Earlier this month one of my school auction clients returned to a non-traditional space that fits their event well. The venue is an atrium at the nearby botanical gardens. Their school auction themes have run the gamut, and this year, the committee opted for colorful Mumbai. In the video you'll see the elements the Auction Chair incorporated into the evening. Even without decorations, the atrium is beautiful (and the snow outside made it even more so, I think), but this is a school ... Read On >
Part 3: The raging debate on silent auction bid numbers versus names
This is a 3-part blog post, explaining why benefit auctions should identify guests with bid numbers instead of names. The first post looked at the benefits of using numbers in a Fund a Need. The second post examined the use of numbers in the live auction. Today we'll turn to the silent auction. +++++++++++++++++ Why you should use silent auction bid numbers (not names) on your bidding sheets. Why do this? It's an easy answer. Because you'll raise more money. A big ... Read On >
Part 2: The raging debate on auction bid numbers versus names in the live auction
This is a 3-part blog post, explaining why benefit auctions should identify guests with bid numbers instead of names. The first post looked at the benefits of using numbers in a Fund a Need. Today, we examine using numbers in the live auction. The third post turns to using numbers in the silent auction. +++++++++++++++++ Why you should use numbers instead of names during your live auction. I worked an auction in New York a few years ago. The live auction process started to break ... Read On >
Part 1: The raging debate on auction bid numbers versus names for an appeal
Let me preface this subject with two quick stories. Story #1 While flying back from Eugene, OR, after last weekend's auction, I had lots of time to watch some movies, including Life Itself. The movie is a documentary about Roger Ebert, the Chicago Sun-Times' film critic who recently died of cancer. Ebert shared an amusing story about the challenge of being a movie critic. At work, he sat next to a gentleman who reviewed other arts. Co-workers would come up to his colleague and ask, ... Read On >
Should you put that trip in the silent auction or live auction?
Ever worked and worked and worked to get a great beach house / ski lodge / overseas trip donated, only to have two of them show up as donations in the same year? When it rains, it pours. Or maybe you’re challenged in that two donors have similar homes, and you’re not sure if it makes sense to sell both them in the live auction. Here are some suggestions for determining which vacation home should be sold in the live auction. A home within driving distance. All other things being relatively ... Read On >