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You are here: Home / Administration / Is a fall charity auction date better than spring?
Mar 16

Is a fall charity auction date better than spring?

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Charity auction date with calendar open

The Chair of a school auction called me a few days ago to get my opinion.

Her committee is thinking of moving its fall charity auction date to a new day and season. Traditionally the fundraiser has been held in December, but they’re considering an auction date in the spring so as not to compete with their Annual Fund.

“What do you think?” she asked.

In one respect, it doesn’t matter.  As long as a committee follows the principles of conducting a successful auction, the gala can succeed.

But I do see some distinct advantages to holding an autumn charity auction.

As serendipity would have it, within a couple of days of that phone call, I received a call from a different client.  They are planning for their third gala.  The first two years the event was held in the spring.  Now they are toying with a 2010 fall date. The event manager asked me to provide her with some reasons as to why a fall date would be advantageous.

Here are four advantages to scheduling your charity auction date in the fall.

1.  Less competition for auction items and cash

Generally speaking, spring is a more popular time for events.  So if your organization hosts a spring event, your procurement team will be seeking auction donations, underwriters, and sponsors at precisely the same time as other groups.

2.  Less competition for auction guests

Some organizations host fundraisers which have no auction component.  They might plan an annual chef’s event, or “roast” someone prominent in the community.  These fundraisers-without-auctions also prefer spring dates.  This means that even though you might not compete against these groups for donated auction items, you will compete against them for attendees.  You may enjoy less competition in the fall.

3.  Better opportunity to sell specialty items (yard art … home decor) in the silent auction

Fall auctions lend themselves to specialty silent auction sections which are geared towards decorating your home.  Several of my November auctions will have a silent auction section devoted exclusively to selling holiday decorations.  One of my September benefit auctions had a mini-section of Halloween decorations ready to be purchased.

In contrast, I have yet to see a spring auction create a silent auction section around “Valentine’s Day decorations” or “Easter decor.”  We Americans are quick to decorate our front yards with scarecrows on Halloween and Santa Claus in December, but we don’t get as excited about putting a billboard of President Lincoln on the front yard for his February birthday.

4.  Guests are already in a shopping mindset 

In the fall, Christmas is a-comin.’  Many of your guests will be buying presents.  Those gorgeous baskets, clever activities, and unique items can easily become gifts for friends, family, and co-workers.  Why not work with the natural rhythm of our holiday cycle by picking an auction date that occurs during a time when we need to buy gifts?

Got other ideas?  Leave a comment!

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Copyright © 2009 Red Apple Auctions Co. All Rights Reserved

About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and education, 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. Robie says

    January 15, 2010 at 8:04 PM

    I host an annual fundraiser dance without auction for Jill’s House in DC. For the past two years I hosted it in September, but for this year I will do it in May. I think we’ll get more action. We’ll see.

    Reply
    • Sherry says

      January 18, 2010 at 7:16 PM

      Sounds like a good idea, Robie. I enjoy September and October events … and that’s usually a beautiful time of year in Washington, D.C., too. Let me know how it goes!

      Reply

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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
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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!

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St. Joseph Academy Catholic High School (St. Augustine, FL)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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
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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
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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)
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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”

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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.”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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)
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