Gala

4 Essentials to a Successful Charity Auction (Besides Items for Sale)

You’ve procured some really great auction items. Great! These items will sell themselves! Think again. Presenting your auction items in the right way with the right ambiance is critical to driving up bids and satisfying guests. Pay particular attention to these four areas: 1. Sound Guests who wish to participate in your silent auction will be frustrated […]

Continue Reading
banquet room

Provide an Flawless Guest Experience at Your Gala

When you focus on your guests’ enjoyment, your guests will reward you. This may be obvious, but is too often overlooked in the planning of benefit auctions. Some gala committees do a great job thinking about the party, theme, food, decorations, program, service and the event mission. Those are all important. But what will pay the biggest […]

Continue Reading
Buy It Now Board Poster

Silent Auctions: How to Sell Small Gift Certificates Without Cannibalizing Your Big Items

Your silent auction committee likely obtained great vacations, unique memorabilia, and bucket list experiences for your live or silent auction. Your committee likely also procured an array of small gift certificates from local businesses: cleaning, dance lessons, chiropractic service, haircuts and styles, tanning sessions, massages, whitening, self-defense classes and many more services. What should you do with […]

Continue Reading
Bidding at Auction

How to Get Donated Items for Your Silent Auction (Without Cold Calling)!

Your mother warned you, “Never talk to strangers!” But to get donated silent auction items, that is what you are asked to do. Anyone who has tried cold calling for auction items, however, knows that it rarely works. Why? You are asking a total stranger for something of value, to be given to someone they don’t know, […]

Continue Reading
Bidding at Auction

Live Auctions: How Should You Sequence Your Items?

Once you finished procuring items for your benefit auction, it’s time to put together your auction program. Once you’ve decided on which items to include in your live auction, putting your live auction items in the correct order can make a huge difference in your total revenue. Here are some tried and true tips: 1. Lead Off […]

Continue Reading