Did You Convert Your Gala Guest?

You can’t raise millions if you don’t start with your base.

The pivot to virtual galas was one of the more dramatic events of 2020. If you were one of those charities that had to make that change, KUDOS to you! It was a brave, scary moment for so many in our industry.

The gala is over. Where do you go from here?

There is more money to raise and it’s not in the next virtual gala right now. It’s in the long list of people who attended your gala. Even if the person did not pay for anything, such as a ticket or an auction item, you should have immediately moved that person to the prospect list.

What? You don’t have an active prospect list? Well, now you do.

I hear over and over, from CEOs and Development Directors, the same questions.

How do we find new prospects for donations?

How can I find new major donors?

If you hosted a virtual gala, they are actually right in front of you. Start now by creating two segmented lists:

  1. Virtual gala attendees that bid on auction items. Be sure to include people who won and those who didn’t. You’ll need a specific donor communication strategy to convert them to ongoing, major donors.
  2. Virtual gala attendees signed up to watch the gala or attended but did not donate or participate in the gala. These people are your new prospects and you’ll need to continue to make them more aware of what you do and how they can support you financially.

I’m not going to lie. It’s a lot of work. But it’s so much harder to find new prospects without a strategy. This is a great place to start.

If you need help building your million dollar (or more) fundraising program, let me know (email me at deanna@deannaackerman.com) and we can chat. There are some quick, simple fixes that will get you closer to the $1 million + mark in 2021.