Fundraising auction

Oct 22

Whose fault is it when the fundraising auction fails?

Over the last two years I renovated my house. I purchased windows and five major appliances as part of the remodel. Nothing was cheap -- the cost of some of these purchases hovered around the price of a car. Shortly after the sales process was complete, I started getting sales calls, asking me to buy extended warranties. All these conversations got me to thinking -- if one of these appliances or the windows start to give me problems, I may have a hard time knowing if the problem was ... Read On >

Jul 24

Red Apple Auctions’ blog makes Feedspot’s Top 25 Auction Blogs list

In April during the busiest part of my spring travel season, I received an email from Feedspot. "I would like to personally congratulate you," the email began, "Your blog at Red Apple Auctions has been selected by our panelists as one of the Top 25 Auction Blogs on the web." Woohoo! The Red Apple Auctions blog landed at #15 on the best auction bloggers list. It's nice to be recognized for something that takes some time to produce. When I looked at their list, I noticed that most ... Read On >

Sep 26

Pet peeve of fundraising auctions: Pointing

One of the first lessons I learned at the Missouri Auction School was on the subject of pointing. “When inviting bidders to bid,” the instructor said, “use an open palm. It’s an invitation for the bidder to give you more money.” “Don’t point!” he emphasized, “It’s rude.” A quick way to separate the professional fundraising auctioneers from the amateurs is to watch their fingers. Get the full story in today’s video. To me, pointing is obnoxious. Am I overreacting? If ... Read On >

Oct 11

Eleven options for fundraising auction venues

A client called last week. Her preferred benefit auction venue is booked, and she's on the hunt for a new space that will hold 200-250 guests. "Can you point me in a few directions?" she asked. Here in the Washington, D.C. area I have a list of interesting venues to meet her guest count. But as this blog is read by auction planners from across the globe, I'm going to be more general. Changing your venue is an easy way to give a facelift to your benefit auction and it comes with the ... Read On >

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)

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… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

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.”

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, … 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.” 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. “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”

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… Read The Rest “Cynthia Steele Vance”

Cynthia Steele Vance

Guest at The Potomac School 2014 auction (McLean, VA)

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