• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About
    • About RAA
    • Meet Sherry Truhlar
    • What makes us unique
    • Reviews/Clients
    • Press
    • Licensing
  • Contact
  • Client Login

Fundraising gala auctioneer Sherry Truhlar

  • Services
    • Onsite Auction Services
    • Virtual Auction Services
    • Fund a Need Experts
    • Consulting
    • Onsite workshops
  • Products
    • $10 Trainings
    • On Demand Webinars
    • Books
  • Speaking
    • Why Sherry
    • Keynote and Other Topics
    • FAQs
  • Blog
  • Free Resources
    • Webinar: COVID-19
    • Virtual Gala Cheat Sheet
    • Newsletter
    • Auction Item Guide™
    • Recording: Porch Parties
    • Benefit Auction Case Study
    • Blog
  • Store
You are here: Home / Catalogs & Programs / How to personalize a benefit auction catalog so guests take it home and use it
Dec 09

How to personalize a benefit auction catalog so guests take it home and use it

Sherry Truhlar 4 Comments

I suspect many auction planners consider their auction catalog to be a necessary evil. It might be viewed as a “must do” because allowing advertising in the piece is one of the few sponsorship benefits a company or individual receives for investing in the fundraiser. Others see it as a vehicle for sharing information about the nonprofit, describing the auction items, or even as a place to hold less interesting content, such as benefit auction rules or checkout procedures.

But catalogs (or “programs,” as some groups call them) can be used more strategically, if a bit of thought is put into them.

Every so often — usually when I’ve developed a mad case of deep cleaning my house — I’ll pull together collections of auction catalogs and offer them for sale on my website to get them out of my home. People love them! Those programs offer a wonderful way to see how other groups are organizing their fundraisers.

Flipping through a catalog is a bit like being a fly on the wall of someone else’s gala. You don’t get to eat the food or bid on items, but you can be inspired with ideas that will usually encourage you to change your own gala a bit.

In today’s video, I show you two catalogs from events I worked this fall. You’ll see how each group — one being a Texas public school foundation and the other a New Jersey senior resource center — used similar concepts in different ways to encourage guests to take their program home and use it.

Are you putting anything “extra” into your benefit auction catalog that is similar to these organizations?

If so, I’d love to hear what you’ve done that is unique. 

In the video, I mention that getting guests to take home your catalog can start to help you with sponsorships.

Do you want to bring in more money via event sponsorships?

sold-out-event-sponsorships-volume-1-book-1I have a highly-rated webinar that teaches you how to enrich your sponsorship program. In it, you’ll see countless examples of how my clients have thought “outside the box” to use sponsors creatively at their auctions.

When you start using fresh approaches to showcase your sponsors (and by the way, sponsors do NOT want tickets to your auction! That is NOT a good benefit for them!) you’ll build stronger relationships with them.

A solid sponsorship program can add $1000s of dollars to your event revenue. And I’m not kidding, even a little bit.

Learn about Sold Out Event Sponsorships.

And if you’ve got ideas on how to personalize a catalog, post those below.

Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on Pinterest Share
Share on LinkedIn Share
Send email Mail
Copyright © 2014 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.

Reader Interactions

Eat a Red Apple Day and GivingTuesday (#GT)
My favorite #Unselfie #GivingTuesday campaign

Comments

  1. Lisa Kensok says

    January 15, 2015 at 5:10 PM

    Thank you for the video. We are a private school that holds a sold-out spring auction primarily attended by parents. After viewing this video, I thought it might be fun to provide instructions on “how to create a masquerade mask with your child” in a fun layout for parents. Other suggestions are appreciated!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      January 15, 2015 at 5:38 PM

      Lisa, I think that is BRILLIANT! I suspect you are doing something Mardi Gras-esque with your auction, so this fits in with your theme nicely. It’s a great idea.

      In a way, it reminds me of Southwest Airlines’ in-flight magazine. Each month they show readers how to do an origami project using a dollar bill. I know I’ve taken the magazine home before to finish my “project.”

      Reply
  2. Karen says

    December 15, 2014 at 8:10 PM

    I chair a church auction. Not sure what I can add to my “gift list”, but I look forward to reading comments to get a few ideas!

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      December 15, 2014 at 10:27 PM

      Karen, I had one reader email some ideas she had after watching this video post. She was encouraged to add her ideas to this blog but hasn’t. I’ll take the liberty of posting her email to me, removing her name and the name of her church.
      ==================
      “We appreciated the suggestion in the Red Apple video on adding items to our Spring Festival catalog that our attendees might find as useful and thus retain it for future reference. Since our event is March 7, 2015, and features a Spring theme, we’re now planning to add Spring “To Do Checklists” for spring cleaning, and for the home and garden.

      To educate attendees (internal and external) on all of our ministries, we’re adding is a crossword puzzle. All major clues will involve these ministries. (A separate two-sided ministries flyer will be available on the Ministries table as a “cheat sheet”).

      Additionally, our Easter services and celebration events (concert, Maundy Thursday play) will be featured on a beautiful bookmark at each place setting, so both our members/constituents and external attendees will have a ready reference.
      ==================
      I thought these were great ideas and perhaps you will as well.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Me Here

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
Read more testimonials

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)
Read more testimonials

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)
Read more testimonials

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)
Read more testimonials

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)
Read more testimonials

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
Read more testimonials

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
Read more testimonials

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)
Read more testimonials

Sherry, 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! Some of the tidbits: You added EXCITEMENT and ENTERTAINMENT… You added EXPERTISE and FUN… You helped the evening FLOW, in a wonderful and positive direction… You were FUN,… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Read more testimonials

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? 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.”

Read more testimonials

You 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, … she got the bidders to bid without being rude/pushing, … I loved observing her, I just watched her, … she did a great job.’ It was… Read The Rest “Staci Meruvia”

Read more testimonials

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.” The following year, she herself ‘stepped up’ and became one of the gala… Read The Rest “Geri”

Read more testimonials

Irene attended one of my New Hampshire auctions and assumed I must be a radio personality — until I started to chant that fast talk. “I’ve been to this event before with a couple of other auctioneers,” she said, “Your ability to get personal with people in a way that isn’t intimidating — men, women,… Read The Rest “Irene”

Read more testimonials

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 off… Read The Rest “Carolyn Kahn-Hall and Andrea Del Vecchio”

Read more testimonials

As 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. She is skillful at managing an audience and keeping them focused on the task at hand – which is… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

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

home | auctioneering | consulting | free item guide | about

 

Red Apple Auctions Co., PO Box 6066, Arlington, VA 22206
Toll free: 888-474-0838 | Email: Info@RedAppleAuctions.com | Copyright © 2005 - 2020

 

Sherry Truhlar • Charity Auctions • School Auctions • Fundraising Auctions • Auction Galas • Benefit Auctions

 

Terms of Use · Privacy Statement