This past spring, one of my clients experienced a higher-than-usual 9.5% no-show rate at their gala. If all of the no-shows had been seated together (they weren't), it would have amounted to over three empty tables. A significant number of no-shows impacts your benefit auction. First, you've likely already paid for the food so that is an incurred expense. Second, fewer guests means fewer people to bid on merchandise. Third, if it's obvious there are a number of guests missing, it may have a ... Read On >
Marketing
Seven tips to raise more money in a fund a need
Many auction ideas can help you raise cash, but no other singular activity during your benefit auction will have more financial impact than the cash appeal. It can be such a cash cow that some of my clients have no live auction; they only conduct an appeal. The appeal goes by various names: fund a need, gift from the heart, or any of these other cash appeal names. Whatever you call it, there is a strict protocol to follow if you want to be successful. Here are seven pointers to executing a ... Read On >
Vertical silent auction displays without using acrylic stands
I've previously written about silent auction displays and mentioned that keeping it vertical is the key to a good display. But if you don't like the look of acrylic stands, or have more time than money (acrylic stands can be pricey), here are some other vertical options. Option 1: Oversized Vertical Silent Auction Displays The following displays were made out of a posterboard-type material. In speaking with the staff, I learned that the hospital foundation auction team (3 ... Read On >
A School Auction Excels at Marketing a Potato Cannon
The right unique school auction items will sell for high dollar in your gala. And a potato cannon, made by the school's beloved maintenance department, in an all-boys Catholic school ... is a perfect example of that. The cannon sold for $1000 at the school auction... twice. (Once the Auction Chair saw how well it was selling, she confirmed the maintenance team would be willing to build another one. The school doubled its revenue on that item.) Not only is this a fun idea, but what ... Read On >
Buying acrylic frames for silent auction displays – and lovin’ eBates
A client asked me for some advice on where to buy acrylic frames for the silent auction displays. In our local Washington, D.C. area, the cheapest I've seen has been at the Super Dollar store where 8.5" x 11" frames were selling for $1.25. But I also did a quick search online and was pretty pleased when I could refer her to Absolute Acrylic, which priced the frames under $3.50 each. That purchase resulted in a savings to her school of well over $100! Another tip: If you're shopping for silent ... Read On >