Podcast – Episode 38: The Hidden Revenue at Every Gala: 8 Games That Raise Thousands
In this episode of Auction Is Action with U in It!, Bobby D. Ehlert walks through one of the most overlooked opportunities in gala fundraising: additional revenue-generating games.
Most organizations plan around three revenue sources: the silent auction, the live auction, and the paddle raise. Those are all important. But not every guest is ready to spend $5,000 on a live auction package or make a leadership gift during the appeal. Almost everyone, though, wants to participate. Revenue games make that possible.
Key Takeaways
Revenue Games Lower the Barrier to Giving
Not everyone can spend thousands. But almost everyone can spend $25, $50, or $100, especially when it is fun, interactive, and immediate. Revenue games create an easy first yes. And that first yes often leads to another.Participation Creates More Participation
Guests who have already laughed, competed, and engaged during a revenue game are dramatically more likely to raise their paddles during the live auction and appeal. Warming up the room is not just about energy. It is about generosity.Revenue Games Extend Your Giving Window
Most galas raise nearly all of their money during one short window of the evening. Revenue games create giving opportunities from the moment guests arrive through registration, the connection hour, between courses, and throughout the program. Instead of one fundraising moment, you create many.Pick One or Two and Execute Them Exceptionally
One outstanding revenue game will outperform three mediocre ones every time. Staff each game with enthusiastic volunteers trained on how to sell. Make every display visually compelling. And have your auctioneer or emcee promote these games with urgency throughout the evening.These Are On-Ramps to Generosity, Not Distractions from Your Mission
A well-executed revenue game can generate anywhere from $1,500 to $25,000 or more depending on room size and execution. These are incremental dollars from guests who otherwise would not have participated. Additional revenue. Additional engagement. Greater mission impact.
The 8 Revenue Games
1. The Golden Ticket
Sell a limited number of premium raffle tickets, typically between $100 and $500 each. Before the live auction begins, one winning ticket is drawn and that guest gets to choose any live auction item before bidding opens. The key is making sure total ticket sales exceed the value of your top auction package. For example, 150 tickets at $100 each generates $15,000 before the drawing even happens. Using a consignment travel package as the prize means you can still offer that same trip in the live auction afterward, often with stronger results because the golden ticket has already built demand for it. Revenue potential: $10,000 to $25,000 or more.
2. Heads or Tails
Guests purchase an entry for $20 to $50 and stand with hands on their head or hands on their backside. A coin is flipped. Wrong guess, you sit down. The game continues until one guest remains. A professional auctioneer turns this into a performance with suspense, comedy, and crowd interaction. Every elimination builds anticipation. Revenue potential: $2,000 to $5,000.
3. Gift Card Frenzy
Partner with local restaurants, golf courses, retailers, spas, and businesses your donors already know and love. Display the gift cards creatively and sell them from the stage. The value is tangible and the decision is easy. Guests are trading dollars for something they will already use while supporting the mission. Group gift cards by theme: date night, family fun, golf, foodie favorites. Revenue potential: $1,000 to $5,000.
4. The Hundreds Board
A board with 100 numbered squares. Guests purchase a square for anywhere from $1 to $100. Once all squares are sold, a winner is drawn and receives the cash prize or an item. The remainder supports your mission. Guests love watching the board fill up throughout the evening. Organizations typically retain $2,000 to $5,000 after paying the winner. If the prize is donated, you keep all $5,050. Revenue potential: $2,000 to $5,050.
5. Bag of Money
Similar to the hundreds board but with a twist. Guests reach into a bag filled with custom poker chips numbered one to 100. The number on their chip equals the price of their raffle ticket: a $2 chip costs $2, a $75 chip costs $75. Once all 100 chips are sold, the auctioneer picks a winner from the stage who receives an amazing prize. A trip to Las Vegas pairs especially well with this game. Revenue potential: up to $5,050.
6. Spirits Pull
Guests purchase a wrapped bottle for $25, $50, or $100. Wine, whiskey, bourbon, tequila. They do not know what they are getting until after they have paid. Some bottles are worth less than the purchase price. Others are worth significantly more. That mystery is exactly what drives participation. When bottles are donated, nearly every dollar becomes revenue. Revenue potential: $1,500 to $5,000 or more.
7. Balloon Pop
Fill balloons with prize slips. Guests purchase a balloon, pop it immediately, and claim their prize on the spot. No waiting, no drawing, no delay. The immediacy is what makes it work. Place the display near registration or in the connection hour where it is impossible to ignore. Revenue potential: $1,500 to $4,000.
8. Mystery Boxes
Beautifully wrapped boxes, all identical in appearance, each containing a prize worth at least what the guest paid for it. Some contain much more. People love surprises and presentation is everything. An elegant display with simple signage and beautiful wrapping moves these throughout the connection hour. Revenue potential: $2,000 to $6,000 or more.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Bobby D.:
Hello there everyone. Welcome back to the Auction Is Action with You in It podcast. The podcast where we help nonprofits create better fundraising events, raise more money, and build stronger donor relationships. I'm Bobby D. Ehlert, your host: a 20-plus year fundraiser, world champion auctioneer, founder of Call to Auction, co-founder of the Gala Toolbox and Inspire Hearts Fundraising, collectively raising over a billion dollars for nonprofits.
Today we are talking about one of the most overlooked opportunities in fundraising: additional revenue-generating games.
When most organizations plan a gala, they focus on three revenue sources: the silent auction, the live auction, and the paddle raise. Those are all important. But here is the question. What about the guests who do not bid? Not everyone is going to spend $5,000 on a live auction package. Not everyone is ready to make a leadership gift during your paddle raise. But almost everyone wants to participate.
Revenue games are interactive, lower-stakes fundraising activities that happen during the connection and reception hour alongside your silent auction, or as featured moments during your program. They can engage every guest in the room. They create energy. They increase participation. And most importantly, they raise money.
So let us dive into my favorite revenue-generating games, starting with the highest-impact opportunities.
The golden ticket. If you have never seen one done well, you are missing out. Here is how it works. You sell a limited number of premium-priced raffle tickets, typically between $100 and $500 each. Before your live auction begins, one winning ticket is drawn. That guest gets to choose from any of the live auction items before the bidding even starts. It is simple, it is exciting, and when it is executed well, it can become one of the biggest revenue generators of the entire evening.
Here is why it works. Unlike a live auction where only one bidder ultimately wins, every person who purchases a golden ticket contributes to your fundraising goal. Instead of relying on one winning bid, you are inviting dozens or even hundreds of guests to participate. More participation, more excitement, more revenue.
The strategy is making sure that your ticket sales exceed the value of your top live auction package. For example, if your highest-value auction item would normally sell for around $5,000, and you sell 150 golden tickets at $100 each, you have generated $15,000 before the drawing even happens. Even after accounting for the value of the item, you have dramatically outperformed what that item would likely have raised in the live auction alone.
One of my favorite strategies is to use a consignment travel package as your golden ticket prize. After the winner selects that trip, you can still offer the exact same trip during your live auction. And it often performs even better because the golden ticket has already built anticipation and demand. The golden ticket does not just raise money. It builds excitement and becomes a powerful marketing tool for your live auction.
Here is a simple pricing formula. Take your fundraising goal, add the value of the prize, then divide that by your ticket price. If your goal is to raise $10,000, your prize is worth $5,000, and you are selling tickets for $100, you need to sell about 150 tickets. Simple.
Now let us talk about execution. Sell tickets where people naturally gather: near registration, near the bar, anywhere in the heavy connection hour traffic. Staff the table with enthusiastic volunteers. Use people with sales experience. Limit sales to a specific window to create urgency. Give buyers a token, a blinky ring, a beaded necklace, a lapel pin, so you can recognize who has already purchased and drive curiosity from those who have not. Then make the drawing an event. Build suspense. Give everyone one last opportunity to purchase before sales close. Choose a prize your audience genuinely wants: weekend getaways, VIP experiences, private chef dinners, exclusive sporting events, or high-ticket consignment travel packages.
The golden ticket works especially well for events of 250 or more guests. And always check your state raffle laws before implementing this strategy. When executed well, a golden ticket can easily generate $10,000, $20,000, even $25,000 or more.
Now, one of my all-time favorite revenue games: heads or tails. Guests purchase an entry for $20 to $50. Everyone stands. Hands on your head or hands on your backside. Flip the coin. Wrong guess: you are out. The game continues until only one guest remains.
Do not confuse simple with boring. A professional fundraising auctioneer turns this into a performance. There is suspense, comedy, friendly competition, crowd interaction. Every elimination builds anticipation. And here is why I love it: it warms up the room. Guests who have already laughed and competed and participated are dramatically more likely to raise their paddles during your appeal and your live auction. Participation creates participation. Revenue potential: $2,000 to $5,000.
Next: the gift card frenzy. Partner with local restaurants, golf courses, retailers, spas, and businesses your donors already know and love. Display the gift cards creatively and sell them from the stage. Here is why it works: the value is tangible. Everyone knows exactly what a $100 gift card is worth. When you frame the purchase as supporting the mission while buying something you will already use, the decision becomes easy. It is just trading dollars for dollars. I have seen a $100 gift card sell for $200 simply because the room was warm and the cause mattered. Group gift cards by theme where possible: date night, family fun, golf, foodie favorites. Revenue potential: $1,000 to $5,000.
Now the hundreds board, a fundraising classic. You have a board with 100 numbered squares. Guests can purchase a square for anywhere from $1 to $100. Once every square is sold, a winner is drawn and receives the cash prize or the item. The remainder supports your mission.
It is easy to understand. Guests love watching the board fill up throughout the evening. The drawing works especially well just before your live auction begins. Organizations typically retain $2,000 to $5,000 after paying the winner. Add up $1 through $100 and you get $5,050 total. If you are using a consignment package, subtract that from the $5,050 for your profit. If the item is donated, you keep the full $5,050.
The bag of money. Similar to the hundreds board but with suspense built in. Guests reach into a bag filled with custom poker chips numbered one to 100. The number on the chip equals the price of their raffle ticket: $2 equals $2, $5 equals $5, $75 equals $75. Once all 100 chips are sold, the auctioneer on stage picks a winner who receives an amazing prize. A trip to Las Vegas works especially well for this one. Revenue potential: up to $5,050.
Now, one of the hottest fundraising games today: the spirits pull. Guests purchase a wrapped bottle for $25, $50, or $100. Wine, whiskey, bourbon, tequila. They do not know what they are getting until after they have paid. Some bottles are worth less. Others are worth much more. That mystery drives the participation. When bottles are donated, nearly every dollar becomes revenue. Revenue potential: $1,500 to $5,000 or more.
The balloon pop: a guest favorite. Fill balloons with prize slips. Guests purchase a balloon, pop it immediately, and claim their prize right on the spot. No waiting. No drawing. No delay. It works because it is immediate. Pop and win. Place the display near registration or in the connection reception area where it is visually impossible to ignore. Revenue potential: $1,500 to $4,000.
And this also works well as a way to close your silent auction in a creative and energetic way.
Finally, mystery boxes. Beautifully wrapped boxes where every box looks identical. Guests purchase one or more. Every box contains a prize worth at least what they paid. Some contain much more. People love surprises and presentation is everything. Beautiful wrapping, elegant display, simple signage. Promote these throughout the connection reception hour. Revenue potential: $2,000 to $6,000 or more.
So why do these revenue games work? Because they lower the barrier to giving. Not everyone can spend thousands. But almost everyone can spend $25, $50, maybe $100, especially when it is fun, interactive, and immediate. Revenue games create an easy first yes. And that first yes often leads to another.
They also extend your giving window. Most galas raise nearly all of their money during one short period of the evening. Revenue games create opportunities from the moment guests arrive: through registration, the connection reception, between courses, throughout the evening. Instead of relying on one fundraising moment, you create many.
Here is my biggest piece of advice: do not try to do everything. Pick one, maybe two, and execute them exceptionally well. One outstanding revenue-generating game will outperform three mediocre ones every time. Staff each game with enthusiastic volunteers. Train them well. Make every display visually compelling. Guests should understand the game within seconds. And do not rely on guests discovering these games on their own.
Your auctioneer or emcee should be promoting these games throughout the connection reception hour and the silent auction period. Simple reminders make a tremendous difference. Only a few mystery boxes remain. There are still some incredible bottles left in the spirits pull. Do not forget to get your golden ticket for a chance to win a trip to Maui, Portugal, or Greece. These quick announcements create urgency and drive participation. And the best person to run these sales opportunities is someone with real sales experience: a real estate agent, an insurance agent, a car salesperson, anyone who knows how to sell.
Remember: revenue games are not distractions from your mission. They are on-ramps to generosity.
A well-executed revenue game can typically generate anywhere from $1,500 to $25,000 or more depending on your room size and execution. Thousands of additional dollars without adding another live auction item, without extending your program, without finding another sponsor. These are incremental dollars from guests who otherwise would not have participated. Additional revenue. Additional donor engagement. Greater mission impact.
The organizations that consistently raise the most money do not rely on one fundraising moment. They create multiple opportunities for guests to participate. Every golden ticket sold, every heads or tails entry, every gift card purchased, every hundreds board square claimed, every bag selected, every bottle pulled, every balloon popped, and every mystery box opened is another opportunity for someone to invest in your mission.
If you would like even more ideas, make sure to download our free resource, Stop Hiring the Free Auctioneer. In it we show you how to use these strategies and more so you can invest in a professional fundraising auction team that can actually pay for itself while helping your event raise significantly more money.
Thank you so much for joining us on the Auction Is Action podcast. Remember: your donors do not need more opportunities to watch. They need more opportunities to participate. Because when participation increases, philanthropy follows.
Thank you for being someone willing to make your event better. And by making better events, you will raise more money, create more impact, and fulfill your mission. Bobby D with the Auction Is Action podcast, sponsored by Call to Auction. We will see you next time.
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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.