GreaterGiving, a fundraising technology solution, surveyed organizations and generated the following Fund-A-Need (FAN) statistics. We will add our FSA insights around each statistic below. Side note, words matter! For the sake of this blog we are calling it a Fund-A-Need however it can be called many things depending on our donors (i.e. Paddle Raise, Mission Support, Fund-A-Family, Sponsor a Child, Special Appeal, and more). But one important note before we dive in that runs throughout, the importance of storytelling and part of how we share the story is simply what do we call the facilitation of giving (FAN).
1. Run of Show FAN Placement: 2% beginning of the program, 11% multiple times throughout the program, 39% middle of the program, 3% don’t do a FAN, and 45% end of the program
Where we place our FAN’s in the Run of Show (ROS) plays a big role in its success. And from our experience there is no wrong answer, other than not conducting one! Many orgs we partner with don’t have a live auction but all have a FAN. Frankly, the placement depends on your donor base, their connection to the mission, the day/time of your gala, other ROS components and more. From our experience, we would agree with these GreaterGiving Statistics and say they are accurate. Rarely do we place the FAN in the beginning of the ROS because storytelling is important. Generating energy and inspiring giving takes time to build that momentum but placing the FAN early makes sense if 80% or more of your donors have been coming to this event 10+ years and/or their is a philanthropic culture established prior to the event. We actually see multiple times throughout the program a little more than 11% of the time, probably closer to 15% or maybe even 20%. Multiple times is a trend we are seeing for 2024 fundraising events. If we do the FAN before the live auction, many times we’ll do a small mini FAN after the live auction as well. However this is very important to consult with your auctioneer and trust their instinct during the live fundraising. As for placing it in the middle of the program, this happens when you place it before the live auction and/or before awards, comedians, keynote speakers, etc. Sometimes it can also be placed in the middle of the live auction, it’s important to consult your auctioneer who will help you decide based on experience. Many organizations will place their FAN towards the end of the program which makes sense however we caution two things here. One, it’s important to remember the 9pm threshold. If your event is an evening event, especially any night other than a Saturday, it is absolutely imperative to finish all live fundraising by 9pm because no matter how good your ROS and auctioneer donors always seem to start leaving at 9pm for a variety of reasons. Secondly, less is more. We’ve never heard a donor or guest say gosh I loved that event because it went so long. If your FAN is the last thing, it’s important to craft a ROS that incrementally rises with ebbs and flows of emotion. Very important to consult with your auctioneer on the best placement of your FAN because every event is different.
2. Donor FAN Participation Rate: 11% orgs less than 10%, 30% orgs range from 11-25%, 30% orgs range from 26-50%, 20% orgs range from 51-75% and 9% orgs range from 76-100%.
Let’s get straight to it, how do we get to that 9%? It starts with sponsorships. The reason why is because sponsorships is typically the first part of an event where we begin to make money and many sponsorship packages includes seats to the our fundraiser. Again words matter, it’s a fundraiser not a party. And we aren’t looking for “butts in seats” we’re looking to strategically invite donors (again notice we didn’t say “guests”). When we secure the sponsorship and seats are part of that package it’s very important to be proactive and asks early on for first and last names of donors who will be attending in our sponsored seats. Pro tip, many times sponsors truly just want to sponsor your event and “filling their seats” can sometimes become challenging so let them know early on that when a waiting list forms you can help them fill their seats. The success of any fundraiser has so much to do with who is in the room and their are many ways to attract the best donors to our event, consult with your auctioneer on strategies to make this happen. Other key factors to reach the 9% involve the ROS, the video/speaker, AV, sound, lighting, catering, alcohol, the emcee/auctioneer, bid assistants, recorders, leadership momentum gifts, and so much more! Again these are consultations we have prior to an event to set us up for success.
3. Do you typically have pre-confirmed FAN gifts? 57% yes 46% no.
From our experience, we’d say these percentages are pretty spot on! Having pre-confirmed gifts setup before we facilitate the giving is important and can make a significant impact in our donor participation rate and success. Best practice is to have a pre-confirmed gift at each of the first two levels. These gifts will help generate energy and inspire giving. It’s also important to note who these people are. When guests see leadership giving at one of the first levels it can make a dramatic impact on others.
4. How do you setup your FAN? 26% video, 43% in-person speaker, and 31% other/neither
From our experience, we’d say these percentages are more like 35% video, 55% in-person speaker and 10% other/neither. Again there is no one size fits all solution here. However, we like to lean towards video as the best solution but again… that depends! Story and emotion are critical to our success! We want to open donors hearts so we can open their wallets and purses. We’ve seen time and time again how impactful storytelling can inspire donors to give and give more! One example was from a donor who was one of our pre-confirmed gifts at our $10,000 level. After the video, he was so moved he gave $25,000 instead to start us off which was then matched. And to our surprise, he gave again at $10,000. And again at $5,000! Sure this donor had capacity but how we can point it back to the video was because he had been our pre confirmed gift at $10,000 for multiple years prior and this year he was overcome with so much emotion because it struck a chord with him. His son was a beneficiary of this organization and the story remind him of all the feelings he had felt seeing his son thrive due to this org. The challenge with in-person speakers is that they aren’t professional speakers and this is something they may or may not typically do. This can be a very good thing but it can also backfire. They can either freeze being in front of hundreds of guests and more often than not they can go very long because they feel the urge to really want to inspire which is good but sometimes not great. Coaching, (sometimes) scripting and (always) rehearsal is best. With both video and in-person speaker the audio is the most important. If donors can’t hear the video or speaker, it will lose its punch. If it’s not a video or speaker, sometimes it’s a performance or activity.
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GreaterGiving Statistics Source Link: https://blog.greatergiving.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GRT441-2024-Fund-a-Need-Infogr-final.pdf
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