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 […]
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 […]
Wouldn’t you love to tell donors that every dollar raised at your fundraising event will go directly to fund your school, church, or charity? This means having every dollar spent on the event covered by a sponsorship or in-kind donation. This is possible, regardless of the size of your organization or gala. Many of your supporters can’t […]
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, […]
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 […]
Raffles are a great way to raise money for your school, church, or charity. Participants feel good about their contribution and love the opportunity to win a big prize. You need to find raffle items that both excite your audience and generate a large net donation. Raffles can have multiple winners at different price levels so you’ll […]
Are you organizing a benefit auction, but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered. We’ve worked with thousands of events and boiled down the essentials tasks and decision points to the following checklist. Note: If you see a suggested start time that is prior to the timeline you are working with, don’t panic! Much of […]
In the world of benefit auctions, most people know the basic formats for live and silent auctions. If you have an audience that’s game, mix things up with a different auction format or a variation of a familiar format. You may be surprised (and delighted) with the results. These are some of the basics, and there are […]
