The Hidden Revenue at Every Gala: 8 Games That Raise Thousands

Most fundraising events rely on the same three revenue streams: the silent auction, the live auction, and the paddle raise. But what if you could add thousands of dollars to your event without adding another live auction item or extending your program?

In this episode of Auction is Action, Bobby D. Ehlert shares eight proven revenue-generating games that increase guest participation, build excitement, and create additional fundraising opportunities throughout the evening.

You'll discover how to strategically use Golden Tickets, Heads or Tails, Gift Card Frenzy, 100s Boards, Bag of Money, Spirits Pulls, Balloon Pops, and Mystery Boxes to engage more guests and generate meaningful revenue. Bobby also explains why these games work, how to execute them successfully, and the common mistakes to avoid.

Whether you're planning your first gala or looking to take your fundraising event to the next level, this episode is packed with practical strategies you can implement right away.

In this episode you'll learn:

• How revenue games lower the barrier to giving.
• Which games generate the highest return.
• How to create energy before your paddle raise.
• Tips for promoting and running each game successfully.
• How a single revenue game can generate an additional $1,500 to $8,000—or much more.

Free Resource

While you're there, grab our free guide, "Stop Hiring the FREE Auctioneer," and discover ways to raise more money to you can how invest in a professional fundraising auction team  that can actually pay for itself while helping your event raise significantly more money.  

Recommended For

Nonprofit leaders
Development directors
Board members
Event planners
Fundraising committees
School, hospital, and foundation galas

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:04

You are listening to the Auction is Action with You In It Podcast presented by Comments Auction, where our favorite formative word is S O L D simple. Well, hello there, everyone. Welcome back to the Auction is Action with You In It Podcast, the podcast where we help nonprofits create better fundraising events, raise more money, and build stronger donor relationships. I'm Bobby D. Yellard, your host, a 20 plus year fundraiser, world champion auctioneer, founder of Call to Auction, co-founder of the Gallu Toolbox, and Inspire Hearts fundraising, collectively raising over a billion dollars for nonprofits. Today, we're talking about one of the most overlooked opportunities in fundraising: additional revenue generating games. Now, when most organizations plan a gala, they focus on three revenue sources: the silent auction, the live auction, and the paddle race. Those are all important. But here's the question: what about the guests who don't bid? Not everyone is going to be spending up to $5,000 on a live auction package. Not everyone is ready to make a leadership gift during your paddle race, but almost everyone wants to participate. Now, revenue games are interactive, lower stakes, fundraising activities that happen during the connection reception hour alongside your silent auction or as featured moments during your program. They can engage every guest in the room. They can create energy, they increase participation, and most importantly, they raise money. So let's dive into my favorite revenue generating games, starting with the highest impact opportunities. So let's start with one of the biggest revenue generators you can add to your fundraising gala, the golden ticket. Now, if you've never seen one done well, you're missing out. And here's how it works: you sell a limited number of premium priced raffle tickets, typically between $100 and $500 each. Now, before your live auction begins, one winning ticket is drawn. That gets to choose from any of the live auction items before the bidding even starts. It's simple, it's exciting, and when it's executed well, it can become one of the biggest revenue generators of the entire evening. And here's why it works. Unlike a live auction where only one bidder ultimately wins, every person who purchases a golden ticket contributes to your fundraising goal. Now, instead of relying on the one-winning bid, you're inviting dozens or even hundreds of guests to participate. More participation, more excitement, more revenue. Now, this strategy is making sure that your ticket sales exceed the value of your top live auction package. For example, let's say your highest value auction item would normally sell for about $5,000. If you sell 150 golden tickets at $100 each, you've generated $15,000 before the drawing even happens. Even after accounting for the value of the item, you've dramatically outperformed what that item would likely have raised in the live auction alone. Now, one of my favorite strategies is to use a consignment travel package as your golden ticket prize. Why? Well, because after the winner selects that trip, you can still offer the exact same trip during your live auction. In fact, it often outperforms better than your live auction item would. The golden ticket doesn't just raise money, it builds anticipation, it creates demand and it becomes a powerful marketing tool for your live auction. So if you're wondering how to price your tickets, here's a simple formula. Take your fundraising goal, add the value of the prize, then divide that by your ticket price. For example, if your goal is to raise $10,000, your prize is worth $5,000, and you're selling tickets for $100, you need to sell about 150 tickets. Simple. Now let's talk about execution. So sell tickets where people naturally gather, near registration, near the bar, anywhere in the heavy cocktail hour traffic. Staff the table with enthusiastic volunteers. Use sales trained salespeople. Limit the sales to a spoken, uh specific window to create urgency, give away the token, a blinky ring, beaded necklace, lapel pins so you can recognize who's already bought one of these tickets and to drive curiosity to be about the game. Then make the drawing an event, build suspend, counts down, give everyone last opportunity to purchase before the sales close. Choose a prize that your audience generally wants. Weekend getaways, VIP experiences, private chef dinners, exclusive sporting events, or high-ticket consignment travel packages. Now the golden ticket works especially well for events of 250 or more guests. Now, one reminder always check your state raffle laws before implementing this strategy. Now, when executed well, a golden ticket can easily generate 10,000, 20,000, even 25,000 or more. So now, one of my all-time favorite revenue games: heads or tails. Guest purchase entry, and usually between $20 and $50. Everyone stands, hands on your head or hands on your, you know what, flip the coin, and your wrong guest, you're out. The game continues, only one guest remains. This is simple, but don't confuse simple with boring. A professional fundraising auctioneer turns this into a performance. There's suspense, there's comedy, friendly competition, crowd interaction. Every elimination builds anticipation. And here's why I love it. It warms up the room. Guests who've already laughed and competed and participated are dramatically more likely to raise their paddles during your appeal and during your live auction. Participation creates participation. Revenue potential? Typically anywhere between $2,000 and $5,000. Here's another simple but incredibly effective idea: the gift card friendly. Now you can partner with local restaurants, golf courses, retailers, spas, businesses your donors already know and love. You display the gift cards creatively and then you sell them from the stage. And here's why it works value is tangible. Everyone knows exactly what a $100 gift card is worth. Now, when your auction your frames of purchase is supporting the mission while buying something you'll already use, the decision becomes easy. It's just trading dollars for dollars. I've seen a hundred dollar gift card sell for $200 simply because the room was warm and the cause mattered. Now group gift cards and the themes are possible. We've got date night, we got family fun, we got golf, foodie favorites. The revenue potential ranges anywhere between $100 or $1,000 and up to $5,000. So now, next one, the 100s board. Now, this hundreds board is a fundraising classic. Now, what this is is you have a board with 100 numbered squares. Guests can purchase a square from a dollar all the way up to 100. And once every square is sold, then a winner is drawn. They receive the cash prize for the item. So then, and then the remainder supports your mission. It's easy to understand. Guests love watching the board fill up throughout the evening. The drawing works especially well before your live auction begins. Now, organizations often will retain $2,000 to $5,000 after paying the winner. Collectively, from a dollar to $100, add it up, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, all the way up to $100, it equals up to $5,050. So if you're using a consignment package, subtract that from the $5,050, that's going to be your profit. If you have a donated item, all the better. Super easy. So now moving in to the next auction item or the next revenue generator item. Now, if your audience enjoys a little suspense, you should try the bag of money. This is similar to the hundreds board. Guests reach into the bag filled with custom poker chips numbled from one to a hundred, which then turns into amount of the raffle ticket they're purchased. So $2, $2 equals $2, $5 equals $5, $75 equals $75. And you sell all hundred of these chips. Then again, it equals $5,050. Then when you're on stage, within on stage, your auctioneer is going to pick a winner that wins an amazing prize. A trip to Vegas works great for this. Bag of money. So now one of the hottest fundraising games today is called the Spirits Pull. Guests purchase a wrapped bottle for $25, $50, maybe $100. Wine, whiskey, bourbon, tequila. They don't know what they're getting until after they've paid. Some bottles are worth less, others are worth much more. And that's the fun. The mystery drives the participation. When the bottles are donated, nearly every dollar becomes revenue. Now revenue potential from this raises anywhere between $1,500 to $5,000 or more. Here's a fun one: the balloon pop. This is a guest favorite. Fill balloons with prize slips. Guests purchase a balloon, they throw the darts and they pop it or pop it with their hands and immediately claim that prize. It works because it's immediate. Guests pay it play, they pop, they win, no waiting, no drawing, no delay. Place the display near your registration or in your connection reception, making it visibly impossible to ignore. Now revenue potential here could range anywhere between 1,500 and 4,000. This is also a good way to uh kill your silent auction if you're looking to. Here's another one. Mystery boxes. Beautifully wrapped the boxes. Every box looks identical, and guests purchase one or more. Every box contains a prize which is worth at least of what they paid for it. Some contain much more. People love surprises. Presentation is everything. Beautiful wrapping, elegant display, simple signage. Then you mentioned this through that connection reception. Revenue potential ranges anywhere between $2,000 and $6,000, maybe even more. So now, why do these revenue games work? Because they lower the barrier to giving. Not everyone can spend thousands, but almost everyone can spend $25, $50, maybe $100, especially when it's fun, when it's interactive, and when it's immediate. Revenue games create an easy first yes. And that first yes often leads to another. They also extend your giving window. Most gallows raise nearly all of their money during a short period of the evening. Revenue games create opportunities from the moment the guest arrives. Registration, your connection reception, in between courses, throughout the evening, instead of relying on one fundraising moment, you create many. So here's my biggest piece of advice. Don't try to do everything. Pick one, maybe two, and execute them exceptionally well. Now, one outstanding revenue generating game will outpour or outperform three mediocre ones every time. Staff each game with enthusiastic volunteers, train them well, and make every display visually compelling. Guests should understand the game within seconds, and don't rely on guests discovering them on their own. Your auctioneer, MCD, should be promoting these games throughout the connection reception hour and the silent auction. Simple reminders make a tremendous difference. Only a few mystery boxes remain. There's still some incredible bottles left in the Spirits Pool. Don't forget you're getting your golden ticket to win a trip to Maui, Portugal, or Greece. Now, these quick announcements create urgency and drive participation, and it is the best to have experienced sales volunteer to sell these opportunities. Now think real estate agents, insurance agents, car salesmen, anyone that knows how to sell. Now remember, revenue games aren't distractions from your mission. They are on ramps to generosity. So what kind of impact are we talking about? A well-executed revenue game can typically range anywhere between $1,500 to $25,000, depending on the room size and execution. So think about that. Thousands of additional dollars without adding another live auction item, without extending your program, without finding another sponsor. These are offered in incremental dollars from guests who otherwise wouldn't have participated. That's additional revenue. That's additional donor engagement, and those are additional donors and a greater mission impact. So the organization that consistently raises most money don't rely on one fundraising moment. They create multiple opportunities for guests to participate. Every golden ticket sold, every heads or tails entry, every gift card purchase, every hundreds board square claimed, every bag selected, every bottle pulled, every balloon popped, and every mystery box opened is another opportunity for someone to invest in your mission. So if you'd like even more ideas, make sure that you download our free resource, the stop hiring a free auctioneer. In it, we'll show you how to use these strategies and more that you can then allow you to invest in a professional fundraising auction team, and they can actually pay for themselves while helping your event raise significantly more money. We want to pull back that area, that barrier for entry, and we want to make it easy for you to hire one of us, a professional fundraising expert. So today, thank you so much for joining in the auction is action podcast. Remember, your donors don't need opportunities to watch. They need more opportunities to participate because when participation increases, philanthropy follows. So, friends, thank you again for the impact that you're making in the world. Thank you for being someone who is willing to make your event better. And by making better events, you will be racing more money, which will then create more impact and fulfill your mission. So thank you again, Bobby D with the Auction is Action podcast, sponsored by Call to Auction. We'll see you next time. 25 out of the bit, 50 hours, 75 out of the bit, 100, 100, 200, 300, 4, 40, get five, five, six, and seven, teventabay, nine. Thank you all for watching.