Asking Matters at Events and Cool New Technology Makes That Easy

by Brian Saber

I’m not a huge fan of fundraising events but Valet.io makes me believe in them more!

I get the importance of events, but I’m not a party person. All the years I ran events as a fundraiser I wished I were sitting down with all those attendees individually instead (once a major gifts person, always a major gifts person I guess!).

And it frustrated me that silent and live auctions only engaged some of the attendees, when there were lots of other potential giving opportunities in the room. The time to capture it was that moment when the donor were revved up, having fun, and engaged.

Amazing new technology by Valet.io allows everyone to text their contributions from their smart phones and see the impact their giving is making in real time. I saw this technology firsthand at a recent fundraiser and it was wild. The politician finished speaking, the event chairs asked for additional gifts, and 60 seconds later the campaign was $5,000 richer!

Monitors tracked donations and totaled them so we could see how our gifts were adding up and that egged attendees to do more. We’re all fascinated by technology today. It was fun to figure out how to submit the pledge. I didn’t see a single person NOT pull out their phone!

Another benefit – no more deciphering handwriting or calling the next day to follow up. Founder Jake Silberg says, “Valet.io tracks pledges in real-time, allowing organizations to collect payments at the event via credit card or check.” How nice is that?

Asking matters, and I love how Valet.io pushes the boundaries of asking in real-time at events.