The Top 10 Most Exciting Auction Lots of 2023

Full of live, in-person events and supportive crowds, 2023 was an exciting year for fundraising auctions. Every event Stellar conducted in 2023 was an in-person gala; the first time that’s happened since before the pandemic. Crowds continued to be excited to be in-person, and a lot of the upward trends of 2022 continued on through 2023.  

Buy-in parties and Sponsor-a-spot auction lots continued to be extremely popular. Experiences and relationship-based lots were very profitable – especially experiences that were connected to the organization or tied in to the mission of the organization. A few examples in this year’s list exemplify this trend.

The big surprise in 2023 was the sudden inconsistency of trips. Trips remain the foundation of most fundraising auctions, and in most events trips did well (sometimes exceptionally well). But very few auctions saw a trip emerge as the biggest seller. And for a notable percentage of auctions this year, trips did not do well at all – which is a stark change from 2022. Still, there were a few trips exciting enough to make this year’s Top 10.

What makes for an exciting auction lot? It’s not just sale price. “Exciting” is about a lot’s uniqueness, creativity, and the buzz the lot generated at the event. Sale price impacts the decision, but only relative to how other lots sold at the same event. Where I can, I have included final sale prices again this year.

Please remember that comparing pricing between events is a tricky. I include these numbers as a way of emphasizing the excitement in the room when the item sold, not as a point of comparison. My goal is to inspire you to create fun and exciting lots of your own!   

So here are the Most Exciting Auction Lots of 2023:

Ultimate Game Day Experience with the San Francisco 49ers and Steve Bono

Get close to the action with a VIP Levi’s Stadium gameday experience. Your experience begins as former 49er quarterback Steve Bono takes you to the sidelines to watch the team warm up. It only goes up from there: From the field you will move to your luxury suite, where you can sit back, relax and cheer on the 49ers in style. Package includes:

• Pre-game field experience
• Six Suite Level tickets to a regular season San Francisco 49ers home game
• Appellation 49 wine experience at half time
• VIP parking
• Autographed Football

Opening Bid: $3,000        Value: $6,000                     Final Sale Price: $20,000+

Editor’s note: Whenever a sports team is doing well, their fundraising auction stock goes up as well. No team in the Bay Area is hotter than the 49’ers right now, and no experience tops meeting a 49’ers player.

Surprise Lot: The After Party

When the auction ends and the party is over, it does not have to be the end of it for you. We have a special surprise for you in our auction tonight the Struggle Bus after party. Twelve people will get on the Struggle Bus – your own Luxury party van, that really is called the Struggle Bus.

This converted school bus is painted purple, and stocked to the gills for you. There will be great wines from our winemakers tonight, plus bubbles, beer, and pizzas from Bottega.

The Struggle Bus will take you anywhere you want to go for 3 hours, but where you really want to go is Adios, downtown, where the afterparty is. You’ll have your own reserved table at Adios. And when it is time to say adios, the struggle bus will take you home.

Opening Bid: $1,200                       Value: $2,000                    Final Sale Price: $2,400 
Editor’s Note: This was a first-time surprise lot that generated a lot of momentum – especially after the auction when everyone smelled the pizza and wished they were going to be on the Struggle Bus. Next year’s After Party Bus will sell for even more.

An Evening at Troublemaker Studios

Fifty people enjoy a VIP, behind the velvet curtain look at the only permanent and functional studio backlot in Austin, thanks to Robert Rodriguez, Producer/writer/director of shows such as The Book of Boba Fett, From Dusk ‘till Dawn, El Mariachi, and Alita: Battle Angel.

Thursday, September 21st, make your way to Robert’s “Troublemaker Studios”. You’ll be welcomed in and given a tour of the studio and get a chance to see how they produce everything: wardrobe, props, set designs, visual effects. Explore two sound stages, including the 97,000 square foot Iron City, the set for Alita: Battle Angel. Then Chef Sean of The Backspace Pizza will bring his mobile pizza oven to provide a Neapolitan-inspired feast. Paired with more dishes, an open bar, and a DJ in an unforgettable setting: 600 years in the future.

Room for 50 people, $500/person.
Editor’s note: Access, buy-in, celebrity, unique experience, fun sounding event: this buy-in was extremely popular, and ended up over-selling.

Light Up the Night with Children’s Hospital

Kick off your holidays with a unique VIP experience at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where you and your family will join Children’s Hospital VIPs for a magical, once-in-a-lifetime holiday experience and light-up the exterior of the hospital’s Anschutz Medical Campus with holiday flare! Join Santa Clause for a private ride around the Hospital grounds and return just in time to flip the switch and light up the night for children! Cookies and hot chocolate with Santa included.

Guaranteed to fill your heart with the greatest holiday spirit. Friends and family members welcome; some restrictions may apply regarding the number of guests that can safely ride atop the vintage fire truck with Santa.

Opening Bid: $1,000        Value:   Priceless              Final Sale Price: $2,800
Editor’s Note: This auction lot tied to the mission of an organization very closely and offered an incredibly unique experience for a child or grandchild – always a recipe for success.

Private Movie Night at the Onyx

Step into the spotlight with a private movie night at The Onyx Theatre for you and 28 of your closest friends. Enjoy the silver screen magic in the company of your favorite people, complete with complimentary popcorn. It's a cinematic experience you won't forget!

Opening Bid: $300            Value: $600                         Final Sale Price: $7,500
Editor’s Note: This exemplifies why we always have a variety of lot values in an auction. This lot was not the most valuable lot in this auction, by any stretch. But when two bidders decided they were going to win no matter what, it made for a magical moment. You never know what might spark a bidding war.

Napa Rockstar Weekend at BottleRock, “America’s Best Music Festival”

You know these guys well – our favorite vintners have once again teamed up to take it to the next level. Mark those calendars busy and get those tickets booked, because eight of you will be headed to Napa Valley for Memorial Day Weekend 2024. Why? To rock out with six “VIP Skydeck” passes to BottleRock, Napa’s ultimate food, wine, and music festival.

With all that “on deck” do you need to Ro-Sham-Bo for who’s the designated driver? Nope. This Motley Crew of Vintners has got that covered as well.

You’ll have private transportation provided to and from BottleRock. When it comes time to call it quits for the night and the pillow is calling your name, your cottage at Silverado Country Club will be waiting. Silverado Country Club is a wonderful location perfectly situated just outside downtown Napa, close to all the action yet removed enough to allow to you rest, recharge, and get back at it!

BottleRock weekend is, of course, a packed weekend without much room for fancy dinners, but the gang will include a private tasting at Arkenstone Estate Winery on Friday and a causal wine lunch at Vangone Estate on Saturday before you head off to party the night away. Fun will definitely be had by all! So…are you ready?

Opening Bid: $15,000                      Final Sale Price: $35,000
Editor’s Note: BottleRock has become a staple in the fundraising auction world: I had at least five auctions with Bottlerock lots in them last year. This lot represents the high-end of the BottleRock lots, but the one thing they all share in common is housing: housing pushes a BottleRock lot over the top.

Join Violet Witchel for a Day in an Influencer’s Kitchen

Have Violet join you for a day in the kitchen. Violet will host you for a guided step by step cooking lesson for four in her kitchen, accompanied by charcuterie and wine tasting. Take home your creation, a custom recipe card, and a case of wine!

Bio: Violet Witchell is a Bay Area-based food content creator with over 2M followers on TikTok and 245k on Instagram. She was named one of the top food creators of the year in 2021 and has been featured on Today, Business Insider, and Mashed. She specializes in healthy and delicious simple meals for home cooks!

Opening Bid: $500            Value: $1,000                     Final Sale Price: $2,800
Editor’s note: Auctions are about relationships and access, and this lot offered both.

Wild Horse Safari! Private Flight & Wild Horse Sanctuary Tour for 3

Bring two friends on a truly unique and unforgettable experience on a wild horse safari. Begin your adventure by climbing aboard vintner and aviator Chris T's Cessna 206 for an invigorating private flight to Elk Creek, just a short 30-minute flight from Sonoma. Soar over the gorgeous and varied landscapes of Northern California, ending at Montgomery Creek Ranch Wild Horse Sanctuary, where you’ll get up close and personal with the 200+ wild horses that roam the property.

The wild mustangs of the Montgomery Creek Ranch.

These majestic mustangs, rescued from auction when they were forced out of their habitat, have been protected since 2012 when the Montgomery Creek Preserve nonprofit was founded. The horses live free and wild on the ranch’s 2,000+ acres. You’ll touch down and transition from air to land for a tour of the ranch in a four-wheel-drive vehicle, with lots of breathtaking vistas and awe-inspiring animals to see. You'll enjoy a picnic lunch and then, board the plane for your trip home.

Opening Bid: $2,500        Value: $5,000
Editor’s note: Sold at a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organization’s event, this lot tied directly to mission and offered a bevy of unique experiences in one package.

Michael Mina San Francisco Restaurant Collection Dine Around for 8

Embark on an unforgettable culinary journey with a progressive dine-around evening showcasing three of Chef Michael Mina’s premier San Francisco restaurants.

The evening kicks off with cocktails and light bites at Mina’s Mediterranean-inspired Estiatorio Ornos. Next, head over to PABU Izakaya to indulge in fresh sushi and sake pairings by PABU’s Sake Sommelier, Stuart Morris. Finally, wrap up the evening with dinner at International Smoke, a collaboration between Chef Mina and Ayesha Curry, offering a fusion of global flavors and wood-fired cooking techniques. With each restaurant showcasing its unique culinary style, the evening promises to be a journey of delicious discovery.

Opening Bid: $3,000                    Value: $2,000                  Final Sale Price: $18,000

Editor’s note: If you are going to do a progressive dinner party, it’s hard to top an evening enjoying Michael Mina’s top SF restaurants.

An Evening To Die For

Was it Mrs. Peacock in the Library or Colonel Mustard in the Ballroom? Resurrecting the fan favorite game of Clue and taking it to another level, you and 9 guests will experience an immersive Murder Mystery Dinner that will keep everyone on pins and needles until the end of the line. Your undertakers – pardon, hosts – for the evening will be this year’s gala co-chairs, Tate and Carol, who are partnering again to offer this ghastly experience.

The theme (TBD) will set the stage for the evening’s festivities, which will include a variety of libations and a catered dinner, if you dare partake as we cannot guarantee the integrity of anything consumed. Each member of your party will also be assigned a specific character to assume prior to the event. Full participation, including costumes, is highly encouraged to elevate the experience. Although your role will be pre-defined, there is no script, so strategy and quick thinking are necessary to ensure you end up the victor and not a victim in this game. Prizes will be awarded for best dressed, best acting, and to the person who ultimately solves the murder case.

How well do you know your hosts and “friends,” and who can you really trust? If you choose to participate, you’ll be taking your life into your own hands, but anyone would kill to win this lot so are you ready to meet your maker?

Opening Bid: $2,000                        Value: $3,000
Editor’s note: A party is as good as its hosts, and this party sounds amazing. Good hosts with a good plan and a great write-up can make the difference between “meh” and “marvelous!”

Dining with Diva

Win an operatic and culinary experience for 8! This is a wonderful opportunity for you and 7 of your guests to join Dr Harry and Brenda M. in their stunning home, situated in the Los Altos hills, for dinner and entertainment. Enjoy a gourmet dinner with wine either in their beautiful outdoor pavilion or in their elegant dining room, depending on the weather and your preference.

Brenda is a professional opera singer who has performed all over the world. During the evening Brenda will perform different arias and give a brief explanation about them. This is a wonderful and unique opportunity for you to enjoy an evening of music, drinks, and dinner in a relaxing, beautiful location with your family and friends.  

Opening Bid: $1,600                        Value: $3,200
Editor’s Note: Brenda performed a short aria to introduce this lot, and it electrified the crowd. A short, live performance by a talented musician can shake up the room and change the vibe of the auction.

Should You Print Values in Live Auction Catalogs?

After you have solicited your auction items and written the copy for the live auction catalog, there is still one final decision to be made: Should you include the fair market value of your auction items in your catalog? Most committees see this as a yes or no option – print the fair market value or print nothing. There is a third option that often helps accomplish the goals of the catalog more directly: opening bid.

In addition to being a marketing piece, the catalog helps set bidders’ expectations. Hopefully, the catalog helps bidders establish a budget for how much they think they’ll need to spend if they want to win a particular lot.

If you print nothing in the catalog, you give your bidders no clues for setting their own expectations. Pricing for items with an easily identifiable retail value can be looked up online. For any “priceless” experiences, however, your bidders will be completely left to their own imaginations.

The traditional option is to print the fair market value of each lot in the catalog, and while this has worked fine for many events, there are still two main issues with this practice. First, it has the potential to set a ceiling by stating what each lot is worth. Second, some lots are, by definition, priceless. Guaranteed reservations at a popular restaurant, for example, have literally no declarable value. But the perceptual value is often ridiculously high.  

“Priceless” can be an acceptable substitute for fair market value on a small percentage of your auction catalog. However, if over half of your catalog is an experience that cannot otherwise be purchased, “priceless” and all of its synonyms begin to lose their power.

Printing the opening bid for each lot in your catalog manages expectations, honors fair market values, and accounts for “priceless” auction items. Informing bidders of where the bidding for each auction lot is going to begin encourages bidders to do some of their own math without placing a ceiling on value. It also helps to manage expectations when an auction lot has an extremely opening bid by removing the unnecessary element of surprise.

Printing the opening bids also makes sure your committee is doing its due diligence by evaluating each auction lot to find a fair and enticing starting point. The opening has to be appropriate for the lot – and your crowd.

Finally, if you are going to print opening bids in your catalog, you need to commit to them. The power of the printed opening bid evaporates if your auctioneer consistently drops to a lower price point.

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.

Use Poker Chips to Make More Money (and Fun) at Your Fundraising Event

One goal at any fundraising auction is to lower barriers to participation and make it as easy and fun as possible for attendees to donate. One simple (and fun) way to do this is to use poker chips as currency at your event.

Poker chips with each bidder’s number on them are included with each paddle at check-in at the John Muir Health gala.

When you give attendees their paddles at check-in, include a few poker chips with their bidder number printed on them. Attendees can then use those poker chips to enter raffles, play games, or purchase items if you have any for sale. From a psychological standpoint, it is easier to simply place a chip in a basket than it is to pay cash (there is a reason casinos prefer to use chips instead of cash). It is also more fun for attendees to have a stack of chips and be on the lookout for ways to utilize them.

You can make the process as simple or as complicated as you like. The John Muir Health Foundation (pictured) provides each attendee with two chips, and only offers raffle opportunities. Attendees can choose to drop these chips in the bins for the various raffles, or not.

Another organization holds a western-themed event and offers event-themed items for sale at $25 or $50 each (think straw cowboy hats, sheriff’s badges and the like). At check-in, each attendee gets a small bag of chips of varying denominations that adds up to a total of $200, and can spend those chips on the various items available, use them for raffle entries, etc. If they spend all their chips, they can always get more.

Easy to find, easy to participate, and fun! This team selling opportunities for a raffle just needs one thing from you: put your chip in the box!

Take the process one step further, and enable attendees to use their chips in your fund-a-need. After your auctioneer has conducted all the pre-announced levels of the fund-a-need, give the crowd one last opportunity to make a difference. Volunteers walk around with baskets, similar to a “paddle sweep” or “paddle drop,” and attendees make contributions by throwing their chips into the baskets.

It does require a small amount of planning, but the logistics of using chips are straight-forward. You will need to:

• Acquire poker chips (available for about $0.15/each online)

• Print people’s bidder numbers on the chips

• Create opportunities for attendees to use the chips

• Have receptacles for them and volunteers/staff to actively encourage participation

• Create an accounting system for entering and billing all of the contributions

Staff and volunteers need to be prepared to help guide people through the process. “You want to enter a chance to win tickets to a Warriors game? Just put your poker chip right here!” As with any sales job at your event, the most engaging people are going to be the most successful.

Go all-in on something new at your next event! Make donating easier and more fun, and you’ll inevitably raise more money.

The Hottest Trend in Fundraising Auctions Right Now: Buy-in Auction Lots

The type of auction lot that has seen the biggest growth and success in the past two years is the Buy-in Party. Also known as a Count Me In, Sign Up Party, or Buy a Spot: a buy-in auction lot offers bidders the opportunity to purchase tickets to attend an event on a per-unit basis. It could be per person, per pair, per table or even per team.

Buy-ins got their start at school events, where the community is tightly-knit and eager to get together and hang out with each other throughout the year. For many years, the perception was that buy-ins would only work if the majority of the crowd knew each other. Furthermore, many events believed that buy-ins could not generate significant income.

Bidders buying-in at the Boys and Girls Club of Sonoma Valley, 2023.
(Photo credit Melania Mahoney Photography)

But as larger auctions began to realize the versatility of the buy-in lot, they have evolved to become a staple of most every fundraising auction with which we work. Buy-ins give you the capacity to offer a lower level participation in your live auction while still raising the same as (or more than) you would with a single buyer lot.

In the process, buy-ins also offer bidders a “perceived bargain.” Consider a recent auction in Naples, Florida. The lowest any single lot sold for was $12,000 and the most was $52,000. We had a single buy-in for 20 couples that sold for $5,000 per couple. Bidders who otherwise wouldn’t have been able to participate in the live auction got to do so, and that one lot generated more than any other single lot in the auction.

This concept holds true for every auction. If your lowest selling lot goes for $1,000 that means there are people at your event who would love to pay $150 to be able to participate. Put together a party for 20 people at $150 each, and you have a successful lot and have engaged more bidders.

And where buy-ins were popular before the pandemic, they have seen a surge in popularity since. Auction attendees are thrilled to be back in-person, eager to do things together, and ready to get more social activities on their calendars.

If you don’t utilize Buy-In Parties as part of your live auction strategy, you are missing out on a valuable way to raise more money while enabling more people to participate in your auction. For more information on buy-ins, see our “how to” blog post, check out our list of great buy-in auction lot ideas, or contact us directly.

Summer Olympics in Paris, 2024: How to get the Hottest Lot in Your Auction this Year

The auction lots that sell best are those that offer access to your bidders. Access to that which they could not otherwise obtain or access to relationships they wouldn’t otherwise be able to build. Professional sports championships and – every four years – the Summer Olympics usually do exceptionally well in most auctions.

And while the Summer Olympics are always popular, in 2024 the Olympics are going to be in Paris, one of the most desirable destinations in the world. If you could acquire tickets to the Olympics now, and build a package around them for next summer, it would be a huge addition to your auction in 2023.

Obtaining tickets is always a challenge. You can register for a drawing to “win” the right to purchase tickets by registering on the Paris 2024 website. They will be drawing winners until March 15th, and offering each winner a finite amount of time to purchase tickets for various competitions.

The list of available sports and rounds of competition are varied and very few Gold Medal opportunities are going to be offered in this drawing. But you could still easily build a very compelling Summer Olympic package for as little as $30/ticket.

Tickets to the Olympics may also be available to high-level Visa card holders. It is worth exploring perks and offers to see if any of your supporters are able to get tickets for you.

Once you have the tickets, accommodations are the next obvious challenge. As of this writing (2/15/23), AirBnb had not implemented surge pricing yet for Paris. I was able to find a number of flats and apartments available in very reasonable price ranges. Hotels are currently only booking through June of 2024, so pricing remains to be seen .

Is this all a long-shot? Yes. Would it be worth it if it came through? Absolutely. The best auction lots, after all, offer access to the otherwise unobtainable, and the Olympics are the pinnacle of hard to get events.

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.

What Became of Hybrid Events?

When the pandemic first struck and virtual events became the go-to method for conducting fundraising auctions, hybrid events seemed to offer so much potential. Hybrid events offered many promises, including the capability to bridge the divide between attendees eager to be back in the room together and crowds that still wanted to remain socially distant.

Two years later, what became of hybrid events? The short answer is they never lived up to their promise. The long answer is slightly more nuanced. Once in-person fundraising became an option, would-be supporters were separated into two distinct camps: those who were ready to be back in person, and those who were not.

Hybrid galas never truly took off

The at-home crowd seldom met financial expectations, let alone donated or spent enough to justify cost.

The people who wanted to be in-person were really ready to get out of the house and leave the virtual world behind. They were eager to gather, eager to party, and eager to support the cause. If they couldn’t get tickets to attend an event in person, there was no way they were going to log on to a virtual gala: they simply wouldn’t attend.

Those who chose to remain socially distant were less likely to purchase tickets for an in-person gala, obviously, but they were also less likely to log on for a virtual event. Multiple times we witnessed organizations work really hard to appease the “at-home crowd,” only to see tickets sales flag for the online event. And on those rare occasions when there were a decent number of online attendees, we seldom saw the level of participation we were hoping for from the online crowd. Simply put: virtual crowds did not donate or spend much within the hybrid model.

Which leads to the final reason hybrid events didn’t succeed: cost. Adding a hybrid component to an in-person event at least doubles the associated AV costs, and more than doubles the workload for event planning staff. And if the virtual crowd isn’t going to show up and spend money, those costs simply are not worth it. We saw a fall ’22 event spend over $15,000 on the virtual component of their hybrid event, only to have 12 people log on to watch the show.

This isn’t to say that there were not successful hybrid events; there were. We participated in hybrid events where the online audience generated over $155,000 in the fund-a-need, adding 33% to the overall take. And another event where the at-home crowd donated more than the in-person crowd. But these events were the exceptions, not the rule.

By the time crowds could gather in-person again, they were all-in or all-out, there was no middle ground.

The Most Exciting Auction Lots of 2022

After two years of pandemic, 2022 marked an almost complete return to in-person fundraising, and the re-emergence of live auction “irrational philanthropy.” Crowds were excited to be back in the room together, and auction committees pulled out all the stops to put together creative and enticing auction lots, making it the perfect time to bring back our annual tradition of recapping the most exciting auction lots of the year.

The types of lots that succeeded had varied greatly through the first two years of the pandemic. This year, trips were back in full force, as people started traveling again and pent-up demand for vacations revealed itself in bidding behavior. In-person entertainment opportunities also reclaimed a top spot in auction popularity and profitability. People really want to be social, engage and interact. It follows that buy-in lots (also known as “buy-a-spots,” “count me ins” or “pay to play parties”) have emerged as one of the most popular and exciting live auction lots in 2022.

Get creative! The most exciting auction lots don’t have to be expensive, they just need to offer exclusive access to experiences, relationships or both.

This year’s list of exciting auction lots includes a sampling of each of the above, as well as some experiences and relationship-based lots. For the purposes of this list, “exciting” is an arbitrary assignation focused on each lot’s uniqueness, creativity, and the buzz generated at the event. Sale price impacts the decision, but only relative to how other lots sold at the same event. I have, however, included some opening bids and final sale prices for the very first time in this series.

Knowing where bidding started and where it ended up can help understand how exciting the bidding was for some lots. The single most exciting and memorable auction lot of 2022 was a lot that underscores how sometimes it is not the content of the lot, but the intentions of the bidders that makes for an exciting auction.

But comparing pricing between events can become a dangerous, and ultimately unhealthy, practice. Don’t get hung up on how much other events make, and instead utilize this list to create fun and exciting lots of your own! The goal of this list is to help inspire creativity (and profitability!) at your fundraising auction.

And with no further preamble, here are the most exciting fundraising auction lots of 2022 (click on the + symbol to the right to expand each lot’s description):

• Sushi, Sake, and Karaoke

  Treat 50 of your closest friends to an exclusive Karaoke and Sushi Party at The Center. Sing your favorite songs from the main stage, enjoy sushi boats from local favorite Way Yum Sushi and drink chilled Soto Sake.

  Hosted by professional singers and The Center's own Rachel and Brynn.

  Opening Bid: $1,400

  Sale Price: $7,000 (X2)

• Name the Baby Otter!

  The honor of naming the Museum’s new baby river otter could be yours! You will also get an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour from the wildlife team plus a special encounter with the baby otter. Find out why a group of otters is called a romp!

  Opening Bid: $500

  Sale Price: $12,000

• Last Last Chance for Dinner from Chef Philippe

  Our beloved Head of School is returning to a well-deserved retirement. Before his departure, he is giving us one last chance at his coveted dinner. Over the years, between his lots at Gala and SDV, Philippe has dazzled and delighted guests with 36 dinners.

  Philippe’s dinners have become a cherished tradition and are famous among the school community. Now, it’s the last one ever, for real this time! Philippe will be returning to retirement, permanently. Here’s your final opportunity to enjoy this part of the school’s history.

  As with his management of the school, Philippe brings equal parts efficiency, skill, and grace to his kitchen masterpieces. You will be treated to a sumptuous gourmet meal, prepared by Philippe in the intimacy and comfort of your own home. Enjoy a delicious dining experience where Philippe will also personally select the perfect wine to accompany each course, and he will guide you through his wine choices.

  This is not your run-of-the-mill dinner party. This is a wine-paired treasure! Philippe personally hand-carries wine back from France, specifically for this dinner. He is extremely knowledgeable about wine and puts great thought and care into his selections, just as he does with his culinary creations. This evening is sure to be a feast for your palate!

  Don’t miss out on this truly special experience before it’s going, going… GONE!

  Opening Bid: $2,400

  Final Sale Price: $42,000

• Big Brothers & Big Sisters 49er Match Gift

  Being a Big is a big commitment – a commitment that can stretch a big’s creativity and budget. Bigs truly bring out the best in their Littles by exposing them to new experiences. And the responsibility is usually on the Bigs to fund these ventures.

  Except for now: right now we are looking to you to partner with us to help send Matches to a 9ers game. For a home game in the upcoming regular season, your $1,000 donation will provide transportation to and from the game, a pair of seats for one Match, and food and drinks at the game.

  Thanks to BBBS supporter JK and the 49ers!

  Donation amount: $1,000/match to send them to the 49ers game

• Ruby Mountain Heli-Skiing Adventure

  Imagine a mountain range that fuels your soul makes you feel alive. With 15 peaks above 11,000 feet of elevation, the jaw dropping Ruby Mountains are an off-the-beaten path gem offering more than 200,000 acres of skiable terrain with an average dry snowpack of 300 feet. With wide open glaciated bowls, limber and white bark pines, and aspen forests, there is terrain for everyone.

  So remote you will be helicoptered into this backcountry skiing adventure. With a limit of 16 people per tour, and 4 to 1 guide to client ratio, the Ruby Mountain Heli Skiing guest experience provides a private atmosphere with attention to detail, on the mountain or at the lodge.

  The latest equipment is included with your stay. All guests are provided access to some of the best powder skis and poles currently on the market, along with airbag backpacks from Scott, transceivers from Mammut, and all required avalanche equipment.

  Truly escape the crowds at our privately owned lodge at the base of the Ruby Mountains, located at 7,000 feet with inspiring 360 degree views of the Ruby Mountains to the south and east and the Great Basin Valley to the north and west

  From the moment guests arrive at the lodge they are welcomed by our staff with a friendly and warm greeting. Get settled in your room, set up with skis and gear, enjoy a handcrafted cocktail from the Ruby 360 Bar overlooking the Great Basin, meet the guides and talk ski conditions and indulge in our nightly dinner service with anticipation of sitting in an A-Star and flying into the Rubies in the coming morning.

  This package for two includes 3 nights lodging – double occupancy, all meals, designed and prepared by renowned chef Francy Hoyer and her team, ski equipment rental, Elko Airport shuttle, and complimentary Great Basin or Ruby Mountain beer are included.

  Vertical guarantee of 15 runs, with option to ski up to 18 at no additional charge. Season runs from mid-January through mid-April.

  The guests would be responsible for any extras such as the arrival night dinner, bar tab, single room upgrade, extra skiing, store purchases, etc.

  Opening Bid: $6,000 Value: $11,992

• 2023 Masters Weekend

  Enjoy a once in a lifetime experience at the 2023 Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club!

  This all-expenses trip includes:

  • Two (2) people to enjoy tickets for either either Saturday; April 15th or Sunday; April 16th

  • (2) Delta Business Class Vouchers.

  • Airport Transportation

  • Overnight accommodations for one night at a luxury guest house

  • Daily meals

  • Special Gifts.

  Opening Bid: $5,000 Value: $15,000 Final Sale Price: $36,000

• A NAPA Galactic All Star Wine Trip

  Two Couples will be flown first class to NAPA and then enjoy 4 days and 3 nights at the exclusive Cardinale Villa. This beautiful home is on the grounds of the fabulous Cardinale Winery in Oakville, California.

  Promontory tasting!!! This "can't get access" winery is a very special experience. Promontory, owned by the Harlan family is hidden in the hills of Oakville and is one of most beautiful sites in NAPA. Promontory is truly a world apart from the Napa Valley that most people experience. Within this secluded canyon there are two distinct fault lines, roughly demarcating the boundaries between volcanic, sedimentary, and metamorphic soils. This diverse geology is stretched across 500 feet of elevation, on a multitude of dramatic slopes and panoramic exposures.

  Bryant Tasting- Don and Bettina Bryant have built one of NAPA's most incredible wineries on the Western Slope of Pritchard Hill. This rare opportunity to try these beautiful wines will truly be an out of this world experience. Bryant Estate wines are currently harvested, blended, and produced entirely by hand from grapes planted and grown on the original 13-acre estate, as well as on neighboring vineyards on Howell Mountain, Las Posadas, and Madrona.

  Cardinale- during your stay the Winery will host you and your guests to a lunch and wine tasting of the wonderful Cardinale Wines. Cardinale was born in 1982, with a mission to produce a singular Cabernet Sauvignon from the highest quality vineyards in NAPA Valley. All sub-appellations of the region were to be considered, and grape sources change from year to year to create the most distinctive wine from each vintage. Made by the extraordinaire Chris Carpenter for over 20 years, Cardinale is a NAPA All Star!!

  The Matheson- the hottest new dinner, wine and entertainment venue on the planet - is located in Healdsburg and is owned by everyone's favorite Healdsburg native and Chef extraordinaire Dustin Valette. You will enjoy a chef inspired meal prepared by Dustin and his team and get to enjoy the soon to be "out of this world" famous Wine Wall where you can sample up to 50 wines from all over the worlds by the glass!!!

  Private Limo Service- during your stay in NAPA you will be chauffeured to and from your wine tastings in a private car.

  Opening Bid: $15,000 Value: $25,000 Final Sale Price: $60,000

• Dinner for 8 by Stuart Brioza Chef/Owner of Atomic Workshop Presents Restaurant Group Featuring State Bird Provisions, The Progress, and The Anchovy Bar

  For this memorable evening, Stuart brings his celebrated cooking style into your home. A locally focused and seasonally driven menu will be complemented by exceptional wines and the genuine hospitality of our service team. Expect a truly priceless experience!

  All food and wine costs are included.

  Value: $5,000/Private chef and wine experience — Priceless

  Opening Bid: $5,000 Value: $5,000 Final Sale Price: $100,000 X2

• Paella Party for 20

  Enjoy great food in a beautiful location with live entertainment. 20 lucky bidders will be able to buy into this party catered by local favorite chef Antonio Asayrian at the beautiful Szabo vineyard in Penn Valley.

  Buy-in: $150/person: 20 people

• TAKE ME TO CHURCH

  Enjoy camping under the sun and the stars as you paddle your way down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River.

  On this gorgeous 3-night, 4-day rafting excursion courtesy of Sonoma’s own Lombardi Wines and Middle Fork Rafting, owned and operated by the historic Middlefork Lodge, you and seven of your friends are invited to join winemaker Tony Lombardi in discovering the rugged beauty of the Frank Church Wilderness, a 2.3 million acreage nestled in the heart of central Idaho.

  Along the way you’ll imbibe some of Tony’s most beloved cellar selects, including the very rare and extremely coveted Lombardi Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, a 60-bottle annual allotment not sold on the open market. This one-of-a-kind river experience accommodates eight guests and includes chartered airfare for your party in addition to food and wine pairings for all meals. Here, in the heart of the undiscovered American West, you’re guaranteed to find your highest self.

  Opening Bid: $25,000 Value: $50,000

• Michelin Dinner Party for 10 from Truffle Shuffle

  Take this in...an all-inclusive luxury-ingredient-filled private dinner party for you and your ten closest friends in your home prepared by Michelin-trained chefs. This experience will include canapés and cocktails, a coursed dinner for 10, and wine pairing.

  Truffle Shuffle founders, Jason, Tyler, and Sarah met while working together at The French Laundry and have taken their passion for cuisine and hospitality into the start-up world launching Truffle Shuffle in 2018. Truffle Shuffle is now backed by Shark Tank's Mark Cuban.

  Opening Bid: $4,000
  Value: $10,000
  Final Sale Price: $24,000 X3 ($72,000).

• NetJets….Fly Me to Albany {BAHAMAS, that is}!

  Embark on an unforgettable trip to Albany, Bahamas, with NetJets, our official sponsor for private jet airfare and the worldwide leader in private aviation. Eight guests will enjoy three nights at the oceanside luxury resort community located on the beautiful island of New Providence in The Bahamas. Combining inspired design, luxury amenities, warm hospitality, and a stunning natural landscape, Albany, Bahamas, is modern island living at its best.

  Rated by Forbes as one of the most exclusive resorts in the world, Albany is a 600-acre oceanside luxury resort community located on the beautiful island of New Providence in The Bahamas. Albany and its rare collection of amenities provide an exceptional way for residents and visitors to enjoy the pleasures of island life. For families, businesspeople, and couples alike, Albany is a quiet island getaway, sportsperson’s paradise, elegant retreat and genuine community.

  Opening Bid: $25,000 Value: $50,000 Final Sale Price: $60,000

• Carmel-by-the-Sea Getaway

  Whisk away to Carmel for a relaxing mid-week getaway for two. Stay two-nights at the elegant Carriage House Inn, tucked away on a quiet side street just south of Ocean Avenue. Enjoy lunch for two at the lodge at Pebble Beach with expansive views of the iconic 18th hole.

  Treat yourselves to a romantic dinner at Anton & Michel Restaurant. And don’t forget the wine tasting! Visit Bernardus Wines for a Reserve Wine Tasting of five Bernardus Wines hand-selected by winemaker Dean De Korth. Drop in to Wrath Wines to pick up two bottles selected just for you. And last, but certainly not least, take home a case of Dahlkemper Farms olive oil.

  Opening Bid: $1,300 Value: $2,600 Final Sale Price: $300,000

I’ve included that final “bonus lot” because it was, quite honestly, the most exciting lot I sold all year. Sometimes it isn’t the value of the lot, but the commitment of the bidders that creates excitement, and it serves as a good reminder that it isn’t just what you have to sell, but who you have to bid on it. So create exciting auction lots, and bring in the bidders to make that excitement happen.