You can get some excellent charity auction items when you ask people to donate something that he or she was going to do anyway. Call it a hobby or skill, they are activities that the donor would be engaged in, regardless of your auction. Meet imaginary Helen. Helen is one of the Mom's at your child's school. The woman's skin is so tan you swear she's at the pool every day. Nope. She's in her garden. Her husband and she bought a modest-sized house with a large yard. She's done unbelievable ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Chicago benefit auctions – Submissions due for BizBash awards
If you've incorporated some fresh benefit auction ideas into your gala, perhaps you should be recognized for your work? Here's one way to get a feather in your Auction Chair (or event management) cap. Submit your event to BizBash Chicago. Though there doesn't seem to be any specific award for benefit auctions specifically, you can still submit your gala into almost 20 different categories differentiated by budget, concept, and other elements. I have had two auction clients in 2008 and one ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions v. Online Nonprofit Contests: Where’s the payoff?
Recently a number of my benefit auction clients have been participating in online contests for nonprofits. Most of them are not feeling "warm and fuzzy" when the contest ends. "Don't even mention the word "Pepsi" to me," said one, who was exhausted after coming *that* close to winning thousands in the Pepsi Refresh challenge, only to lose by a handful of last-minute online votes to a competing nonprofit. Then she said something I've also heard from others: "With so much time having been ... Read On >
Here’s an easy charity auction tip – Use surveys
Charity auction tips don't get much simpler than this ... survey your guests after your gala. I was reminded of this recently while listening to the radio. On a recent morning show, the DJ was asking his co-hosts and callers about their preferred superhero power. "If you could have one superhuman power," he'd ask, "What would it be?" Flying and invisibility were popular, but so was the ability to read minds. The ability to read minds would be handy at your auction, wouldn't it? You could ... Read On >
Event sponsorship can grow, if you look in these places
I always seem to be behind in my reading. But as it's summer, I'm enjoying taking my dated magazines to the swimming pool with little cares as to whether the magazine gets sopping wet with chlorinated water. This past weekendI read an article in the March issue of INC magazine (page 23) called "Why Inc. 500 CEOs Are Smiling: They're getting ready for good times ahead - and they're creating jobs." INC conducted a poll of Inc. 500 CEOs and found that the vast majority have been hiring and ... Read On >