Like an aging beauty queen lacking any other skills, my 2015 Auction Item Guide™ (“What sold for lots of green in 2015”) was desperate to hang on to her glory. But over the holidays, I ripped off her crown and showed her the door. Meanwhile the new 2016 Auction Item Guide™ (“These stole the scene in 2016”) took over the reigning duties and made herself at home on my website. You can now get the new Guide AND participate in a “pop-up” auction procurement training class, "How to get 2016's ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
Two pieces of advice for planning a fundraising auction
It's January -- a time of new beginnings. Many volunteers will start working on their 2017 fundraising auctions in earnest. I offer two pieces of advice, based on my own experiences. ========================== Last October I worked with my team to launch V.4 of my website -- the fourth version in 11 years. The website launch went smoothly, in large part because I was working with a great technical team whom I've worked with for a few years. My joy was short-lived. Though the ... Read On >
Auction Flu: An epidemic among Gala Auction Chairs
I'm keeping it real in this post. My tradition has been to share gala auction tips in my articles, but there is an entire sub-section of posts I could write focusing on the cultural and sociological elements of fundraising auctions -- articles that would go beyond the mechanics of "how to run a gala auction." Articles about why Auction Chairs run an auction (E.G. Though many are compassionate people who want to help their chosen cause, some have an underlying desire to demonstrate how ... Read On >
Havana Nights auction theme: Tacky or trendy?
Since 2014 when President Obama re-established relations with Cuba, the country has been a popular topic in my client meetings. And with the recent death of Fidel Castro, news about Cuba has been widely covered in the papers and on television. For this post, let's discuss Cuba through the lens of our focus on fundraising auctions. ======================== Readers want to know if it's tacky to use Cuba as a theme. Here's a question I was asked last week via Facebook. ("Like" me ... Read On >
Dispersal of auction centerpieces when they are rented *and* donated
It is Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means it's a short week for many. I can sense the eagerness to get out of the office, so here's a short, helpful idea to finish out our month. Centerpieces can be a source of stress for gala chairs. I've been involved in discussions around the size and cost of a centerpiece. Once I witnessed two gala chairs in a feisty debate about the style of the centerpiece. A friend of mine tells a hilarious (?) story about how live fish were used ... Read On >