In my consultations with clients, I'm often asked for my opinion about items. "Should we include this airfare?" "Will we make more money if we package THESE together, or THOSE together?" "How should we promote this?" If the gala only has a silent auction, I'm never asked whether an item belongs in the silent auction or live auction - there's no choice! But if the gala includes both components, the "silent versus live" debate surfaces. In this post, I want to discuss how an auction item ... Read On >
Marketing
12 ways to market your auction fundraiser using social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn)
Social media applications like blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can be useful tools in helping you achieve mindshare in your auction guests. Not only are these tools free to use, but they enable you to relay short, constant reminders about your cause and auction fundraiser. Creating "something to write" can be overwhelming for some, so here are 12 auction-related ideas on what you (or your public relations volunteer) can post on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, or other social networking ... Read On >
Alpha Phi of San Diego State University’s Red Dress Charity Auction
Even when I'm not working at a charity auction, I find myself around one. This past weekend, I traveled to San Diego's Hyatt Regency to attend a conference which has been on my calendar for months. The hotel is surrounded by Mission Bay, making attendees feel as though we were on our own private tropical island. Our meetings were in one of hotel ballrooms, but the facility also has a permanent tent on the grounds. Tucked inside was a a silent auction. During lunch break, I popped into the ... Read On >
How to rewrite your auction donation request letter
In her recent post Attention Getting Strategies for Fundraising Letters, Sandra Sims of Step By Step Fundraising had some good pointers for writing fundraising letters. When I think of a fundraising letter, I specifically think of an auction donation request letter ... but what would you expect from a benefit auctioneer? Sandra suggests five opening strategies: Use a Headline Attention Getting Words or Phrases Questions Bold Statements & Exclamations Narratives & True ... Read On >
Silent auction item descriptions inspired by movies, like “Julie & Julia”
Using popular movie titles in your silent auction item descriptions is one way to grab some eyeballs. I saw that trick used this past weekend at a gala. Julie & Julia was released in August. I liked the movie. It's generally received positive reviews. This charity capitalized on the vibe and good feelings of the movie by writing "Julie & Julia, Part 1" in the silent auction header description of a French cooking class. In the Washington, D.C. area, L'Academie de Cuisine is a ... Read On >