It is Thanksgiving week in the United States, which means it's a short week for many. I can sense the eagerness to get out of the office, so here's a short, helpful idea to finish out our month. Centerpieces can be a source of stress for gala chairs. I've been involved in discussions around the size and cost of a centerpiece. Once I witnessed two gala chairs in a feisty debate about the style of the centerpiece. A friend of mine tells a hilarious (?) story about how live fish were used ... Read On >
How to control your loud school auction crowd
Is your school auction crowd obnoxiously loud? Though any auction crowd has the potential for being deafening, the loudest auctions tend to be Catholic schools. The parents know each other so quickly find their friends to chat. And let's be honest -- Catholics aren't timid about drinking alcohol, and that has a tendency to increase anyone's personal volume when consumed in excess. This past spring I had a new Catholic school group who prepared me for the worst. "Our crowd is loud," they ... Read On >
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 >
This benefit auction blog is temporarily closing
Dear Readers, For July - September, this blog will go silent as my team works to build a new website and implement other behind-the-scenes changes. If you're seeking benefit auction help, search through the 550 blog posts dating back to 2009. There's plenty of content to explore and thousands of ideas to incorporate into your next auction fundraiser. (As a side, if you subscribe to Benefit Auction Ideas, that publication will still arrive on schedule. The next issue is July 5.) We'll ... Read On >
[Video] Should you promote the benefit auctioneer?
Yesterday I received this question from a client. Again this year, we are thinking about putting a Smartphone Auction card in our invite and on the back, adding information about two or three exciting live auction items with details about our auctioneer (you), including maybe your photo. We are trying to inform our guests that we have a new auctioneer. Here is what we were thinking we could say: "We’re putting together an exciting array of auction prizes, including X, Y, Z, and more! ... Read On >