Getting your charity auction volunteers to buy-in and work

Got problems getting event volunteers energized to do what is needed to be done?

Here’s one tip: Give volunteers something new and creative to learn which simultaneously solves a problem your charity auction is experiencing.

Volunteers will remain engaged if they believe the solution you are sharing is 1) fun and 2) will solve the problem. When it’s fun to solve the problem, your volunteers will do it.

Watch my video to hear four tips I have for getting volunteers fired up.

About the Author
Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s entertaining stories and advice is often picked up by publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide(listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) at www.RedAppleAuctions.com

Last year, a 2010 Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle was stolen. The bike was painted pink and signed by a number of country music stars, such as Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, and Taylor Swift.

Here’s the kicker: It had been donated to be sold in a benefit auction to benefit the Lexington affiliate of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The bike had been stored inside a trailer secured by chains in the organization’s parking lot. When employees returned to the office after the weekend, they noticed it was gone.

Sad.

The bike sounds irreplaceable, but I hope at least they had some insurance.

From my event management days, here are some types of event-specific insurance you can consider as you plan your benefit auction.

Property Damage Insurance

Covers the damage or loss of the property of the policy owner. For instance, if you have your auction set-up the night before and a thief slips in during the night and steals a registration laptop and some items, the typical Property Damage Insurance policy would cover those items.

Commercial General Liability (CGL) or Comprehensive General Liability

This is a basic business policy and covers major risks, including property damage and injury to people. Usually higher-risk activities (serving alcohol comes to mind) require an additional policy or rider.

Fire Legal Liability

I once worked at a benefit auction where a centerpiece started to burn. Thankfully, it was only starting to smoke when it was extinguished by the startled guests! A fire legal liability insurance policy is for such instances. Assume your auction volunteers accidentally bump a table and cause a can of sterno to ignite nearby curtains and burn down the venue. This is the policy to have on hand.

Event Cancellation

If you are holding a benefit auction outdoors and fear bad weather might cause the cancellation of the event, this policy protects against unforeseen circumstances such as that. It may also cover labor disputes or damage to the event facility or venue. (Imagine if you’d scheduled to hold your benefit auction in the Opryland Hotel in Nashville in late May 2010. The flood waters of May 3 would have prohibited you from holding the gala.)

About the Author
Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s entertaining stories and advice is often picked up by publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide(listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com

When it comes to incorporating a simple auction idea into your fundraising gala, don’t forget about one of the easiest ways to get feedback from your charity auction: surveying your auction guests. I was reminded of this recently while listening to the radio.

On a recent morning show, the DJ was asking his co-hosts and callers about their preferred superhero power. “If you could have one superhuman power,” he’d ask, “What would it be?”

Flying and invisibility were popular, but so was the ability to read minds.

The ability to read minds would be handy at a benefit auction. You could finally learn what guests really thought about your creation. Did they notice the theme? Did they understand where the money was going? Did they mind the cash bar? From a planner’s perspective, we want to know what the guests preferred. Knowing our guests preferences helps us plan a better event.

Some guests will comment about the gala when they check-out. Others will complain to an administrator. Some folks will make an effort to find and compliment the Auction Chair before they leave. But all three of these methods are haphazard ways to track data.

Surveys are an excellent yet underutilized charity auction tool. If you’ve collected email addresses as guests registered, it’s easy to send out an electronic survey to capture quick data about their take on the gala.

Here are some of the questions you might ask:
• Did you attend the gala as a sponsor, as a guest, or as an individual ticket holder?
• What city / suburb is most convenient for you to attend a fundraiser?
• How many fundraisers do you attend in a year?
• What night of the week are you most likely to attend a fundraiser?
• Where did the proceeds of the gala go?

You can also ask guests to rate elements of the night. For instance, on a 5-point scale, you might ask them to rate the registration, check-out, food, dress code, location, facility, benefit auctioneer, auction items, or entertainment.

For high participation in your survey, keep it short. And send your survey promptly, preferably within three to four days of the auction. That way, the gala is still easy for them to remember.

To create your survey, consider SurveyMonkey. It’s a popular service because the format is straightforward and the tool is free, as long as you work within the company’s designated parameters.

If you’ve got an event coming up, I advocate that you design and write your survey now, prior to the auction. Then the survey link will be ready to email the day after the event.

Outside of reading your guests’ minds, a survey is your best method for finding out what your guests most enjoyed about your benefit auction.

About the Author
Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s entertaining stories and advice is often picked up by publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide(listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com .

I’d like to welcome Sherry Truhlar back to to Step By Step Fundraising! Sherry’s written a number of great articles for us on the topic of fundraising auctions, and she has a great site at Red Apple Auctions that you should definitely check out.

She also has a FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) here.

Thanks, Sherry, for sharing your time and knowledge with us! – Jim Berigan

A shoe store surprised me with a clever marketing message AFTER I got home.

You likely have a story about poor customer service. Many of us do.

But I’ve noticed some companies creatively finding ways to make their customers feel extra-special, even after purchasing a product. These ideas leave a positive, lasting impression.

Here’s one clever marketing technique you might adapt for use at your charity auction to ensure your gala keeps guests smiling, even after they’ve left.

By way of example, here are two stories from my old stomping grounds of corporate marketing.

Story #1

I bought a pair of shoes at a store called “Shoe Woo.” Once home, I pulled the shoebox out of the bag. A black message on the inside bottom of the white bag caught my eye: “You’ve been WOOed!”

I didn’t expect that at the bottom of the bag, and I couldn’t help but smile.

Story #2

While attending a sales-related conference, I heard a speaker share a similar experience. She had purchased a jacket from an outdoor apparel company.

The first time she wore the jacket, she put her hand inside the pocket and felt a small piece of paper. She assumed it was an inspection sticker. When she pulled it out to throw it away, she glanced at the paper and some words caught her eye:

“You are a goddess.”

Whoa, a goddess!? Her day was instantly brightened.

Key point #1: Ideas don’t need to add cost.

Shoe Woo has to print bags anyway. The outdoor apparel company has to package those coats for shipping anyway. Adding a message to the shopping bag or slipping a tag into a jacket pocket are minor tasks that leave major impressions.

Key point #2: The element of surprise.

Instead of giving guests your auction gift bag in a predictable way at the end of the night, what if the contents of that gift bag were delivered in a different way?

Gift bags are often handed to patrons as they leave the building. If guests must valet park, consider giving the valet the responsibility of leaving one gift bag in each car. What a nice surprise for your auction guests to find a gift in their car as they head home!

Although I’ve not seen this idea used at a benefit auction, I personally have been the recipient of the tactic.

A few years ago when I was still working in corporate marketing, I attended the opening of Fairmont’s Gold level in Washington, D.C. At the end of the night, the valet brought me my car.

As I was driving away, I noticed a lovely wine opener with a bow sitting in my cup holder.

I was excited to get home and take a closer look. The experience of the evening lingered with me beyond the hours of the party.

What other ideas do you have to ensure your charity auction lingers in each guest’s mind?

About the Author

Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s advice has been seen in print (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER) and on television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com .

Shrink those floral centerpieces at your benefit auction, by Sherry Truhlar

Benefit auction ideas: The “correct” way to thank donors by Sherry Truhlar

This low, Balinese-inspired auction centerpiece worked well.

Once again, I’d like to welcome Sherry Truhlar to Step By Step Fundraising!  Sherry’s written a number of great articles for us on the topic of fundraising auctions, and she has a great site at Red Apple Auctions that you should definitely check out.  She also has a FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) here .  Thanks, Sherry, for sharing your time and knowledge with us! – Jim Berigan

Shrink those floral centerpieces at your benefit auction

When I was a corporate event planner, deciding on centerpieces for special events was one of the creative aspects of my work. Part of the process was making them functional and fun.

As an auctioneer, I have definite ideas on what makes for a good centerpiece!  To keep this post short, I’m only going to talk about fresh floral centerpieces.

Here are three auction tips for selecting a good floral centerpiece for your auction fundraiser.

Keep them inexpensive.

I’ve noticed a trend that the centerpieces are being scaled down in this economy — smart move! Even when the economy is booming I’d prefer if the centerpieces were inexpensive.

Keep them small.

The auctioneer needs to be able to see around and over them. Both bidders and auctioneers get frustrated when they can’t see each other.

If you aren’t selling them (or borrowing them), give ‘em away.

Guests love taking centerpieces home! If you think there’s going to be a swarm of people clamoring for your centerpiece, create a process so guests know the correct pecking order. Mark one of the wine glasses with a gold star, or tell the group that the person with the shortest hair at the table gets first dibs on the centerpiece.

For other auction tips on centerpieces, you might want to read about:

• selling auction centerpieces,
• using vegetables in auction centerpieces, or
• see what the Robin Hood Foundation in New York did for a non-floral centerpiece.

About the author

Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s stories and advice has been published in publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and heard on television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas.  Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) here .

Benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar’s entertaining stories and advice is often picked up by publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas. Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) here .

Benefit auction ideas: The “correct” way to thank donors

Recently, I received an email from one of my clients. She wrote, “What is the “correct” way to thank donors? Should I send thank you notes now (when I receive the item) and after the charity auction? Or just one or the other? I don’t want to be redundant, but I also don’t want to be rude.”

I thought her question was insightful on several counts.

First, I was impressed! She is a young, hip Development Director. The younger generation has manners!

Second, etiquette never goes out of style. Good manners can build your auction’s reputation for the long haul so it’s important to pay attention to these areas.

Third, this question brings us back to the human aspects of running an event. Auctions have so many “moving parts” to oversee (food & beverage, decorations, invitations, set-up, item collection, security, seating charts … ), that we can quickly forget that auctions all start with individual donors.

Think about it — fundraising auctions wouldn’t exist without donors.

The donors — not the buyers — are the people who stepped forward first to support the organization. Before the invitations were sent out … before any guest decided on what dress to wear to the gala … before anyone set up the decorations for the night .. before any of that happened, a donor stepped forward to help.

Donors start the auction process by giving a gift. That gift is given with the expectation that the non-profit will sell it to the best of their ability, thereby raising money to further the cause. What a generous gift! Hurrah for donors!

I believe you can’t thank donors enough. In another blog report, I’ll list the ways I’ve seen donors thanked. But for the down-and-dirty “correct” way (if there is such a thing), here’s what I typically see.

Usually the donor is first thanked with a quick thank you when the item is received. They are thanked again with a letter (mailed … on letterhead) after the auction is over.

Let’s dive a bit deeper.

Part 1:

The first thank you is commonly sent via email.

Now the reality is that even though you send a thank you via email, you’ll usually also have some additional contact with the donor because often the donor forms are not completed to the degree you need.

For instance, how often have you had to contact a donor to get more information on the vacation home they offered? (I.E. “Hi Jim! Thanks for the donation of your beach house. Question for you … On the form, you said that home has 4 bedrooms. But are 2 of the bedrooms filled with bunk beds, or are there actually 4 master bedrooms in this house?”) Even small donations often require follow-up.

Part 2:

When the auction is over, a more formal thank you (mailed .. on letterhead) is sent.

If the item sold well, I would include the sale price in the letter.

Write something like, “Your $2000 case of wine sold for $2500!” Oooooo … wouldn’t that make a donor feel good! When you have shown that you are taking care of your donor’s merchandise and selling it so well, that encourages the donor to trust you with bigger donations the following year. Woo whee!

If the donation sold for an average price, I suggest writing something more generic, such as, “Your donation helped NON PROFIT XYZ surpass our goal / meet our fundraising goal / was an increase over last year / etc.” It’s important to share your success with the donors.

I would also encourage you to hand-write a brief comment or sentence on the letter.

It might be: “The necklace was stunning!” or “Glad you were able to attend the event.” or “Your donation was especially nice this year.” Something personal, but sincere.

I’d like to introduce a new face here at Step by Step, benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar (pictured at left).  Sherry’s stories and advice have been published in publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and heard on television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches volunteers how to hit new fundraising records in their auction galas.

Enjoy her FREE Auction Item Guide (listing the 100 best-selling items to sell in your benefit auction) here .

How to get publicity for your benefit auction: Use auction games and raffles

I refer to auction games, raffles, and activities as the “bells and whistles” of benefit auctions. Some call them revenue generators, but that’s an understatement because they do more than make you money.
These are the fun add-ons designed to address specific problems, involve the crowd, trigger fun, attract press, and (yes) make you money.

This post addresses the “attract press” piece.

Many groups seem decent at securing post-gala publicity. But its pre-event recognition which will help sell your tickets.

Here are two ideas to help you secure elusive pre-event publicity for your charity auction.

Consider Headwaters Foundation, a public school foundation about two hours south of D.C. The Foundation is located in what has traditionally been one of the poorer counties of Virginia. The Foundation provides support for the public school system by increasing community involvement in education.

Pitching two angles, a savvy Executive Director managed to score sought-after pre-event publicity in both her local paper and The Georgetowner.

The latter publication, as you might imagine from the name, caters to that trendy zip code in Washington, D.C. Although I haven’t researched it, I sense it also has a more affluent readership than the local paper.
Think about it: Of all of the thousands of charities in the D.C. area, The Georgetowner wrote a coveted 8.5″ story on a charity hosting an auction gala two hours south of Washington, D.C.

What gives?

I wasn’t on the call between the Executive Director and the reporter, so I can only glean information from the article.

In the third sentence, the Executive Director states, “We’ve hired Red Apple Auctions of Alexandria to help us with both the silent and live auctions, and they have some great new ideas that we are implementing.”

Did you catch it?

That single sentence had two tips to help you secure publicity.

• First, she said she hired someone. That ups the ante.

It’s like a baseball team announcing that they’ve hired a new coach. You’re expecting something better.

So as you think about your nonprofit … who have you hired that brings with them an expectation of improvement?

Most organizations focus on announcing their band or some headline entertainment. Although headline entertainment might help you sell tickets, you don’t have to go to that extreme. This group succeeded in securing publicity even with a fairly straightforward dinner and auction.

• Second, she talked “new ideas.” That’s change.

She’s saying, “Hey, we’re different.” I don’t know if she shared the new ideas (auction bells and whistles) with the reporter. If she did, they didn’t make it into the story.

Remember: “new” = story

For instance, last fall, I spoke about using electronic bidding devices in your silent auction. If you were one of the first groups in your area to use that technology, that’s a story. You’d be using “the latest” technology. It’s a new angle. The reporter could cover that as a technology story or a public interest story, as they did for this benefit auction in Colorado Springs.

When you use auction bells and whistles in your event, pitch that.

P.S. Headwaters enjoyed some solid post-auction publicity, too.

In this economy, one strategy to help you maintain a strong overall sale value of a party is by splitting up the value among many bidders. Here’s how it works.

Remember the adage, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” For example, a house is more valuable than the individual pieces of sheetrock, bricks, and carpeting so the whole (the house) is greater than the sum of each individual item (the construction materials). On the flipside, sometimes the parts are greater than the whole. For instance, when a corporation sells off a division of its company, perhaps that segment of business has been identified as holding more valuable to someone else than it does to the business itself.

At your annual auction, consider the potential of the latter. You may find that you are able to raise more money selling something in “parts” or “pieces” than you can if you offer the whole. For example, a common auction item is a themed party donated by a family. One of my clients has a well-known family donate a fun house party each year. Recently the theme swirled around the glamour of an Emmy party. The entire night was laid out to take advantage of the theme with a long red carpet rolled out to meet guests at the driveway, a pseudo paparazzi with press and screaming fans greeting guests as they emerged from their vehicles, and a Hollywood worthy menu complete with champagne toasts.

There were two options for selling tickets to this party. One option was to allow sell it to one person who could then invite 50 people (that is, selling it by the sum). The second option was to sell 25 couples a pair of tickets (i.e., selling it by the parts). The hosts indicated the donation value was $2000, or $40 a person for the night’s entertainment.

To earn at least the value of the party, the auction needed one bidder to pay $2000 or 25 couples to pay $80. An $80 investment per couple for this particular group seemed modest. The committee thought that a couple would easily pay $100 or $125 for that experience, but it was unlikely that any one person would pay $2000 for the entire party. That committee knew their audience. Twenty-five couples paid $100 per couple netting $2500 for the Emmy party.

For maximum revenue, the committee opted to break the party apart – selling 25 pairs of tickets to the party instead of selling one party – in order to sell it.

In your part of the world, a $10 or $20 ticket price might be more reasonable, so don’t focus on the specific pricing from my client. Ticket prices for this type of experience will vary widely depending on your location. Yet the process of “selling the parts instead of the whole” works in every location.

As your auction committee brings in donations and packages items, see where you can apply the strategy to sell parts versus the whole. You’ll find opportunities to generate more revenue while tapping more supporters to your cause!

About the Author: Sherry works with volunteer auction chairs who want to plan their most successful charity auction yet. In addition to offering the auctioneer “fast talk,” she works with clients nationally to teach them the tricks of auction procurement, audience development and marketing. She regularly provides advice and tips for charity auctions on her blog at RedAppleAuctions.com/blog.

Social media applications like blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can be useful tools to help you publicize, gain attendees and supporters for fundraisers such as benefit auctions. Not only are these tools free to use, but they enable you to relay short, constant reminders about your  fundraiser.

Creating “something to write” can be overwhelming for some people, so here are 12 auction-related ideas on what you (or your public relations volunteer) can post on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, or other social networking sites to promote your benefit auction.

1. Announce donations: When an auction donation arrives, announce the item, thank the donor, and provide a link back to the donor’s website. Be sure to include a photo, if possible.

2. Ask for a donation to round out a package: “We need a florist to donate a bouquet to complete our Mother’s Day package at our Fabulous Fundraising Auction for Children.”

3. Testimonials: Auction fundraisers should be mission-focused. Keep your supporters updated with successes. For instance, “Peggy is off the streets, thanks to our non-profit,” or “Jeremy credits St. Stephens’s art teacher in giving him the confidence to pursue art in college.”

4. Event Preparations: Share a photo of the decor committee drawing backdrops for the auction, or the Gala Chairs meeting to send out invitations. This shows that others are involved in auction planning and preparing to attend the event.

5. Special announcements: Share news. “In just three weeks, we’ve surpassed 50 raffle ticket sales.”  Or, “Only 200 seats left before our school auction sells-out!”

6. Apply gentle pressure to past auction donors: A post such as, “We sold a lovely 2-night stay at the Fairmont last year, and are hoping they’ll donate again,” might work. Include a link to the hotel, and then contact the hotel so they see how you are treating them kindly – even before they donate.

7. Answer questions: Make the questions up, if you need to. “A new family to our school asked what was appropriate to wear to the benefit auction. Here’s our answer, and we included three photos of past guests.”

8. Create a list: You can create a list on almost anything. “Top 5 Reasons to Attend our Auction Fundraiser.”  “Three Ways You Can Volunteer That Will Take Less Than 2 Hours per Week.”

9. Seek specific volunteers: “Any math lovers out there? We need an auction clerk, and your primary job is recording numbers during the live auction. Any takers?”

10. Link to relevant websites: “In 55 days, our charity auction will be raising money for cancer research.  Here’s a link to fascinating article written by XYZ about the need for a cure.”

11.  Support your supporters: When you notice that one of your supporters (e.g. a school parent, a Board member, an auction donor) is mentioned in the paper, link to it and promote it. “Parent Joe Smith just got promoted and here’s the link. Way to go, Joe! We look forward to congratulating you in person at the gala next Saturday.”

12.  Call to action: Get your audience to act (or think about acting).  Something like, “Early-bird pricing on gala tickets ends tomorrow,” or “Get your gala dress at Lord & Taylor this weekend. The store has special occasion dresses on sale.”
These auction tips will get you started.  You’ll have fresh content in no time!

About the author: Sherry Truhlar of Red Apple Auctions LLC works with auction chairs and committees who want to plan their most successful charity auction yet.  In addition to offering the auctioneer “fast talk,” she works with clients nationally to teach them the tricks of auction procurement, audience development and marketing.  Many of the area’s most prestigious events are her returning clients, including the Washington Performing Arts Society, Larry King Cardiac Foundation, Camillus House, and the Washington Nationals Baseball Foundation.

Sherry regularly provides advice and tips for charity auctions on her blog at www.RedAppleAuctions.com/blog.  (c) 2010 Red Apple Auctions LLC. Reprinted with Permission.