The signature market

Most Leagues have one — a holiday market, a shopping event, a home tour, a gala — that is the organization's public face, absorbs the entire membership for weeks, and brings in more people than everything else combined.

It is also, in most Leagues, the only time the community meets the organization at all.

Attach rather than add

The membership's capacity is committed to the signature event for a large part of the year. A second standalone fundraiser competes with it for the same people, and the signature event is the one that loses.

• Open the auction two weeks before and close it at the event
• QR codes on the tickets, the programme, the vendor map and the bags
• A display where the queue forms, and near whatever people wait for
• One announcement, and a mention from whoever is on the microphone
• Bid on a phone while shopping, which fits a market perfectly

A market is an unusually good auction environment because attendees are already in a buying frame of mind, holding a phone, and moving slowly.

Capture the attendees, which is worth more than the auction

This is the finding to act on. A signature market processes thousands of ticket and retail transactions from people who are not members, have just spent money, and supported the organization enough to come.

Most Leagues take their money and never their details — which means every year the campaign starts from the membership again.

• A sign-up at ticketing, once, changes the organization permanently
• A QR code on the receipt or the bag
• A prize draw entry that collects an email
• Vendor lists too — the businesses that sell at the market are prospects for every future campaign

Vendors are a supply nobody works

A market's vendors are dozens of businesses who already pay to reach the League's audience, are physically present, and have inventory.

• Ask every vendor for one auction item as part of the booking process
• Offer them the auction listing as additional exposure, which is a genuine benefit
• Feature vendor items prominently, which they will promote to their own customers
• Keep the ask light, because they are paying customers rather than donors

Built into the vendor agreement rather than asked separately, this fills a catalogue with almost no solicitation effort.

Sell the event itself

• Early or preview access to the market before it opens
• Reserved parking, or a shopping concierge
• A prime vendor booth for next year
• A table at the gala, or the best table
• Naming a feature of the event
• A behind-the-scenes role — judging, ribbon-cutting, opening the doors

And review the event honestly, once

Worth doing at a board meeting: what does the signature event net, and how many member hours does it consume? Leagues run these for decades out of tradition and identity, both of which are legitimate reasons — but the question should be asked rather than assumed.

Frequently the honest answer is that the event should continue for what it does for visibility, recruitment and the community, and that the fundraising efficiency should come from something attached to it.

General information, not legal or tax advice for your League. Membership obligations, the treatment of dues and required contributions, and the association's brand standards come from your own bylaws and your parent organization — check both.