Self paced digital course

Beyond the Bid: A Fundraising Playbook

A comprehensive digital course that helps nonprofit professionals, board members, and volunteers plan and execute fundraising events with clarity, confidence, and intention.

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What to Expect from the Fundraising Playbook

A structured, end-to-end approach to planning and executing events

Guidance that balances strategy with real-world application

A structured, end-to-end approach to planning and executing events

Tools and frameworks that reduce overwhelm and last-minute scrambling

Practical insight on guest experience, donor behavior, and revenue

Supports both staff-led and volunteer-led event teams

What to Expect from the Fundraising Playbook

A structured, end-to-end approach to planning and executing events

Guidance that balances strategy with real-world application

A structured, end-to-end approach to planning and executing events

Tools and frameworks that reduce overwhelm and last-minute scrambling

Practical insight on guest experience, donor behavior, and revenue

Supports both staff-led and volunteer-led event teams

Course Outline

Event Management Tools and Foundations

Software, ticketing, auction/sales tools, check-in, mobile bidding vs. bid sheets, Wi-Fi/bandwidth, and team readiness.

Fundraising gala event table with flowers on it

The Gala Event Experience

Check-in/out, theme selection, Fundraising Event Chair role, timeline, volunteer recruitment, concierge, table sales.

Person holding up a bid card at a fundraiser

The Live Auction and Run of Show

Selecting live auction items, working with auctioneers/spotters, crowd engagement, paddle raise, building a Run of Show.

Open computer with the screen showing the words "online auction"

The Online Auction and Revenue Strategy

Platform selection, item curation/pricing, bidding structures, promo timelines, sponsor integration, fulfillment.

Auction Items, Revenue Enhancers, and Sponsorships

Inventory planning, consignment, revenue enhancers (games, pulls), sponsorship strategy, stewardship, the ask.

Expanding Your Fundraising Toolbox

Rethinking traditional galas, virtual/hybrid models, diversifying revenue, final reflections, glossary of terms.

Who We Are

Nonprofits are asked to accomplish extraordinary work with limited resources. Our role is to support the leaders behind that work.

We provide nonprofits with the strategic guidance and operational expertise needed to strengthen fundraising, improve internal systems, and build sustainable growth. By combining 30+ years of experience, practical consulting with hands-on implementation, we help organizations focus less on administrative complexity and more on advancing their mission.

Who Is This Course For?

Nonprofit professionals

Board Members

Development directors

Event Planners

Gala committee members

Fundraising "Cat Herders"

Volun'told volunteers

From Your Instructor

" My Insights have been drawn from years attending, supporting, and consulting at hundreds of fundraising events. This course is designed to be practical, not one-size-fits-all. Take what resonates, adapt it to your mission, and leave the rest."