A few years ago, a school development director started to vent. Her volunteer Auction Chair was insistent on calling the catalog an "ad book." "She's driving me nuts!" my client confided, "She keeps calling our catalog an ad book, and she's confusing our other volunteers. I don't know where she picked that name up." =========== As I work with benefit auction committees across the USA, I see remarkable diversity in the names we use to describe identical activities. What we call a "bucket ... Read On >
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[VIDEO] Comparing wine auction catalogs
Welcome to wine week! Every post this week ties to alcohol. Here's the post explaining it. In this video, I pulled three wine auction catalogs from my collection. If you've never attended a wine auction, you'll be interested to hear how different they are from most typical benefit auctions. If you happen to be chairing a wine auction, you'll enjoy seeing how your own catalog compares to other groups around the country. Everyone has a special way of presenting their ... Read On >
Which sells better? Two different descriptions from identical auction packages
An identical item was sold in two different D.C. charity auctions in different years. Of the two item description examples, which do you prefer? (I changed the donor's name.) ================== Don’t Fake It, Make It Private cooking class for 10 at the acclaimed ABC Cooking School You and 9 guests will be guided by your chef instructor in creating a fabulous three-course meal. From 'Classic French Cuisine' to "Sushi' and 'Summertime Smoking and Barbecue,' the reward is yours when you sit ... Read On >
How to personalize a benefit auction catalog so guests take it home and use it
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 ... Read On >
Eat a Red Apple Day and GivingTuesday (#GT)
I'm not making this up. Yesterday (December 1) was national Eat a Red Apple Day. I celebrated in my own way by opening the cart to my Catalog Carnival. It's a popular product that always sells out (who doesn't like to review a benefit auction catalog or two?), and yesterday seemed like a great way to honor a day that seems tailor-made for my company. Grab a benefit auction catalog set, if any remain. And today is #GivingTuesday™ (#GT), a movement launched by the 92nd Street Y in New York to ... Read On >