Annual Fundraiser 2021

Project Brief

Project Timeline
October 2021 - November 2021

My Contribution
- Mapping the Customer Journey
- Auction Flow Visualization
- Advising on Fundraiser Page Layout
- Post Event Surveys

Project Type
Non-Profit Fundraiser

Overview

It’s difficult to fundraise during a global pandemic. In 2021, this arts-organization set out to improve the virtual auction experience for its users with the overarching goal of maximizing its fundraising revenue. To do this, the organization looked back on the 2020 virtual auction experience.

 
1. 2020’s Obstacles

User Obstacles

1. Pre-Registering for Auction
2. Submitting bids prior to the event night
3. Knowing where to call or email for assistance
4. Understanding the auction schedule
5. Having time to enjoy the program and bid on desired items
6. Knowing final results of auction

Museum Obstacles

1. Staff knowledge of auction software to assist users with registration and bidding
2. Role assignments for staff the night of the event
3. Understanding of event schedule for staff to better assist users
4. Staff has adequate amount of time to proxy bid for users who did not pre-register

Meet Philanthropic Peter

In 2020, the art organization's fundraiser saw bids from 12 different individuals. These bidders all had very similar backgrounds, and relationships to the organization. The user persona developed to describe these
individuals is Philanthropic Peter.

Goals

  • Leave behind a legacy

  • Inspire others to give back to the community

  • Help local art institutions expand within the community

Frustrations

  • Utilizing new technology such as Zoom & online bid platforms are difficult for Peter to learn

  • Attending Virtual galas in lieu of live events

Core Motivations

Philanthropic Peter has been identified as philanthropic, caring, and analytical.

2. Pivoting From 2020’s Auction

To address the observed user and employee frustrations from 2020’s Fundraising Event, we did the following:

1. Promoted early auction registration with phone or email help line available to those struggling with the system prior to the event

2. Provided call help line during the auction, and trained staff to properly place bids on behalf of those having difficulties

3. Trained staff to use online auction portal on behalf of frustrated bidders

4. Extended auction close past the end of the virtual gala so viewers could enjoy the event and worry about the auction later

Mapping the Customer’s Journey in 2021

Philanthropic Peter - Supporter of the Arts‍

Scenario: Peter would like to bid on an auction item at the
art-organization’s fundraising gala.

Peter’s Expectations

  • 1. Sign up to bid

  • 2. Bid on desired items

  • 3. Receive confirmation email after bidding

  • 4. At the end of the auction receive notification of bid status

What actually happened?

1. Peter entered his email and password information into the platform sign-up page in order to create an account to bid. He then received a message notifying him that he already had an account. This message was confusing to Peter because he didn't remember having an account and certainly did not remember his password as he last used this platform one year ago.

2. Peter calls the help line to understand what is going on. He relays what he would like to bid on to the event assistant, and his bid is placed. The help line helped Peter feel less frustrated trying to participate in the auction.

3. Peter receives a text message that he has the leading bid and then receives a warning text 5-minutes prior to the close of the auction.

4. Peter is notified that he has won the item that he bid on. Overall, he is happy with the outcome but is also conflicted as his initial experience was so negative.

Our Successes:
1. Through proper employee training and establishing a help line, auction revenue increased by $5,000

2. We pushed the auction end time to close one hour after the event — this allowed for less stress for those who wanted to both view the event and participate in the auction.

3. Unlike 2020, there were no bidders who were notified of winning items they hadn’t won. This spared the organization time, embarrassment, and stress.

3. The 2021 Fundraiser Results

Opportunities:
1. The bidding platform still created frustration among the primary participants.

2. Overall Revenue was lower than the prior year. This metric consisted of auction revenue, gift shop revenue, and donations.

4. Next Steps

There are many factors that affect the monetary outcome of this type of fundraiser. The other factors we must consider are: notoriety of artworks being auctioned, number of artworks auctioned compared to prior years, auction promotion date, items sold in online gift shop, and more.

There are of user frustrations which were not anticipated this year, such as confusion around whether a bid was entered, or how to navigate within the browser to open another tab.

These frustrations inform us that we need to more heavily consider our user when relying on an online platform for events such as this. Though we did mitigate problems that we had experienced the year prior, there was still a lack of participation within the virtual auction. If we decide to run a virtual or even hybrid auction in the future, consulting with some of our primary users for testing is strongly recommended.