Today's post applies to live auctions. Over the last two weeks, I’ve received some version of this email from two different clients: "The donor of this item wants to set a minimum starting bid of $1500. What do you think? What starting bid would you recommend?" It’s not uncommon for those new to benefit auctions to confuse the terms “starting bid” and “minimum bid.” Usually your donor is expressing “minimum bid,” meaning that he doesn’t want the item to sell for less than the amount he has ... Read On >
Benefit Auctions Blog
How to get higher bids at your benefit auction: Encourage “group-ons”
One client sells a popular item in the live auction. It’s the chance for eight people to dine at a nice restaurant with the Head of the School. Fine wines are served and the food is spectacular, but the real draw is the chance to enjoy a meal with the popular headmaster. “Get your 'Group-on,'” one of the auction co-chairs encourages. “Bid on this item with your friends!” It’s a clever play on words. Since the word “Groupon” has entered our vocabulary around 2009, many of us know a Groupon to ... Read On >
Gala honorees: Three places to find them
One strategy for developing a benefit auction audience is to include an honoree into your program's activities. The person you honor typically brings family, friends, and co-workers to your gala. They all come to see their friend receive the award. FINDING someone to honor can be another challenge. Sometimes it's obvious as to whom you should select. Other times, it's not. If you don't have any ideas, where can you start poking around for potential gala honoree leads? In the video, I ... Read On >
FREE training on auction consignment items! Trends & other ideas you need to know.
UPDATE: This class has passed. To keep abreast of future calls, subscribe to Benefit Auction Ideas. ++++++ Benefit auction consignment: Trends and other ideas you NEED to know Let's say you want a really cool trip for your benefit auction (perhaps to tie into your theme) and you've got zero connections on how to get one. Or maybe your "hot" leads turned up cold. When frustration ensues, many planners turn to using a trip consignor. Join me on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014 when I'm ... Read On >
How to organize a charity auction: Part 2 (Auction Chair tools)
[This is the second part of a two-part blog. Read "How to organize a charity auction, part 1" here.] As mentioned in Part 1, I thought about writing on this topic a few months ago and decided, "Nope. I need to save this topic until January." The reason being is that January is the month that many stores -- Home Depot, Walmart, Kmart, Target, Staples, The Container Store (the annual Elfa® sale) -- advertise one particular theme. Getting organized! This is THE month that many stores ... Read On >