Heads up! I published this article weeks ago in my e-newsletter. Only today am I re-posting it here, on my blog. But not every article from there makes it over here. So, subscribe to Benefit Auction Ideas (it's free) to get great content delivered to your in-box. +++++ Trends in the benefit auction world don't change as often as fashion, so upfront I'll admit that the three I identified in 2012 still hold. (Read Charity Auction Trends 2012 here.) But after working with over 100 onsite and ... Read On >
Blog Post
Five Steps to a Great Fundraising Auction
Yesterday I was delighted to again talk with Renee McGivern from Nonprofit Spark. Renee is a nonprofit consultant based in the Minneapolis area. One of her outreach ventures is a helpful little WebTalkRadio program called Nonprofit Spark. She consistently churns out great content, miraculously managing to find someone interesting to interview each week (wow!). I've not heard all the shows, but it seems every guest has a different type of expertise. It's amazing how many people she's found to ... Read On >
How to sell auction class projects to raise money in a nonprofit auction
Auction class projects, sometimes called art projects, are items that are handcrafted (at least to a degree) by children. Most often these children are students in a school. They've been tasked to create something to sell in the school auction. It's not uncommon for these projects to sell for hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars. ++++ To see over 100 examples of auction class project ideas, available on DVD with bonus materials: Cool Class Projects. ++++ Why do these items sell for so ... Read On >
The 10 most read benefit auction ideas of 2012
If you're just getting started in this wonderful world of nonprofit auctions, consider this blog post a study guide of what you should read *right now* to get up-to-speed. This is my "Best Of" issue. The best of my 2012 blog posts. It's what other auction planners found to be most intriguing on my site, last year. How do I know these posts were the most popular? They had the highest hit rates. (Thanks to Website analytical programs, it's easy for me to track these things.) As a prolific ... Read On >
Making other colors green with envy, Emerald is chosen as 2013’s official color
If you're tiring of traditional benefit auction themes, one option is to bypass the obvious choices and go with a color. For instance, emerald. I'm talking about PANTONE® 17-5641 TCS Emerald: the official color of 2013. (You say you didn't know there was an official color? I didn't either, until 2011.) Pantone describes the color as "“Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony." Two other words they used to evoke imagery ... Read On >