One goal at any fundraising auction is to lower barriers to participation and make it as easy and fun as possible for attendees to donate. One simple (and fun) way to do this is to use poker chips as currency at your event.
Poker chips with each bidder’s number on them are included with each paddle at check-in at the John Muir Health gala.
When you give attendees their paddles at check-in, include a few poker chips with their bidder number printed on them. Attendees can then use those poker chips to enter raffles, play games, or purchase items if you have any for sale. From a psychological standpoint, it is easier to simply place a chip in a basket than it is to pay cash (there is a reason casinos prefer to use chips instead of cash). It is also more fun for attendees to have a stack of chips and be on the lookout for ways to utilize them.
You can make the process as simple or as complicated as you like. The John Muir Health Foundation (pictured) provides each attendee with two chips, and only offers raffle opportunities. Attendees can choose to drop these chips in the bins for the various raffles, or not.
Another organization holds a western-themed event and offers event-themed items for sale at $25 or $50 each (think straw cowboy hats, sheriff’s badges and the like). At check-in, each attendee gets a small bag of chips of varying denominations that adds up to a total of $200, and can spend those chips on the various items available, use them for raffle entries, etc. If they spend all their chips, they can always get more.
Easy to find, easy to participate, and fun! This team selling opportunities for a raffle just needs one thing from you: put your chip in the box!
Take the process one step further, and enable attendees to use their chips in your fund-a-need. After your auctioneer has conducted all the pre-announced levels of the fund-a-need, give the crowd one last opportunity to make a difference. Volunteers walk around with baskets, similar to a “paddle sweep” or “paddle drop,” and attendees make contributions by throwing their chips into the baskets.
It does require a small amount of planning, but the logistics of using chips are straight-forward. You will need to:
Acquire poker chips (available for about $0.15/each online)
Print people’s bidder numbers on the chips
Create opportunities for attendees to use the chips
Have receptacles for them and volunteers/staff to actively encourage participation
Create an accounting system for entering and billing all of the contributions
Staff and volunteers need to be prepared to help guide people through the process. “You want to enter a chance to win tickets to a Warriors game? Just put your poker chip right here!” As with any sales job at your event, the most engaging people are going to be the most successful.
Go all-in on something new at your next event! Make donating easier and more fun, and you’ll inevitably raise more money.
