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You are here: Home / Blog Post / Setting Seth Godin straight on the subject of charity auctions
Aug 21

Setting Seth Godin straight on the subject of charity auctions

Sherry Truhlar Leave a Comment

I stumbled across a May 2008 post from Seth Godin called Marketing the Charity Auction. (It’s short. You might want to read it first.)

In the article, Godin writes that an auction fundraiser “never leads to a wildly successful auction, because the story that’s told is too small.”

He suggests that the nature of an auction is the lure of a deal. Charities play upon this, selling the public on bargains instead of selling philanthropy. In turn, the guests become shoppers looking for a way to snag a cheap vacation or inexpensive activity. 

Godin encourages nonprofits to fill their tables with guests who want to overpay for the merchandise offered. As an example of a group doing it right, he references the Robin Hood Foundation, which raised $56+ million at its May 27, 2008 gala. 

He doesn’t offer any specific tactics for attracting guests like Jeff Zucker (president of NBC) or Ken Langone (venture capitalist), who both attended the New York gala, but instead suggests that the average auction planner highlights the “come and get a deal” aspect instead of promoting the “satisfaction of overpaying” angle.

Let’s get a few things straight.

First, I agree with Godin that many nonprofits can work on developing their audience. It’s an area that can always be tweaked; it’s core to running a good auction. It’s so critical that it’s part of the foundation strategy I teach on planning profitable auctions.

But I strongly disagree that auctions can’t be wildly successful. The data proves otherwise.

I can only speak for the charities I serve, but if any of my clients were actively promoting the “get a deal” angle described, my client and I would have a heart-to-heart talk about the nature of their event. “Is this a party you’re throwing,” I’d be asking, “or a fundraiser? I thought our goal was to raise money.”

As mentioned, Godin wrote his remarks in May 2008. According to some, the recession had begun a few months prior, perhaps December 2007 or earlier. 

I did some research to see how my auctions were performing during this period in the recession. I pulled data for all my April and May 2008 auctions. 

  • April 6, 2008 – Women’s shelter. Items sell for 108% of value.
  • April 11, 2008 – Homeless shelter. Items sell for 292% of value
  • April 17, 2008 – Women’s business group. Items sell for 109% of value. 
  • April 18, 2008 – Catholic school. Items sell for 169% of value.
  • April 12, 2008 – Wildlife group. Items sell for 115% of value
  • April 25, 2008 – Social services group. Items sell for 94% of value.
  • April 26, 2008 – Health organization. Items sell for 60% of value.
  • April 27, 2008 – Homeless shelter. Items sell for 115% of value.
  • May 3, 2008 – Private family foundation. No auction; only a fund a need.
  • May 3, 2008 – Professional sports team foundation. Items sell for 103% of value.
  • May 8, 2008 – Women’s special interest group. Items sell for 169% of value.
  • May 9, 2008 – Social services group. Items sell for 142% of value.
  • May 10, 2008 – Performing arts organization. Items sell for 93% of value.

Of these 13 galas, 12 had auctions. Of those 12, the average sale was 131% of value. That means that if I were to have offered a $1.00 bill onstage at that time, it would have sold for $1.31.

That IS wildly successful. 

To be upfront, none of my events raised $56 million. But the Robin Hood Foundation is one of the largest — if not the THE largest — gala in the USA. It’s not an ideal comparison. 

And besides, I’m not regularly serving clients in New York.  For my clientele, around $2 million is the top. 

Still, the majority of the items sold in our auctions were purchased at price points much higher than their stated value.

And before anyone says I’m undervaluing my items, let it be known that I’m one of these sticklers for stated values.   I advocate that even “free” items (like David Letterman tickets, which Godin mentions in the article) are assigned a fair, reasonable value. 

Case in point, one of the items sold during this time was two tickets to a dress rehearsal of Saturday Night Live. The estimated valued on those free tickets  was $1000 – hardly chump change. I sold them for $3250. 

Vacations have more established values. A Montego Bay villa renting for $6000 sold for $8500. A Napa Valley home renting for $1750 a week sold for $4500.

Is this NOT philanthropy? 

Yes, this IS philanthropy. 

There are no “deals” here. 

So here’s where Godin went wrong.

  • Perhaps Godin is referring to silent auctions.

If so, I’d agree with him. Silent auctions aren’t big money makers and in many events should be discarded. It’s difficult to yield over 100% of value in a silent auction, even with fancy technology and other tricks I teach.

  • Or perhaps he’s suggesting that a direct fund a need “ask” is a better approach than an auction. (A direct ask was one of the primary tactics used by the Robin Hood Foundation.)

I think that a fund a need is a great addition to a charity auction, but not necessarily a replacement. I say that, even though I oversee a few galas each year that don’t have a live auction component. They ONLY have a fund a need. 

Both can be important philanthropic opportunities. One isn’t “more important” than the other and comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges.

In conclusion, yes, any auction planner can and should work on developing her core supportive audience. One can always find room for improvement. And yes, promoting the mission and ways to support it are critical. 

But she can also rest easy knowing that auctions are a tremendous method of raising funds.

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Copyright © 2012 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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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.” 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 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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