This is the fourth in a series of posts about running a successful fundraising event night, written by event service professionals. Event professionals help troubleshoot technology, advise on using event software, and ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible at auctions.
Working as an event professional isn’t always easy—but it’s a labor of passion.
We love our nonprofits and the fantastic work they do. Getting to support them on one of the most important nights of the year is a pleasure and a gift.
As your event professionals, our main goal is to be your eyes and ears during your event. We catch and solve potential challenges early, before they can snowball into major issues. We want your event to go as smoothly and enjoyably as possible. And we follow strict schedules to arrive on time and perform as best we can, all the way through the end of your event.
And remember: we’ve seen a lot of benefit auctions in our careers. If you ask us, we’re more than happy to give you feedback about what we’ve seen, and help you improve your event!
So what do event professionals do? And how do we do it?
- We always get a good night’s sleep so that we’re prepared to help you all day long. We’re ready to give our all once we’re on site at your event!
- We get up early so that we can come set up equipment at registration, letting you focus on other, more important aspects of your event. We check all of the equipment, in case we have to make any adjustments or replacements. And we’re always happy to give our expert advice for how the rest of the night should go.
- After answering questions and finishing setup, we take a quick break to refuel and get dressed for the big night. We want to look professional, but still blend in, at your event
- We arrive early for registration to help you finish all that last-minute data entry. (We knew you’d have some—it’s totally normal!) Then we’re on hand to fix any remaining issues that haven’t been resolved yet, and print out everything volunteers will need for check-in.
- Time for training! We’ll introduce ourselves to your volunteers and do a quick, easy-to-digest training on using the software and credit card equipment. Then we’re all ready to go!
- It’s time for the event to start. We stay out of the way during registration, so that we can promptly assist staff and volunteers as needed. We’ll put out fires as they come up, and you can rely on us to know the technology inside and out. We’re there for you!
- After registration is over, we help volunteers do data entry, bring over online bidding data, or merge bidding data provided by another mobile bidding provider.
- We help you print receipts, then stay through check-out—all the way to the end of the night—to troubleshoot any problems that might come up.
- When you’re done, we’ll help you close out and make sure everything adds up. Then it’s time to print reports! Don’t worry, we know which ones you need.
- Feel free to ask your professional event services consultant at the end of the night what worked and what didn’t work. We’ve seen a lot of events, and we’re more than happy to provide feedback and ways to improve for next year.
It’s a pretty long day—but we wouldn’t do it if we didn’t love it! We’re there to help you raise as much money as possible, because we want to see you succeed.
Nonprofit fundraising is our passion. And who doesn’t want a dedicated expert on their side during the biggest night of the year?
Did you know Greater Giving has an Event Services program? Find out more.
