Soapbox Engage Blog

When the ask goes out at a live fundraising event, something changes in the room.

The emcee makes the case. The first paddle goes up. Then another. What starts with one person saying yes can quickly become an entire room coming together to support the mission.

That's the power of a paddle raise. Capturing that response in the middle of a fast-moving event, though, takes more than keeping a running tally.

Soapbox Engage now brings paddle raise functionality directly into the event fundraising workflow. Event teams can manage a live giving appeal in Soapbox Engage Auctions, collect gifts on the spot as supporters respond, and surface that activity in real time through Soapbox Engage Live Displays.

In This Post

• What is a paddle raise?
• Why add a paddle raise to your fundraising event?
• Manage the appeal in Soapbox Engage Auctions
• Capture the gift while the room is still giving
• Put the giving on display
• Built for event night

What Is a Paddle Raise?

A paddle raise is a live fundraising appeal that gives event attendees a chance to make a direct gift to the mission, right in the moment.

An emcee or auctioneer invites guests to give at different levels. Attendees raise their paddles to indicate their commitment to a giving level, and event staff record those commitments as the appeal moves through the room. There's no item to win. The focus is simply on giving.

Why Add a Paddle Raise to Your Fundraising Event?

A live event gives your organization something online fundraising can't always replicate: a room full of supporters gathered together and ready to participate. A paddle raise puts that energy to work.

• It reaches supporters an auction doesn't. Not every attendee wants to bid on an item, but a paddle raise gives them a direct way to give at a level that feels meaningful to them.
• It puts the mission back at the center of the event. An appeal tied to a specific program or goal helps supporters see exactly what their generosity makes possible.
• It creates a shared moment. As paddles go up and commitments come in, the room can see the generosity happening around them, building energy toward the goal.

Manage the Appeal in Soapbox Engage Auctions

Paddle raise functionality is built directly into Soapbox Engage Auctions, so event teams can set up giving levels ahead of time and record commitments live as attendees respond to the appeal. That brings another live fundraising opportunity into the same event workflow, alongside bidding and other event activity.

Instead of managing the paddle raise as a separate process, your team can keep more of the event fundraising workflow together in Soapbox Engage.

For a closer look at how a fund-a-need can fit into a broader event program, see our guide to running a fund-a-need at your nonprofit gala.

Capture the Gift While the Room Is Still Giving

Recording a commitment is only half the equation. Soapbox Engage also gives staff the option to collect the gift right then, at the table, instead of treating every commitment as post-event follow-up.

The two are related but distinct. A commitment gets recorded the moment a paddle goes up, whether or not payment happens on the spot. Collecting payment is a separate, optional step for when a supporter is ready to give immediately: staff can take it via QR code, tap to pay on a card reader, or cash. That transaction syncs to Salesforce right alongside the rest of the appeal.

Keeping the ask and the payment together, when it makes sense to, also means less reconciliation work after the event: fewer follow-up emails to send, fewer pledges to chase down, and a clearer picture of what actually came in on the night.

Put the Giving on Display

A paddle raise gets people involved. Soapbox Engage Live Displays lets everyone see that activity. Surface your paddle raise through a live display, and the room can follow the giving as the appeal unfolds. The display can:

• Show the giving level currently being called
• Highlight commitments as they come in
• Add commitments to the donor stream
• Show paddle raise progress in real time

Instead of the giving happening quietly at the front of the room, attendees can see the generosity building around them. A $500 commitment appears. Another paddle goes up. The appeal moves forward, and the room can watch the response build as supporters participate.

That's what Soapbox Engage Live Displays brings to a fundraising event: a way to make giving activity visible and turn individual contributions into part of a shared experience. We covered the broader role of the Live Displays app in how live displays turns real-time fundraising into part of the event.

Built for Event Night

Paddle raises move fast, and often more than one staff member is working the room at the same time. Soapbox Engage Auctions is built to handle that: multiple team members can record commitments on the same paddle raise at once, with everyone seeing updates in real time as they happen.

Not every paddle gets caught cleanly. Your team can flag a commitment as unidentified and match it to a bidder later, resolve duplicate entries, and make corrections without disrupting the appeal in progress. After the event, that same workflow makes reconciliation faster: review what came in, clear up anything unresolved, and move on to fulfillment with a clean record.

If you're still mapping out event-night logistics, our guide to raising more at a live fundraising event is a useful next read.

Ready to Raise Some Paddles?

Paddle raise functionality is now available in Soapbox Engage Auctions, with the option to collect gifts on the spot and surface the appeal in real time through Soapbox Engage Live Displays.

If your organization already uses Soapbox Engage for fundraising events, this new capability gives you another way to turn the energy in the room into meaningful support for your mission. For the full details on what's included, see the official announcement in our Help Center.

And if you're planning your next gala, benefit, or fundraising event, there's another opportunity to think beyond the auction catalog. Our complete checklist for planning a nonprofit gala is a good place to start.

Because sometimes the most important thing happening at your event isn't what's being bid on. It's what people are willing to give.