Dec 04

About last night… Proof these auction ideas work!

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

auction ideas - got sponsors

A co-chair applied some newly learned auction ideas and landed a new sponsor for her public school auction.

UPDATE 12/5/09

After I posted the original blog (scroll down), Maria wrote me this email:

On behalf of our auction team, I wanted to thank you for meeting with us last night. We enjoyed your talk on procurement and we are fired up and ready to go after your ideas. This morning we got the PTA Chairs to approve the software agreement. I believe we can pay the full cost of the software with sponsorships.

Well, as of this morning we have two more sponsors for our auction webpage. I didn’t even have any printed materials to show people—but they were willing to support our cause.

We are all ready to take this auction to the next level!

Maria Emanuel, Auction Co-Chair of Francis Scott Key Elementary School

ORIGINAL POST 12/4/09

Last night I had an auction procurement consultation engagement with Francis Scott Key Elementary, a public school in Washington, D.C. At the end of our meeting, one of the Auction Chairs told me a story.

She had listened to my Five Myths free call the previous night (Wed., Dec. 2), and she got fired up.

The next morning (yesterday) she was in Starbucks waiting for her coffee. She noticed a flyer which was advertising the opening of a new pharmacy. With thoughts of the Five Myths call and new auction ideas running through her head, she walked over to the pharmacy and confidently (sort of) suggested that buying a sponsorship for her school auction in March would be an excellent way to get the word out about their new store.

The pharmacy agreed!

She had no sponsor packet. She had no sponsor levels to share. She hadn’t done this before.

She couldn’t offer him anything, other than her enthusiastic belief that a new pharmacy should absolutely, positively buy a sponsorship because it would be a great way to get known to families living in the area.

Way to go, Maria! I’m very proud of you.

It takes courage to build the plane as you are flying it.

Next step is to hustle back to the pharmacy today with some hot-off-the-press, brand-new sponsorship forms.

And friends, for more “proof” that these auction ideas work, read about this auction item donation.

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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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

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)

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)

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)

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)

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

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

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)

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… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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.”

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, … Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

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… Read The Rest “Geri”

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… Read The Rest “Irene”

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… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

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… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance

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

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