Most fundraising events are planned like logistics problems. Rick Toone plans them like Hollywood shoots them.

Rick spent 20 years in Los Angeles as an art director and lighting designer for A-list clients — Ridley Scott, David Fincher, over 50 Super Bowl commercials, an Emmy nomination, Whitney Houston's first lighting designer. Then he moved to Mexico, joined a nonprofit, and grew its gala from $70K to $300K in three years. Now he runs a company called Run of Show Playbook, and this episode is a walk through the Hollywood-trained framework he applies to nonprofit galas.

In this episode: why every gala needs a script before the venue, menu, or flowers get booked, why you should never say "thank you" at your event (and when to say it instead), the three types of donors in every room — habit, heart, and head — and how to write for all three, why the audience is the hero of the story and not the mission, how the best interruptions come from the water-cooler conversations your staff has that never make it into the messaging, and the difference between telling a story and building a messaging arc.

Plus: what a 56-take Kevin Costner beer commercial can teach you about scripting your next paddle raise.

Chapters:00:00 Intro01:01 Living the Dream in Mexico

05:18 The Power of Listening

06:51 From Hollywood to Fundraising

11:09 The Importance of Messaging

15:48 Interrupting the Loop in Fundraising

21:05 The Importance of Audience Engagement

22:44 Balancing Heroes: Audience vs Mission

26:19 The Role of Impact in Fundraising

28:27 Stories from Hollywood: Lessons Learned

31:54 The Value of Honest Feedback and Audience Understanding

🔗 *CONNECT WITH US* 🔗

Work with Rick on Your Next Event: https://www.runofshowplaybook.com

Connect with Rick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricktoone/

Connect with Trevor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-nelson-b8922a167/

Follow Hey Nonprofits! on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/hey-non-profits-raise-more-money/

💙 *ABOUT HGA FUNDRAISING* 💙

This episode was brought to you by HGA Fundraising. The team at HGA helps event fundraisers create auction success with the most profitable (and mission focused) auction items in the space. Trips and experiences that excite donors, ignite bidding, and help your organization RAISE MORE MONEY.

To learn more about HGA Fundraising click here: https://hgafundraising.com/trips-and-experiences/

Easiest way to raise more money in your next event: https://hgafundraising.com/golden-ticket/

Feeling stuck with your fundraising? No matter where you are at in your journey, HGA offers FREE coaching for fundraisers: https://hgafundraising.com/nonprofit-coaching/

Need an auctioneer for your next event: https://charityauctioneerswelove.com

Most CEOs of nonprofits have opinions about boards. Christy Casey-Moore has a 100% give rate and a $1.2M gala to back hers up.

Christy is the CEO of Heart Gift, a global nonprofit that brings children from other countries to the United States for life-saving heart surgeries they can't access at home. Ten years in, she joins Trevor to walk through what it actually takes to build a board that fundraises, a team that supports each other under real pressure, and an event that clears seven figures.

In this episode: why Christy can spot a hiring fit in the first five minutes of an interview, how she structures her board around give-or-get with no resume builders allowed, the controversial thing she tells nonprofits about marketing spend ("put your seatbelt on"), why she doesn't seat major donors at her own table on gala night, the exact job she hands her board members the moment they walk into the event, and why she stopped thanking donors in the moment during the auction — and started catching them later instead.

Plus: what Christy does the Monday morning after every gala that most CEOs don't.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:15 Christy Casey-Moore and HeartGift Foundation

02:09 Board Engagement and Organizational Culture

04:06 Entrepreneurship and Nonprofit Leadership Symmetry

05:17 About HeartGift and Its Mission

06:42 Team Size, Hiring Lessons, and Culture Fit

10:27 Supportive Organizational Culture

14:09 Building a Unicorn Board

18:17 Event Night Responsibilities and Strategies

22:06 Missions Clarity and Marketing Investment

27:04 Leadership, Listening, and Continuous Learning

31:00 Evolution of Fundraising and Donor Engagement

37:14 Post-Event Follow-up and Gratitude

🔗 *CONNECT WITH US* 🔗

Connect with Christy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christycaseymoore/

Connect with Trevor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-nelson-b8922a167/

Follow Hey Nonprofits! on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/hey-non-profits-raise-more-money/

💙 *ABOUT HGA FUNDRAISING* 💙

This episode was brought to you by HGA Fundraising. The team at HGA helps event fundraisers create auction success with the most profitable (and mission focused) auction items in the space. Trips and experiences that excite donors, ignite bidding, and help your organization RAISE MORE MONEY.

To learn more about HGA Fundraising click here: https://hgafundraising.com/trips-and-experiences/

Easiest way to raise more money in your next event: https://hgafundraising.com/golden-ticket/

Feeling stuck with your fundraising? No matter where you are at in your journey, HGA offers FREE coaching for fundraisers: https://hgafundraising.com/nonprofit-coaching/

Need an auctioneer for your next event: https://charityauctioneerswelove.com

Most fundraising galas leave money on the table for reasons the people running them never see.

Chris Hensley and Brett Higgins, two of the most in-demand fundraising auctioneers in the country, join Trevor to work through five of the sharpest questions raised at the recent Chicago Gala Playbook event. What separates the organizations that consistently overperform from the ones that stay stuck at last year's number? Where does the fundraising actually break down in a program? And what does it look like to create inspiration to give without slipping into pressure?

In this episode: the six-month mistake most nonprofits make (spoiler, it involves ignoring the data from last year's event), why "we don't want to ask for too much money" is almost always a symptom of a past bad experience, the difference between pressure and inspiration and when each has a place, the concept of "unspoken peer pressure" and how leaders in the room quietly move giving upward, why the witching hour at 9:15pm is real and what to do about your program timing, and the one thing organizations overestimate every year (the room, the dinner, the linens) versus the one thing that actually moves revenue.

Plus: why Chris raised $1.2M against a $400K goal at a Relevant Radio event, and what "taking the lid off" the top ask can look like when the room is emotionally ready.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

01:41 Gala Playbook in Chicago

09:25 Data-Driven Fundraising

18:25 The Art of Asking

23:00 Creating Inspiration to Give Instead of Pressure

32:09 Creating a Unique Experience for Fundraising Events

38:09 The Right Places to Focus

43:32 One Piece of Advice You Would Give to a Nonprofit

45:54 Bonus

🔗 *CONNECT WITH US* 🔗

Book Brett for Your Event: https://www.bretthiggins.com

Book Chris for Your Event: https://www.bidraisebid.com/chrishensley

Connect with Brett on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bretthiggins/

Connect with Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-hensley-auctions/

Connect with Trevor on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/trevor-nelson-b8922a167/

Follow Hey Nonprofits! on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/hey-non-profits-raise-more-money/

💙 *ABOUT HGA FUNDRAISING* 💙

This episode was brought to you by HGA Fundraising. The team at HGA helps event fundraisers create auction success with the most profitable (and mission focused) auction items in the space. Trips and experiences that excite donors, ignite bidding, and help your organization RAISE MORE MONEY.

To learn more about HGA Fundraising click here: https://hgafundraising.com/trips-and-experiences/

The Easiest Way to Raise More Money at Your Next Event: https://hgafundraising.com/golden-ticket/