Episode 60: From Volunteers to Executives: Women's Roles in Nonprofits with Marissa Walters

Lori: Welcome to Elevate Your Event, your favorite podcast for transforming fundraising events. Join us weekly for expert tips and creative ideas to make your next event a standout success. In this episode of the Elevate Your Event podcast, we are joined with an all-woman team of Handbid pros -- Lori, Elise, and Inga -- and our special guest, Marissa Walters, with Wild Hair Auctions. Join us as we dive into the inspiring world of women in fundraising and philanthropy. Enjoy.

Lori: All right, welcome back to the Elevate Your Event podcast. We're glad to have you with us today for a special podcast with only the women representing. It is Women's History Month this month. And it is also International Women's Day on Friday. So we are excited to have a crew of amazing women here today. Today we're going to discuss women and fundraising, all different aspects of women in fundraising.

Lori: So to get us started, the first statistic I have for today is that 67% of U.S. and Canadian donors are female. And women and girls' organizations receive 1.8% of charitable giving in the United States.

Elise: I'm not surprised.

Inga: No, not at all.

Marissa: That's amazing. It is funny because when you go to an event and you're doing check-in and giving out the bidder number -- the joke always is who's going to get the number. And more often than not you do see the gentleman yield to the woman, right? Because it could be the cause that she brought him to, and she already understands the economics of their household. And that's her passion and where she wants to give.

Inga: It's funny you say that because I have my own joke as I check people in. I look at the gentleman, I look at the lady, and I say, we all know who's in charge here. And then I just hand her the paddle. Totally. She's keeping track of all the spending.

Lori: But the other part of that statistic that's fascinating is that only 1.8% of charitable donations go to women's organizations, but women aren't just giving to charitable organizations for women. They're giving to all different types of charities.

Marissa: Well, I think we see that it takes all kinds, right? As women and moms, we understand that it takes a lot to make the world go around. It isn't just that we need to support women. We need to uplift young girls and women and show them what they can do and what they can be. Representation matters. But at the same time, we also understand that we have to support those other causes that create a well-rounded world and community.

Lori: Not to offend any amazing men in our lives, I will be so brave to say that we as women have high emotional intelligence.

Lori: There's another statistic that women's and girls' charities received $8.8 billion in 2020, which is a 9.2% increase. And there aren't really strong statistics around how many charitable organizations are women-only focused. I think a lot of charities like to be a little broader than trying to be women only. But if women are important in fundraising -- most fundraising is around women. James, the producer, said before this: would there be fundraising if it wasn't for women?

Marissa: Good question. It is a great question. And we were chatting before the podcast about the difference between women and men and what kind of organizations they're drawn to. I know for me, in my charitable giving, I'm drawn to whatever I've had a personal experience with. I might know somebody who struggled with something. I have to have an emotional buy-in as a woman. Whereas my husband will donate to something that he just thinks is cool, with no personal experience with it.

Lori: How about you guys? Have you had any personal experience with that yourself?

Marissa: In our household it's very similar. We worked a lot with our kids on managing their money. They had the invest, the spend, the save, and the donate. And every year, Colorado Gives Day, we sit down and talk about what you're going to give to. And it is funny to watch the difference between what Coleman chooses and what Maya chooses. Hers is very much emotional. She's led by who she is as a person and what she wants the world to be. Where Coleman will just be like, yeah, dogs are cool. Let's just give to that dog thing. He doesn't even have a dog. And I would give it to a dog thing, right? But it's not a lot of thought. Where hers is very thoughtful. She'll sit down, look at the list. She had a friend two years ago who she found out around Christmas time was unhoused and in a shelter. One of the causes on the list -- she'd never heard of it -- but she said, Mom, this is the one I want to give to because of my friend, because this is an organization that could help her. And Coleman's like, cool, dogs are cool. I just want the dog charity.

Elise: I definitely want to give back to organizations that I care about. I think of some really neat organizations that support women, like Girls on the Run. I'm really supportive of empowering organizations. My heart just wants to support them.

Inga: For me, it's all about emotional connection. I cry every time I see the commercial on TV when they ask you to donate to abandoned dogs. I immediately want to grab my phone and donate. It's about the mission and the story behind it. It has to be a story. It speaks to you and that's what you want to support.

Lori: I think that's important. And we'll talk more about some events that we've been at that are women-focused. But I want to chat a little about women as fundraisers. There's about 85,931 people that work in the fundraising industry. And women account for 70.9% of that industry.

Inga: That's amazing. I believe it.

Lori: We can talk about whether those women are in the executive levels. I actually think there are quite a few in the nonprofit space -- probably more so as executive directors. And Inga and I work on the service desk, and we definitely deal with a lot more women.

Marissa: I wonder what draws them. Is it their passion, where their heart leads them to go make a difference? Or is it that with pay disparity, maybe it was a job they could get? Who knows? But it is definitely -- women are our contacts more often than not in everything we're doing. And I also think of every board I've been on, aside from maybe the soccer team -- it's a lot more women.

Marissa: I also wonder if it's a carryover from the 1950s lifestyle when it was the man's job to be the breadwinner, and women were either at home caring for the family -- but if they had a certain lifestyle, they had the privilege of going back and giving to their community. Maybe it is ingrained in us, as our mothers did it, our grandmothers did it. And we've become a bigger part of the workforce, but we didn't lose that component. We were able to say, my mother gave back. Now I can have a job giving back. And so maybe that's also how that came about.

Lori: I love that. Let's get into events. We've all probably worked events as consultants or auctioneers or at Handbid for event expert support. Let's talk about some events we've seen that have been female-focused.

Inga: Some purse auctions, which are super fun. They get very high-end purses. They bring in a lot of money, a lot of support, participation, and just fun. They're all there to have a great time.

Lori: I love purse auctions because they always display the purses and you might even get to touch it. I'm much more drawn to the auction item that I can touch and feel. If it's a fashion item or something I would never buy normally, but it's charity.

Marissa: Looking at purses, that's something you'll wear. People will see you have that brand of purse. And you can say, I got it at the auction. It brings more attention to that organization and hopefully builds more interest. It's win-win -- win for the bidder and win for the organization.

Lori: And then there are fashion shows. Those are fun.

Marissa: If they are successful. I am 50-50 on fashion shows. They have to be run well. The one that I work every year has the coolest production, the coolest visuals behind them, cool models. And they do the fashion show in between the live auction. So it's a super fluid moving event, and it feels like nobody's just sitting around waiting for the live auction to complete.

Marissa: And they always have topiaries that are made into gowns. It's super cool. I actually did my first hair show about two weeks ago. A local woman-owned salon did it for CASA. She had been a foster kid when she was younger. So it was a really cool connection. The theme was Nebula -- it was out of this world. The hair was so cool.

Lori: What about unique fashion shows? I've seen ones with kids and adults, or ones with dogs.

Elise: She works all the dog events she possibly can. If you need help -- she also fosters any dog. Good heart. She's amazing.

Lori: Anything else that's been cool fundraising-wise for women only?

Marissa: I've worked a cowgirls fundraiser. That was a fun one. And the Breast Cancer Research Foundation types of events are real popular for women. Having marketplaces for women at events.

Lori: One of the things that I think women go crazy for is a drawing. A jewelry pull. What is wrong with us? We're like, I can win that diamond necklace.

Marissa: I've had so many diamond necklaces as of late. Everyone's got a diamond necklace. It's been so much fun to do them with the paddle drop or in different ways instead of just selling it. Because it's the whole idea of "I could win."

Lori: I did this event in Texas. And what's fun is the little trinket you get for your drawing entry. One year it was Japanese-themed, and they had this awesome Japanese whiskey as your favor to get in the jewelry pull. It's so much fun to watch all the different things organizations come up with to entice women into these fun events and revenue centers.

Marissa: I worked an event up in upstate New York and these women are just cuckoo for these drawings. They will purchase a bazillion drawing tickets. And instead of doing a silent auction, the whole thing is drawings. They drop all their tickets into the items. They hoard you to buy their tickets.

Lori: That is so much better than a dessert dash. Come on.

Marissa: Yeah, and they're like, well, no, this is what we've done in the past. And then I asked to see their numbers and I was like, wait, what? Maybe we don't even do a live auction because they're crushing it in the drawings. And it's all about knowing their crowd. It was majority women and women-focused items and they were in it to win it.

Lori: Let's think of items that are attractive to women. We talked about things we can touch -- purses and jewelry.

Elise: Women go for puppies at events. Auctioning off a puppy. I have mixed emotions about it. It's quite a commitment. But the ones that do it well -- one that Marissa and I did together in Northern Colorado, the gal auctioning the puppy was the breeder as well. She was not letting this dog go to someone that wasn't prepared to be a dog owner. And that made you feel a lot better.

Lori: So we have women-focused events. But then most fundraising organizations are not female-focused only. So how do we keep the interest of the people that are really spending the money? How do we draw women to the event?

Marissa: I think Inga hit the nail on the head earlier. It's the emotional appeal. It's about creating an event that has a great story that pulls you in where you want to be part of the movement and part of the solution. I mean, themes are always fun, right?

Lori: Depending on the theme. Can we do no more Top Gun themes? Please.

Marissa: That's a guy thing. It was way too many.

Lori: Unless you have all the men there with their shirts off playing volleyball. Now we're talking.

Lori: I like themed dress events more than just a theme. I like a white party or where you're all dressed in white. Those are cool and classy. The country ones kind of get old at this point. If I go to another Denim and Diamonds...

Lori: One of our final thoughts -- we have Women's History Month and we're talking about all these cool women things. I think of luncheons when I think of women. Do you think there's a particular time if you're aiming towards women as an audience? I know we had a colleague who went to a breakfast fundraiser -- an 8 a.m. fundraiser. No thank you. That's hard for anybody who's got kids.

Marissa: I think it goes back to how the world's changed. Back in the '50s a luncheon was perfect because husbands were at work, kids were at school. But nowadays most of us are in the workforce and we don't have jobs where we can be gone for two hours at lunch. If you're looking for a specific demographic, if it's a socialite type audience, then a luncheon can be fantastic. But it has to be a very pointed group of people.

Lori: Who is your donor? Who are you trying to attract? And what kind of event? Timing matters. I personally do not want to go to a super long event. I want to get there, give them my money, win a few things, and be done.

Marissa: What I don't want is the entire board to have a five-minute slot to talk. I don't like long presentations. But if it's an event like Jeff's Prader-Willi Syndrome Association of Colorado derby event -- that's a long event but you're hanging out, you're bidding in advance, you have all this activity. It's an experience. I will go to that. I will not go to a plated dinner where I sit down and listen to a long presentation and a big long live auction. I want it to be dynamic and fun. It needs to be somebody like Marissa doing the auction. And also the awards -- I love that you want to honor your people, but one award recipient with a video, and they don't get a 10-minute speech. Because this event is about raising money. An award event can be a totally separate event. This one is grab your attention, short live auction, quick paddle raise. Otherwise, you can really deflate the room.

Lori: It just sucks the energy out of the room. Unless you're having a concert or doing a sports-based event -- a multi-layered experience -- you don't want it to drag. And a lot of times people try to plan an after-party and your people are done. It's a waste of energy, time, and money.

Marissa: Unless it's a big name event. You have to have young people there because the older folks get tired. But you can plan a very successful after party if you know your audience.

Lori: So we talked about women as donors, women as fundraisers -- people either getting paid or all you wonderful women doing this on your spare time. God bless you. And then we talked about women-only fundraising events, how to attract women at your non-women-only event, and what we enjoy at events.

Lori: I think this has been a wonderful conversation. It was really fun to have everybody here. We dressed in pink for you all. We hope that you have a wonderful Women's History Month and that you enjoy International Women's Day. March 8th. Celebrate all those women in your life. Thank you for joining us. And thank you to our special guest, Marissa, as well. And happy fundraising.

Lori: We hope you enjoyed this all-pink, all-women podcast. And a special thank you to Marissa Walters from Wild Hair Auctions. If you enjoyed our show, please take a moment to leave us a review. You can find us on Apple, Google, and Spotify. Don't forget to subscribe for more great content. And if you're a fan of video, check us out on YouTube. Until next time, happy fundraising.