BeCause

Guest Post: Take a Chance on a Raffle!

June 29, 2016
(NOTE: On occasion, we love reaching out to our friends and partners in the non-profit fundraising world to find out what they’re thinking about when it comes to helping charities raise the most money possible. This week, Kelly Russell tells us about a recent experience running a raffle using a Mitch-Stuart travel package as the prize. Enjoy!)

A client of mine wanted to offer a Golden Ticket Raffle at their event without losing one of their live auction items. They tried something unique that worked well. They chose eight consignment packages from Mitch-Stuart, Inc. as options, and allowed the winner to select any one of the eight amazing vacations. We had a few great outcomes to our evening.

It expedited our timeline at the top of the auction.

Once we declared the winner of the Golden Ticket Raffle, we did not have to wait for the winner to rifle through the catalog to determine what they wanted to take out of the live auction line-up. They had the entire night to think about which location would make for their dream vacation.

The variety added interest.

With all the options, many people were interested in taking their chance in the raffle. If you won, you were going somewhere great. MSI has a wonderful selection of packages and many include airfare so you get a complete experience. This adds to the interest factor.

Dedicated packages allow for pre-sales on raffle tickets to guests.

Nothing is worse than not being able to attend your child’s school auction when you go EVERY year. With a set raffle selection, you are at least offering the opportunity to participate in absentia. Bonus: If you have a limited number of tickets to sell in your raffle, as well as a limited number of attendees at your event, pre-sales broaden your donor base.

Gamble with a new idea and see how it works at your next fundraiser!

Need a great consignment package for your next event? Let the folks at Mitch-Stuart, Inc. know that Kelly Russell at Artisan Auctions sent you!

(Big thanks to Kelly Russell and Artisan Auctions for sharing this with us! For more information about Artisan, go to artisanauctions.com.)


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Raising Funds Under the Stars

June 22, 2016
Take a look around – everyone is outside. Coworkers are taking their lunch breaks at that park across the street. Evenings are spent at baseball games. Vacations involve beaches, camping or long hikes. This is the season for al fresco everything.

So why keep your gala indoors?

Mitch-Stuart, Inc. loves helping non-profits raise money with our fundraising auction travel packages – they’re the perfect addition of “wow!” to any gala program. But we *really* love it when we get to help charities pair the perfect auction destination with an amazing outdoor event. And while pulling off a successful outdoor fundraising gala is not easy, a bit of foresight and planning can create memories for your supporters that will make sure they always think of you and your cause fondly.

Where does your event committee need to focus its energy when planning an outdoor event? Start with these three areas:

Theme: If you’re going to go through the trouble of moving an event outside, make it count! Whether centered around a menu item (barbecues, crawfish boils, etc.) or a larger, atmosphere-based idea (with a title like “Enchanted Forest” or “Beach Bonfire”), this is the chance to create a night to remember by piggybacking on the beauty of nature. Have fun with it, and don’t be afraid to push a little past your normal boundaries; it’s likely that your supporters will be a little more forgiving about small problems if you’re trying something daring and fun.

Logistics: Everything from picking the right location to having enough flat surfaces and tables becomes magnified at an outdoor gala. As an example when inside, you can just look for an extra power outlet, but if you haven’t run adequate juice to run both the DJ equipment and the temporary lighting, for instance, there’s little that can be done on the fly. It might be a good idea to run something approximating a “dry run” of the event a week prior with as much of the equipment as possible (no need to add rental days for anything gear coming from outside of the organization, however). And before locking into a space for the event, make sure you visit it during the time of day which you’ll be holding the gala, to check for things like bug population.

Food: The cuisine you serve outdoors is often a function of the seating you have available. If you’ve got formal tables set up, it may still be easy to present delicate meals requiring all utensils. But if your outdoor space is a little less formal – standing pub tables, for instance – finger food might be the way to go. Just stock up on wat napkins, in order to avoid long lines at whatever running water is available. It’s also important in an outdoor space to think about the distance from the kitchen to the gathering. Is food going to be prepared off site? Will it stay warm as it’s being brought to the party? And who’s going to bring it all? The meal is the most tangible item for which a guest is paying with their ticket – get it right, and few are going home unhappy.

Got any other suggestions for pulling off an outdoor gala? Let us know on social media: Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more tips and travel inspiration.


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The Summer of Cool

June 15, 2016
The stereotypical images of summer vacation involve beaches. Whether it’s lounging on the shore, playing in the sand or swimming in an ocean or lake, the images that spring to mind when people talk about the summer months are those of surf, sandcastles and sunscreen. But just because snow is far from the average mind – not to mention the weather report – doesn’t mean that mountains and colder regions should be considered off limits.

Mitch-Stuart, Inc., puts together non-profit fundraising travel packages to destinations all over the world, and many times winning bidders want to see the sights during peak seasons. But as summer gets ready to make its entrance, it’s nice to remember that the best places to vacation during these months aren’t always the sandy beaches. In fact, heading to a location best known for its winter escapades can be the best way to spend a summer break. It’s strange to see a destination with “Lake” in its name and think of wintertime fun, but Lake Tahoe is probably best known for its world-class skiing, both downhill and cross country. During the summer, though, Tahoe still shines, thanks to its diversity of entertainment options. Water-based activities are a must in the resort town, of course, with stand-up paddle boarding and jet skiing possibly the most popular. But the surrounding mountains are great during the warmer months, as well; rent a mountain bike and head downhill, or grab your gear and go hiking through some gorgeous wilderness. There’s even some fine art, for those who want to take it a little easier, in the form of summer’s Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, which takes place in the stunning Sand Harbor State Park. The hottest average high temperature in Bar Harbor, Maine, is just 75 degrees (coming at the end of July). That’s just one of the reason that the town has become a prime escape for northeastern city-dwellers. Exploring Acadia National Park is a treat as the climate becomes more temperate, and with so many New Yorkers and Bostonians coming to town, there are plenty of concerts, pop-up art spaces and interesting dining experiences here, as well. Make sure to stop in at some of the historical monuments and collections, as well; the Abbe Museum is a repository of Native American artifacts and stories, while younger kids tend to love the Dorr Museum of Natural History. The cities of Vancouver and Victoria are thought of by many as great skiing outposts. In fact, the towns are so synonymous with winter that the former was awarded the Winter Olympics in 2010. But in the summer, the largest city and the capital city, respectively, of the province of British Columbia are just as beautiful and have just as much to do. Scheduling a trip around Victoria’s Summer Splash is a good way to go; the local symphony performs a program from a barge in the Inner Harbour, while locals either picnic on land or float around in kayaks. Outdoor activities about in both the two cities and the surrounding area, with hiking and mountain biking being favorites. And, for those who absolutely must have a beach trip, Vancouver landmark Kitsilano Beach fits the bill nicely.

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Inner Peace, Out on the Road

June 08, 2016
For an activity that is said to be so relaxing, travel certainly contains its share of stressors. From flight delays to safety worries and even starting from the process of packing, it takes a lot of work to hit the road, and that work doesn’t come without some level of mental strain.

We at Mitch-Stuart, Inc., love travel – it’s why we’re so committed to helping non-profit fundraising with our auction travel packages. But even we recognize that going on vacation isn’t as simple as waking up one morning having been transported to paradise. Send this cheat sheet along to your donors who win one of our travel packages at auction so they can make their experience that much easier.

The stress usually starts before travelers even arrive at their destinations. With the busy summer travel season upon us and the Transportation Security Administration seemingly devoted to hour-plus long security lines, a familiar muscle tightness can develop even before reaching a departure gate. So for flyers taking off at airports like San Francisco International and Chicago O’Hare, a sanctuary from the bustle can be a relief. That’s where the yoga room comes into play. Several airports, and several more in the near future, offer separate rooms for travelers to lay out a (provided) mat and stretch, either with one’s own yoga routine or led by a teaching video. After standing in a long, winding security line, it’s a chance to catch one’s breath before boarding.

Of course, it’s hard to pull off downward dog or Tree Pose while seated on a full flight – or driving on a road trip, for that matter. For cases in which physical stress relief may not be possible, there’s always guided meditations, and there’s a wide variety of apps available for smartphones that can help. Stop, Breathe & Think is a good place to start for the novice, while Calm has a tremendous catalog of programs for different purposes (self-affirmation, sleep inducement, etc.). The engine roar may not be as calming as the wind chimes of a local meditation or mindfulness center, but noise-cancelling headphones and the right soothing voice coming from a cellphone can turn the stress of flight into a chance to relax.

No one wants to carry around that travel stress after arriving at a destination for a vacation. So many of our non-profit fundraising trip packages take supporters to resorts with world-class spa accommodations, making that post-flight massage easy to book. Be it aromatherapy, facials or a simple dip in the hot tub, these facilities can kick-start a vacation and put even more mental distance between the joys of travel and the stress of the workday.


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Picnicking In Paradise!

June 01, 2016
Spring is turning into summer right before our eyes, which means it’s time to dig the beach-and-pool gear out of the closet and stock up on sunscreen. June, July and August are ingrained in the minds of many as a time for leisure, going all the way back to the summer vacations of childhood. Longer days mean staying out later into the evening, and even the heat itself manufactures a certain unhurried pace.

One of the best ways of soaking up that sun during the summer months is getting a group of friends, the extended family or even just your significant other outside for some al fresco dining. The picnic is practically a summer must: Go to any public park in a temperate climate on a Sunday afternoon and you’ll see blankets spread out everywhere, homemade food, mini-speakers playing music and the occasional football or Frisbee being tossed around. Our non-profit fundraising travel packages often put your donors in the middle of cities with incredible restaurant scenes, making it tempting to spend the trip dining in. But it would be a shame to not get some food to go in one of these destinations and spend a leisurely afternoon outside, admiring one of the world’s great vistas. When Travel + Leisure put together its list of the top cities in America for picnics, two of the top three choices were in Southern California. It makes sense: The Southland has year-round picnic-acceptable weather and plenty of beachfront land upon which to lay out a blanket. But both San Diego (which finished second) and Los Angeles (third) also have fantastic options for picnic-ready carryout meals (important for those traveling with little access to a kitchen) and a variety of landscapes; spend a day in LA’s Griffith Park or an afternoon in Balboa Park in San Diego and you’ll see these two gorgeous cities from a different angle. To go to Paris and not enjoy a baguette al fresco would be a crime of some sort, surely. The good news: Possibly the best view of the Eiffel Tower comes in the city’s 7th Arrondissement (or district), on a grassy strip of land, called Champ de Mars, leading up to the base of the monument. In fact, many of the most well-known sites in Paris have green areas nearby to admire the view while dining on that glorious French food; outside the Sacre-Coeur, alongside the River Seine and in the Luxembourg Gardens are all lovely spots. Eating outdoors is a popular enough pastime in the city that several services will deliver a picnic lunch to tourists – true blanketside service! Of course, when it comes to parks that are perfect for picnics, there may be no better example in America than Central Park in New York. The crown jewel of the city’s open space, Central Park has been attracting visitors with blankets and baskets for more than 150 years. It’s not the only great vista in the Big Apple to take in while dining, though; the High Line has plenty of space to dine while overlooking Chelsea, and for those heading to other boroughs, Prospect Park is a perennial favorite. Even better: Your donors can pick up their meal at one of New York’s great delis with one of the gift cards that comes with our “Nosh Your Way Through Three New York Delis” package.

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