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You are here: Home / Administration / 5 ways to keep your benefit auction’s sex appeal
Feb 26

5 ways to keep your benefit auction’s sex appeal

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

February is synonymous with Valentine’s Day, so this month I’ve committed to writing every blog post with a tie-in to love, romance, sex and even lust.

We’ve covered auctioneer one-night stands,  training your auction volunteers to flirt in the silent auction, and showing the love to your guests. 

Today, it’s about sex appeal. (You know, keeping your benefit auction fresh and attractive.)

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Has your gala auction lost its sex appeal?

Earlier this month I talked with a long-time auction chair. For 17 years she’s overseen the auction and she’s bored. 

Her loving feelings are gone. After almost two decades of gala intimacy, her auction just doesn’t give her the same butterflies-in-her-stomach that it used to. 

Nowadays, she finds herself reminiscing over the feelings she used to get when she thought about her auction.

“What can I do to stay interested,” she implored.

I think we’d all agree that 17 years is a long time to lead a gala. Frankly, I doubt I’ll be excited about benefit auctions in 17 years. Surely by then I would have moved on to some other interest.

But as she asked, I’ll address it.

I’m sure a number of these ideas have already been tried … perhaps multiple times. But for those of you getting that “7 year itch,” this might hit the mark.

1.  Add a new element. 

Easy enough … just keep it fresh.

If you haven’t done *that* game, do it. 

If you haven’t tried *that* tool, try it. 

2. Change an old element. 

Always had a 50/50 raffle? Banish it. Try a new raffle instead. 

Or if you’ve been doing your Fund a Need for the same way for 10 years, it might be time to shake it up. 

3. Try a new venue.

Changing your venue can be stressful and re-energizing at the same time. 

Testing a new sound system … checking the lighting … considering new layout options … all of these new choices will force your brain to fire on all cylinders.

4. Change the concept.

Always done a sit down dinner? Offer an upscale bites tasting, pairing elegant appetizers with wine and champagne instead.

Maybe your formal event becomes a casual summer solstice affair under a tent. 

Maybe your informal event evolves into a spiffy affair.

Maybe — just for the fun of it — you become the first gala in town to be darn-near-LEED-certified using environmentally friendly materials and serving vegan food.

5. Change the name.

 I’m all for branding an event with a name. But just like kitchens, galas need remodeling every-so-often.

Changing the name of your gala might help it set a new tone. 

Make it a catchy acronym, or include an overarching name with a sub-title that reflects a theme.

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Sometimes change is good. 

It makes us more money … it attracts more donors … it’s easier to manage our auction.

Sometimes change is bad. 

It reduces our profits … our guests dislike it … it complicates our work.

Sometimes change is just change. 

And that’s A-OK. Sometimes change offers a new perspective, and that’s all we need to keep us interested. 

So friends, if you’re NOT interested in your auction regardless of what you try, just go find something else to do.  Benefit auctions are a TON of work, so unless you enjoy working on the auction more than you dislike it, it’s not worth doing.

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Copyright © 2013 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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What auction planners say

Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick
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Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)
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Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)
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Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)
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I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)
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If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member
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The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee
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We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)
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Sherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

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You have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

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Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

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Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)
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