I don’t recall ever posting a job announcement on my blog before, but three circumstances collided this week to make it seem like a brilliant idea.

1. As you read this, I’m on vacation at a lake in Missouri.  I don’t want to write a complex post on my vacation.  This fits the bill.
2. This school is a long-time client.  I’m happy to help them out.
3. With jobs seemingly in short supply in this economy, you, dear reader, might be interested in applying.

Bullis School in Potomac, MD is seeking an Events Coordinator.

You get to plan all kinds of events, including the largest fundraiser of the year: the school auction.

Below is a draft … DRAFT, meaning “not quite accurate” … description of the announcement.  Don’t hold me or Bullis to this description.  I’m sure the school will be posting the perfected description on the Website soon.

Meanwhile, interested applicants are encouraged to email Joanne Szadkowski, Director of Institutional Advancement (or call her at 301-983-5709) without waiting for the posting.  (Tell her Red Apple Auctions sent you.)

Bullis School 10601 Falls Road, Potomac, MD 20854

Events Coordinator: Job description (FT, 12 mos)

-          Participate as a contributing member of the Institutional Advancement Team

-          Prepare and manage budgets for events, organize and execute the following events (and support others as needed): New Faculty Reception, Faculty/Staff Picnic, New Parents Reception, Homecoming Weekend, Alumni Reunion Reception, International Family Reception, Faculty/Staff Holiday Party, Wine Tasting, Gala/Auction (major fundraising event for approx. 400 people), Grandparents and Special Friends Day, Head of School Circle Reception and Graduation.

-          Prepare RFPs and manage contracts with vendors

-          Research and check capabilities and cost benefits for vendors

-          Select and supervise vendors, ensure proper payments and accounting

-          Recruit and manage parent volunteers

-          Supervise creation, production and packaging of event related print materials, including invitations, letters, name badges, signs, gala catalog, and spreadsheets, etc. as needed.

-          Create, compile and maintain invitation and RSVP lists for events

-          Create and manage gala database, run reports and all associated documentation for auction

-          Train volunteers and staff on gala data entry and other tasks

-          Create and submit facilities and food service work orders for events

-          Make phone calls to solicit volunteers, donors, advertisers and participants for gala

-          Send follow-up e-mails/make follow-up phone calls, when possible, for RSVPs to most events

-          Provide guidance to other faculty and staff and Parents Association when questions arise as they plan their individual or divisional events

-           manage MaestroSoft auction database and Maestroweb auction web page

Good luck!

And if you landed on this page hoping to find how-to school auction advice, click on over to Benefit Auction Ideas.

It doesn’t matter if the tuition is $3500 or $26,000, I hear the same points.

• “We want to be inclusive.”
• “We need to keep the gala affordable.”
• “We don’t want the auction to become a snooty event.”
• “We have all levels of parents who pay tuition at this school.”

I’ve observed enormous debates rage over a suggested hike in ticket price.  Even a suggested $5 increase will launch the opinions.

So consider this story where they increased the ticket price by ~750%.

The Catholic Schools Foundation in Boston hosted their 20th anniversary last spring.  Traditionally it was a free dinner celebration billed as a “stewardship” gala.  For their 20th anniversary last year, they decided to charge a ticket price.  They opted for $750 per person and made $2.6 million.

Wow!  Let’s re-read that.

The dinner was previously FREE and billed as a “friend-raiser.”  They changed that and charged $750.  They made $2.6 million in ticket and sponsorship sales to help kids in inner city Catholic schools.

Why did they change?  Peer pressure. (And we’ll assume money.)

The quote from the article is, “All of the other non-profits in the area have this format, where they have an annual fund-raiser.”

Here are my two take-aways:

1.  Re-evaluate your ticket price.

Look at what you’re offering compared to what’s in your neighborhood.  What does a meal cost in your town?  And beyond the food, what is the value of the “experience” you’re providing?

2.  Expand your scope of sponsorship (even if you’re a school) to companies you might not have originally thought of approaching

Schools often seem to feel “limited” in their ability to secure sponsorships.  “Only the parents care,” is a prevailing thought. Another is, “Only the parents who have a business will be a sponsor.”

Not necessarily.

This group went to a high-powered person (Patriots owner Bob Kraft) to chair the event, and honored another mogul (Fidelity’s Peter Lynch).  Those people reached out to their peers to secure sponsorships.  Maybe I’m wrong  — I haven’t researched it — but I’d bet that not every CEO of every donating company is Catholic.

(And if they were … dang!  They did their homework.)

In conclusion, let’s work on nixing those self-limiting beliefs about whether your gala is worth the price and who will or won’t donate to your school auction.

© 2011 Red Apple Auctions Co.  All Rights Reserved.

P.S. Want more good stuff?  I’m giving away the 2010 Auction Item Guide.

A tree decorated with lottery tickets holds the promise of riches.

If you’re hosting a late November or December benefit auction, your auction procurement strategy could include decorated holiday trees.

1.  At one school auction gala, one of the live auction items was a tree decorated with 100 $1 scratch-off lottery tickets.

Not only is the winning bidder buying a lovely tree, but with a hundred scratch-off tickets, the bidder could be taking home a goldmine.

2.  At another school auction, the student-decorated trees sold for top dollar.

The school serves autistic students and some exceptional artists reside among the student body.  The school sold the opportunity to have a small group of students visit the winning bidder’s home or business and decorate a tree with hand-crafted ornaments made at the school.  In some years, the school has sold the trees at $10,000 apiece, doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling the sale when interest was strong.

Here's an elegant tree ready to be enjoyed at home, and professionally decorated by a local design house.

3.  Ask a professional decorator to create a signature tree.

The tree will draw greater interest from the crowd than, say, a 2-hour home decor consultation.  You might offer to buy the tree, and he or she can decorate it.  The bonus is that a beautiful tree with signage like, “Decorated by Joan Thomas Design Inc.” will give the donor much more publicity than a silent auction donation.

One reason I prefer fall and winter benefit auctions is because it’s easy to naturally incorporate the holidays into an auction procurement strategy.  Make the most of your date by branding it to the season with a holiday tree.

Want more benefit auction ideas?  Maybe the top 100 selling items?  Claim your FREE Auction Item Guide.

© 2010 Red Apple Auctions Co.  All rights reserved.

The school auction chairperson calls.  “I know our parents,” she’ll tell me, “and I know we have more money in the room than what we’re getting.  I attended XYZ auction, and they made a lot more than we ever do.”

When I ask her who the benefit auctioneer was, how that auctioneer supported them, and why they weren’t using him again, she says, “We use a parent.  He’s nice … but … “

Then I hear what went wrong.

• “The auction took too long.”
• “He insulted one of our big donors.”
• “We wanted to try this new idea.  We explained it to him, but he didn’t understand.  It flopped.”
  

…. Over the years, you’ve shared quite a few “wrongs.”

• “Everyone got bored and started to leave before the band played.”
• “He sold two identical dinners for two different prices.  The guest who paid $600 wanted a $100 refund at check-out.”
• “He has these ‘skits’ he performs when he sells each item.”
  

…. I wrote all 67 “wrongs” down.

• “Our pledge portion lacked enthusiasm.”
  
• “He wasn’t familiar with our items.”
  
• “He’d been drinking.”

…. And identified which you could easily improve for the most bottom-line impact.

• “He only payed attention to people he knew had money and ignored others.”
  
• “Our auction seemed amateurish.”
• “We had a consigned item, and he sold it for less than what we had to pay for it.”

And now — with my 5-step formula — you and your volunteer auctioneer are going to learn how to run a flawless auction FAST.

This Wednesday (April 14) at 2 PM EDT, join me to learn how your Volunteer Auctioneer can help you enjoy …

• A more professional event.
• A more interactive event.
• A more financially successful event.
• A more fun event.

Ready for details? Click here to learn more about the Five Simple Steps.

(c) 2010 Red Apple Auctions LLC.  All rights reserved.

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. 

Many organizations benefit kids in one way, shape, or fashion, so if you have an angle that you can incorporate into your event, consider doing so.  Even when the children aren’t attending your benefit auction, you can still successfully incorporate them into the fundraising plan.

This post covers two strategies:

1.  Signage stationed around the silent auction

At a school auction with a western theme, "WANTED" posters showcased the kids.

The most common way to showcase how your organization is helping children is to incorporate photos of the children into displays. Those might be on foam core displays (as shown in the opening photo) or in something more multi-dimensional, as I saw once at a homeless shelter auction.

Plus side:  Easy to do. Signs are reusable for other events.

Negative side:  Not as eye-catching; easy to gloss over in the hustle of the silent auction

2.  Incorporate images into the decor

If your gala has a theme, one way to make the signage stand out is to create a visually appealing display around it.

The WANTED posters were around the venue on several walls.

For instance, at this school auction with a western theme, several walls were set up around the silent auction and registration areas.  The walls had all of the children’s photos on them, and each child had been photographed in western gear.  A volunteer had taken the time to write cute phrases for each child such as, “The Masked Bandit:  Last seen in the valley,” or “WANTED:  For cactus wranglin’.”

Because it was clever, many guests visited all of the walls (not just the ones with their child on it) to admire the creativity of the project.

Plus side: Adds to the decor. Helps reinforce the “why are we raising money” message.

Negative side: Takes more upfront time to create the individual shots.

To read more ideas on using kids to raise cash at your auction, click here.

(c) 2005-2010 Red Apple Auctions LLC

P.S.  As great as these ideas are, they’re old news. I published this article months ago in my Benefit Auction Ideas e-zine.  It’s free, and it’s published twice a month.  Sign up here.

I love this guy! Themed actors served food, drinks, and greeted guests

My team and I worked an event in southern Virginia which was one of the most attractive events I’ve ever attended.  It wasn’t a large audience — the crowd only numbered around 225 — but the decor and atmosphere was exquisite!  It was one of the more magical auctions I’ve attended.

The theme was Treasures of the Deep.

All-things-of-underwater-intrigue could be found here.  The dark, mysterious, quiet of the ocean seemed to come alive in this auction fundraiser.

The venue itself was a fitness facility – not that you could tell.  The gym had been converted into a ballroom, thanks to the help of drapes and generous lighting.  Here are some of the elements which made this event so eye-catching.

1.  Lighting

Lighting makes this basketball court look almost ethereal.

It doesn’t make financial sense to pay for an outside lighting company at every auction, but if your budget allows, it can have a wonderful impact on the mood and feel of your event.

The bonus of having a company provide mood lighting is that you can also have them set up canned lights on the silent auction table.

Can lights allow the room to be slightly dark (such as in the silent auction room where guests are mingling), but allows the silent auction items to be easily seen.  All the better for bidding!

At this auction, the underwater feel was created from shifting blue and green images on the wall.  It appeared as though one was watching a stream of filtered sunlight dance on the ocean bottom, then disappear, only to reappear on a different part of the wall or table.

The bar was covered in nets and underwater treasures. Note the costumed bartenders.

2.  Costumes for workers

The bartenders, servers, and greeters were all in some sort of costume.  Some were dressed as pirates, others were in a more general South Pacific native costume.

Remember that costumes don’t need to be elaborate.  A vest and a hat often work just fine.   Naturally, if you want everyone to be identical, you’ll have to provide the costumes.  But if you’re comfortable with people generally looking like they blend into the theme, some of your volunteer workers might have bits of costumes at home they could wear.

3.  Props

The bar, the food stations, the bathrooms and seemingly every fixture had some sort of prop to support the underwater theme.  Fisherman netting, shells, and dried seaweed were used were generously used.

4. Centerpieces

In this case, the eerie, beautiful underwater inspired centerpiece was a collection of bottles and vegetation.

I’m not usually entranced by centerpieces, but at this event, I couldn’t help but admire how creative the florist had been to create such elegant focal points for the tables.

Every centerpiece was different.

Some were more traditional centerpieces, whereas other tables had collections of items one might imagine to be found on a sunken ship, like unusually shaped and dark-colored bottles.  Collections of shells, starfish, and stones were scattered about the table.

For those tables with a “living” element, the predominant vegetation looked like sea grasses.  Other centerpieces consisted of arrangements of unusual plants that were reminiscent of an underwater garden.

Even if one was not using a florist to create these items, I can imagine that many of us might have our own treasures from the sea that we’d be willing to loan to the gala for the effect.  I know I have a small collection of blue bottles that would tie into this theme quite well, now that I’ve seen it done!

5.  Music

The combo provided background sound.

A steel drum and guitar duo set the mood as soon as guests walked into the facility.

As a reminder, this wasn’t a beach theme … it was an underwater theme … so the music was a bit more mellow than what you might hear at a beach party.  The group didn’t opt for a full-blown steel drum band, but a simple combo did the trick.

For more photographs of the event, scroll down this blog post.  You can see additional ballroom shots, centerpieces, and food stations.

(c) 2005-2009 Red Apple Auctions LLC

This was a shot of the ballroom from the back of the room. The Powerpoint presentation was broadcast to either side of the podium.

The food station in the silent auction area was draped in seaweed.

Another bar in the silent auction area had a distinct pirate theme. (Maybe that's where they served the hard liquor and rum punch!)

Each centerpiece was different. This one was more "traditional" in that a vase held the contents, but the contents themselves feel at home in this underwater theme.

But the good news is that you can receive advance notice of the next FREE teleclass by signing up with your email and name on the right.

When you sign-up, you’ll get a free bonus (the Item Guide) to get you started with procurement. Then every other week , I’ll send you information about classes, free auction tips, and other juicy information, all designed to improve the financial success of your auction.

(Oh, P.S. — I email you the item guide immediately, so check your email as soon as you sign-up.)

_______________________________________

A number of you inspired me to dig deep into how and why some auction chairs have super-successful auctions and others don’t.  After three months of research, I’ve got the goods.

In fact, depending on how long you’ve been getting my information, you might have participated in step one of this research (a
survey).

After hearing from you, talking with clients, and meeting with Auction Chairs, I’ve noticed trends.

When these women step in to work the auction … especially when it’s their first time … they have some misconceptions that often don’t get corrected until well into the planning cycle, if ever.

They’re smart women, but by the time they realize what needs to change, “the auction train has left the station.”

It’s too late.

Misconceptions about planning.
Misconceptions about items.
Misconceptions about volunteers.
Misconceptions about the silent auction.

I’m calling these misconceptions “myths.”

The auction rolls forward.
Time runs out.
Tensions run high.

The money is collected (it could have been better) but the truth is, the planning process was frustrating, overwhelming, stressful, and NO ONE WANTS TO WORK ON THE AUCTION AGAIN!

In the end, the Auction Chair knows something wasn’t right.
They’ve lived the event.
They figured some pieces out.

But had they only known THEN what they know NOW.

On Wednesday, December 2, you’re going to hear about these myths, so you can learn from experience….

Inaccurate thinking which led to problems like overestimating auction revenue, underestimating resources needed, and generally failing to prepare as well for the silent auction or live auction.

And of course, I’m going to counter this information with some new thinking and ideas.

I’ll see you there!

Love and success,
Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS
Red Apple Auctions LLC

P.S. I’ll also be sharing something on the call that those of you with 2010 auctions will NOT want to miss.