Cigars sell.

You might not like smoking.  You might like pipes but not cigars.  You might smoke cigarettes, but hate cigar smoke.

It matters not.

Unless you’re the big spender procuring and buying ALL of the items at your nonprofit auction, check any righteous attitude you hold and do what’s best for the cause — procure some cigar-themed goodies to raise cash for your charity.

The February 2012 issue of Cigar Aficionado (which landed on my doorstep last weekend for no apparent reason) lists the best cigars of the year.  Maybe your local cigar shop will donate a few?

The issue also reviews what is presumably the largest cigar celebration in the world, The Big Smokes.  The Big Smokes are held in Las Vegas in late October and New York City in late November.  It might be worthwhile to send an email to the organizers to see if you can get two complementary admissions to either event.  Build a package around it.

And what about accoutrements?  Humidors, cutters, a subscription to the magazine … all of those sell at auctions.  (The above photo is from one of my auctions last fall.  The humidor was the first item to receive a bid in the silent auction.)

See what you can procure and watch how quickly it disappears from the silent auction table.

©2012 Red Apple Auctions Co.  All rights reserved.

P.S. If you’re seeking other item ideas for your nonprofit silent auction, claim your free copy of “What Sold Like Heaven in 2011.“  It’s hot off the press!

A parent seeking donations for their school’s charity auction becomes concerned about whether she should be including the school PTA’s tax ID number on the auction donation letters, forms, and so forth.

It’s easy to understand the concern.

We’ve been warned about putting our birth date on Facebook, cautioned against using our social security number as a computer password, and shake our heads when we recall that our social security number used to be used as our driver’s license number.  Stories of identity theft fuel our fear.

But this tax ID number is readily available in the public domain.  And as you’ll have greater success in your procurement efforts if you include the number on your letters, you’ll want to find it.

Perhaps the easiest way to locate the number is to go online.  Here’s how I have helped my clients find their 501(c)(3) number.

1. Visit www.Guidestar.org and log-in.  You’ll need to create an account (it’s free) if you don’t have one. You can look up some information without an account, but you’ll need it for this task.

2.  Enter the name of the charity you want to find.  The easy-to-use screen will help you narrow down your search.

3.  Click on the organization you seek.  The page will load with a number of publicly filed forms.  Click on “Forms 990s and Docs” tab.  The 990 forms are in PDF format.

4. Open the most recent 990 PDF and find the entry underneath “Employer Identification Number.”  (I’ve always seen it in the upper right side of the first page.)  Voila!  That’s the the tax ID number which defines your organization as a 501(c)(3).

I’ve also been told that you can look it up on the IRS site.  That makes sense to me, but as I’ve always been able to find what I needed on Guidestar, I haven’t fooled around with the IRS site.

If you’ve found another easy way to locate the tax ID number for your charity auction donation letters or forms, please share it below.

© 2012 Red Apple Auctions Co.  All Rights Reserved.

P.S.  Get educated and fully inspired in your charity auction procurement with this 60-minute .mp3 tutorial to accompany the free “What Sold Like Heaven in 2011″ auction item guide.

© Goran Bogicevic photoxpress.com

With the new year brings a return to routines and schedules and work on spring fundraisers. I’m involved with charity auction clients at their committee meetings and volunteers are working hard on a number of spring benefit auctions. There’s a race to finish it all and get every detail in place for the gala.

No matter the season, the most often discussed topic by auction chairs and committees is item procurement. I have clients ask questions from the basic to the most complex about item acquisition.

And no wonder! Item acquisition is one of the make-or-break areas of a charity auction. If you don’t nail it – if you can’t get the right items — your guests won’t be bidding and you won’t be raising money for your favorite cause.

Some of the more frequent questions auction committees have are:

Who likes to donate?
Which items are best?
How do I ask?
Where do I get items?
What never sells?

Here’s a resource that will help you blow the socks off your acquisition team this year. The 2011 Auction Item Guide, What Sold Like Heaven in 2011, details 100 items that sold for over value in the benefit auctions I worked last year.

You’ll find answers to all the top questions. You’ll see what sold for the most – an answer to which items are best. You’ll see a list of items so you’ll easily spot who likes to donate. And with some detective work, taking notes about what isn’t on the list, you’ll learn what never sells.

It’s mid-January, what have you done to support your upcoming charity auction? Now you can get the free auction item guide and you’ll have done a LOT to help your favorite cause.

Claim your FREE Guide at www.RedAppleAuctions.com.  Take it to your  next acquisitions meeting, and you’ll be looking like a charity auction rock star.

© Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved.

And if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a numbers person. I like to measure results and make decisions based on numbers.  There’s nothing like seeing the answer in data and going for it.

So this week, I’m giving you the most popular blog posts of last year.  Consider it your insider’s guide to what was hot among charity auction and silent auction planners. The list spans from the nitty-gritty of silent auctions to the fun and fabulous.

BLOG POSTS

• Silent auctions: The good, the bad, and the ugly
• New silent auction ideas for displaying your jewelry
• Come to your senses to sell silent auction donations
• Looking ahead to 2011: Trends in Benefit Auctions – technically, this is a 2010 blog post but only for 4 days and auction chairs were definitely thinking 2011 with it
• New silent auction ideas could include a flip book
• Three ways to pamper the 40+ crowd at your silent auction
• Silent auction tips: Consider entertainment, stimulation & staging
• Which Is Better: An Auction Underwriter or Auction Sponsor?

VIDEO POSTS

One principle of learning that hasn’t changed since grade school is that some people learn by reading and some people learn by hearing or seeing.  For those in that second group, here are a few popular videos auction planners were tapping into.

Happy viewing…

• VIDEO: Encouraging youth to attend your benefit gala
• VIDEO: Are You Boring Your Charity Auction Guests by Only Talking About Your Mission?
• VIDEO: A dirty little secret about growing your benefit auction gala
• VIDEO: How to accelerate your benefit auction check-out line

Hope you find a nugget or two in last year’s popular blog posts and videos.  You could be the hit of your next  auction planning meeting, whether it’s just a silent auction or a full gala.
P.S.  If you really want to knock the socks off your committee, dig into the auction item guide and be the hit of the procurement conversation.  Sign up for the F*R*E*E charity auction item guide at www.redappleauctions.com
© 2012 Red Apple Auctions.  All rights reserved.

© Juriah Mosin / photoxpress.com

I’m predicting three trends for 2012 benefit auctions, and two of them involve execution.

No, nothing that harsh.  I’m talking about the other kind of execution, when we are getting stuff done.

We’ve heard a lot in the past couple years about trends in technology, but I think 2012 is the first time we are going to see some of these ideas in action.

First – for better or worse – mobile bidding will become more widely adopted in the silent auction.   Vendors have been touting electronic bidding through mobile devices for a solid two years, but the high cost, the long planning life of a gala, and the fact that committees take time to research and absorb new technologies meant it wasn’t as widely used.  2012 is the first year we’ll see mobile bidding adopted at numerous events, especially in metropolitan areas.

This fire is fueled by the many new vendors pouring into this space.  Prices are falling and the technology is improving.  The mobile bidding of the past – and by “past” I mean 18 months ago – has morphed into text bidding.  Instead of giving each guest a bidding device upon entering the gala, guests will be encouraged to use their own cell phone and bid through a downloadable application or via text.

Moving forward, I don’t think you’ll see auction guests carrying around event-provided devices and key cards as much as you’ll see committees encouraging guests to use their own phones to bid.

The second nonprofit auction trend of 2012 rests with online auctions.

Online charity auctions have steadily gained in popularity over the last 10 years, but I think 2012 is the year when they will start to combine with the onsite gala auction experience.   This merge could take several forms.

For instance, the final bid price achieved in the online auction might become the starting bid in the silent or live auction held onsite.

Or online bidders could be invited to place bids – in real time – during the live gala auction.  This last technique has a proven history in commercial auctions but is generally new to the benefit auction scene. Warning to auction chairs: this adds considerable complexity to the onsite gala. But at times, it would be worth the heartburn.

And finally, no nonprofit auction trend forecast is complete unless it covers food.  In 2012, food trends will continue to spill over into charity auctions.  Small, mini, and petite is what I expect to see on serving trays and buffet tables.  The invasion of cake pops, mini cupcakes, and bite-sized delectables will give a fresh look to a gala’s dessert menu.  (It also means I have less guilt about polishing off three desserts.)

I’ll be taking notes this year as my team and I work onsite at more than 55 charity auctions around the USA.  Stay tuned!

Everyone appreciates some appreciation, so my advice to auction committees is to give it to them.  Don’t overthink the task. Grab a pen, the phone, the keyboard … or even a video camera and just say thanks.

Here’s my example of taking a moment to pause and let someone know their actions were appreciated.  I arrived home after a long – a 9 hours long – road trip to find a wonderful box of goodies waiting for me.

A charity auction client was celebrating a gala’s success and sent me a package .  A thank you was in order – my Mom would have been proud.  But I didn’t pick up a note card or send an email, I grabbed my video camera.

Watch the video.

I wanted to share my appreciation and excitement at that moment. There’s no better way to do that than a quick video.  It’s a peak behind the curtain at some behind-the-scene operations, and a genuine expression of how much I appreciated the gift. I didn’t rehearse, I just shared my thoughts for a couple of minutes – and said thanks.

Your school or non-profit could lift the curtain for the occasional short video and say thanks to donors.  Imagine staff saying thanks after they have just opened the day’s mail.  What about the excitement in the office when an auction chair shares an update on sponsorships?

Your nonprofit can create its own reality show by sharing appreciate in a video immediately when the news is delivered.  You’ll be able to capture the initial, unrehearsed thank you on video and share it with your community.

© 2011 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. Want some help landing lots of great items to say thanks for?  I have procurement help, claim your free charity auction item guide.