Elevate Your Event

If you're part of a nonprofit organization or charity, you know how important fundraising is for your cause. One effective way to raise funds is to organize an auction. However, getting items donated for the auction can be a challenging task, especially when relying on a committee of volunteers to secure donations.   In this podcast, we will provide you with practical tips and strategies to motiva...

The timing of your event and the order of your program can have a dramatic effect on your audience’s engagement, and potentially the amount of money that you raise. Knowing when to make an appeal, when to close your silent auction, and when to hold your live auction is an art form to be mastered!   The team talks today about the run of show, from days leading up to the event, all the way to the af...

The more people you can get to your event, the better, right? How you promote your event matters, and to be successful, you have to hit the target audience that you are trying to reach.  There are many different strategies to market your event. In this episode, the Handbid team will help you decide what promotional tactics are best for your organization and how to take the next steps to make sure...

One of the best ways to get people to donate to your organization is to host a fundraising event. There are many different types of events and themes, and the Handbid team is talking through over two dozen different ideas to help get your creative juices flowing, so you can host your best fundraising event ever! Let Handbid help you take your event to the next level. With features like mobile bidd...

Your event could be a total success from start to finish: Your first impressions wowed your guests, your program was flawless, and you might have raised more money than ever. But there’s one thing that could make or break the overall impression of your event: Checkout. If people are waiting in a long line to pick up their auction items or pay their pledged donations at the end of the night, you co...

Your nonprofit board is crucial to your event's success and to advancing your organization’s mission. Board members are the ones who provide you with guidance and advice and who bring money, connections, and other resources to the table. But managing that board and finding the right board members can be tricky.   We brought in special guest Mike Papi, founder of the OneGoat Foundation, to talk wit...

You’ve spent months planning and preparing for your silent auction, and you’ve recruited all of your items. Maybe you even have a really good-looking auction setup. Now what? How do you get people to bid on your silent auction items? The goal is to raise as much money as possible at your event, so how is that done through your auction? Our team believes that how you name, describe, and market your...

We’ve been doing events even before Handbid was born in 2011. We’ve been involved in hundreds of them, so we’ve seen a thing or two! We all have stories about the good, the bad, and the ugly. We’ve been there, schlepping in the extreme heat and checking in guests in the extreme cold. We know that event planners and managers wear many hats and have to be willing to do anything and everything to mak...

In this first episode of the podcast, we’re introducing ourselves. The Elevate Your Event Podcast podcast is powered by Handbid, a mobile bidding software company ( and so much more! ) Kristen, our Marketing Manager, interviews Jeff Porter, Handbid’s co-founder and CEO Jeff created Handbid out of a critical need to improve his own event: a fundraiser for a charity he also founded. He tells us the...

Your guests’ arrival experience - from the moment they buy a ticket to the moment they enter the venue - is the most important part of setting your event up for success. When it comes to fundraising events especially, you want to create an environment that will put your guests in a giving mood!  In this episode, Jeff, Lori, and Elise break down all the ways you can give a superb first impression....

Silent auctions are hugely popular at fundraising events. When done well, they can help you raise a lot of money, but there are some critical mistakes that can have a negative impact not only on your auction, but on how much money you raise and possibly even impact your organization. In this episode, Jeff, Lori, and Diana talk about key silent auction mistakes and how to avoid them. They give advi...

Welcome to the Elevate Your Event Podcast, where we talk about how to plan and execute an unforgettable event that will dazzle your guests and generate more income for your organization. From fundraising and securing trending auction items, to event production and logistics, get the best tips and advice from seasoned fundraising and event professionals who have been in your shoes.   Powered by Han...