When Speeches Go Wrong

Thinking about your personal attendance at a fundraising event, why are you there? Is it to have fun, see friends, and eat a nice meal? Hopefully, you also attend to support the non-profit. More than likely, the guests at your event also have this same “agenda.” 

To keep your guests wanting to attend year after year, don’t let boring speeches control your event (and cost you money). Many well-intentioned philanthropic guests are turned off by long, dull speeches.  These speeches are often the first thing in the program, followed by an auction and special appeal. The hazard is that this might make your guests find a reason to leave after dinner or put them to sleep, physically or ,at minimum, mentally. When auction time rolls around you then have to wake the guests up IF they are still there. This results in raising fewer dollars for your non-profit. Avoid this mistake by making sure the fundraising portion of the evening is early in the program and make sure any speeches you do have are short and impactful. It’s always optimum to conduct your fundraising early - before “buyer fatigue” sets in AND before too many adult beverages are consumed.

When you begin planning your event, contact a professional fundraising auctioneer to assist you in creating a timeline that optimizes the fundraising opportunity. Your guests will want to return year after year because they had fun!

Make every minute a revenue generating minute!