Call it coincidence, divine intervention or luck, but I'd bet that you've had a situation whereby you see or hear something, and suddenly it shows up somewhere else. Like when you consider buying a particular type of car, and suddenly that model is all you see on the highway. That serendipity is what led me to write about today's subject. ============================== Thanks to a cancelled flight that left me scrambling to get from one fundraiser to another late last month, I've ... Read On >
Pre-event activities
The Seating Meeting: Developing an auction seating chart
"We should talk in the morning," one Auction Chair told me, "I'll be tied up with the seating meeting all afternoon." Ah, the seating meeting. It's one of the most dreaded of auction committee meetings. =============================== What is the seating meeting? It's when the Gala Co-chairs (or a small sub-section of the gala committee) convene to determine the auction seating chart. =============================== Why is a seating meeting important? Where a guest sits ... Read On >
The flow of a wine auction (2 examples)
Last month I worked as a wine auctioneer for a benefit auction in Oak Brook, IL. It was my second wine auction in 2017. The other event was for a nonprofit in Texas. In this post, I'm featuring both of them. If you're running a wine auction or considering launching one in your community, take a look at how these two fundraisers are structured. Both of these are successful events in their markets. Let's look at highlights from each event. Vintage Amarillo Earlier this year, the ... Read On >
How to organize a charity auction: Part 2 (Auction Chair tools)
[This is the second part of a two-part blog. Read "How to organize a charity auction, part 1" here.] As mentioned in Part 1, I thought about writing on this topic a few months ago and decided, "Nope. I need to save this topic until January." The reason being is that January is the month that many stores -- Home Depot, Walmart, Kmart, Target, Staples, The Container Store (the annual Elfa® sale) -- advertise one particular theme. Getting organized! This is THE month that many stores ... Read On >
How to organize a charity auction: Part 1 (the supplies)
[This is the first part of a two-part blog. Read "How to organize a charity auction, part 2" here.] I thought about writing on this topic a few months ago and decided, "Nope. I need to save this topic until January." Want to know why? Because January is the month that many stores -- Home Depot, Walmart, Kmart, Target, Staples, The Container Store (the annual Elfa® sale) -- advertise one particular theme. Getting organized! This is THE month that stores promote organization. I suppose a ... Read On >