themes

May 23

Carnival auction themes from school fundraisers

An elementary school client asked for some game and design ideas. She and her committee are considering a carnival-esque auction theme for their annual fundraiser next year.Imagine red and white stripes. Family entertainment. Festive games. Finger food. "Something to do for everyone," she concluded.Here are video clips I compiled over the last three years, each featuring a different school with a different theme, but yet all three auction themes have the vibe she ... Read On >

Dec 06

Havana Nights auction theme: Tacky or trendy?

Since 2014 when President Obama re-established relations with Cuba, the country has been a popular topic in my client meetings. And with the recent death of Fidel Castro, news about Cuba has been widely covered in the papers and on television.For this post, let's discuss Cuba through the lens of our focus on fundraising auctions.======================== Readers want to know if it's tacky to use Cuba as a theme.Here's a question I was asked last week via Facebook. ("Like" me ... Read On >

Jun 07

[VIDEO] It was a 3-ring circus! This revamped school auction thought of everything

In April I worked a school fundraiser with a circus-theme. It was elegant, not campy. You'll see that via the video below. This is a well-run auction, but as with every event, there are concerns during the planning stage. Part of my time with each client is spent hammering out the details, especially as it relates to the fundraising components of the night. Videos like these don't show the pre-event concerns. Concerns about flow. Concerns about layout. Concerns about sound. Concerns ... Read On >

Dec 08

[VIDEO] Ice, ice baby: Auction theme ideas that involve winter

It’s all about *show* and less about *tell* in today’s post. Here are three video clips from auctions. All had winter-related auction theme ideas. They used elements like ice, LED lights, evergreen trees and polar bears to make a statement. As for colors, think white, ice blue, and some forest green. As the holidays are upon us and many are dreaming of a white Christmas, this seemed fitting. =============== The Crystal Ice Gala This video from an upstate New York hospital foundation benefit ... Read On >

Oct 13

School auction theme: Night at the Museum

I recently showed a few photos from this 2009 auction to a client who was going to be doing something similar. The memory of that event still impresses me, so I thought I'd post a few of the photos on the blog. ++++++++++++++ When the Development Director told me that the school auction committee had settled on a "Night at the Museum" theme, I wasn't overly enthusiastic. Many times I'll have some ideas on how to support the theme. For this one, I was a tad stumped. I loved the ... Read On >