This past Saturday night while I was working with the very lovely guests supporting the New Hampshire SPCA, a hacker broke into my website. Some of you alerted me via email and Facebook. I never saw the posts because I was working. Until one of my team members called me on Sunday morning, I was blissfully unaware. When I went to the site, I certainly wasn’t happy. But I also didn’t melt into a pile of tears. I recalled a story about a magician who was headed to Las Vegas for a national ... Read On >
Procurement
Asking for donations (the right ones) isn’t so easy
Below is a training tip excerpt from the complementary "7 Secrets to Procurement" teleclass I recently held. The telelclass served as a preview to our upcoming procurement intensive in December. Thus far, over 50 students have enrolled in Big Ticket Procurement Secrets to learn all the ins and outs when it comes to asking, selling, and getting donations. If getting items, especially getting "better" items, is your auction pain point, please note that the affordable two-pay option closes in a ... Read On >
Silent auction item ideas for fourth quarter auctions
In light of my 3-week procurement master course in December (Big Ticket Procurement Secrets), today I wanted to share some silent auction item ideas that work especially well for groups hosting fourth quarter auctions. ================ If your fundraising auction is in October, November, or December, be sure to include holiday-related décor among your silent auction items. This past Saturday I worked in Louisville, KY for a nonprofit that had a large silent auction. The holiday-specific ... Read On >
Free training on auction procurement ideas: “7 Secrets” call is this week!
It's been over a year since I led a free telelclass. High time I did so. This Wednesday (Nov. 6, 2013), I'm leading a no-cost training to help you generate some auction procurement ideas. The call is titled, "7 Secrets to Procuring Great Items for your Charity Auction … Without Leaving Your House!" Block off 90 minutes and join me at 3:00 PM Eastern. You'll learn ... Four strategies for procuring items … whether you’re in a big city or a tiny little town One likely donor sitting right ... Read On >
Signing up for something sinister?
It's not really sinister. This was just advertising a signup party ... a chance for people to "sign up" to participate in an event. Of all the signups I've sold, I recalled something related to Halloween. Voila, this SPOOKFEST party materialized from the ether. Fifteen rising Grade 8 girls were treated to a fun-filled outing. They were picked up directly from school on a "haunted bus" where they were taken to the Cheesecake Factory for an early dinner. Then the bus transported them to a ... Read On >