I don’t often comment on themes, décor, or non-fundraising components of a gala. But today I will. Recently I've been noticing the gifts, décor pieces, and tchotchkes shared with guests at galas. Many of them are tied to the theme of the event. I got to thinking that I should be doing a better job of mentioning these decor elements and tying them into the mission or theme of the gala. I was reminded of a course I took ~15 years ago. It was a “speak to sell” course, teaching would-be ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Auction galas are team sports; not solo competitions
I had a client who had a great auction in year #1 of working with them, but year #2 was … blah. The auction wasn’t horrible, but it didn’t hit where I think it should have, given the big gains we saw in year #1. In my estimation, the reason for the change came down to one thing: Resting on one’s laurels. Instead of putting forth the same effort applied in year #1, the client took the attitude that since the auction was so much better in year #1, I would lead it to the same success in year ... Read On >
Conducting a phygital NFT auction
If you work for a nonprofit and an NFT is donated to your charity for the annual auction gala, you might find this video of interest. Back in May 2022, I was part of a "first." According to its organizers, the event I share in this video was the first — or certainly one of the first – phygital NFT auctions in the world. (Phygital = physical + digital) I am not a Web3 or NFT expert. This becomes abundantly clear as I stumble through describing basic NFT terms. Nonetheless, I hope this gives ... Read On >
What to include in your auction item description
Send this video over to the volunteer/s writing your auction item descriptions. They can follow this format to ensure no key information is missed when writing the online or printed catalog descriptions. There are six areas to cover in your standard auction item description. In the video, I talk about each and provide examples. 1. Clear titles instead of cute ones 2. Description 3. Restrictions - all of 'em 4. Donor 5. Fair market value 6. Photo/s https://youtu.be/xTidzCniJwk ... Read On >
Buyer’s Choice: A tool used to push sales in a charity live auction
One marketing and sales strategy is known as Buyer's Choice. It can be a good tool to use in fundraising auctions. Typically this concept is something a Gala Chair should have heard of, but need not fully understand. The reason being, it's up to the auctioneer to recognize when 2 or more items should be sold in this manner. It’s not up to the volunteer Gala Chair (or Development Director); it's the responsibility of the auctioneer to know and suggest this. Here's a few bullet points to ... Read On >