A few years ago I worked with an American Heart Association chapter located in a less populated area. Because of their size and budget differences, they approached their gala differently than the larger chapter I worked with in Washington, D.C. To conserve money on design and printing, they collaborated with two other regional AHA chapters. All three used the same gala theme each year in their respective locations. The marketing materials, forms, and even some decorative pieces of the ... Read On >
Catalogs & Programs
School benefit auction catalog need some bling? Try a ring.
Here's a change for your charity auction catalog: Forego the traditional binding and opt for a ring. One of my client's - a school benefit auction committee - tried an experiment with its catalog. Instead of opting for the common binding, which is often staples or a plastic spiral binder, the committee decided to use a ring. The thinking was that the catalog would be easier to carry. A guest could loop the ring around his finger and still hold a beverage of choice while milling through ... Read On >
VIDEO: Should you print auction item values in your catalog?
Committees often debate as to whether it's a good idea to reveal the auction item values in a catalog. Some people fear it might suppress bidding. In this video, learn what I've been taught is the correct approach. Watch the video below. Video link https://youtu.be/86Ksfvbi5rg ... Read On >
Should you print auction item values in your catalog?
Every tax season I seem to hear an ad from a tax preparation company. They confidently state their tax professionals will be able to find deductions overlooked by your previous tax preparer. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? If you’ve ever talked with more than one tax expert, you probably noticed that each one has a different interpretation of what you legally can and cannot do. What is legal in tax law seems to depend on who you talk to and what mood they are in! I share this because as ... Read On >
Burn Notice: Keep fires in check at your charity auction
This post is frothy. Nothing you don't already know, but a reminder for safety at charity auctions. You'll recall that a couple of weeks ago that most of us living in the USA moved our clocks forward one hour to adjust for daylight savings time. And somewhere in modern history, this "fall back / spring forward" shift has also became the de facto time of year when our local firemen remind us to change the batteries in our home's smoke alarms. Change your clock and change your smoke alarm's ... Read On >