The rules around listing fair market values Here's a common fundraising auction question: "Is it OK to put the fair market value of an auction item on the receipt, instead of listing it on the bid sheet, auction catalog or display?" Some people believe (mistakenly, in my mind) that guests will pay more for an item if they don't know the value of it. The IRS regulation explains that for a donation above the fair market value to be considered a gift, the winning bidder must be told the ... Read On >
Catalogs & Programs
Is it a “LIVE” auction, LIVE auction, or Live Auction?
My bilingual and multi-lingual friends are quick to point out that English isn't the easiest language to learn. Here's one example of how language oddities can confuse even the best auction planners. ==================== Back in 2012, I received this email from a Chicago hospital foundation team member. When I refer to a “LIVE” auction in printed materials, I always put “LIVE” in quotes so that it is not misread as LIVE – the verb for to exist. My supervisor does not like the quotes ... Read On >
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 ... Read On >