Today’s question is: What do you do that makes your auction different from every other benefit auction in your city? Is that chirping crickets I hear? If you're stumped by the question, I'm not surprised. We planners get into ruts, doing the same thing all the time. Unless you’re traveling the world attending auction galas, it’s almost impossible to get exposed to fresh concepts. (Let alone the time it takes to learn about properly implementing something, once seen.) This leads me to why ... Read On >
Eleven ideas for golf tournament goodie bags
"I'm working on the Classic," my client emailed, "Got any leads or ideas for golf tournament goodie bags? At the moment it only has our organizational brochure in it.” Summer is when tournaments of all types start filling nonprofit event calendars. Unlike galas, which may or may not have goodie bags, I rarely see a golf tournament without them. But what should you put in the bag, other than your own promotional material? My clients typically seek prizes for four areas of their golf ... Read On >
Great example of an event sponsorship with Porsche
As I type this, I've spoken with three clients in the last 24 hours about designing or beefing up their event sponsorships. In two cases, we talked about rarely considered benefits they could use to entice new sponsors. In another case, we talked about how to design a complete event sponsorship program. With these discussions in my head, I can't help but recall the savvy partnership I witnessed between my nonprofit hospice client and the car manufacturer Porsche just two weeks ago. Major ... Read On >
The unspoken impact on auction procurement of using a good benefit auctioneer
Many people assume that a professional auctioneer’s impact begins and ends with the selling of your items at the charity auction. Not so. Here’s a true story of how a benefit auctioneer can impact the quality of donations you receive in the months preceding your event. As a recent gala was ending and the guests were chatting and checking out, I was visiting with one of the founders of the organization. While he congratulated me on the success of the night, a woman rushed up and ... Read On >
11 pointers to selecting a benefit auctioneer
I've recently been hearing a string of complaints from auction planners dishing on their benefit auctioneers. How s/he read every word (or totally ignored) of item descriptions. “And he doesn’t read well,” she added. How s/he was unfamiliar with the details of the packages, even though the auctioneer had the information in advance. “We even went through each item,” the Development Director sputtered. How s/he sells too quickly. “We worked with him for three years, and he still ... Read On >