With everyone so busy, it's difficult to coordinate a meeting with your auction team. We've all been the victim (or unwilling participant) of one of those nightmarish scheduling sessions. Someone suggests a time for your 4-person committee to meet, but one of the women can't make that hour. Another time is set-up, and someone else is unable to come. When (finally!) a date and time is found to be all-clear for everyone, someone realizes they forgot a commitment (or a last-minute emergency ... Read On >
volunteers
Using auction games to motivate volunteers
Got problems getting auction volunteers energized to do what is needed to be done? Here’s one tip: Give volunteers something new and creative to learn which also solves a problem your auction is experiencing. Volunteers will remain engaged if they believe the solution you are sharing is 1) fun and 2) will solve the problem. When it’s fun to solve the problem, volunteers will do it. I’ve written before about Volkswagen’s “The Fun Theory” project. The group conducted tests to see if they ... Read On >
Turning Millennials into cutting-edge benefit auction volunteers
I read an interesting article about Millennials in Delta's May 2010 Sky magazine. "The M Factor" (written by generational speakers Lynne Lancaster and David Stillman) examined how Millennials were impacting the workplace. Although 'Millennials on the job' was the focus of their article, the points made are applicable to benefit auctions. I know you're managing volunteers as part of your auction responsibilities, so I'm going to apply the authors' findings to how you can attract this group ... Read On >
Volunteer Auctioneer training, so you rock your benefit auction
I've heard the complaints. The school auction chairperson calls. "I know our parents," she'll tell me, "and I know we have more money in the room than what we're getting. I attended XYZ auction, and they made a lot more than we ever do." I ask her who the benefit auctioneer was, how that auctioneer supported them, and why they weren't using him again. She says, "We use a parent. He's our volunteer auctioneer. He's a nice guy, but ... " Then I hear what went wrong. "The auction took ... Read On >
Four places in your charity auction that you SHOULD invest
On the heels of my post "Where to cut costs in your benefit auction," here is a post on where to invest. Whether you are a volunteer Gala Chair or a paid Special Events Manager, you want your charity auction to be a financial success. Let's look at some smart investments. 1. Invest your time upfront in placing volunteers into appropriate roles where they can shine. Not all volunteers are created equal. To ensure fewer headaches later, make an effort early in the process to get to know your ... Read On >