Whitehead: The Presidential Inaugural is on January 21 in Washington. In fact, we hope to secure a block of tickets to benefit a certain charity. If all goes well, you will be able to see them on Tickets-for-Charity sometime around January 10, price and packages to be announced.
If you've ever wanted to attend a presidential inauguration, this might be the year to check it out. Because Tickets-for-Charity has been assigned the task of securing and selling tickets for some of the best seats in the house, so stay tuned.
As the company name implies, Tickets-for-Charity is responsible for negotiating a block of great seats from various artists and events, selling them and then donating a portion of the proceeds to various charities. The inauguration is not sold out so in order to fill seats they turned to Tickets-for-Charity for help.
Jay Whitehead, CEO - Tickets-for-Charity, was enthusiastic as he discussed how this company makes it possible for people/fans to turn buying into giving with every purchase.
Faleris: What inspired this business? What is the founder's background? How long has this company been in business?
Whitehead: Jord Poster, one of the Priceline.com founding team members, launched Tickets-for-Charity in 2007 to turn buying tickets into giving. It took a lot of experimentation and investment by over 40 of New England’s most-successful entrepreneurs to both generate significant charitable donations and make the company profitable. Since inception, Tickets-for-Charity in its Northeast regional proof market has sold $15 million in tickets and raised $10 million for 110 charities. In 2013, we go national and will gain profitability on about $17 million in annual sales, with about $10 million generated for charity.
Tickets-for-Charity is part of a fast-growing movement in America’s $850 billion charity funding industry. We call it "Purposeful Purchasing". Rather than just making donations, consumers and businesses are demanding that part of the price they pay go for to benefit the environment or society. If today’s trends hold true, Purposeful Purchasing could generate $200 billion for non-profits by 2023. And Tickets-for-Charity will be a meaningful part of that.
Faleris: Who selects the charities?
Whitehead: Tickets-for-Charity has 114 charities on its platform now, representing the vast majority of major charities selected by our ticket donors. The donor of the tickets (teams, music tours, or corporations) pick the charity that gets 50% of the contribution, the buyer picks 25% and Tickets-for-Charity picks the other 25%.
Faleris: Do you have quantitative contribution goals for the future?
Whitehead: Since we started in Boston in 2007, Tickets-for-Charity has contributed $10 million. In 2013 we launch nationally and will contribute about $10 million, which will increase to about $30 million in 2014 and $70 million in 2015. Our goal is to grow our Charitable Sale™ platform as quickly as possible.
Faleris: How do you get the word out? Social media, online advertising or traditional advertising methods?
Whitehead: We have 5 major ways we get the word out. First, we have a large group, about 100,000 TFC Insiders, our members who register to hear about tickets in their area and type of interest. Second, supporters of our major charities get our marketing messages. Third, employees of our corporate donors (such as JP Morgan Chase, United Healthcare and many others) have the chance to become free TFC Insiders through their corporate intranets. Fourth, fan clubs of our the music tours and teams who contribute tickets are regularly marketed to. And fifth, we use many social media, advertising partnerships with outdoor and internet advertising platforms, and email marketing techniques to expand the reach of our marketing messages.
Faleris: How do you know how many tickets to negotiate for with each performance/event?
Whitehead: When we open a market such as Boston baseball or rock concerts in NYC, we source as many as we can sell, and we request that number of consigned or donated tickets from our partner teams, tours and corporations. By the end of 2013, we’ll be in about 20 major metro markets, covering all five major league sports plus all the major arena and stadium performing music genres - country, rock, rap.
Faleris: Does Tickets-for-Charity have competition?
Whitehead: At this point, there are no Charitable Sale™ competitors in tickets, and there are two good reasons why. First, it’s taken us $25 million in investment to create the Tickets-for-Charity engine, including our patented business processes, web technology and charity and ticket-supply network. I don’t care how rich you are, $25 million is still a lot of money. And second, you have to figure out how to both make a profit and generate significant charitable donations while selling tickets at or just below the market price. That’s quite a business magic trick.
Faleris: Many events give seats away at the last minute just to fill them. Many venues don't. What are your strategies for finding the venues who could but don't?
Whitehead: Teams, tours and corporations are all trying hard to increase the utilization of their tickets. Tickets-for-Charity is now becoming an important part of ticket owners’ utilization-maximization programs. That’s our strategy, to become a new tool for ticket sources to boost utilization. Teams, tours and corporations can consign or donate tickets to us, which gives them a combination of cash and/or tax deductions that make a significant difference in their finances.
Faleris: Do you stick to specific types of events or venues?
Whitehead: We carry pro sports and major music acts right now. Matchbox Twenty just announced a partnership with us for their 2013 Tour with a portion to benefit the Children's Health Fund - with great seats in the first 20 rows in cities across the U.S..
Here is link to that tour: http://www.ticketsforcharity.com/pl/Matchbox-Twenty-Tour-2013-Tickets) although you’ll also find theater and specialty events such as the March Madness NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Many NCAA sports or traveling acts such as the circus are tough to sell, and we tend to shy away from them.
Faleris: Why do you think ticket sales are slow for the Inauguration? What do the tickets include?
Whitehead: The Presidential Inaugural is on January 21 in Washington. In fact, we hope to secure a block of tickets to benefit a certain charity. If all goes well, you will be able to see them on Tickets-for-Charity sometime around January 10, price and packages to be announced.
So if you're in the market for great inauguration tickets or for other upcoming events, check out Tickets-for-Charity, where your ticket purchase goes a long way.
For more information on Tickets-for-Charity, click here.
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