"We should talk in the morning," one Auction Chair told me, "I'll be tied up with the seating meeting all afternoon." Ah, the seating meeting. It's one of the most dreaded of auction committee meetings. =============================== What is the seating meeting? It's when the Gala Co-chairs (or a small sub-section of the gala committee) convene to determine the auction seating chart. =============================== Why is a seating meeting important? Where a guest sits ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
It’s a shoe-in for a great raffle prize
At a benefit auction this spring, a man approached me at the dessert buffet. He'd noticed I'd switched from my flats into heels before I started the program on stage. "You've gotten taller," he said, checking out my shoes. "Nice! What size shoe do you wear?" I bristled. ======================== Before I carry on with this story, I should share another story from 20 years ago. When I moved to D.C., one of my part-time jobs was working as a fragrance model in department ... Read On >
Who needs Fundraising Auction Rules? Everyone.
No bones about it, auction rules should be included somewhere in your catalog. Maybe even at the registration desk. And online. Printed auction rules serve as the governing principles of the auction and can help mitigate problems. (You might also be interested in reading, "What not to do when the auction winner doesn’t pay.") Over the past year I've had two episodes that brought the topic of auction rules to the forefront. At one auction, a woman seated at a sponsored table ... Read On >
Are fundraising online auctions going away? Probably not ….
In the auction industry, there are a few of us -- maybe 4 -- who consistently contribute to a blog. One writer is Mike Brandly in Ohio. Mike is primarily a commercial auctioneer who mostly pens about auction law. Many of his interesting articles aren't directly applicable to my narrow career niche, but he recently published a post I felt appropriate to share. A few days ago he wrote, "Are online auctions going away? Probably ..." He ponders the future of online auctions for commercial ... Read On >
Is your school auction doing fundraising by 1000 cuts?
At a recent nonprofit fundraising event, the nonprofit decided they didn't want to push the raffle. If a guest approached a volunteer to buy a $50 raffle ticket — fine. But they didn’t want volunteers to walk up to groups of people and ask guests to buy a raffle ticket. "In a few minutes, we're going to be asking these people to donate anywhere from $100 to $5000. It makes no sense to nickel and dime them for a $50 raffle ticket," was their rationale. This cocktail-styled event had no ... Read On >