If you've got an unruly auction crowd that you need to quiet, several strategies should be used together to better manage the group. One technique is to show good leadership from the stage. I call it "podium leadership." It's managed via scripting. Every speaker on your stage needs to introduce the next speaker. There needs to be FLOW. Here is a more detailed example. A typical program for many religious school auctions that use a seated dinner format may run something like this: 1. ... Read On >
committee
The Seating Meeting: Developing an auction seating chart
"We should talk in the morning," one Auction Chair told me, "I'll be tied up with the seating meeting all afternoon." Ah, the seating meeting. It's one of the most dreaded of auction committee meetings. =============================== What is the seating meeting? It's when the Gala Co-chairs (or a small sub-section of the gala committee) convene to determine the auction seating chart. =============================== Why is a seating meeting important? Where a guest sits ... Read On >
Is your school auction doing fundraising by 1000 cuts?
At a recent nonprofit fundraising event, the nonprofit decided they didn't want to push the raffle. If a guest approached a volunteer to buy a $50 raffle ticket — fine. But they didn’t want volunteers to walk up to groups of people and ask guests to buy a raffle ticket. "In a few minutes, we're going to be asking these people to donate anywhere from $100 to $5000. It makes no sense to nickel and dime them for a $50 raffle ticket," was their rationale. This cocktail-styled event had no ... Read On >
Whiners on your benefit auction committee?
This past Saturday night while I was working with the very lovely guests supporting the New Hampshire SPCA, a hacker broke into my website. Some of you alerted me via email and Facebook. I never saw the posts because I was working. Until one of my team members called me on Sunday morning, I was blissfully unaware. When I went to the site, I certainly wasn’t happy. But I also didn’t melt into a pile of tears. I recalled a story about a magician who was headed to Las Vegas for a national ... Read On >
Getting items for charity auctions can be easier. Just listen.
A couple of years ago I was on a Webinar advocating year-round auction procurement. The best gala chairs I know always have their "ear to the ground" when it comes to getting items for their auction. Here's a recent example. Last week I was in Pennsylvania meeting with a few clients. Over dinner with one group, the two co-chairs and I talked about their upcoming auction and specifically, their items. They felt they needed just a couple more items for their live auction to feel finished. As we ... Read On >