Location, Location, Location

Blog: Location, Location, Location

Where you hold your fundraising auction is a foundational aspect of your event. Everything from the look and feel of the space, to the catering options and the amenities available help set the tone and expectation for your event.

When an organization announces their event will be held in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons, for example, it immediately communicates a level of expectation. In the San Francisco Bay Area, most events used to be held in hotel ballrooms. But as more and more event spaces outside of hotels have opened, many fundraising auctions have made the leap to a new location.

If you are thinking about moving your event to a new location, do so with intention. Don’t move for the sake of doing something different – even if change is the culture of your event. Event crowds can only handle three major changes in a single event, and changing location is a MAJOR change.

Weigh the costs and benefits of moving carefully. Tour the potential new space, talk to other organizations that have done an event there. Does the space offer all of the same facilities as your previous location? What are the catering options: do you have to use their preferred caterer, or can you bring in your own?

Some event spaces don’t have a built-in kitchen, or permanent bathrooms. Is your caterer equipped to create their own onsite kitchen? Will your crowd mind using portable restrooms? How will the facilities, or lack thereof, impact the timing of your evening?

Location can make an event incredibly memorable, especially if it ties to the mission of your organization. For example, Save the Redwoods League held their San Francisco event in a redwood grove in Golden Gate park. The setting and ambiance resonated with the mission of the organization, reminding patrons of why they were there, every step of the way.

Whenever you decide to change location, remember it represents an opportunity and challenge at the same time. Maximize opportunity for freshness, but do not forget to address the potential challenges, such as:

 -          Is there parking?

-          Is there space for registration/check-out?

-          What happens if it rains?

-          Is it the proper size for your crowd? If the room is much larger than your crowd size, how will the room feel?

-          How will the location impact timing for my crowd?

o   If your crowd is notorious for being fashionably late, doing your event on a boat, that has a fixed itinerary, might not work.

-          Are there adequate utilities? Will you need to rent a generator for power?

-          Will your payment processing platform function with the existing internet connectivity?

-          Restrooms! Are there adequate bathrooms? If not, can you get fancy portable restrooms?

And while a location can be memorable, ultimately the location should not be the most memorable aspect of your event. We, as humans, form long-term memories when there is an emotion tied to a moment in time. When planned and implemented properly, the feeling people had when you engaged them with your mission and empowered them to make a difference in the world should be the most memorable aspect of your event.

The Top 10-ish Most Exciting Auction Lots of 2024

Marking a second straight year of 100% in-person galas, 2024 was a fun year for fundraising auctions. Trips continued to be successful, and dining and entertainment remained the most popular category across fundraising auctions. The most exciting trips transcended “retail” and included unique experiences, offered access to popular members of the community, or both. In this year’s top 10 list, I’ve included an example that covers both of those bases. More than a few dining and entertainment lots made the list as well.

Buy-in parties remain popular and profitable, and this year’s top 10 includes just one shining example. I have always been a huge proponent of the “instant gratification introductory lot,” as well as the collection of restaurants for a “year of dining.” This year, two organizations took both of those ideas to new levels.

The top trend of 2024 was the success of organization-related or organization-specific auction lots. Many organizations created extremely exciting and successful auction lots by utilizing opportunities or relationships from within. These organization-specific lots achieved multiple goals: they effectively communicated the message of the organization, gave donors the opportunity to remain engaged with the organization through redemption of the auction lot, and often were extremely profitable. Organization-specific lots provide a great example when creating your own lots. Not every organization can get a private plane donated for a trip to New Orleans, but most organizations have an experience in-house that could be utilized in their fundraising auction (contact me to brainstorm!).

As always, this list utilizes my arbitrary definition of what makes for an exciting auction lot. “Exciting” is about a lot’s uniqueness, creativity, and the buzz the lot generated at the event. Sale price is a factor, but more important is the number of people who bid on a particular lot.

Our first example took the concept of the “introductory, instant gratification lot” and expanded it. I am a champion of low-cost/highly desirable warm-up auction lots to engage the crowd and build momentum. If you have a DJ or band, including them as part of the opener is an easy ask:

Bubbles, Beats and Sweets

Once again, we are going to kick off this auction in style, with a party at your table, and your shot to start the dance party off with the perfect song! Start with some instant gratification: a bottle of sparkling wine chilled and ready to be served to your table as soon as you are ready. Paired with it is a selection of chocolates from Jesus Chavez and Linda Sanchez’s Casa De Chocolates, where they blend the essence of Mesoamerican chocolate traditions with modern, creative flavor pairings.

As if that weren’t enough fun, DJ Sami of the Heart of Gold DJs is here to rock the party. Sami’s been with Heart of Gold for a decade and they are going to let you pick the first song of their set!

How will you kick off the evening? So. Much. Pressure.

Opening Bid: $250                                                                                            Value: $500

A Year of Michelin Star Dining

Experience the pinnacle of culinary excellence with our exclusive live auction item: a year of Michelin-starred dining in the Bay Area. Indulge in the finest epicurean experiences with dinner for two at 12 prestigious restaurants, each adorned with coveted Michelin stars.

Your journey begins at Acquerello, where Italian elegance meets innovative flavors in a two-star setting. From there, venture to Angler for sustainable seafood and wood-fired delights. Gary Danko awaits, promising culinary mastery and impeccable service in an esteemed Michelin-starred atmosphere.

Continue your culinary adventure at Lazy Bear, where two-star communal dining meets avant-garde cuisine. Madcap invites you to savor inventive dishes in a setting that celebrates culinary artistry in Marin County. At Mister Jiu’s, modern Chinese cuisine takes center stage, offering a fusion of bold flavors and innovative creations.

Nari beckons with inventive Thai dishes, while San Ho Won showcases the art of Korean barbecue. SingleThread transports you to the bountiful fields of Sonoma County with a three-star farm-to-table tasting menu. Sorrel celebrates Northern California cuisine with rustic elegance and modern flair.

State Bird Provisions invites you to enjoy small plates bursting with flavor in a lively setting. Conclude your culinary odyssey at The Village Pub, where classic American fare meets contemporary sophistication in lush Woodside.

Bid for a chance to embark on this extraordinary culinary journey, where each meal promises to tantalize your taste buds and leave you craving more. Don't miss out on the opportunity to indulge in a year of Michelin-starred dining excellence in the Bay Area.

Opening Bid: $6,000                                                                                        Value: $7,500

 [“A Year of Fine Dining” or “Date Night for a Year” is always a popular auction lot and a great way to utilize restaurant gift certificates that would otherwise be spread out across the silent auction. This organization took that idea to a new level and gave their board an easy way to contribute to the auction.]

Animated Star of the Screen

Is the allure of the big screen and Hollywood lights calling your name? Capture your moment of entertainment fame and be a small part of an important animated film based on the novel “Tangles.” The movie tells the story of a daughter coming home to her oddball family to care for her mother living with Alzheimer’s disease.

 The winning bidder will be able to see their likeness transformed into a captivating animated character in a movie produced by Monarch Media. The film is currently in production and the talented team of artists and character designers are prepared to capture every nuance of your likeness for the viewing audience to enjoy. Your “avatar” will be as unique and vibrant as you are. And the piece de resistance is that your name will be listed in the movie credits and on IMDb!   

Opening Bid: $2,000                                                                                       

[This lot was sold at an Alzheimer’s Association event, offering an incredibly unique opportunity that also tied directly to the mission of the organization.]

Honorary Little Wishes Coordinator for a Day!

You will step inside the hospital with us and be a Little Wishes Coordinator for a day at LPCH-Stanford. As our special guest, you will lead activities in the hospital playroom located on the oncology floor, accompanied by Child Life Specialists showing you how our little patients escape into the Land of Play.

Opening Bid: $500
Final Sale Price: $12,000

[During the cocktail hour at this event, I chatted with the donor who purchased this lot the year before. They said it was a phenomenal experience, one of their most memorable moments of the year. They loved it so much, that they were one of the high bidders again, purchasing the lot two years in a row.]

An Evening with LANDO and Friends, “Part Deux”!

You are invited to join us for the “part feux” of an incredible and memorable evening of wine, food, and music. If you heard about how fantastic this evening was this past April, you know you don’t want to miss our second act. This unique lot is a culmination of Sam Lando’s friendships. Each participating winery is good friends with Sam Lando, and coincidentally, they produce some of the best wines in their categories (Cabernets, Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs, and Rhone varieties).

So let’s set the stage…

You and your guest will arrive at Back Forty’s tasting room decked out for a party. First, the crew will enjoy an extensive tasting with our fabulous featured winery partners. After the tasting, you will certainly be looking for some delicious food and Lando and friends will deliver! Our winemakers (and their wines) will join the guests for a seated meal where local chefs will delight the winning bidders with a wine country-inspired menu.

You may say, “All that is missing is some live music”, and we’ll say that we’ve got you more than covered! To cap off this fabulous evening, three songwriters will take to the stage while you are enjoying dinner and copious amounts of awesome wine for an intimate acoustic set.. This is going to be one for the ages!

Bid high for this incredible experience that will wow your senses!!

35 Couples: $3,000/Couple!

[This buy-in lot highlights the power of buy-ins: offering bidders a unique experience worthy of sharing with a large group, at a price that is well below the average of the auction, without sacrificing the total amount raised by this auction lot (35 x $3,000 = $105,000).]

Rock & Hammer Rarities: Pinot Noir Lot

With five NBA championship victories as Head Coach of the San Antonio Spurs and the most wins by an NBA coach ever, Gregg Popovich knows that putting in the daily work is essential to long-term success.

That’s the story behind Rock & Hammer Pinot Noir, the wine created by Coach Popovich and Rex Hill Winery, one of the pioneers of Oregon Pinot. Growing Pinot Noir is exceptionally difficult. Making wine from this fastidious grape requires intense dedication. A lover and collector of fine wine, Coach Popovich has worked with the Rex Hill Winery since 2005 to fashion the very best expression that Oregon can produce.

With this lot, you’ll receive every vintage produced by Rock & Hammer, beginning with their very first from 2005. These wines have never been available commercially, having been offered solely as part of Coach Popovich’s charitable endeavors. To our knowledge, a complete collection of these wines has never been offered — until now. In fact, this lot is so rare that it warranted a scoop on ESPN.com from sportswriter Baxter Holmes.

Includes:

• Rock & Hammer Pinot Noir: 2005-2017, 2019 (several signed by Gregg Popovich)

• Four seats to a San Antonio Spurs game from Coach Popovich’s allocation, on a mutually agreed date.

Donor: Gregg Popovich and Mike & Nancy T

[The uniqueness of this lot, coupled with the celebrity of Gregg Popovich resulted in coverage for this lot by ESPN sportswriter Baxter Holmes before the event took place.]

Opening Bid: $12,000                                                                     Value: $24,000

First Call to Kids Camp

Get first dibs for your kids this High Desert Museum Kids Camp season! Secure exclusive early access to registration for the 2024/25 Kids Camp series and get a coveted sneak peek of the Winter 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025 camp dates and themes a full week before they’re released to the public. The High Desert Museum offers a unique, immersive learning environment where your kiddos can engage in hands-on discovery and exploration, making these camps highly sought after and quickly filled due to their exceptional, enriching experiences.

Don’t miss this chance to ensure your child’s spot in these popular programs, offering unforgettable educational adventures at one of the region’s most cherished institutions. Does not include camp fees, cannot exceed three spots simultaneously, and must be in one household.

Opening Bid: $500                                                                                            Value: $2,000

[Another great example of a very organization-specific lot, this package did not include the actual classes. It was only for the ability to be first in line, and any parent who has ever tried to sign their kids up for camp knows how challenging getting into camp can be.]

Six Bottles of 1989 in Honor of the 35th Anniversary of vinNEBRASKA and 40th of Stephen Center

From the wine cellar of vinNEBRASKA Board president Mark G comes a commemorative half-case of fine wine from ’89. Celebrating 40 years of the Stephen Center and 35 years of Vin Nebraska, you get six bottles of red that have held up well:

·         ’89 ZD Wines Napa Vally Pinot

·         ’89 Beringer Private Reserve Cabernet

·         ’89 Peju Napa Valley Cabernet

·         ’89 Silver Oak Alexander Valley Cabernet

·         ’89 Chante Cigale Chateauneuf-du-Pape

·         ’89 Rioja Vega Crianza

All housed in a custom made vinNEBRASKA wine box made by a local artisan so you can display these bottles proudly!

Opening Bid: $250                                                                                           Value: $500

[Milestones make for good auction lots, and this well-aged collection of wine from the year this wine auction was founded proves it doesn’t have to be a huge lot to be exciting.]

Bloom & Brunch: Flower Arranging Class

Twelve people enjoy the opportunity to learn the fine art of arranging flowers with our very own auction chair, Meredith J. Make your way to Amber J.’s house, where you’ll be welcomed on to her lovely deck with a mimosa. Then Meredith will give you a hands-on demonstration of the fine art of crafting bouquets.

From flower finding to color matching and stem trimming, Meredith will teach you all the ins and outs of creating colorful bouquets. For an example of her handiwork, look no further than your centerpiece tonight: Meredith created and donated all of them!

After learning how to create fantastic floral arrangements, you’ll enjoy brunch prepared with fresh eggs from Amber Jo’s “surviving chickens” – it’s a long story, we don’t have time for it now – and paired with more fun and bubbly!

Opening Bid: $1,200                                                                                        Value: $2,200

[The auction chair also created all of the centerpieces for this gala. This auction lot was a double-whammy: it emphasized her popularity as auction chair, and it exemplified her abilities as a florist. Once the lot was over, we then gave away all of the floral centerpieces on each table.]

Southern Sky Ease to the Big Easy for Frank and Pardis Gras!

Come fly with Southern Sky to New Orleans where old spirits fly! Feasting, sipping, snacking and more – with jazz, historic sights, so much to adore!

It’s the trip you’ve always dreamed of but never imagined would ever even be a possibility… much less come true! Four (4) of you are headed to New Orleans for 3 deliciously action-packed days (and 2 colorful nights). Best part? You’ll be doing all of this in the company of Birmingham’s favorite hosts: Pardis and Frank Stitt!

Friday: You’ll fly conveniently and comfortably on a Cessna Citation XLS private jet courtesy of Southern Sky Aviation. A quick stop at the Four Seasons to drop bags, then off to lunch at the legendary Galatoire’s, a Stitt favorite! At Galatoire’s, where lunch is grand, a second line rolls through, brass band in hand!

After lunch you’ll make your way to the Bywater for an afternoon with Patrick Dunne, renowned culinary historian and antiques dealer. At his shoppe, Lucullus, you’ll have exclusive access to his expertly-curated collection of 19th century silverware and French crystal glasses. But what good is crystal without Champagne and a good story or two?

Dunne will captivate you with his tales of wit and wonder, sharing the fascinating histories behind the treasures you explore while you sip and shop. (Bring an empty bag: leaving empty-handed is hazardous!) You’ll build quite the appetite, too…

So it’s off to dinner at Herbsaint to enjoy Donald Link’s refined Southern flavors with a French twist. A James Beard winner, Link’s dishes strike the perfect balance of comfort and creativity – just what you’ll need to recharge. And since no day in NOLA is complete without a nightcap, wrap up with a drink or two at Cane & Able.

Saturday: Sleep in! Enjoy a leisurely morning along the river, stroll through the sleepy quarter, or indulge in one of the spa services offered at the Four Seasons.

Lunch at Peche, an upbeat, artsy, upscale lunch spot before indulging in an afternoon of culture, wine and live music at Bacchanal, NOLA’s most beloved and lively backyard party. Laissez les bon temps rouler right on into dinner at N7, one of Bon Appetit’s “Best New Restaurants of 2016.”

After dinner, you’ll head to Tipitina’s or Preservation Hall. The night is still young; let the jazz cast its call!

Sunday: Those Stitt’s just won’t quit. It’s off to brunch at Brennen’s! Fill up on Eggs Hussarde and Bananas Foster before your guided walking tour of the historic Garden District.

With feasting, music, and stories to share, this New Orleans trip is beyond compare.

Opening Bid: $25,000

[This lot has it all: access, relationship, travel. The Stitts are some of the most popular restauranteurs in Birmingham, and the opportunity to go to New Orleans with them was all kinds of exciting.]

Lindsay and Michael Tusk: Quince Come in Your Home

Indulge in a culinary masterpiece as Chef Michael Tusk brings the refined elegance of Three-Star Michelin cuisine from Quince to your home. With a lifelong passion for the culinary arts, Chef Tusk offers you an unparalleled dining experience, showcasing exceptional ingredients at their purest in the comfort of your own home.

Prepare for an extraordinary evening as Chef Tusk weaves together contemporary flavors with hand-selected, exceptional ingredients, creating a personalized menu tailored exclusively for your party of eight. Every dish is a testament to Chef Tusk's dedication to sourcing locally and seasonally, with ingredients carefully curated from Quince's network of Northern California purveyors, including their own farm.

To complement this culinary journey, Lindsay and Michael will personally curate a selection of wines from their cellar, perfectly paired with each course, enhancing the flavors and ensuring an unforgettable dining experience for you and your guests.

Mutually agreed upon date.

Value: $2,000, Private Chef Experience — Priceless

[Dining and entertainment is always a popular category, and having two well-known chefs come to your house for a gourmet, wine-paired feast is the pinnacle of this type of auction lot. But if you can’t get Michelin-starred, well-known chefs, lean into the people to whom you do have access: your committee, your board, or popular members of your auction community.]

Full Orthodontic Treatment from Image Orthodontics

From Dr. Yan Kalika and Image Orthodontics: our 45th Season Corporate Sponsor, comes the ultimate auction lot: a winning smile! Dr. Yan will give you or your loved one the perfect smile.

And we’re not trying to say that you don’t already have a beautiful smile, or that you haven’t passed on great looking teeth to your kids. We’re just saying Dr. Yan is that good. Whether you’ve been meaning to touch up some long-forgotten needs, or your child is having some growing pains of the mouth, Dr. Yan will lend new meaning to “winning smile” with this full orthodontic treatment! Everything you need from start to finish (but you’ll still have to brush and floss yourself).

Opening Bid: $2,000                                                                           Value: $6,500

[This final example is here to underscore how important it is to know your community and offer auction lots that are enticing to them. The San Francisco Girls Chorus auction is supported primarily by parents of middle-school-aged children: a prime demographic for orthodontia. This lot was the most bid on, most exciting lot of the auction, with three sets of parents going back and forth to get a tax write-off on their kid’s braces.]

The Value of Underbid Reporting

Underbid recording is one of the most valuable tools available to anyone planning a fundraising auction. The process of recording every bid in a fundraising auction, underbid recording gives you a wealth of valuable data and information.

The most immediate benefit of underbid recording is the most obvious: it tells you who came in second on every auction lot. There are many situations where this data point is extremely valuable, but the most useful is when your winning bidder decides not to honor their bid. If this happens in the moment, immediately after the auctioneer says sold, it is usually possible to go back to the second place bidder and secure their bid.

But if the winning bidder decides not to honor their bid later in the evening, or even days later, we usually have few positive options. Having a list of second (and third, and fourth) place bidders makes this situation much more navigable.

Tracking every bid in a fundraising auction provides you with extremely valuable data and insights.

Knowing who came in second is also very valuable when a donor tells us after the fact that they would be willing to donate and sell a second version of their auction lot. We’ve had many donors come up to us well after their lot sold and offer a second one – and without underbid recording we are forced to re-open the lot, or attempt to sell the lot another way.

We often base our opinion of an auction lot on how much it sold for, believing that the higher the sale price, the more popular the lot. At one auction, underbid recording revealed that the highest selling lot only had two extremely motivated bidders. Another lot, that sold for less, had the most active bidders of any lot of the auction. Which would you say was more popular?

Underbid recording also gives insight into your attendees’ behavior in a way that can help shape your event. One organization we work with was initially upset with a board member who sponsored a table for $10,000 but made no purchases in the live auction. They were considering moving the board member’s table from the front of the room to the very back. The underbid report revealed that while this board member did not purchase auction items, their participation in the auction had an extremely positive impact. The board member was an active bidder on multiple auction items, driving the price on each up and helping generate over $10,000 in revenue by participating in the auction. Their table stayed near the front following year.

Underbid reports also give you the ability to track bids by table, to see which table hosts bring the most active guests (or which sponsors need to recalibrate their invitation list), to find correlations between bidder behavior in the live auction and donor behavior in the fund-a-need, and more.

Capturing every bid in an auction is not an easy task. Whenever possible, get a professional to do it. An experienced pro like Beth Sandefur will be able to capture the majority of each lot’s initial bids, all of the final bids, and provide a detailed breakdown of the data post-event. Expectations for a volunteer are more focused on making sure we have the last three or four bidders. However you opt to do it, underbid recording is an incredibly valuable tool that you should be utilizing as part of your fundraising strategy.

Back to School

Summer is ending, the fall season is kicking into high gear, and whether or not you have kids it always feels like it’s time to get back to school. September, October, and November events are in the final days of their planning, and spring events only have a few months to ramp up before the holidays are upon us.

As we shake the sand out of our beach towels and put down the trashy page-turners, here are some keys for getting back in the classroom.

Know Your Crowd

Whatever your crowd’s tendencies, you need to acknowledge them and work with them, not against them. School events tend to have some of the hardest-partying crowds in the world of fundraising auctions. Parents of young children don’t get to spend a lot of time hanging out without their kids, so they treat their gala like a once-a-year chance to really cut loose. But they aren’t the only crowds that like to party hard, and we’ve seen plenty of other examples across organization types.

If your crowd leans in to having a good time, keep your program short, entertaining, and impactful. Create auction lots that celebrate and leverage your crowd’s tendencies. And be extremely strategic in the run of show and timing of your event as a whole. A heavy drinking crowd does not do well with a late-running auction.

Offer Something for Everybody

Auctions, by definition, are not egalitarian, but we can make them feel that way by offering auction lots, games, or even night-of experiences for everyone in the room. On our podcast, Michelle Holman of Greater Giving discussed a buy-in party for kids that had a price of $40 / kid and has underwriters to ensure that every kid in the grade got to attend. Other options include inexpensive or even free games, auction bingo, and the like.

Where Appropriate, Utilize Buy-In Lots

Buy-in parties, also known as sign-ups or count-me-ins, are an integral part of the fundraising auction world. They succeed at most every type of fundraising auction we do, but especially schools where there is built-in community. Buy-ins can be sold in the live or silent auctions, and run the gamut from fun and silly to incredibly sophisticated and gourmet. [Click here for some ideas on creative buy-in lots.]

You can have multiple buy-in parties in a single auction, as long as they offer a variety of experiences and target a variety of your crowd. In a school event, for example, it is advisable to have some buy-ins for the parents, and some for the students; to have some that are hard-partying, and others that are more mellow or even educational.

Create a Sense of Tradition

Audiences like having something familiar to look forward to every year. Whether it is a particular auction lot, experience, or even auctioneer! Foster traditions at your event and encourage your crowd to embrace them.

Making a Quantum Leap

One of the greatest joys in our world is seeing a fundraising auction make the leap to a new level of success. As charity auctioneers and fundraising event consultants, we have been part of many success stories, seeing auctions double or even triple their revenue in a single year.

How do these auctions achieve such success?

Have a vision for where you want to take your crowd

They start with a vision of where they want to take their event. From there, they develop very specific goals and formulate strategies for achieving them.

“Raise more money in the fund-a-need” is a goal that most events would love to achieve, but alone it lacks direction. Starting with a vision of “engage our crowd on a deeper emotional level so they feel more connected to our mission” leads towards the goal of raising more in the fund-a-need.

Be willing to take risks. We’re not advocating risk for the sake of risk, but you are never going to make a quantum leap by embracing the status quo. It can be a large risk, like changing venues, or a smaller risk, like changing the flow of your program or embracing a new theme for your event. Any risk you take should be in service Identify a way to achieve your goal.

Embrace change and get your audience to buy-in to it by communicating with your crowd in advance to manage their expectations. Engage directly with key supporters to get them to commit to your vision, then reach out to your larger audience with their support. Fundraising is a conversation that takes place year-round, and your closest supporters should always feel like they have a stake in your event.

Train the crowd to embrace this new status quo and establish The Way for subsequent events. Momentum in a fundraising auction is a fascinating thing, and crowds have a way of remembering how an event was the year before. Highlight your successes in post-event communication, and carry that momentum forward to next year.

Finally, believe that you can grow. Your faith and optimism will inspire your committee, your board and ultimately your crowd to help you make your own quantum leap.

Do Your Homework on Consignment Packages

Consignment companies serve a valuable role in helping round out live auctions. If your auction is in need of an exciting travel package, or something specific that you have been unable to get donated, purchasing an auction lot from a consignment company is a viable option. However, if you are going to purchase a consignment package, it is important to follow a few simple guidelines.

Only purchase from reputable consignment companies that specialize in working with non-profit auctions. Any consignment company worth dealing with will be able to provide you with references to happy clients, auctions that have sold their packages, and bidders who have taken their trips. If you are going to trust the care and handling of your bidders to a company, their partners, or representatives, you need to know they will be treated well.

Sometimes you need a tropical paradise in your live auction, and have to pay to get it.

The financial goal should be at least double your investment. If a consignment package is going to cost $1,500, your target sale price should be at least $3,000. This means you must know your audience, their desires, and their potential budget. Don’t base the decision to purchase a consignment package on what the consignment company says it is worth or on how well it has performed at other auctions.

Shop around and do your homework. Once you find a package that seems like a fit, ask the consigner if they are the provider or if they are a reseller. If they are a reseller, see if you can go directly to the company that provides the package. There are many resellers out there that simply take other consignment company’s packages, mark them up significantly, and then do their best to market them.

A client recently came to me with a consignment package that seemed familiar at first glance, except it was way more expensive than I remembered. Once I looked a little deeper, I realized it was a consignment package from a different company being offered at two times normal cost. What should have cost my client $1,800 was being “offered” at $3,600. As soon as we figured this out, my client simply switched over to the originating consignment company and purchased the package from them.

Consignment packages can be a useful tool for your live auction, raffle, last hero standing, or silent auction, but only if you do your homework, and make sure the package is going to fit your needs, and not vice versa.

Spring 2023 Wrap-up

The year is halfway over and the spring fundraising season is coming to a close. It is a good time to identify the fundraising auctions trends that have emerged, how they have impacted events, and how best to work with them to create successful event. First and foremost, we are seeing continuation of trends that started last year.

One of the most promising trends of 2023 is the younger generation stepping up and supporting charities at a high level

People are still waiting until much later in the planning process to purchase their tickets than they would have done pre-pandemic. This spring we saw a number of events come up against their deadline to confirm the catering order while attendees were still continuing to purchase tickets.

Check with your event venue and/or caterer to see how they’ve been addressing this issue. Unless your event is known for selling out quickly, be prepared to work to motivate ticket buyers as you come down the home stretch. And most importantly, know that this behavior is the norm these days.

Another part of the new normal is the volume of crowds remains louder than ever. Setting aside all attempts to analyze why this is true, the simple fact is once people are at an event together, they tend to be extremely loud. Crowds that are usually staid or reserved are loud, and crowds that are known for being loud are cacophonous.

Work with your A/V partner to ensure the sound system you have in place is designed to address this. Specifically, you need more coverage with more power – not just more power (think “auction surround sound”). Craft your timeline to ensure you are giving your crowd the time they need to blow off steam. Fine-tune your program so that everything that happens onstage is meaningful and engaging.

Auctions are getting shorter. When I first started doing fundraising auctions in 2004, the average auction length was 25 - 30 lots. That number has shrunk to about 12 lots, with many events strategically opting to do a fund-a-need only. Shorter auctions means fewer lots to generate the money, obviously, but it does not mean you have to restrict your auction to fewer bidders.

Buy-in-lots have surged post-pandemic and continue to be extremely popular, as I documented in an earlier blog post. As events opt to hold shorter and shorter auctions, buy-ins have become an integral way to engage more bidders *and* raise more money.

Another trend this year is the rise of the “sponsor a spot” auction lot. Similar to a buy-in, but instead of securing an opportunity for oneself, we ask bidders to sponsor beneficiaries of the event to participate in an experience (read a more detailed blog post here).

Crowds are also getting younger, and I’m not just saying that because I’m feeling older these days. We are definitely seeing a new demographic emerge at fundraising events, and the late 30’s to early 40’s set is starting to have an impact.This means you have to keep your program fresh and utilize forms of marketing that meet this market where it lives and plays. It also means that you need to develop a couple of fun and creative auction lots that appeal to this demographic – buy-ins usually fit the bill.

We are seeing events trend upwards again. Most events – not all, but most – are making more money than last year. Many are setting new records, after setting new records last year. This is partially the work of expectation management, of crowds expecting to raise more money each year. But it is also the work of development teams, boards, and committees who do a great job of setting individual attendees’ expectations for their participation in the event.

One disturbing trend we’ve seen emerge this year is fake bids: people making a bid and then either denying they made the bid or outright refusing to pay. This has happened at numerous events this spring, including at some of our biggest events. At one event, a bidder obviously and repeatedly bid on a lot until the lot sold to them for $36,000 – at which point they simply refused to acknowledge their winning bid and insisted they had not been bidding. Utilizing a payment processing system that enables you to tie bidder numbers directly to credit cards will help prevent this, but it will not make it completely go away.

Another great solution for this is to utilize professional bid spotters. You may already pay a premium for your fundraising auctioneer, but the additional cost of professional bid spotters will more than pay for itself, especially if you have a crowd of more than 350 people. Professional spotters help make the auction livelier and more engaging for the whole crowd, but especially those last few rows of tables.

Without professional spotters, we often do not know a bid was false until the lot has already been sold to that false bid. Then we have to re-open the lot, find the last bidder, re-engage them, and so on. Professional bid spotters can help verify bidder behavior and alert the auctioneer to false bids before they become problematic. They can directly engage with bidders and confirm a bidder’s intent (or lack thereof) while the auctioneer is still actively selling an auction lot. As few as one or two professionals “on the ground” in an auction can make everything go more smoothly.

To summarize: what we are seeing so far in 2023 are crowds that wait longer to buy their tickets, are louder than ever when they get to the event, and spend more in support of their chosen charities than ever before. These crowds are getting younger and require both programming and auction lots that map to their demographic. If your event has more than 350 attendees, consider using professional bid spotters to help make your event more successful.

Make a Lot with Sponsor a Spot

One of the most successful fundraising auction trends to emerge post-pandemic is the opportunity to sponsor an experience for someone else. Essentially, it is a lot where multiple donors can enable people served by the charity to do something cool or meaningful. We have typically seen this work well for service organizations that work directly with youth, but it is relevant to other organizations as well.

The lot usually consists of an experience such as attending a professional baseball game. Bidders pay a premium to sponsor individuals served by the charity to attend the event. The first time I encountered a lot like this was pre-pandemic, for a Boys and Girls Club. We had sixteen tickets to an A’s game, and we paired it with transportation and food for each youth, and offered bidders the opportunity to sponsor a youth to attend their first professional ballgame for $1,000 each. It sold out quickly.

Access to professional sports teams is an easy place to start, but there are many other opportunities out there.

Since then, we’ve seen similar opportunities with sailing excursions on the Bay, the SF Giants, the 49’ers, and more. At the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bay Area event this spring, we sponsored 45 Big/Little matches (90 people total) to attend either a SF Giants or SF 49’ers game at $1,000 per match.

Best of all, this did not negatively impact the fund-a-need. We still had the same number of pledges at the $1,000 level that we had in years past. It underscores that there are different types of donors: those who want to sponsor a very specific outing and those who want to simply give to the organization.  

These examples have been very focused on sports, but there are plenty of other possibilities: a trip to the Theater to see a Broadway show, a behind the scenes visit to the zoo or a museum, private screening of a film, and more.

The intent is to offer people access to something that would be meaningful to them – both donor and recipient. If you can partner with an organization and create an event that maps well to your people and your mission, you will be tapping into new potential at your next event.

Check Out This Amazing Event Recap Video

By The Bay Health’s 2023 gala was a phenomenal success, and their videographer did an amazing job of capturing the spirit and generosity of the evening. Most impressive is the way they connected the motivations of donors with the gifts they made.

Watch the full video below:

And we are totally flattered that the videographer managed to make Greg’s fund-a-need cadence seem like it was part of the band’s performance.

The Top Trends in Fundraising Auctions in 2022

During 2022 we saw a return to in-person fundraising almost exclusively, and as the year progressed certain trends emerged in fundraising auctions. Now that the year is officially over, let’s take a look at the biggest trends:

Tardy Crowds

People waited longer to commit to attending fundraising events. There were a few events that sold out immediately, but most events saw a nerve-wracking portion of their crowd wait until the last minute to purchase tickets. It seems that post-pandemic, people are less willing to commit to an in-person event in advance. One possible explanation is virtual events required little or no pre-commitment, and people became accustomed to that. Or some people are still nervous about committing to anything, given the climate.

However you look at it, last-minute registrations are always a nerve-wracking challenge, especially with a catering deadline looming. Knowing that 15-25% of your crowd may wait until the last week to register doesn’t make it psychologically easier to deal with, but it does give you advanced warning that you should plan on some strategies to work with it.

Smaller Crowds

Less people were ready to return to in-person fundraising events. Some people may not have felt comfortable being extremely social, instead choosing to stay home and avoid crowds. Others may have simply moved on from the organization or event. Whatever the cause, most events saw a downturn in the number of attendees.

Smaller crowds did not mean lower proceeds in 2022

Loud Crowds

It started as a novelty as the first in-person post-pandemic events took place: Even though crowds were smaller than pre-pandemic, they were also louder than they’d ever been before. At first, we thought it was simply because people were happy to be back in person for the first time in years, but that energy carried throughout the entire year. Every event was louder than it had ever been before. Crowds weren’t just happy to be back in person in February, they were thrilled to party together in March, July, and November. There may have been less people in the room, but they were happier and more motivated to be there.

More Philanthropic

Smaller crowds? Yes. Louder? Absolutely. But also, more giving. On the whole, people donated more per-person than we saw pre-pandemic. Smaller crowds were able to achieve or exceed results from pre-pandemic events, sometimes with a radical reduction in crowd size.

San Francisco’s largest food and wine event reduced its crowd from 1,000 to 500 people and raised as much as it had pre-pandemic. A South Bay event with a slightly smaller crowd than “normal” experienced a three-times increase in giving. These are both extreme examples, but they represent a wealth of other events that had similar experiences. Overall, people who were willing to show up did so, with a passion.

Auction Lots Returned to Normal

Our answer to the perennially popular question “what are the hottest lots right now?” started to sound very familiar to clients who have worked with us for many years. Because what was hot in 2022 was very similar to what was hot in 2019.

Trips regained their popularity as travel increased. Dining and entertainment reemerged as some of the most profitable auction lots in live auctions. Experiences were popular again, as were relationship-based lots. One of the hottest categories of auction lots last year were buy-in parties (aka sign-up parties, buy-a-spots, etc.), which made a huge comeback post-pandemic.

You can see great examples of what was hot in 2022 in our annual list of the “Most Exciting Lots of the Year.”

The Death of Hybrid

The final trend of 2022 was the disappearance of virtual and hybrid events. You can read about this in more detail in this blog post, but the short version is people wanted to be back in person, not attending events virtually.

What will 2023 hold for fundraising events? Stay tuned for our next post on predictions for the upcoming year.