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You are here: Home / Pre-event activities / The flow of a wine auction (2 examples)
Sep 20

The flow of a wine auction (2 examples)

Sherry Truhlar 2 Comments

Last month I worked as a wine auctioneer for a benefit auction in Oak Brook, IL.

It was my second wine auction in 2017.  The other event was for a nonprofit in Texas.  In this post, I’m featuring both of them.

If you’re running a wine auction or considering launching one in your community, take a look at how these two fundraisers are structured. 
Both of these are successful events in their markets. 

Let’s look at highlights from each event.

Vintage Amarillo

Earlier this year, the Amarillo Symphony in Amarillo, TX held its Vintage Amarillo. 

This is a smaller, more intimate event.  But like many larger wine auctions in the country, Vintage is a two-day affair.
Wine auction Vintage Amarillo

  • The first night is the preview party.  It’s an upscale cocktail reception with great wine, tasty food stations, and a small live auction.  The night is primarily about socializing.  Tickets for the preview party were much less than the cost of the gala tickets and were designed to attract a younger crowd.
  • The second night is the sit-down dinner gala.  It attracted about twice as many guests as the preview party.  It  followed the format of a more traditional event, with a silent auction and large live auction focused on wine lots.
  • Vintage is held every-other year.
  • This isn’t the only fundraising event the symphony runs.  Not everyone enjoys wine, so they have another larger event that isn’t focused on the grape.

Here’s a video showing highlights of the event.

 

Night to End Hunger

Loaves and Fishes Community Services’ in Naperville, IL launched Night to End Hunger in 2014.

Though not a 2-day affair like many wine auctions, the event did have two components.

  • At 5:00 pm (one hour prior to the start time of the gala), a sub-section of guests gathered with a sommelier for a 100-point wine tasting and nibbles.  It was educational and social.
  • At 6:00, the tasting ended.  Attendees walked to the ballroom where guests were starting to arrive for the gala.  As with many wine events, this portion of the evening included outstanding wine, a great meal, a curated silent auction, live auction, and so forth.
  • Like Vintage, this event was intended to be run every-other-year.  But the group’s 2016 event was so well-received, they offered this event again in 2017.
  • It’s also worth noting that nearly everyone working on Night to End Hunger this year was new:  New CEO.  New vice-president of advancement.  New special events manager.  New auctioneer (me).  That doesn’t always bode well for an auction, but it worked!

Here’s a video showing highlights of the event.

 

Are you ready to run a wine auction?  Or maybe you already do.

Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, or comments below.

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About Sherry Truhlar

Fundraising auctioneer and educator, helping schools and nonprofits plan more profitable benefit auctions. A prolific writer for her own blog and other fundraising sites, she’s been covered in The Beacon-News, Town & Country Magazine, The Washington Post Magazine, Northern Virginia Magazine, Wiley's Special Events Galore!, AUCTIONEER, and other publications.

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Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    September 27, 2017 at 12:37 AM

    Thank you for sharing all of these ideas. I really enjoy getting fresh ideas for our area. I am one of those people who is always needing something new, because in our very small town, ideas get recycled very readily. This can be very frustrating for the person who did the original event, so I try to look outside my area and our comfort zone. I love the wine pull idea as an add on to an event. Do you have more information on that somewhere? The wine upgrade is also something I could see working at many event types. I particularly love the idea of a pre-event for large donors/sponsors.

    Reply
    • Sherry Truhlar says

      September 27, 2017 at 12:49 AM

      Jennifer, the basics of a wine pull would be, for instance, to secure 25 bottles of donated wine, put 25 numbered corks into a bowl, and have guests pay a flat amount (say, $30) to pull a cork to win the bottle of wine that correlates to the number on the cork they pulled. Though there are subtle nuances to it, that’s the gist of a wine pull.

      For photos, view my wine-related Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/SherryTruhlar/wine-auctions/

      And for a customized strategy for your event, or “how to” details, the best option is a consulting session. You can read about consulting here: https://www.redappleauctions.com/shop/consulting-one-hour-plus/

      Good luck!

      Reply

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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)

2012 Oakcrest Anne and CarolinaSherry, 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 year!… Read The Rest “Anne Livaudais Knudsen, 5th year gala co-chair”

Aren’t KK and Michael a cute couple? PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9NakF4TWkxSGRXVnpkSE10UW5Wc2JHbHpMVXRMTFdGdVpDMU5hV05vWVdWc0xVcHZjMlZ3YUM1dGNEUT0vP2NvbnRhaW5lcj1ldnAtV0JBVTkwTlVBUyI+PC9zY3JpcHQ+PGRpdiBpZD0iZXZwLVdCQVU5ME5VQVMiIGRhdGEtcm9sZT0iZXZwLXZpZGVvIiBkYXRhLWV2cC1pZD0iTWpBeE1pMUhkV1Z6ZEhNdFFuVnNiR2x6TFV0TExXRnVaQzFOYVdOb1lXVnNMVXB2YzJWd2FDNXRjRFE9Ij48L2Rpdj4= 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.”

Staci Meruvia 150 ptYou 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.” 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 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. PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiIHNyYz0iaHR0cDovL3JlZGFwcGxlLmV2c3VpdGUuY29tL3BsYXllci9SM1ZsYzNRdE1qQXhNUzFPU0ZOUVEwRXRTWEpsYm1VdWJYQTBMVEU9Lz9jb250YWluZXI9ZXZwLTVHMlVHQlFGN1YiPjwvc2NyaXB0PjxkaXYgaWQ9ImV2cC01RzJVR0JRRjdWIiBkYXRhLXJvbGU9ImV2cC12aWRlbyIgZGF0YS1ldnAtaWQ9IlIzVmxjM1F0TWpBeE1TMU9TRk5RUTBFdFNYSmxibVV1YlhBMExURT0iPjwvZGl2Pg== “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”

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