"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 >
Pre-event activities
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 promote ... 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 >
VIDEO: School auctions take note of this ticket price increase – 750%!
A big debate among the school auctions with whom I work centers on the ticket price. The committee often feels that by keeping a low ticket price, they'll be more inclusive and raise more money. And every benefit auctioneer I know will tell you otherwise. Yet this persistent inaccurate belief exists. At this Boston foundation, they decided to charge a ticket price after years of offering a free event. It was a resounding success. Watch the video below. ... Read On >