Everyone has been hit hard during the coronavirus pandemic, but the impact has proven especially problematic for non-profit organizations and associations, as their bottom line has been injured in various ways. As members of your community are laid off or furloughed and perhaps struggling with finances, they are, understandably, less able to donate to such groups—if at all. Accordingly, most organizations rely on live, face-to-face events to engage with and energize supporters. As a result, the professionals striving to keep their organizations afloat through these tumultuous times have had to get creative.

“Obviously, due to the inability to host live fundraising events in 2020, we experienced a dramatic drop in event donations,” says MPI Foundation Executive Director Kevin Kirby. “I sense this is similar to everyone who historically hosts parties and special events.”

For the World Education Congress (WEC), the association’s largest annual event, the MPI Foundation usually delivers several touchpoints for supporters—key among those being the President’s Dinner, the networking/entertainment evening Rendezvous event and the Silent Auction.

The Foundation’s Silent Auction typically includes a variety of travel- and meeting-specific prizes, such as stays at hotels and resorts and unique experience packages (this year there was a New York Yankees VIP pregame experience!). For WEC20 in Grapevine, Texas, this past November, the MPI Foundation expanded the type and number of items available through its auction, including dozens of pop culture collectibles. For some of these new offerings—such as a signed Cristiano Ronaldo jersey and limited-edition Marvel art—a percentage of the final bid price went back to the individual or auction house offering the items.

“Fundraising is all sales and marketing. You need to understand and know your audience.”

“It’s fun to add unique memorabilia into auctions,” Kirby says. “Typically, there is a minimum bid amount onto each of those items—for everything that sold for more than that amount, the Foundation received 100 percent of that overage.”

The opportunity to have a sing-along with a Broadway star was one such item for which a limited amount of the proceeds returned to the donor. The experience—a private, 30-minute-long Zoom session with the winning bidder’s choice of talent from a variety of cast members from blockbusters such as Hamilton, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Frozen—was one of the most bid-upon items and ended up selling for $1,000. Such online interactive experiences have expanded greatly over the past year as everyone searches for ways in which to offer something new while in lockdown or social distancing.

Enter celebrity meet-and-greets. Perhaps the most visible company offering these opportunities is the personalized celebrity video message service Cameo, which debuted in 2017.

“We’re in this really weird environment where every athlete, actor, celebrity finds themselves basically with nothing to do,” Cameo co-founder and CEO Steven Galanis told Fast Company in March. That month alone, the company’s talent lineup grew 160 percent and bookings increased more than 80 percent.

The MPI Foundation: Giving back to the MPI community

Adapting to the new market demand, in June, the site launched Cameo Live, a service that instead of providing a personalized, recorded video clip, connects you in real time to your celebrity of choice. The duration of these Zoom interactions ranges from a quick hello to a 15-minute-long live, virtual visit. Pricing is equally diverse—as defined by each celebrity—anywhere from US$50 to $15,000.

Such experiences, while brief, can provide everything from an amusing break to a jaw-dropping “wow!” Imagine connecting virtually with a group of your supporters for a digitally shared coffee or glass of wine and then dropping comedian Gilbert Gottfried into the mix. (Note: Some individuals on Cameo only offer videos or live experiences for individuals, avoiding anything that could be viewed as a tacit corporate endorsement.) Naturally, professional speakers bureaus have also entered this space.

Lisa Messina, vice president of sales for Caesars Entertainment and a member of the MPI Foundation Global Board of Trustees, says Caesars has not yet leveraged their significant celebrity relationships for online meet-and-greets or experiences in these ways, however, they have dealt with the same type of production for use with internal events during the pandemic, including a cook-along with the executive chef from CAESARS FORUM.

Knowing (and Finding) Your Audience

Back at WEC20, Kirby sought additional ways to augment the MPI Foundation’s offerings onsite and online. This included special sales of Sparkle Ball earrings, made by Hillberg & Berk, a woman-owned company in Canada, with 40 percent of all proceeds benefiting the Foundation. Participants to WEC20 experiencing the event through the live digital platform could also purchase this unique jewelry, with sales still open.

“The Hillberg & Berk initiative was driven by our MPI Foundation Canadian Council as they identified several areas where our brands aligned,” Kirby says. “They’re big proponents of women empowerment and give to multiple worthy causes, including efforts to end human trafficking. Of course, the representation of our membership is also 80 percent female. The brand obviously wanted to get exposure in the U.S., but it’s also beautiful, affordable jewelry.”

What’s really key for successful fundraising and professional relationships, he says, is to understand why someone would choose to donate to your group. What’s their motivation? Who do they want to help? What kind of recognition or experience would they be most interested in receiving as a result of their involvement?

“Fundraising is all sales and marketing,” Kirby says. “You need to understand and know your audience. For instance, suggesting legacy planned giving to a younger audience who may not even have a will probably won’t drive substantial donations. The key is to communicate, communicate, communicate. Good marketing develops that emotional tie with your consumer and that, ultimately, creates that desire to give. A critical fundraising component is our ability to utilize a diverse group of Foundation trustees who leverage their network and their professional skills to complement our initiatives.”

Messina—one of those trustees—notes that effective fundraising is often all about the storytelling and how potential supporters connect with the story in such a way that it compels them to give.

“It’s fun to add unique memorabilia into auctions.”

“There’s so much out there, so how do you do it in a way that allows your story to be heard amongst the many others that are out there?” she says. “I think grassroots-level sharing via social media campaigns, sharing their stories, is a great way to engage.”

Yet, she also explains that getting such information about potential and past supporters—that knowing and communicating Kirby mentions—has been made increasingly difficult. It’s not been easy getting in touch with meeting and event industry supporters as of late since professional networks have gone out of date with so many planners and suppliers laid off or furloughed—and with the only prior contact information being through their employers. Along with colleagues, Messina is currently looking into grassroots-supported social media outreach to connect (and reconnect) with those professionals.

“If you don’t have a direct phone number or an actively watched email to address people who have surely been impacted by the pandemic, you’ve got to figure out, ‘How do I get to you, now, where you are—whether at a different organization or to determine if you’re even working?’” she says.

The creative ideation for effective fundraising has over the past year focused heavily on digital options, as expected, but Kirby reminds us that face-to-face engagement with supporters isn’t gone forever.

“Sure, everything is virtual right now, however, the demand to gather and meet face to face will be an exciting return, hopefully within the next six months.”