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.

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.

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.

This gala of ~900 used a tent with sides that offered windows. The sides helped contain the sound while allowing guests to feel outside. Note the rigging.

Red Apple Auctions has conducted four charity auctions this month.  Three were scheduled to be in tents.

• Two galas stuck to the schedule and held them in the tents.
• In one case, the rain poured.
• In another, the rain cleared.  (See video below.)
• And one gala moved to an alternate location (an airport hangar), just in case.

In the fall and spring, tents are a popular venue choice.  They allow people to be outside and enjoy the spring or fall weather.  They lend a dreamy feel to the night.

I like them for these reasons.

On the flip side, they are cumbersome (someone needs to set them up before you can start loading in your tables), expensive, and — if the weather doesn’t cooperate — a pain in the rear.

But most critical for your charity auction, tents offer special challenges when it comes to audio needs.  If you’re not careful, no one will be able to hear the auctioneer, speakers, or anyone else.

Here’s a tip.

Sided tents contain the sound better than unsided tents.

The evening breeze won’t flow as easily beneath the tent, but bidding will be brisk and guests won’t complain they can’t hear.

Also ensure you have enough speakers to not only meet the needs of the guests in the tent, but to compensate for sound loss which naturally occurs as sound waves escape into the open air.

If you look carefully, you’ll note that the tents featured in this post (the video below and the photo) opted to hang the speakers on rigging or tent posts. Hanging has the added advantage of keeping wires off the ground, where guests might trip on them.

My advice:  Do it right, or don’t do it.

© 2011 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved.

P.S. Is your venue perfect, but procurement needs help? If so, claim your free charity auction item guide.