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You are here: Home / Administration / Creative event names for your auction gala fundraiser
Sep 11

Creative event names for your auction gala fundraiser

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

I love word play.  Thoughtful poems and good song lyrics beg for me to memorize them.  And when rhymes are tied to rhythm in a rap, remembering lyrics is even easier.

But word play isn’t just for music.

I recall listening to Sam Horn (the speaker, not the baseball player) sharing a story about her book title, “Tongue Fu! How to Deflect, Disarm, and Defuse any Verbal Conflict.”

What a great name.

Kung fu conjures ideas of self-defense, and Sam ingeniously used the same alliteration for her book title.  Of course the content itself (disarming verbal conflict) also plays on the kung fu theme.

Her clever book title grabbed attention.  Publishers were ready to offer her a deal on the strength of the title alone.

Songs and books aren’t the only places for drool-worthy titles.  I work with two nonprofits that have both landed on  excellent event names.

Take a peek at these concepts.

=======================

The Eye Ball

The Lion’s Eye Institute for Transplant and Research in Tampa, FL is an eye bank and research center.  In short, they save people’s eyesight.

The nonprofit’s annual gala fundraiser has the best name I’ve ever heard:  The Eye Ball.

There are eyeballs. And there is The Eye Ball.

Like many nonprofits, this group adds a sub-theme to The Eye Ball each year.  The sub-theme also focuses on eyesight.

They have their sub-themes selected for the next four or five years, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise so I’m limiting myself to listing the 2018 and 2019 themes:

  • The Eye Ball: Optical Illusion
  • The Eye Ball: See and Be Seen

At the gala, guests can hold signs at the photo station that continue the word play.  “Eye am making a difference” and “My eyes are towards the future” are some examples of how they reinforce the eye concept.

=======================

The Chef Showdown

I didn’t attend Loaves & Fishes Chef Showdown, but I did work the “Night to End Hunger” event. While working, I saw some word play on this silent auction item: “Just beer with me,” which is a take-off of “Just bear with me.”  However, “Just beer with me” also works as a standalone phrase.

Loaves & Fishes in Naperville, IL operates a food pantry and runs related services with the goal of ending hunger and empowering self-sufficiency.

Earlier this year they launched a new event styled in the manner of a popular cook-off television show.

They invited two well-known chefs from the community into their market — the same market their clients shop in every week.

The chefs and their local “celebrity” helpers had one hour to prepare a three-course meal using ingredients from the pantry and one surprise ingredient —  a fish.  At the end of the hour, four judges tasted the meal and selected the Chef Showdown winner.

The rules required that the first course served was a loaf.  The main course, as mentioned, was a fish.  A la — Loaves and Fishes.

Did you catch that?  Let’s recap:

  • This is a nonprofit running a food pantry.
  • They hosted a cooking competition, whereby the chefs cooked a meal using ingredients from the nonprofit’s own pantry.
  • The three-course meal had to include a loaf and a fish — and the nonprofit is called Loaves & Fishes.

That’s a clever way to reinforce their mission!

=======================

Here’s my final word play for this post.

In addition to hearing Sam Horn (the speaker) at a conference, I met Sam Horn (the baseball player) earlier this year at a Boston-based Esperanza Academy fundraiser.

It didn’t happen unless I have a photo to share, so … check out the photo.

=======================

If you’ve heard some great event names you’d like to share, post it in the comments below!

 

 

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Copyright © 2018 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Marsha Besermin says

    September 18, 2018 at 10:17 AM

    We are a non-profit “Life Plan Community” (formerly known as a continuing care retirement community)…John Knox Village. This past summer we had our 3rd annual gala event raising funds for a new ambulance and life saving equipment and our event name was titled “Stayin’ Alive” it was an awesome disco event.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      September 18, 2018 at 11:54 AM

      Fun! Cute way to tie into the equipment you were purchasing!

      Reply

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What auction planners say

Sherry, oh, Sherry! You were an invaluable asset to this year’s gala. With your assistance we were able to add so many new elements that truly made a difference in taking our event to another level. This year was the most successful yet! Everyone loved you and the amazing energy that you brought to the event. We look forward to having you again in 2018!

Krystal Fenwick

Thank you so much for the outstanding job you did for us on April 1! I have received so much positive feedback from so many who attended. You even earned Sister Suzan’s (our Vice-Principal) seal of approval! Safe travels to all your many events and thank you for making our biggest fundraiser of the year our best ever!

Diane Albano, Director of Development
St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)

Sherry is flexible and easy to work with. She gives honest feedback and advice throughout the planning and implementation process. Without a doubt, Sherry and Red Apple Auctions has helped take our annual fundraising event to the next level.

Beckie Middendorf, Development Director and Janet Gulla, Development Coordinator
St. Henry District High School (Erlanger, KY)

Sherry is “on board” from day one of auction planning, works closely with our steering committee and is only just a phone call away. The night of the auction, we toss her the keys and let her drive the event! We are never disappointed!

Charly Ryan, Director of Institutional Advancement
The Academy of the Holy Cross (Kensington, MD)

I was very fortunate to have Red Apple on board for my first auction. Working with Sherry was invaluable. She provided guidance at every phase of planning, from procurement on forward – and she challenged us to make our event more ambitious and more successful at every stage. Thank you, Sherry!

Pete Goldlust, Director of Development
Oak Hill School (Eugene, OR)

If your auction needs to upgrade, call any auctioneer you find on Google. But if you want your auction to be impressive, meaningful, and profitable, you need to call Sherry.

Erin Banda
2016 NYUMBANI Board member

The auction was entertaining .. proactive … the crowd was involved and felt a part of it,” he said, emphasizing, “The entertainment value was huge.

Darrell, a long-time attendee

We plan on booking Red Apple Auctions much earlier for our next event so we can take advantage of more of the pre-event offerings.

Nicole Carr, Director of Grants and Special Events
The Ivymount School (Rockville, MD)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, personally, I can’t even begin to tell you the immense amount of positive feedback that I received having YOU (and Darby) there with is this year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= They liked that I “moved the crowd along … kept the crowd engaged but wasn’t obtrusive or invasive. We were able to talk but still keep track of what was going on.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou have NO idea of how many people came up to me (I know Julie as well) and said, ‘That auctioneer was incredible … she engaged the crowd, …… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Geri said: “Great job of getting potential donors in the room to step up to the plate and not feel guilty or bad about it. They actually wanted to give more … and that’s not something I’ve seen in many other auctioneers.” PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PS8/Y29udGFpbmVyPWV2cC1CVk4xMFNDUTRXIj48L3NjcmlwdD48ZGl2IGlkPSJldnAtQlZOMTBTQ1E0VyIgZGF0YS1yb2xlPSJldnAtdmlkZW8iIGRhdGEtZXZwLWlkPSJSM1ZsYzNRckxTdEJTRUVyTFN0SFpYSnBLeTByVTJobGNuSjVLMlJwWkN0aEsyZHlaV0YwSzJwdllpdHZaaXRuWlhSMGFXNW5LMlJ2Ym05eWN5dDBieXR6ZEdWd0szVndLM1J2SzNSb1pTdHdiR0YwWlN0M2FYUm9iM1YwSzIxaGEybHVaeXQwYUdWdEsyWmxaV3dyWjNWcGJIUjVMbTF3TkE9PSI+PC9kaXY+ The following… Read The Rest “Geri”

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal… Read The Rest “Irene”

Most product & consulting remarks are found on their respective webpages, but I’ve listed two below so you’re assured my products are as spot-on as my auctioneering.   Not only was our 2013 auction a blast, but our Washington, D.C. public school raised $67,000 — that’s $25,000 more than last year! The evening went… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Cynthia Steele Vance_150X180As a former Fox News Anchorwoman, I am often called on to perform at auctions. So, I know first-hand that auctioneering can be a difficult job. Sherry Truhlar is one of the best in the business.… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance
Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)

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