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Busted! Be wary of images used in fundraising auction displays

In the summer of 2015, the nonprofit division of Venable law published "Busted: Nonprofits Will Have to Pay the Photography Piper." The article itself is short and worth reading, but here's the synopsis. For many years, nonprofits have pulled images from the internet and used them in their publications or websites.Until recently, software didn't exist to make it easy for photographers and their agents to track down these copyrighted images.  Now the software exists, and nonprofits are ... Read On >

School auction idea: Reward teachers with their own raffle

Here's a touchy subject. From a fundraising perspective, I'm not a fan of teachers attending school fundraising auctions. They often attend the event for free, which hits the catering budget.  They typically don't purchase anything, as their lower salaries don't allow for it. That means there is no donation to offset the ticket revenue loss. And -- gosh, I don't know how to say this any other way -- if we have a loud group causing a distraction to bidding guests in the room, 99% of the ... Read On >

Bruce or Caitlyn? What (if any) differences are between an auction catalog, preview catalog, ad book, addendum & program

A few years ago, a school development director started to vent. Her volunteer Auction Chair was insistent on calling the catalog an "ad book." "She's driving me nuts!" my client confided, "She keeps calling our catalog an ad book, and she's confusing our other volunteers. I don't know where she picked that name up." =========== As I work with benefit auction committees across the USA, I see remarkable diversity in the names we use to describe identical activities.  What we call a "bucket ... Read On >

[VIDEO] Comparing wine auction catalogs

Welcome to wine week! Every post this week ties to alcohol. Here's the post explaining it.In this video, I pulled three wine auction catalogs from my collection.If you've never attended a wine auction, you'll be interested to hear how different they are from most typical benefit auctions.If you happen to be chairing a wine auction, you'll enjoy seeing how your own catalog compares to other groups around the country.  Everyone has a special way of presenting their ... Read On >

Which sells better? Two different descriptions from identical auction packages

An identical item was sold in two different D.C. charity auctions in different years. Of the two item description examples, which do you prefer? (I changed the donor's name.) ================== Don’t Fake It, Make It Private cooking class for 10 at the acclaimed ABC Cooking School You and 9 guests will be guided by your chef instructor in creating a fabulous three-course meal. From 'Classic French Cuisine' to "Sushi' and 'Summertime Smoking and Barbecue,' the reward is yours when you sit ... Read On >