This stunning (and it was!) hand blown glass vessel and tripod had a value of $6000. It saddens me to say what it sold for, so I won't.
I’m going to make a bold statement: Avoid selling traditional art in your live auction, unless you are an exclusive art auction.
Traditional art pieces — items like sculptures, paintings, drawings, and mixed media which are produced by a professional artist who makes his or her living from selling artwork – are risky auction items for the standard, non-art benefit auction.
Art is too subjective. What I like, you don’t. What fits my home décor, doesn’t match yours. Art has limited appeal, and the goes against the most general of fundraising auction strategies which is to select auction items with broad appeal.
Are there exceptions? Of course! Read the rest of this entry »
A Beach Ball theme brings out the bright colors.
The official theme was “Beach Ball,” but the overall effect was definitely more on the “beach” and less on the “ball.”
When spring break isn’t quite here and winter has been around for what seems like eternity, everyone is eager to relive some of the summer fun enjoyed so many weeks before. Sand, sun, and water may still be months away, but it’s nice to have a party that reminds us of the warm sunshine that is coming. Read the rest of this entry »
Got a charity auction coming up, and wondering what to tweet?
Or maybe you just want to help a charity you love by getting the word out on Twitter?
Regardless of your motive, here are some ideas to model. I see great auction-related tweets all the time on Twitter and pulled a few to get your juices flowing. Read the rest of this entry »
Last April I wrote about one positive point of a down economy: discounted venues for our auction fundraisers. Given the number of charity auctions which are held in hotel ballrooms and unusual venues, a falling price point for rental space is attractive for many groups.
Looks like some venues are still aggressively competing on price. Read the rest of this entry »
Last October I wrote about how dining at the Chef’s Table can be a popular live or silent auction item to sell and a relatively easy item to procure. If you’re already asking for a donation, why not see if the chef has a table in the kitchen and ask if *that* could be the special table for your winning bidders?
Earlier this month on Twitter, I caught a link to the Chicago Business Journal. Shia Kapos wrote on this very subject. “Chef dinners on the charity auction block: a behind-the-scenes look” visits with some local chefs about their popular donations and the redemption process.
Most interesting to me was that the article confirmed one of my own observations: Many of an auction’s winning top bidders never redeem the item. Read the rest of this entry »
This non-profit helps adults and children, but they used a key slide to focus on the "kids" portion of their program.
To read Part 1 on “Using Kids to Raise Cash,” click here,
Over the past few months, I’ve offered several tips on how to manage your charity auction in a bad economy.
You can use all kinds of techniques to ensure your auction revenues remain strong in a bad economy, but one solid strategy of raising money – regardless of the economy – is to show guests how their donation impacts children. Read the rest of this entry »
Using posters in the reception area is a simple way to remind guests as to where their donations are going.
Over the last few months, I’ve offered tips on how to manage your auction in a bad economy, including blog posts such as The One Thing to NEVER Say on Stage at Your Benefit Auction (a popular one!) and Recessions Are a Time To Step Up Your Game.
You can use all kinds of techniques to ensure your auction revenues remain strong in a bad economy, but one solid strategy of raising money – regardless of the economy – is to show guests how their donation impacts children.
Children (and animals, to a large degree) seem to have a universal appeal and you can tap into that at your auction gala. Read the rest of this entry »
When I’ve got time, I like to pop over to some of my favorite writers covering the non-profit and technology space. I can always learn something.
Heather Mansfield of DIOSA Communications recently conducted eleven surveys using the Twitter application TwtPoll and she posted the results online, calling it “11 TwtPoll Results Nonprofits Can Use to Plan 2010 Communications Strategies.” Read the rest of this entry »