In her recent post Attention Getting Strategies for Fundraising Letters, Sandra Sims of Step By Step Fundraising had some good pointers for writing fundraising letters. When I think of a fundraising letter, I specifically think of an auction donation request letter ... but what would you expect from a benefit auctioneer? Sandra suggests five opening strategies: Use a Headline Attention Getting Words or Phrases Questions Bold Statements & Exclamations Narratives & True ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Creative non-floral auction centerpieces from Robin Hood Foundation
I cut this out of the Wall Street Journal (I think it was WSJ). It was a story about the Robin Hood Foundation's 2009 auction fundraiser. I saved it because of the auction centerpieces. What in the devil IS it? Can anyone tell me? (For you centerpiece lovers, see the related posts at the bottom of this page to read other posts on auction centerpieces.) I can't quite make out the details. It appears the centerpiece had some sort of skyscraper "skyscape" theme, perhaps representing the location ... Read On >
Winning big ticket items comes naturally to auction team member Julie
Earlier this year, auction team member Iris guest posed in my blog. Today, meet Julie. If you’ve ever spoken to Julie at one of our auctions, you know she’s got a wicked sense of humor! What you might not know is that she is a master at winning sweepstakes. Julie regularly wins stuff. Great stuff. I suggested she write about her expertise, as some of you might be intrigued. Maybe Julie is onto an unconventional auction procurement process here. ;) +++++ Does anyone ever win those ... Read On >
Silent auction item descriptions inspired by movies, like “Julie & Julia”
Using popular movie titles in your silent auction item descriptions is one way to grab some eyeballs. I saw that trick used this past weekend at a gala. Julie & Julia was released in August. I liked the movie. It's generally received positive reviews. This charity capitalized on the vibe and good feelings of the movie by writing "Julie & Julia, Part 1" in the silent auction header description of a French cooking class. In the Washington, D.C. area, L'Academie de Cuisine is a ... Read On >
Part 2: Ah HA! About those outlandish auction ideas? I’ve got photos.
Not so long ago (like two weeks ago) I blogged about how dressing up to promote your charity auction could rank as one of those top concepts ... especially when it comes to school auction ideas. Now, I have proof. That's right. I have honest-to-goodness photographs proving that some of my fabulous school auction clients are doing just that. They are having fun, hamming it up, promoting their school auction ... by dressing up. Voici. Take a look at these shots. Here's someone clearly in a ... Read On >