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You are here: Home / Blog Post / It’s a shoe-in for a great raffle prize
Jul 02

It’s a shoe-in for a great raffle prize

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Shoe raffle at fundraising auction gala

Imagine winning this EVERY MONTH: $1000 worth of designer shoes, a makeover or facial, and lunch for two.

At a benefit auction this spring, a man approached me at the dessert buffet.  He’d noticed I’d switched from my flats into heels before I started the program on stage.

“You’ve gotten taller,” he said, checking out my shoes.  “Nice! What size shoe do you wear?”

I bristled.

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

Before I carry on with this story, I should share another story from 20 years ago.

When I moved to D.C., one of my part-time jobs was working as a fragrance model in department stores.

I’d work a four hour shift promoting Calvin Klein fragrances, and then work a four hour shift promoting Givenchy.

During one long shift, a young, compact guy wandered in.  He needed to buy a gift.

Presumably he was buying a gift for his girlfriend.

Presumably he liked to give more personal  gifts that she would wear, such as perfume, clothing, or shoes.

Presumably she really liked western boots.

“Boots!?  You’re in the wrong state to buy boots,” I told him, thinking of all the stores back in Kansas that had large selections.

Fast forward.

After a much too-long conversation with this guy, he got me to slip off my flats so he could look at my foot for a size comparison to his presumed girlfriend’s foot.

And upon seeing my foot, he quickly left.

The conversation was a bit surreal, so a few minutes later I mentioned it to one of Macy’s full-time employees.

“OH GOD THAT GUY,” she rolled her eyes. “Call security.  That dude has a foot fetish.  He’s been floating in and out of here for a couple of weeks.”

That explained it.

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

Back to the original story.

When this auction guest asked me about my shoe size, those old memories about the foot fetish customer surfaced.

I warily told him my shoe size.  “And why do you ask?”

“I have some shoes I could sell you,” he said confidently.

“Really!?” I said, “Are you a shoe salesman?”

“No. I just own a lot of shoes,” he said, “At one time, I had over 1,000 pair!”

I must have looked puzzled, so he cleared it all up for me.

“I’m a cross-dresser,” he confided, “But when my wife and I bought our condo and moved in together, I had to get rid of a lot of stuff. I still have too many shoes.”

We exchanged numbers for a possible sale, but I have a feeling his heel height is going to be greater than what my hips comfortably allow me to wear.  And if I’m being honest, I’d rather spend my money on gardening tools over shoes.

Yet many people love shoes, so here’s a great raffle prize focused on them.

The gala chair of this event secured this high-value donation from a luxury department store.

The prize? 

Once a month for a year, the raffle winner would receive the following:

  • A pair of designer shoes valued up to $1000.
  • A facial or makeover featuring one of the product lines sold in the department store.
  • Lunch for two in the store cafe.
  • Value?  $14,000!

Instead of selling this as a singular package in the live auction, the client opted to make this a raffle prize.

We sold 52 chances at $250 each, thereby generating $13,000.

With ~250 guests, this gala wasn’t particular large, but it had the right people attending.  The raffle sold out, even with its premium ticket price.

  • Not every community is going to have a luxury department store making this type of donation.
  • And not every person is going to be keen on shoes or makeovers.

But for the right group, the prize is attractive and different.  You can adjust the price point to match the value offered.

  • Are you chairing a ladies luncheon auction?
  • Is your Junior League organizing an event?
  • Are you running a golf tournament, boutique bash, or working women’s-styled fundraiser?
  • Most importantly, would the prize appeal to your guests, whomever they be?

If so, put your best foot forward (get it?) and approach a department store for a similarly-styled prize.

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Copyright © 2019 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. Chris says

    July 3, 2019 at 12:31 PM

    Thanks Sherry, I appreciate how you are able to tie in your personal stories…so did you work out a deal for the shoe collection 😜

    Happy 4th of July. Hope to see you in August at the summit.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      July 3, 2019 at 12:42 PM

      No shoe deals yet. I’ll miss you at Summit this year!

      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

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”

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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”

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

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