"Did you know there's approximately 61.8 million volunteers in the United States alone?" shares A.J. Steinberg, founder of Queen Bee Fundraising, in a recent episode of podcast Events with Benefits. "These are individuals who contribute a total of 8 billion hours of volunteerism per year. That volunteerism, if monetized, is equivalent to the gross domestic product of Egypt!" In addition to providing manpower, 67 percent of people who volunteer become supporters in a more meaningful way down the line. In an industry where a 2 to 5 percent response rate from appeals is considered successful - investing in your volunteers offers an incredible potential return. Volunteers are among your nonprofit's most important assets. Last week we shared part 1 of our session with Steinberg all about charity auction planning. Today we will focus on her tips for volunteer management and retention. Learn: How the "volunteer multiplication effect" boosts ticket sales The benefit of having two chair persons (a junior and senior) 3-step process to greater volunteer retention and satisfaction How to organize a volunteer "command center", and much more.

"The most common reason events fail is because organizers didn't do their homework right from day one," says A.J. Steinberg, founder of Queen Bee Fundraising and principal of Masquerade Events, on a recent episode of podcast Events with Benefits. "That means choosing the right type of event for your audience, creating a specific goal, and marketing successfully." With more than 20 years' experience planning fundraising events, Steinberg knows how to manage events as effectively, and with as little stress, as possible. Today we'll focus on her tips for hosting charity auctions, including: 3 most common auction planning pitfalls - and how to avoid Why ticket sales are higher for a first-year event than the third year The secret to getting more 'yeses' while procuring auction items The easiest way to transport and set up auction items If the content is helpful, be sure to listen to the whole episode and download Steinberg's free auction planning kit (including resources like the comprehensive Committee Task Outline).

You already know event sponsorships cover costs, boost revenue and lay the foundation for long-term partnerships. If you're considering offering table or booth space for sponsors at an upcoming event, or already have vendors lined up, you'll want to check out today's post.

Did you know... 40 U.S. states + D.C. require nonprofits to register before they solicit donors in their state? What's more, something as innocuous as the "Donate" button on your website could count as direct solicitation. If you have donors in multiple states that support your organization - both financially and in-kind - you'll want to check out today's post.

With Hurricanes Harvey and Irma battering the Gulf over the past couple weeks, you might be wondering what to do in the event your event crosses paths with Mother Nature. A sudden heat wave, downpours, storms and even accidents on the highway can derail your plans in a moment's notice...sending months of hard work down the drain. In today's post, learn 5 strategies nonprofits can adopt to protect themselves from significant losses in inclement weather.

Whether it's your first or fiftieth auction, chances are you could benefit from employing some new techniques to extract money from the audience. There's virtually always money left to give, and new strategies give you the tools to raise more without making guests feel nickel-and-dimed. Today we're joined by Nelson Jay, the "Bowtie Benefit Auctioneer" based in Seattle, Wash. In a recent episode of our podcast Events with Benefits, Jay provided a bevy of ideas from the cutting edge of event fundraising.

To call fundraising events complex would be an understatement. With so many moving parts and unknown variables, most nonprofits learn from past experience... which typically means sacrificing significant revenue right out of the gate. While no event is perfect, most common errors can be prevented. Why not learn from someone else's mistakes and close calls to raise a whole lot more for your cause?

Whether your fundraising event is in one week, one month or one year, chances are your charity auction could benefit from a few more unique, valuable items. Are you getting items that will "wow" donors, sell tickets and ultimately generate the bids needed to meet your revenue goals?

When it comes to charity auctions, many organizers simply "don't know what they don't know." Unfortunately, a lack of professional expertise is the #1 reason events fall short of their revenue goals. To help provide the expertise needed for success, we interviewed Cheryl Parker, certified benefit auctioneer specialist in San Diego, Calif., for a recent episode of event fundraising podcast Events with Benefits. Parker shares her simple - yet often overlooked - strategies for generating as much revenue as possible at auction events.

What a whirlwind 2017 has been so far! We're just one quarter in, and already we have developed groundbreaking resources in the world of event fundraising. In a recent Winspire News survey, the majority of readers (52 percent) noted a desire for more visual content, like webinars and infographics. We've since added 3 new webinars to the Webinar Library all about best practices to maximize revenue from live auctions and fund-a-needs. Another 33 percent of readers indicated an interest in audio content - namely podcasts - so you can continue fundraising education on your own time. As a result, we launched a brand-new podcast in January called Events with Benefits.

Whether it's your first gala or your tenth - whether you've prepared for one year or one month - on the night of your fundraising event, you never know quite what's going to happen. There's a lot of shifting dynamics from the moment the doors open until the last guest leaves. So it's imperative to have someone experienced with a birds' eye view leading the way - and the most important person in the room that night will be the fundraising auctioneer. Unlike amateur emcees or other types of auctioneers, benefit auctioneers are highly trained and have special expertise to extract the most money from the room possible. "A good benefit auctioneer eats, sleeps and breathes fundraising auctions," explains Scott Robertson, certified benefit auctioneer specialist from Naples, FL. "We make it our practice to study events, timelines, human psychology, all the things necessary to make one particular event a success." With an estimated 90 percent of benefit auctioneers providing pre-event consultation, more and more nonprofits have discovered event fundraising knowledge is power - power that puts more money into your charity’s pocket. Read on for Robertson's tried-and-true techniques for maximizing live and silent auction revenue, then listen to the entire 40-minute Events with Benefits podcast episode embedded at the end of this post.