause. With the lunch built around performances from trumpeters, drummers, dancers and magicians, there was ample entertainment to keep guests in a jolly (and generous) sprit!
Results:
As well as the success of doubling the attendance, Highland Property raised over $450,000 for the Sydney Children’s Hospital Foundation.
TOP TIP
Having an online platform for the silent auction is a massive support tool for driving engagement. Highland Property pushed the link out to the auction prior to the event and that helped drive engagement. With a growing number of supporters, the switch to a digital platform helped make the administration manageable.
It’s also vital to be constantly thinking of creative ways to bring money through the door on the night. At the entrance to the Blue Lunch, Highland Property sells hangover tonics, with all proceeds supporting the cause. They also boost raffle sales by linking them to cookies—the more cookies guests purchase, the more raffle tickets they receive. Little tricks like these prove crucial for the overall total on the night.
“We started the planning of our event with traditional spreadsheets and paper raffle tickets and then switched to Givergy and quickly realised it would have been so much easier if we had just gone with Givergy from the start. The platform is super easy to use, and it certainly helped us connect with more guests before our main event.”
