Darren Port

Leveraging Fundraising Structure through Event Leadership

With Covid cases rapidly declining after a peak in early January, the vaccine booster campaign well underway, and few legal restrictions impacting on our daily lives (at least in NYC), Powered by Professionals has now turned our attention to unpacking what the lasting impact of the pandemic will have on fundraising, and making some suggestions about what this means for nonprofits as they plan for 2022 and beyond.

Standards for Charity Accountability

Standards for Charity Accountability were developed to assist donors in making sound giving decisions and to foster public confidence in charitable organizations.  The standards seek to encourage fair and honest solicitation practices, to promote ethical conduct by charitable organizations, and to advance support of philanthropy.  The main objective of these standards is to assist a charity’s representations to the public in making sure they are accurate, complete, and respectful.  This means solicitations and informational materials need to be truthful and not misleading in any way.

Why the Event Debrief is So Important

You’ve planned for months.  Every minute detail, from what linen colors to use, what entertainment to hire, which font will be on the signage….. and your event is finally over.  Hopefully your non-profit partner is happy, the event raised more money than last year, and guests have been sending emails and posting on social media about how much fun they had at the event.

Fundraising Ideas for College Campuses

Today, college students are forging new pathways in the fundraising field as they initiate philanthropic events and raise awareness for important causes in our world. Anyone can start their own fundraiser; here’s some tips to consider before starting your own fundraiser on campus!

5 Steps to a Successful Silent Auction

Silent auctions can be a critical component to raising funds the night of an event for your organization and are at nearly every fundraising event. Planners, committee members, board members, etc. spend a lot of time asking for items. Once those items are secured, here are a few tips to help you have a successful silent auction:

What Type of Volunteer Job is Right for You?

Many non-profits miss out on properly leveraging their volunteers. Every day, people are pouring over websites like Powered By Professionals for volunteer opportunities. Some non profit organizations will request a phone call or in-person interview so they can get to know the volunteer in advance of an event to assign them the correct role. Other organizations will request that you fill out an online survey with your interests. In case you don’t get advance one-on-one time with the event coordinator, here are brief descriptions of volunteer positions you may encounter, and what personality traits match each position:

Challenges in Non Profit Event Planning

There are as many challenges in non-profit event planning as there are types of events, but each can be overcome – or avoided – by identifying potential challenges in advance, and planning your strategy to overcome them.

Non profit galas often focus heavily on one individual – the honoree – to bring in a large percentage of the event’s revenue. Secondarily, the Honorary Committee’s focus is to sell tickets and sponsorships; and thirdly, the silent and/or live auctions bring in incremental revenue to increase the bottom line. The challenge with the

How to Motivate and Acknowledge Your Volunteers

Fundraising and non-profit events cannot be successful without a core group of committed, motivated volunteers. Volunteers can be defined as Board Members, Chairs, Honorees/Award Recipients, Committee Members, etc. They are the key drivers to increasing event attendance and funds raised for the organization. It is important to provide proper guidance and motivation to all volunteers so they feel valued and useful to the cause. Here are some simple ways to make sure your volunteers feel secure with their commitment and carry out their responsibilities:

Tips & Tricks for a Stress-Free Non-Profit Gala

The day has finally come, the day you’ve been planning for months – the non-profit gala! The first key to a successful gala is creating a timeline. If you’ve followed your timeline religiously from day one, there shouldn’t be any need for “tricks” to a stress-free event: you’ve done all the preparatory work, and now you can reap the rewards for your non-profit or non-profit client.

Yet, we all know that SOMETHING will happen that could stress you – or your boss or client. So here are a few things I’ve learned to keep the stress at bay:

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