This is the time of year many committees are turning their attention to selecting a theme for their 2024 auction. A theme isn’t required to raise money, but a good one will help focus the décor efforts and energize volunteers. Team members get creative with language, decorations, and games as it ties to a chosen theme. Here are some of the themes I witnessed in 2023. If you’re searching for ideas, perhaps something below will spark your imagination. Gala themes loosely inspired by ... Read On >
themes
The 9 best virtual gala themes of 2020
Last week wrapped up the final two virtual galas I worked in 2020, finishing up a total of 33 virtual events for the year. Many more virtual galas are already on the calendar for spring 2021. One question from new clients has been about themes. "What are people doing for themes? Are they doing anything special?" Over the last few months, 73% of the committees I worked with kept the same theme they'd intended to use for their 2020 in-person event. The remaining others adopted new ... Read On >
Mardi Gras school auction: One idea to recruit a new auction committee
Today is Mardi Gras, so it's the perfect time to tell this story. In one fell swoop, some long-time Gala Co-chairs "recruited" a new auction committee *and* announced they'd no longer be overseeing the school auction. ============================= If you've chaired an auction, you know it's demanding work. Though rewarding, interesting, and even fun, it is also time-consuming. Furthermore, some find that if they are good at the job, it's hard to get out of the role. No one ... Read On >
The 9 best auction themes from 2019
In the process of pulling together content for my new Auction Item Guide, I was reminded of the many themes my clients used over the past year. Here are the auction themes I thought most creative. The Eye Ball: See and Be Seen - The event raises money for eye research and corneal transplant, so the theme is directly tied to the mission of the nonprofit. I wrote about this event first in 2018 when the organization used a different, but equally clever, sub-theme. An Evening in CASAblanca - ... Read On >
Creatively paying tribute to your gala honoree via your auction decor
I don't often get into conversations about fundraising auction decor because there are other, more critical elements to discuss that are tied directly to raising money. Yet for many committee members, decor is the "fun part" of the auction; it's what keeps them engaged. For that reason alone, I think it's worthy of discussion here. And specifically, I want to give a few ideas on how -- if you have an honoree or award winner -- you can honor their presence or their memory by ensuring the ... Read On >