What is the purpose of a fundraising auction? Most people will immediately think of the most tangible benefit of a fundraising auction -- MONEY. Nonprofit auctions are generally launched to raise cash. When the event is over, the gross and net income are often reviewed by the committee and Board. The auction might be stamped as "successful" if it has achieved a certain financial goal. Tied to this, once an auction is on a nonprofit's annual calendar, it's rarely removed as the income is ... Read On >
Blog Post
Grape expectations: Selling premium wine as a revenue generator
Wine is a commonly included item at many fundraising auctions. It's used to bring in money via games such as wine pulls and ring toss games. It's sold as complete packages in silent auction and live auction lots. Bottles are often added to other packages to enhance them. Select wine tastings can be offered to sponsors as a benefit. And -- the focus of this article -- wine upgrades can also be sold outright as a money-making activity. Selling better wine to be served at one's ... Read On >
Parents sue over a school auction art sale
Imagine your school selling one of its class art projects for $50,000! Wonderful, right? Not in one case. It landed in court. In a recent blog post, I shared the Vanity Fair story of Harvey Weinstein and his auction donations at a 2015 gala in France. He's currently being investigated for the questionable financial dealings tied to that AmFAR fundraiser. With today's post, the drama turns from glamorous international galas to a more typical school auction. The controversy took ... Read On >
The best year-end tip for auction procurement
The holidays are here! As you mingle and jingle through the rest of December, keep this tip for auction procurement in mind. Listen to the chatter. Here's the deal. There's not much auction committee work getting done between now and January 1. Instead, it's a season for socializing. Companies host holiday parties. Friends host open houses. Families reconvene at homesteads. As your co-workers, friends, and relatives swap stories about what they've been doing, pay ... Read On >
![David Shankbone [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons](https://www.redappleauctions.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/512px-Harvey_Weinstein_2010_Time_100_Shankbone-150x150.jpg)
The OTHER allegations: Harvey Weinstein’s ties to a fundraising auction
In October 2017, the New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against producer Harvey Weinstein. Throughout 2018, Weinstein has been in court fighting charges. This focuses on a less-publicized dealing -- funneling donations through a charity via its fundraising auction gala. AmFAR is the charity, and I feel badly for their leadership. You may also cringe when you read it. It's a story about a wealthy, headstrong donor directing a ... Read On >