Creative ideas for buy-in parties

The structure and nature of buy-in parties often encourage much more creativity than your “standard” winner-take-all type of auction lots. This is partly because buy-in parties need to be enticing enough for people to be willing to do them with potential strangers.

But it is also because the cost of participation in a buy-in lot is typically lower than your standard auction lot, making buy-ins seem affordable in comparison. People are therefore more willing to spend a “little” on a party or idea that might be cost-prohibitive if they had to buy the whole thing. [If you need a primer on what a buy-in party is, read this previous post: “How to: Buy In Lots in Your Live Auction”]

A Poker Tournament is but one example of a buy-in lot.

We’ve seen buy-in parties created by hosts who had a great idea, and we’ve seen buy-in parties created by cobbling together disparate small components to make something appealing as a whole. Whether you are new to buy-in parties or a seasoned veteran, following are some of the creative buy-ins we’ve seen over the years. Feel free to try to replicate these, but feel even freer to use them as creative springboards for your own unique buy-in lots.

Sushi, Sake & Karaoke

I love this party because it tells you everything you need to know in the title. If you like eating sushi, drinking sake and making a fool out of yourself singing karaoke – this is the perfect lot for you! If any of those things are a turn off, you won’t go near it.

The first time I saw this lot was at a school event, and a well-known family was the host. They had a friend who had a sushi restaurant, and the chef was going to come do a sushi preparing demonstration/class for everyone as the beginning of the party. I’ve seen variations since that just involved eating and drinking. Oh, and singing. Probably poorly.

Other Themed Parties

The vast majority of buy-in parties I’ve seen have been…well…parties! And the themes have been as diverse as the hosts throwing them:

Second Chance Prom

Bust out your turquoise tuxedo and neon prom dress, it’s time to reclaim the prom.

Black Tie Bar-B-Q

Don your BBQ best (think JR in Dallas) for a day of live music, fine wines, bourbon cocktails, and a gourmet feast of Southern fixins.

Sinners and Saints

Mardi Gras. Need I say more?

Martini Madness

1950’s themed party with Don Draper as the role model.

Moroccan Dinner Party

Mediterranean food, belly dancers, maybe a hookah or two.

All Aboard the Love Boat

Dress like your favorite character from the Love Boat, enjoy cruise themed food and drinks. Emphasis on the drinks.

The nature of buy-in parties also gives you a chance to add competition to the mix, and sell access on a per-team basis.

SCDS Grand Prix

Teams of four compete on a go-kart track to see who can record the fastest time. This lot was cobbled together from a few disparate elements: we had two races for 16 people at a local go-kart track; a mobile pizza oven that would do dinner for up to 20; and a few cases of beer and wine. We combined them all, along with a cheesy trophy for the winning team and a T-shirt for the person who had the slowest time, and sold it on a per-team basis.

Four teams of four people, opening bid of $250/team. It wound up selling for over $600/team – a great return on value.

Dip, Duck, Dive, Dodge!

Dodgeball! Eight Teams Enter, One Team Leaves!! Buy-In Tournament for 8 teams of 10 players each Held at a gymnasium that donated the space, with food, a keg of beer, and a round-robin tournament of dodgeball. For adults.

Balls of Fury

A bocce Ball Tournament, replete with food and beer.But I've also seen Beer Pong parties as well. These are obviously aimed at a crowd of people who know each other well and like to party together. Hard.

Poker Tournament

Pulled pork, lots of beverages and a night's worth of Texas Hold 'Em. It is good to have a grand prize of some sort for the person who wins the tournament. I hosted a poker tournament for my son's school and first place won a stack of EA games and a cheesy trophy made up; the person who lost all their money fastest got a T-shirt declaring such.

Amazing Race/Scavenger Hunt

These are sold on either a per-couple or per-team basis. These types of events really need a group of organizers who are deeply committed to setting up and running them; either extremely dedicated volunteers, or even professional scavenger hunt companies.

Not all of these ideas are appropriate for every event, obviously, but I believe that buy-ins of one type or another will work at almost every event. I’ve done plenty of high-end events that included buy-in parties that opened up at $1,000, $5,000 or even $10,000 per spot to attend them. The key is to create an event that is appropriate to your crowd and the culture of your event.

If you would like to implement buy-in parties in your auction, the best thing you can do is find some willing hosts and begin brainstorming ideas. If you ever have any questions, feel free to contact us directly. Otherwise, we’d love to hear about some of your creative buy-in parties in the comments below.

How To: Buy-In Lots in the Live Auction

One of the growing trends in fundraising auctions is the use of buy-in parties as live auction lots. Also known as “count me ins,” “sign-up parties” or “buy-a-spots,” buy-ins are auction lots sold on a per-spot basis (usually per-person or per-couple, but sometimes per-table, or even per-team).

Buy-ins can be a valuable addition to a live auction because they effectively lower the cost of participation in your live auction without reducing the amount you raise as a whole. This makes your auction feel more egalitarian and encourages more people to participate while maintaining or even increasing your bottom line.

And, contrary to what many believe, the price for a buy-in lot does not have to remain static. If there are more hands in the air than slots available, the price goes up until supply and demand balance. We’ve seen buy-ins lots start at $250 per person and sell for $1,900 per person for nine people! It doesn’t take a mathematician to recognize how big an impact that can be.

The annual Lobster Buy-In Party is one of the biggest sellers at the Boys & Girls Club event in Sonoma. Attendees can buy an auction lot for only $200 - and we offer 100 spots. That is good (and easy) math.

There are four keys to creating a successful buy-in lot: Date, Allure, Price, and Pre-Sales.

Date: Any buy-in lot needs to have a fixed date set in advance and publicized to your attendees. It is difficult to coordinate a dinner when one winner is in charge of working out a “mutually agreeable date.” It is nearly impossible to coordinate a dinner when eight couples are all comparing schedules and have equal shares of ownership. Set the date in advance and publicize it.

Allure: Successful buy-ins also have an element to them that is alluring enough to encourage people to hang out with potential strangers. It can be access to a venue, access to a guest of honor, or simply an activity that sounds fun. But in every case, potential attendees need to look at the lot and think, “Yes, I’m in!” without concern for who else is going.

Price: Set your opening bid at a level you are comfortable selling each slot for. If a donor insists that their lot sells for $500 per spot, you should start the bidding at $500 per spot. As mentioned earlier, the price need not remain static, but you need to plan realistically. If you have a party for 75 people, the price isn’t going up. That’s just too many hands for your auctioneer to keep count of to know if demand is higher than supply. But if you have a party with 20 or fewer spots, there is the potential for the price to go up – as long as your crowd is into it.

Pre-Sales: When the auctioneer says, “Now who wants to do this, let’s see those paddles!” it is extremely important that a few paddles immediately get raised. It lends the lot momentum and also proves that the experience is going to be fun. “Oh, hey, look: the Golds are going to be there. Everyone knows how cool they are, this is going to be a great party!”

Buy-ins are ideal in the school environment because of the built-in community to be found amongst parents. But we’ve also seen successful buy-ins at everything from Cal Shakes’ Gala to the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction.

If you have never had a buy-in lot in the live auction before, your crowd is going to need some education both before and during the event. Make sure they understand the concept in advance. Get a few people or couples to commit to attending in advance, so the lot has momentum as soon as it goes up for sale. And most importantly, make sure your auctioneer takes the time to describe both the lot and the process, and commits to the process wholeheartedly. Buy-in lots can be daunting at first, but when successful they can bring in many new bidders and help you raise a lot more money.

Next up: creative ideas for buy-in lots.

How'd they get those?

Did you ever go to an auction where one of the lots was tickets to something that you knew had been sold out for months?  Of course some of those are the result of somebody associated with the organization donating them, but others are simply you being clever about getting your own "tickets".

Board members, committee members and staff who have black, platinum and gold credit cards are offered pre-sale and advance tickets to major events long before the public gets a crack at them. Some even offer a list of what's going to be available in the future right there on the monthly statement. If any of these offerings are a good fit for your attendees, ask them to purchase some and reimburse them. Better yet, get them to "underwrite" them as a donation to your auction.

The other method is to have somebody track the top ticket websites so you can be ready to purchase those hard to get seats when they go up for sale at 12:01 on a Wednesday night eight months before your gala! You pretty much know when your event is going to be held so you can focus on those performances that take place after yours. So by the time your event rolls around  you are the ones who "got those tickets".

The other component to consider is if you have an out of state vacation home or hotel/resort donation, see if there are any choice offerings that take place in the same location as the lodging. Together they might just be one of the best auction items of the night! 

Revenue enhancer: the golden paddle

One of our favorite revenue enhancement additions to fundraising auction events is the Golden Paddle. Simply put, the Golden Paddle is a chance drawing to win a credit that is good only in the live auction. The credit is represented by a golden paddle that the winner uses to bid with in the auction – letting the auctioneer and everyone else in the crowd know who they are and what they are up to.

Make sure your Golden Paddle stands out in the crowd. The brighter and louder, the better.

I’ll try to make this more clear by way of an example: sell 100 tickets for $100 each, generating $10,000 for your event. Take $5,000 immediately off of the top, and apply it towards your proceeds for the evening – that’s pure profit. Take the other $5,000 and apply it to the Golden Paddle – you aren’t losing this money, you’re just making sure it is spent in the auction.

This doesn’t just generate $5,000 for your event, it has the potential to generate a new bidder who can help drive the prices up on lots of other items. At the very least, it adds to the amount an existing bidder is willing to spend. We’ve seen lots of people who won the Golden Paddle immediately “get it” and use their windfall to bid lots of other people up in the live auction. When this happens, you wind up making a lot more than just the $5,000 they have to spend – because they increase the price on multiple items.

You shouldn’t set the Golden Paddle amount to be higher than the amount typically spent on any one item in your event. You don’t want your big bidders to be priced out by someone who spent $100 and got lucky. You also don’t want your Golden Paddle winner to dominate the auction and buy a large percentage of the items. You want someone to be able to push your big bidders up to their limits, and possibly buy one high-end item or two low-level ones.

So crunch the numbers and alter the metrics to work best with your event. We’ve seen Golden Paddles raffles where 100 tickets were sold at $50 each and the paddle had a credit of $2,500 on it. Alter the numbers to best fit the culture of your event.

There are just a few things to note. The winner must be present to win. The paddle is only good in the live auction – and sometimes the fund-a-need, depending on whether or not you want to funnel the money towards that restricted bucket of funds.

And finally, make sure the actual Golden Paddle is very flashy. Have your craftiest volunteer or staff member create it, challenge them to come up with something so over the top that it can’t be ignored. We advocate LED lights, sequins, glitter, gold paint – whatever they can come up. So that way, every time your Golden Paddle winner bids the whole crowd knows – and thinks to themselves, “Next year, I’m going to win that Golden Paddle!”

Get attendees to (willingly) give you their contact information

Does your event face the challenge of getting attendees to give you their contact information? Do you have a lot of guests who sit at purchased tables who give you nothing more than their name and the name of the person whose table they are sitting at?

One creative solution we’ve seen to this challenge is to incentivize attendees to give their contact information by offering “free” entry into a raffle in exchange for their contact information. Use pre-printed slips that are handed out to every attendee, asking for name, email address and telephone number. Make all information mandatory in order to be eligible to win.

Then use a small prize from your silent auction, or solicit a small prize specifically for this raffle. One year an organization used a fine bottle of wine. The next year, they offered up a weekend getaway at a local resort (see the photo below). Their fish bowl of entry slips was full to the brim. And so was their contact database.

You can’t cultivate donors if you can’t get in touch with them. And donor cultivation is one of the three main reasons to hold an auction, right behind raising money and tied with messaging. So if you find yourself struggling to get contact information from your event’s attendees, give them good reason to give you their information. Then follow-up and give them even more good reasons to give you their support year-round.

Less is more in your silent auction

The tendency for many silent auction committees is to accept as many items as they can get and make the silent auction as big as possible. “Bigger is better” after all, right? Actually, no. The reality is that you can do less work and make the same amount of money, possibly even more.

Putting too many items in your silent auction could be costing you money at your event. It is most certainly taking an unnecessary toll on the staff and volunteers who work on your silent auction considering that it takes an average of three hours to solicit, inventory, write the description, create the display, set up, break down, and then redeem each and every silent auction item.

A massive silent auction can be a detriment to bidding, evidenced by the lack of activity on this huge table.

One indicator that you have too many items in your silent auction is if you have more items than bidding units (ie: couples) at your event. Most attendees have a budget for how much they intend to spend at your event before they arrive. If they show up and realize that there are three auction items for every couple they quickly start bargain hunting.

The maximum ratio for silent lots to bidding units is 0.75 to 1, three quarters as many silent lots as couples. That is a good number to aim for when paring down a massive silent auction. If you are just starting an event of 400 people or less, you’ll do well to aim for no more than 75 – 125 silent lots.

Less silent lots makes a committee become more selective, and means you wind up with a higher caliber of lot (or at least groupings of silent lots that are worth more money). It also increases competition among your bidders. Once a bidder realizes that every item is going to get a bid and sell they tend to focus on the key items they really want.

This all sounds nice in theory, but I’ve seen first-hand data to back it up; and at my son’s school, no less. It is one thing to make recommendations as a consultant who then doesn’t have to live with the results on a daily basis. But volunteering for my son’s school auction committee was a gut-check because the repercussions if my advice didn’t work were going to be huge on a personal and parental level.

In the first year we reduced the silent auction by 57% and revenue stayed level. Over the course of three years we cut the number of silent auction items by another 30% and saw the bid to fair market value ratio increase by 15%. They went from 825 to 281 items in their silent auction, but the money stayed the same because people were bidding higher on each individual item. Sure this is an extreme example, but it should empower you to reduce your 100 lot silent auction to 80 or even 70 auction items.

The results were in line with myriad other eventswe’ve done, and drove home the point: in the silent auction, less is more.Or actually, less is equal. So do right by your staff and volunteers, and start looking for ways to reduce your silent auction this year.

Top 10 most exciting auction lots of 2014

Last year’s compendium of the 10 charity auction lots that stood out the most was so well-received, that this year’s list goes to 11. These weren’t always the lots that sold for the most money, but they were the most unique, the most exciting and the best examples of their category.

The goal of sharing these isn’t to get you to go out and contact Joe Lacob or Stuart Brioza to do see if they’ll do a lot for you: the goal is to get you thinking about creative lots you could create with a celebrity in your community.

So without further ado, here are my top 10 11 most exciting charity auction lots of 2014, presented in no particular order:

Join Elizabeth Banks Behind the Scenes of Pitch Perfect 2

Two guests get V.I.P. access to the set of Pitch Perfect 2 in Baton Rouge, LA. with A.C.T. alumna Elizabeth Banks. You'll spend the day on the set, experience behind-the-scenes filming, meet cast members, and have lunch on set.

Spending a day onset at the filming of Pitch Perfect 2 was one of the most exciting auction lots of 2014.

A.C.T. Alumna Elizabeth Banks has turned her time at A.C.T. into an incredibly successful career. She starred on 30 Rock, Zack & Miri, and the Hunger Games. Elizabeth has also expanded her career, producing the acapella hit Pitch Perfect. She now is producing and directing the follow-up: Pitch Perfect 2.

Elizabeth is offering two people behind the scenes access to the set of Pitch Perfect 2. Make your way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. You’ll have roundtrip airfare for the both of you. A luxurious hotel in which to spend 2N & 3D. But the real treat: You’ll be Elizabeth’s personal guests. Get to spend a day on set, meet cast members, experience behind-the-scenes filming. You’ll even be in the background of one of the 2 main a-capella groups songs! A-ca-awesome!

Warriors fans who can play basketball, this one’s for you!

Have a fantasy to play with the Warriors? Not that good? Well how about a game of Horse with Klay Thompson at the Warriors Practice Facility in downtown Oakland?

Just the two of you, one on one. And we’ll be happy to pinch you to show you’re not dreaming. To remember your great day, take home a signed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson Splash Brothers jersey.

The Ultimate Sonoma Coast Food & Wine Experience for Eight

Up to four couples will experience the ultimate, personal wine and food experience at one of the most beautiful vineyards on the planet. Arrive at Peay Vineyards as early as you'd like to swim in the pond or to bike the hilly coastal ridges.

As the sun sets, Andy Peay from Peay Vineyards will take you on a walk of the vineyard followed by cheese, oysters and a wine tasting on the porch. In the meantime, Stuart Brioza, owner and chef of quite possibly the hottest SF restaurant and James Beard Award winning, State Bird Provisions, will be in the kitchen preparing your dinner. If weather permits, the big sky full of stars will be your dining room.

Each course will be paired with wines from Peay Vineyards’ cellar. That evening you will stay at the Peay's newly constructed barn house built from remnants of the old tractor barn that rested on that spot for the previous 100 years. The next morning you can take the coastal route home, perhaps picking up some oysters at Hog Island on the way. Oh, and don't forget to take home your magnum of the not-yet released 2012 Peay Vineyards Estate Chardonnay tonight.

Speedracer: Formula 3 Racing School

This package includes two days of progressive instruction from classroom to racetrack, culminating in open lapping of the world-famous Sonoma Raceway in cars capable of incredible performance. After an exhilarating day of driving, retire to your suite at the fabulous Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn, where you will be pampered for two nights with a 60-minute spa treatment for two people and dinner at Santé restaurant for two.

There are driving schools, and then there is Lola Simraceway & their RACING SCHOOL. These are the cars that Formula 3 drivers train on: 300 HorsePower, 273 torque, 0 to 60 in 2.7 seconds, Top speeds of 181 Miles Per Hour and capable of pulling over 3 Gs.

This is serious racing, in cars designed to hug the track like nothing you’ve ever seen before. You’ll get two days of progressive instruction: start in the classroom on driving simulators. Work your way to Sonoma Raceway’s track and the REAL DEAL. Get a chance to take on Sonoma Raceway’s corners and elevation changes in a car that will scare you, long before you scare it. Plus: 2N & 3D at the Sonoma Mission Inn and dinner for 2 at Sante Restaurant.

Dip, Duck, Dive, Dodge!

Back because YOU demanded it: Buy-in Dodgeball. Dodgeball! Eight Teams Enter, One Team Leaves!! Buy-In Tournament for 8 teams of 10 players each Friday, May 2nd, 2014: Make your way to The Burlingamer.

There will be chow.

There will be a keg.

Best of all: there will be DODGEBALL! Compete in a Round-Robin tournament. Filled with spills, chills, shagging, suicide plays, block attacks, body deflections and laughs. Come in your best dodgeball costume. Or simply come prepared to kick ass and take names. And earn the title: Burlingame Dodgeball Champions

…We’ll Have A Barrel of Dunn!

This is the chance of a lifetime…to make and own a barrel of Dunn Vineyards sourced wine…that’s approximately 23 cases of wine! Join Mike Dunn as your consulting winemaker for an extraordinary winemaking experience and produce your own Dunn Vineyards sourced 2014 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon in a Treuil French Oak barrel with commemorative “Taste of Howell Mountain” plaque.

You can get your hands dirty and learn how to do it, or drop in just for the blending, or sit back and let Mother Nature and Mike Dunn work their magic and VOILA, you have approximately 23 cases of your own unique Dunn Vineyards sourced 2014 Howell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon! A truly one-of-a-kind addition to your cellar! Note: Wine is not for resale

Hunger Games Survival School

Unleash your inner Katniss Everdeen at Pura Vida’s Hunger Games Survival School. You and five friends will learn from your experienced survival guide, Joe Moerschbaecher as he teaches you the survival skills necessary to survive the Hunger Games.

This tour focuses primarily on the non-violent survival skills including fire and shelter building, knot tying, snares, off trail travel, and navigation. After the skills are taught, tributes will be paired in groups of two to practice the skills on their own, and be evaluated for their power rankings in these survival areas. During this school, tributes will visit two areas where major filming was done, as well as gain insight into the filming process.

This package is for six adventurous participants, ages 12 and up. Hello, World!

Two Stars and Beyond — Dinner for Four at Two- and Three-Starred Michelin Restaurants

Tourists flock to the Bay Area year-round to see the natural and architectural wonders of San Francisco along the 49-Mile Scenic Drive, cruise the cliffs along Highway One, and meander along the byways of Napa and Sonoma, but this road trip is tailor-made just for locals.

Take your time traversing our spectacular region, with spectacular culinary destinations from South Park to the South Bay, Napa Valley to North Beach on the itinerary. Your party of four will experience simply out-of-this-world wine-paired chef’s menus at Bay Area restaurants boasting two and three Michelin stars, including:

• Atelier Crenn — Chef Dominique Crenn
• Benu — Chef Corey Lee
• Coi — Chef Daniel Patterson
• The French Laundry — Chef Thomas Keller
• Manresa — Chef David Kinch
• The Restaurant at Meadowood — Chef Christopher Kostow
• Quince — Chef Michael Tusk
• Saison — Chef Joshua Skenes

Get out your calendars — you’ll want to start picking out your special dates now because this is destination dining at its most Michelin-starred magnificent!

2014 Kentucky Derby/Kentucky Oaks Package for Six

Sip mint juleps with the stars, join in a rousing chorus of “My Old Kentucky Home,” and become part of the most exciting horse race in the world. With this experience for six guests, you’ll see it all from your premium third floor Clubhouse seats for both The Kentucky Derby (May 3, 2014) and The Kentucky Oaks (May 2, 2014).

During your stay, the group will be treated to a private, behind-the-scenes tour of the Churchill Downs barns and stables, and a tour of a nearby thoroughbred farm and training facility. Dinner one night will be at the storied 610 Magnolia, where Chef Edward Lee draws on fresh local ingredients to create contemporary southern cuisine. Transportation to and from Churchill Downs on race days, as well as to and from other activities, is included in this package, as are personal concierge services to help with restaurant reservations, shopping, and other activities during the stay.

Your concierge will even help with the creation of the perfect Kentucky Derby hat!

Take home six bottles of 2010 Post Parade Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Created by three friends from the Bluegrass State and made by Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown, this debut vintage of Post Parade Cabernet Sauvignon combines grapes from Soda Canyon and Oakville for deep fruit and classic structure. Accommodations for three couples for three nights at the Marriott Courtyard Louisville Downtown Hotel are included. Airfare and transportation other than noted is not included.

Master the Masters!

There are golf tournaments, there are majors, and then there is The Masters. Of the four majors, three are open to the public, and the Masters is one of the most difficult tickets to get in all of sport. Two people journey to Augusta, Georgia to take in the splendor, pageantry and history of the Masters 2015 with veteran Masters attendee and school dad, Bryan O. You and a friend will be hosted and fed for four nights in a large, shared southern home.

Ready to play? Enjoy a round of golf for two on Friday, April 10 at Augusta Country Club (not to be confused with Augusta National).

Then, the main event: two badges for the final two days of the tournament at Augusta National. Saturday is moving day, your chance to see who can make the move up the scoreboard to put themselves in position to win. Sunday, the grand finale. The day the Masters is won (and often lost). Never been? Don't worry! Your host will be your personal guide to the course. Fore!

A Feast for Friends — Dinner for Eight with Staffan Terje and Stuart Brioza Together in Your Home

Chef Staffan Terje of long-time San Francisco favorite Perbacco and Chef Stuart Brioza of James Beard award-winning State Bird Provisions will bring their modern, original culinary sensibilities to the plate as they collaborate on a five-course feast for eight guests. The chefs will select five special, seasonal ingredients around which to build the evening’s menu.

Each course will feature one of these ingredients, and the two chefs will prepare dishes highlighting the chosen ingredient and reflecting their respective approaches in the kitchen. The chefs will present their dishes side-by-side, and each course will be paired with the California-grown, European-style wines of Failla.

Chef Terje and Chef Brioza’s unique and delicious dishes are sure to have your guests talking about Old World traditions and New World inventions as if they are natural companions and old friends — much like these talented chef-proprietors themselves!

All food and wine costs are included. Date to be mutually agreed upon.

Registration now open for January 28th workshop

Register now for our workshop Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful

Registration is now open for our upcoming workshop, Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful, taking place on January 28th at the David Brower Center in Berkeley. Click here to register now and reserve your space. Seats are limited and this workshop will fill up.

Presented in conjunction with Greater Giving, Beth Sandefur Events, and Sound Expressions, this highly interactive workshop will cover the top 10 approaches you can take to make your next auction more successful. Whether your event is in two weeks or twenty, learn proven strategies that will help you maximize the philanthropic potential of your crowd. Learn how to fine-tune your fund-a-need for maximum effect, enhance your existing auction lots, streamline your registration process, and more.

Session topics will include:

• Fine tuning your fund-a-need pitch
• Finding hidden lessons in your auction data
• Brainstorming ways to enhance your auction lots
• Messaging: sell the cause, not the party
• Streamlining check-in and check-out
• Making your auction sound great

Click here to register now; seats are limited!

January 28, 2015 – Berkeley, CA

9:00am - 3:00pm

Check-in begins at 8:30am

$50 registration fee includes continental breakfast and lunch

In addition, this workshop will include a hands-on mobile session for organizations looking for information about the most buzzed about trend in events: going mobile. This workshop session will include an overview of Greater Giving’s Mobile Bidding and Storefront functions. We’ll discuss how mobile bidding impacts your event and how you can incorporate raffle and other multi-item sales into your event using storefront.

The workshop will conclude with a 1-hour, small group session with each member of our expert panel. We will break into groups by organization type and spend an hour focusing on the topics that matter to you most. Ask questions and get answers that are relevant to the needs of your specific event with experts in the field of fundraising auction planning, implementation, and performance.

Held at the David Brower Center at 2150 Allston Way in Berkeley, this workshop is readily accessible by public transportation and boasts plenty of nearby parking lots.

Register now, and make your next auction an even bigger success!

The most creative sponsors "thank you" ever

Every fundraising gala has that moment, when someone takes the stage to thank the sponsors who support the organization and make the evening possible. That moment is always well-intentioned, and quite a few organizations make a sincere show of appreciation for their sponsors.

This year, however, we saw an approach that was so creative, so over the top and so well received that it serves as a shining example for any organization looking to thank their sponsors. The event was “Sparkle! Spotlight on the Stars” PHAME’s 2014 Celebration Gala that took place on Sunday, November 2nd. [Disclaimer: we are not directly involved with PHAME, our friend and colleague Kelly Russell is their auctioneer and shared the video with us].

PHAME executive director Stephen Marc Beaudoin took the stage to thank the sponsors, and then this happened…

The humor, creativity, and commitment of Stephen’s piece takes that moment and makes it PHAME’s moment. He brings the whole crowd along with him and lifts the entire event upward in the process. It is a beautiful moment and immediately changes the tenor of the event.

Stephen is obviously a gifted and practiced singer, you can tell within the first few notes that the man has training and can sing. He is an honors alumni of the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in vocal performance, and he spent years working as a professional singer and actor in musical theatre and opera in Kansas City and Boston. All of this, before he decided to transition to executive arts management.

The key takeaway is that you have to look beyond the “everyday” talents of your team, and utilize whatever experience people have that can make a difference for your event. The vast majority of people working on any gala, be they staff, volunteers or board members, have a wealth of life experience beyond soliciting sponsorships or auction lots.

Moments like Stephen’s song obviously don’t just happen, they take months of planning. The theme for the 2014 PHAME gala was "30 years of Hollywood," which coincided with PHAME's 30th anniversary as an organization. “We knew early in planning the program,” said Stephen, “that we wanted it to riff on modern Hollywood awards shows, you know - echoes of Ellen Degeneres and Neil Patrick Harris. So we decided we needed a parody song.”

Given his background as a singer and a writer, Stephen took on the task with stunning results. What you can see and hear on the video is only the beginning of the goodwill Stephen’s performance has generated. “Most of our sponsors have raved and raved about the song and shared it with their fans on social media and by email,” said Stephen. Possibly best of all, “They're already asking if their sponsorship for the 2015 event will guarantee a spot in the 2015 sponsor song. So I suppose we have a new recurring element for the PHAME Sparkle! gala!”

This doesn’t mean that every gala should run out and produce a parody song to thank their sponsors for their next event. But it does show how creativity and commitment can create not just a moment at your gala but a movement. A poem or a re-write of Green Eggs and Ham would be more memorable than many of the “laundry lists” of sponsors I see at events. They key is to leverage the hidden talents of those closest to you in creative ways that show your sponsors just how much you truly do appreciate them.

Save the date for our upcoming workshop: Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful

Stellar Fundraising Auctions presents, in conjunction with Greater Giving, Beth Sandefur Events and Sound Expressions, Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful.   Auction 101 is interactive workshop is designed to give your auction team useful tools to help with your next fundraising event.

The workshop will take place from 9am – 3pm on Wednesday, January 28th, 2015 at the David Brower Center in Berkeley.  Online registration will be available through Greater Giving soon.

Whether your event is in two weeks or twenty, this highly interactive workshop will provide you with proven strategies that will help you maximize the philanthropic potential of your crowd.

Session topics will include:
Fine tuning your fund-a-need pitch
Finding hidden lessons in your auction data
Brainstorming ways to enhance your auction lots
Messaging: sell the cause, not the party
Streamlining check-in and check-out
Making your auction sound great

We will also offer a hands-on session for organizations looking for information about the most buzzed about trend in events: going mobile. This workshop session will include an overview of Greater Giving’s Mobile Bidding and Storefront functions. We’ll discuss how mobile bidding impacts your event and how you can incorporate raffle and other multi-item sales into your event using Storefront.

The day will conclude with expert roundtables: we'll break into groups by organization type, and then each of our experts will rotate through each group, focusing on the topics that matter to you most. This is the chance for you to ask questions and get answers that are relevant to the needs of your specific event with experts in the field of fundraising auction planning, implementation and performance.

Save the date for Wednesday, January 28th, 2015, and stay tuned for more information on registration.