Podcast – Episode 30: From Arrival to Impact: Creating a Frictionless Giving Experience
In this episode of Auction Is Action with U in It!, Bobby D. Ehlert makes a direct, passionate case for one of the simplest upgrades any nonprofit can make to their fundraising event: capturing credit card information at registration.
Your donors came to give. Make it easy for them to do exactly that.
Key Takeaways
Pre-Swiping Credit Cards Is Now Standard Practice
Gone are the days of paper donation slips and post-event invoices. PCI-compliant technology exists specifically to capture and secure credit card information at check-in, and it is becoming the norm at fundraising events across the country.Your Donors Came to Give. Don't Create Friction.
Guests who show up to a fundraiser know it's a fundraiser. They are there to support the mission. Making it easy for them to follow through on that intention is not presumptuous. It's respectful.Chasing Donations After the Event Is Expensive
Awkward follow-up calls, emails with outstanding invoices, and donors who meant to give but never finalized their pledge all represent lost revenue. A credit card on file eliminates that problem entirely.The Checkout Experience Matters as Much as Check-In
When donors raise a paddle or win an auction item, the last thing they should have to do is stand in a long checkout line. A pre-captured credit card means they can walk out feeling inspired, not frustrated.Good Registration Technology Pays for Itself
Systems range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. But the cost of not having one, measured in uncollected donations and staff time spent chasing pledges, almost always exceeds the investment.Pre-Event Card Entry Is Also an Option
Donors can even enter their credit card information before they arrive, making the registration process faster, smoother, and more welcoming from the very first moment they walk in the door.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Bobby D.: Well, hello there everyone. Bobby D here, your host of the Auction Is Action with You in It podcast. And I just want to make a quick note about one of the most important things that you need to capture at your fundraising event right here: a credit card.
That's right. Friends, if you are looking to save time, save energy, and save stress and drama, do your guests a favor and get them to pre-swipe their credit cards as they are entering your fundraising event.
Yes, I know what you're saying. Oh, but we don't want to ask our guests for credit cards. We're afraid they'll be uncomfortable with sensitive information. Excuses, excuses, excuses.
Friends, your guests and your donors are coming to your fundraiser because they know you're fundraising and they are there because they want to support you and give to you. So why not make it super easy for them to do exactly that? The easiest way to do that is to capture their credit card at check-in, so you're not following up after the event with awkward phone calls, texts, or emails with invoices that say, "Please, would you finalize your donation?" Just get them to make the donation on the night of the event. And by having a credit card on file, you are absolutely able to do that.
Gone are the days where credit card information lives randomly in the cloud or people fill out paper forms with their card number on the back. That's not happening anymore. What is happening is there are PCI-compliant technologies out there that will secure this credit card information in a highly secure place. And that's what it's all about: getting the information so you can collect your donations faster.
These technologies are great. If you need an introduction or a referral to any of the tech partners out there, please reach out. I'm happy to make referrals. There are dozens of different technology solutions that accept credit cards as guests enter the event.
As you're thinking about your guest experience, you want it to be smooth, frictionless, inspiring, motivating, and you want people to take action. And when they raise their paddle or win an auction item, you want it to be easy for them to finalize that donation right then and there.
If you have a card that's pre-swiped or pre-tapped, whether through an iPhone, Android, or whatever it might be, that information goes into the registration system and the card gets charged that night or the next day. It saves you enormous time by not having to go back out into the world to chase donations. And it makes it easy for your donor to leave the space after the event feeling full of love and full of inspiration: getting into their car, calling their cab, going home, not worrying about a long checkout line or an outstanding balance.
This is best practice. This is becoming the standard in fundraising events. And if your board is saying, "No, nobody's going to give us a credit card," I'm sorry to say this, but you are wrong. People want a seamless experience. This is the norm.
So please, please follow best practices and get yourself a high-quality registration system. Systems range from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, but they are worth it. Think about it this way: if you don't capture a credit card and you hope someone fills out a donation slip at the end of the night and you don't get that money, that cost you more than the system ever would have.
Work with a team and a system that makes it easy for your donors to give. They're coming to your event to help you fundraise. They're there to support your mission. Please let them do that.
Rant over. Get credit cards before your event. Donors can even pre-enter their card information in the system before they arrive. Think about how easy that check-in becomes: here's your table number, here's your paddle number, thank you so much for coming. Seamless.
Thank you again for watching or listening to the Auction Is Action with You in It podcast. If you need help with your fundraising event, please don't hesitate to reach out. You can find me on all the socials or visit calltoauction.com, inspirehearts.com, or galatoolbox.com. At the Gala Toolbox, you can download the free Event Blueprint to help build a seamless and frictionless event experience for your donors.
Thank you for the impact you are choosing to make in the world and the action you are taking every single day to change it. I'll see you on the next episode of the Auction Is Action with You in It podcast. Bye everyone.
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At Call to Auction, we specialize in turning galas and fundraising events into mission-driven, revenue-generating experiences. From paddle raises to live auctions, our team knows how to excite donors, engage audiences, and inspire generosity in the moment.