Robin Hood Foundation
Spurred on by celebrities Anne Hathaway, Eli Manning
and Brian Williams, over 3,100 guests feverishly outbid each other
in a pledge competition to benefit the poor in New York City.
In just 18 minutes, over $72 million was raised. And yet, not
one guest left with a prize in hand.
More Participation, More Money Raised
Luxury auctions and galas, even for the worthiest of causes, are
not immune to the effects of today’s troubled economy. With
the state of the market, philanthropists do not want to be seen
giving too much or too little to a cause, no matter how
worthy.
The Robin Hood Foundation, the leading poverty-fighting
organization in New York City, depends on donations made at its
yearly fundraiser to support its mission. In the past, the
organization landed huge donations with luxury auctions. Bidders
waved glowsticks to signal their donations. Given the high price
tags, this type of auction garnered no more than 3%
participation.
Michele Whitney, Senior Manager, Development Operations,
describes the objectives of the 2009 Robin Hood event as:
“Increase participation without leaving money on the table,” She
continues, “Our mission is to feed, clothe, shelter and teach our
neighbors in need. We had to find a way to encourage everyone to
give back this year, rather than just being a spectator.”
In the nonprofit world’s worst fundraising year in recent
history, and with attendees drawn heavily from the hard-hit
financial industry, Robin Hood was compelled to find a new approach
to its signature event.
Mark Bezos, SVP Development & Communications, Robin Hood,
states, “Times are tough, and it didn’t seem right for our guests
to be advertising their bid amount to a full room and walking away
with trips around the world and dinners with celebrity chefs. We
had to find way to make donations feel like their own prize.”
A New Kind of Fundraiser
The solution developed with IML was the prize-less
fundraiser. Upon entering the Javits Center, each of 3,100
guests received a hand-held IML keypad. Once seated, guests
were divided into three sections. Rallied by celebrities and
emcee Jon Stewart, each section was encouraged to outpledge the
other two. Pledge updates, posted on mammoth screens, helped
spur competition by alerting each attendee in real-time as to which
section was in the lead. In addition to spurring a natural
feeling of competition, these real-time updates encouraged those
who could afford to continue donating to open their wallets just a
little bit more.
The IML system enabled a pressure-free atmosphere where
attendees felt only the need to donate what they could afford,
whether that meant $5 or $5 million.
More Event Participation Means More Money for Those in
Need
In just 18 minutes of competition, over $72 million was raised for
the fight against poverty by the crowd of 3,100
attendees. More importantly, audience participation
increased from a typical level of 3% to an astonishing level of
72%. And because the IML keypad captured donor names, Robin
Hood was able to add thousands of names its donor database.
“Thanks to the instantaneous reporting features of the IML
fundraising solution, we were able to grow our donor list and start
collecting on the pledges the very next morning,” continues
Whitney, who notes that more than 50% of pledges were fulfilled
within 24 hours, an astonishing figure given the 3,100 people in
the room. “Thanks to IML the entire event was improved. We
received nothing but enthusiastic comments from new and long-term
supporters.”
For more information on how hand-held audience response systems
from IML can improve your next gala event or charitable auction,
contact IML.
TESTIMONIALS
“Robin Hood looks for people who are thinking and working as
hard as we are. From preparation and troubleshooting to execution
and follow-up, IML were with us—or ahead of us—every step of the
way. They thought through every possible disaster scenario in
advance and had a solution before the problem even arose. After
going through this benefit with IML on our side, I can’t imagine
going through this with another group of people.”
Senior Manager, Development Operations, Robin Hood
“The theme of the night was ‘Robin Hood Responds,’ and we were
blown away by the number of people who responded this year. Not
only did the IML technology help us increase the night's overall
revenue, but it was easy and fun for everyone to get involved.
Whether they were able to donate $10,000 or $10, each person was
able to make a contribution, and do so anonymously. And when they
saw their respective section's total rising in real time... the
energy in the room was electric. In this economy, finding new ways
to engage more guests in the fundraising process makes a real
difference.”
SVP Development & Communications, Robin Hood