Save the date: Sonoma and Marin fundraising auction workshop

We are bringing our popular workshop, The Top 10 Ways to Make your Next Auction More Successful, to charities serving Sonoma and Marin counties. Save the date for Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, at the Inn at Marin. 

"By far the most useful auction workshop I’ve attended because it offered concrete steps for how organizations can improve and because it was focused on sharing information rather than pushing products." 

-Deb M., Aurora Theater

In conjunction with Greater Giving, Beth Sandefur Events and Sound Expressions, Stellar Fundraising Auctions presents Auction 101: The Top 10 Ways to Make Your Next Auction More Successful.   This 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, April 13th, 2016 at the Inn at Marin in Novato. 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.

"Really good overall workshop...I left with some good information and takeaways and people that I will follow up with to try and create the best auction possible."

Save the date for Wednesday, April 13th, 2016, and stay tuned for more information on registration.

The most exciting auction lots of 2015

Our annual compendium of the most exciting auction lots we saw at fundraising auctions is back, with a whole new list of creative and engaging items. This year we saw the Warriors become the hottest Bay Area sports team; on the court and on the stage. Chefs continued to be the rock stars of the fundraising world, as food-related lots continue to get more and more creative.

The Taylor Swift tour was so popular, we saw packages of tickets to her concert succeed at six different events across the nation. This year, we had so many lots to choose from, we opted not to limit it just to 10, and instead included the 15 lots we thought would best serve as creative examples.

As always, the goal of sharing these isn’t to get you to replicate them. The goal is to inspire you to create your own stellar lots, so we can include them in our next best-of list!

So without further ado, here are our most exciting fundraising auction lots of 2015, presented in no particular order.

Six Tickets to U2 and a Meet and Greet with Bono. Seriously!!

What can we say? It’s a U2 concert with five of your best friends. Oh and you’ll hang out with Bono beforehand. Enough said.

Conditions: Concert date is May 19th, 2015 at the SAP Center in San Jose.

Visit the Set of Modern Family and Lunch at the Fox Commissary

Watch an actual episode of the award winning show “Modern Family” being filmed on the set of 20th Century Fox Studios.  See the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actors and writers create one of the most popular sitcoms on television, and get a chance to meet some of the cast in person.

Enjoy lunch at the legendary Fox Commissary, home to stars ranging from Rita Hayworth to Mel Brooks and many more.  Arrive via Southwest Airlines, (your certificate is good between any two cities within the Southwest Airlines system in the continental US and expires 4/1/2016).  Stay overnight at Hollywood’s favorite luxury hotel, The Peninsula Beverly Hills, and be transported to and from the lot in a chauffeured town car.

Golden State Warriors Honorary Player Experience and Owners' Suite

Give your child the experience of being introduced alongside the Warriors starting lineup as an honorary player! He or she will be part of the team huddle, tour the Warriors locker room and receive a Warriors jersey of the player of their choice. Then, enjoy exclusive use of the Owners suite to watch the game with 18 of your closest friends and family!

Restrictions: Honorary player experience limited to 2 people; children must be between 8-16 years old. Owners suite includes 16 seats and 4 standing room tickets for a maximum of 20 people. Mutually agreed upon game; game exclusions apply. Non-transferable.

Behind the Scenes of “Check Please!” with Leslie Sbrocco

Behind-the-scenes of "Check, Please! Bay Area" in the KQED Studios for a group of four: watch a live taping, get tours of the studio, and meet our emcee this evening, Leslie Sbrocco. Leslie is one of the 100 most influential people in the wine business. She has won a James Beard award, three Taste Awards, and three Emmy awards.

She’ll welcome you in to the KQED studios and give you a VIP tour of the studio. Then you’ll get to watch the live taping of the show and meet the cast and crew. Afterwards, head over to the Mission Rock Resort for a lovely lunch.

[Note: Leslie was the emcee of the event, and did a fantastic job of establishing relationships with people long before she took the stage. Her lot sold spectacularly well because people were supporting her as much as the organization.]

Taylor Swift!

Winners gonna bid, bid, bid!

Where is The 1989 World Tour touching down on Tuesday, June 9, 2015 at 7:30 PM? The PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC. Who will be the biggest fans in the audience? The winners of this wonderful package which includes six tickets to see the fabulous Taylor Swift in concert.

Guys' Beer Bus III: I Left My Liver in San Francisco

Back for a liver-smashing third time, the Beer Bus! We've done the North Bay. We've done the East Bay. Now we are going across the Bay. Join us as we visit some of the finest breweries in San Francisco... and on a friggin' limo bus that has beer in it. Yeah, you read that right. A limo bus, with beer, taking you to places that make beer, to drink more beer! Oh, and that's not all. All winners get a year-long membership to the Hillcrest Dad's Beer Club, which includes FREE BEER during our monthly gatherings. So what are you waiting for?

Top 20 guys, bidding starts at $200/guy.

The Buster-Hug! By Jared Emerson

Jared Emerson doesn’t just paint people, he captures moments on canvas, live! Right before your eyes, at our event, Jared Emerson will capture one of Giants fans’ favorite moments: the Buster hug! 

For SF Giants fans, few moments are as memorable, or as endearing, as the BusterHug that closed out the 2014 World Series run. Sure, Buster’s given hugs to other pitchers, but few were as emotion filled as the hug he gave Bumgarner in 2014. You’ll get to see Jared paint it live, and then you’ll have the moment forever on your wall.

[Note: Art is usually a challenge to sell in a fundraising auction. This piece was created in real-time by the artist, and the subject matter was custom-chosen by the organization in advance. The artist wanted to do a different image, and the event was steadfast about wanting the “Busterhug”. It sold for $11,000 – twice!]

Stop, Hammer Time!

Internationally known, award-winning artist and entrepreneur M.C. Hammer has invited you, your friends or colleagues for the experience of a lifetime. Take this unique opportunity to gain one-on-one access to an outstanding performer and icon, to discuss technology or entrepreneurialism, or for the best dance lesson you could ever hope for.

Hammer skyrocketed to fame in the 90s, and has had an incredible journey ever since. From the start, he has constantly worked to reinvent himself, his sound, and his interests. In addition to being a multiple Grammy award-winning and chart-topping musician, M.C. Hammer has initiated several business ventures in music, technology, and often both. The knowledge he has gained during the past decades is the result of a unique perspective and interesting experiences. Don’t miss out on what he has to share.

If you’ve always wanted to learn to dance like a hip-hop idol or yearned to discuss business and technology with an innovator and risk-taker, don’t miss this first-ever offer to the ISTP community. Bond with M.C. Hammer in a small group while he teaches you to cut a rug like a super star, or invite him to share his incredible professional journey with you and your company for a lunch discussion or seminar.

Inclusions:

• 1 hour of time with MC Hammer to discuss business, technology, or dance lessons

• Offer good for individuals, small or large groups—depending on the chosen activity

Backyard BBQ with Jeremy Affeldt

16 guests will join San Francisco Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt for an afternoon BBQ featuring some of Jeremy’s favorite dishes. Larkin Street youth will co-host, helping prepare the feast and also ensuring that Jeremy never uses a knife! Grab a tasty plate, sip a cold brew, and chat with Jeremy about baseball, Larkin Street, and life. Hosted at the San Francisco home of Larkin Street board members.

 To be held on a mutually agreeable date with Jeremy Affeldt.

2015 Ford Mustang Convertible

Thanks to South Bay Ford, one lucky bidder will have the opportunity to have their designated driver take them home in his/her brand new Ford Mustang convertible! Ford has completely redesigned the iconic Mustang for 2015 inside and out. The sleek new aggressive profile is reminiscent of the true “muscle car” that the model was born from 50 years ago. This car is a quintessential example of the South Bay lifestyle and perfect for commuting around town or whisking a new graduate off to college.

The ingot silver paint with black convertible top gives it a classic look and will turn heads at every corner. The also redesigned 300hp 6-cylinder engine is designed for pure performance, yet still has impressive 20 city / 30 hwy MPG. Also sporting the select-shift automatic transmission, Ford’s revolutionary Sync audio system, and rear backup assistance, this is a car that puts you in the mood for performance. This auction is all-inclusive: includes the car, tax & license fees.

[Note: We don’t usually recommend selling a car, unless it is donated and is an exciting vehicle. This convertible Mustang met both requirements.]

Rockin' with Linkin Park

SoCal rockers Linkin Park became one of the most successful bands in the world by combining elements of hip-hop, modern rock, and atmospheric electronica into their music. Their popularity is exemplified by the band’s massive online presence. They are the biggest band on Facebook with over 63 million friends and were the first ever band to garner over 1 billion views on their YouTube channel.

Linkin Park is known for having a sound that has evolved as their career progressed. From high-energy alternative rock like “One Step Closer” and “Faint” to modern classics like “In the End” and “What I’ve Done” they have always delivered the goods resulting in over 60 million albums sold worldwide.

Whether you are a Linkin Park fan or just a music fan, this opportunity brings a truly unique experience to create a lifetime of memories. Linkin Park has invited us to a “studio experience” for 10 guests. You will get to hang out with members of the band and get a tour of their Los Angeles recording studio where they are recording their new album.

Transportation will be provided by private limousine, and the winner will take home a guitar signed by the band. Winner(s) could choose to purchase additional guitars to have signed by the band during their studio visit.

Hog Heaven

Hunt for the big hogs and learn the art of charcuterie. Game on for a first-class pig hunt on the legendary Rockpile Ranch, rich in history that includes notorious outlaws from the Jesse James gang. Spread across 10,000 acres of unspoiled Sonoma County wilderness with steep hillsides and rocky, remote terrain, this famous ranch is a sportsman’s paradise! You’ll kick back with your hosts as an expert wild game hunter and ranch caretaker prepares a late afternoon cowboy steak supper.

Then as the sun fades, head out for your big game hunt from a Jeep as you tour this magnificent property with Pacific Ocean views. Your pig will be cleaned and dressed, and cut, so you can enjoy it when you get home.

Plus, learn the art of charcuterie with a hands-on lesson from Italian Michelin Star chef, Stefano Masanti, who will teach you to make sausages, salami, pancetta, coppa and two different types of lardo from a heritage pig from Regusci Winery! And of course, it wouldn’t be a hunting trip without Scotch, cigars, and storytelling around the campfire to round out the day: “You shoulda seen that boar I wrangled bare-handed!” you’ll boast under the sparkling Sonoma stars. Settle in for the night at the rustic Rockpile hunting cabin and doze off reminiscing of days past when life was a little simpler.

Special Forces Day for Two with Gryphon Group Security Solutions

Over the last 14 years, Gryphon Group has trained over 30,000 American Warfighters, Special Operations Personnel from the Army, Navy, Air Force & Marine Corps as well as Federal Agents from 12 Federal Agencies in specialized combat training.

Now it is your turn to experience this incredible training experience with a day-long program at Gryphon Group’s Fort Bragg Combat Training Center. The successful bidder can choose from one of two full-day programs: Anti-Terrorism Driver Training or Anti-Terrorism Weapons Training. Participants must be ages 18 & up.  Donated by Gryphon Group Security Solutions.

Game of Thrones

Do you love the Game of Thrones? Do you love fine wine and great food? Have you ever experienced all three together? The lucky winning bidders will have a once in a lifetime experience enjoying dinner with Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin in the elegant home of our board president. Chef Andrew Cooper, of the Four Seasons Rancho Encantado, will be in the kitchen. Some of Napa's greatest wines will partner with the evening's masterful menu.

It’ll be the first George R.R. Martin dinner where everyone lives happily ever after!

San Francisco Giants Gotham Club Dinner, wines, and a game for four with Rich Aurilla and Dan Kosta

Here’s your chance to see behind the scoreboard! Located inside the out-of-town scoreboard, with unique views to the Field and McCovey Cove, this venue features a stunning bar and a private dining area. A private, members-only entrance along The Portwalk grants members direct and easy access to The Clubhouse and inside the ballpark.

Former San Francisco Giant Rich Aurilia and Dan Kosta will host dinner for four guests at the exclusive Gotham Club featuring wines by Kosta Browne and Red Stitch.

After dinner, head down to the ball park and enjoy the game! Includes transportation from Sonoma County to the game.

Mutually agreeable date.

Peanuts Movie Exclusive Two Ways! Private air to Premier in Los Angeles AND private screening in Santa Rosa!

For the first time ever, Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the rest of the gang we know and love from Charles Schulz’s timeless Peanuts comic strip will be making their big-screen debut like they’ve never been seen before in a CG-animated feature film in 3D.

First, you and three guests will have an exclusive experience at the Peanuts premiere in Los Angeles on Sunday, November 1st. Travel in style on a Cessna Citation jet, and enjoy overnight accommodations, and limo transportation from your hotel to the premier!

Next, you and up to 80 guests will experience a private screening of the Peanuts movie at the Charles M. Schulz Museum! Bring your child’s class or your family and friends for a fun-filled day including the movie, root beer floats, and chocolate chip cookies, followed by a tour of the Schulz Museum.

The Ultimate Buy-a-Seat Dinner - Four Top Chefs and Exquisite Wines

Join your fellow food and wine connoisseurs in this inaugural, once-in-a-lifetime dinner prepared by four San Francisco culinary icons.  With numerous Michelin Stars, James Beard Awards and Relais & Chateau acknowledgements among them, chefs Nancy Oakes, Gary Danko, Tyler Florence, and Yigit Pura will cook together for the first time ever!  This not-to-be missed dining adventure would not be complete without extraordinary wines from California and France.  When the chefs are not preparing this unprecedented collaborative menu for you, they will join you at the table where you can get to know them and hear their fascinating stories.  Enjoy amazing food, spectacular wine, and possibly make some new friends at the same time!

Only 10 seats will be sold in multiples of two to this extraordinary dinner. Bidding will open at $10,000 per couple. 

Wine pairings will include:

• 2006 Roederer Cristal
• Marcassin Three Sisters Vineyard Chardonnay
• 2004 Leflaive Chevalier ‎Montrachet
• 2002 Comte de Vogüé Musigny Vieilles Vignes
• 1986 Chateau Pichon Longueville Comtesse de Lalande
• 1996 Chateau Lafite Rothschild
• 1997 Chateau Lafite Rothschild 
• 1989 Chateau d’Yquem

If you wish to bid on more than one pair of tickets, indicate how many pairs by holding up that number of fingers

When Not to Do a Challenge Grant

Challenge grants are one of the most useful ways to increase participation in a fund-a-need. Donors like to know that their money is being put to good use, and nothing lures potential donors like the possibility of their money being doubled. Challenge grants are a way to engage new donors, and they are a proven mechanism for encouraging donors to increase their giving and “step-up” a level.

The success of a fund-a-need is based on visible participation. Don't do a challenge grant if it is going to take visibly pledged money out of the room.

It is difficult to obtain tens- or hundreds-of-thousands of dollars to use in a challenge grant. Many organizations get creative, and use multiple donors to cobble together one large challenge grant. This idea is great, as long as it isn’t “taking money out of room.”

We often get a challenge grant that has been created by supporters of the organization pooling their resources. And while this might seem like a good idea on the surface, I believe it actually hurts the performance of the fund-a-need in the long run. One thing that makes a fund-a-need successful is the visible presence of leaders within the organization participating in the fund-a-need.

Think about it this way, if someone invites you to sit at their table for their organization’s gala, and then proceeds to make a pledge to the fund-a-need, you take note; especially if it was one of the higher pledges. You would probably feel obligated to participate in the fund-a-need, and hopefully would do so at a level at least commiserate with the ticket price if not above.

But if the same person invites you to sit at their table, and then the auctioneer simply announces that “a group of supporters chimed in to create a challenge grant for tonight” it loses its impact. The supporter is no longer actively participating in the fund-a-need. Even if they stand up as a group to be recognized as contributors to a challenge grant, the amount they individually pledged is a mystery and thereby doesn’t apply as much pressure as if they’d raised their paddle.

Less people raising their paddles also means we’re losing potential momentum in the room, because all of those paddles are now remaining stationary.  Challenge grants are nice, but it is better to have people raise their paddles at whatever level they were planning on participating than to have them sit on their hands and challenge the rest of the room. Active pledging applies more peer pressure, and generates more momentum for the fund-a-need as a whole.

Registration Now Open for Monterey Peninsula Workshop: November 3, 2015

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 November 3rd at the Sunset Center in Carmel. Click here to register now and reserve your space. Seats are limited and this workshop will fill up.

Attendees will learn valuable information that can be immediately applied to their fundraising auction event.

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions in conjunction with Beth Sandefur Events, 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!

November 3, 2015 – Carmel, CA

10:00am - 4:00pm

Check-in begins at 9:30am

$50 registration fee includes lunch

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 Sunset Cultural Center in downtown Carmel, this workshop features plenty of parking.

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

Benefit Auction Summit 2015

Greg and I just returned from the Benefit Auction Summit in New Orleans.  Benefit Auction Specialists from around the country attended this summit hosted by the National Auctioneers Association and I thought I'd share an overview of what was discussed.  First and foremost, benefit auctions continue to be the fastest growing segment of the auction industry.  The Auctioneers that attended are responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars raised annually and these certified BAS auctioneers only represent a fraction of auctioneers across the country!  

Greg and I were asked to present at this gathering and we spent 90 minutes sharing our consulting techniques.  The days of an auctioneer just showing  up at your fundraiser and reading your program are  fading fast. When we asked the crowd how many of them consult, most of the hands in the room went up, but it's the level of consulting that we focused on and even seasoned veterans were taking notes.  Fund-a-needs were discussed as to their placement and structure as well as a very robust discussion on new technologies like mobile bidding and text to bid options.  There was also a presentation on how "millennials" are participating in philanthropy.

All in all, the benefit fundraising world is doing well and people all over the country are showing up in record numbers to support organizations that have taken the time to craft  their event so guests leave feeling that their time was well spent.

So if you want a little consulting on consulting,  or a little more insight as to what's going on at fundraisers across the country, give us a call, we took notes!

Philanthropic potential is fleeting

The lights are low and the buzz is high. Silverware is clinking, people are happily chatting over some light background music while wait staff deftly move throughout the room. The energy is slowly building, and everyone at your event is having a great time.

You can see the energy in this room as people start to network other tables. Time to start the auction!

That buzz permeating your event is philanthropic potential. It is the result of months of planning and preparation, an ephemeral “vibe” that you and your committee work so hard to create. It is fleeting, it is delicate, and if you wait too long, it will dissipate into the ether, unused. Wasted.

It is up to you to capitalize on the philanthropic potential of your event, and make the most of your potential while it is at its peak. This often means cutting your guests’ “social time” short, and asking them to focus on the needs you have asked them to help you meet.

Efficiently utilizing your attendees’ time and attention to help you achieve your mission is your right. If you have properly communicated the message of your event beforehand, your guests will be ready to help your fundraising efforts succeed. Instead of putting your fundraising auction off until the very end of the evening, conduct your auction and fund-a-need while your potential is at its peak.

In many cases, this means conducting your auction and fund-a-need during dinner, not after it. Dessert is the turning point, when people start to get up and leave. If you haven’t done the most important element of your fundraising (for most of our events, this is the fund-a-need) before dessert is served, you’re losing money.

Efficient time management will help you raise more money and will ensure your event ends on time. It will also help attendees form an emotionally-charged long-term memory that they associate with your event. Long-term memories are formed when an experience is paired with an emotion.

No offense to your caterer, but few people will remember the food at your event, unless it is ridiculously good or bad. Everyone, however, will remember the way they felt when your event transcended a mere “gala” and became a life-changing experience. 

This only happens if you capitalize on the potential you’ve worked so hard to create while it is at its max. Because the philanthropic potential of your event is ephemeral, once it is gone it is gone. If you don’t take advantage of it while you can, you’ll never get it back.

Don't over-combine sports packages

One commonly held misconception in the world of fundraising is that more means more. The tendency is to add to an auction lot until it is bursting at the seams with value. And while it does make sense to round out packages, there is a point at which adding more to a package does not result in a higher sale price.

Nowhere do we see this proven more consistently than with sports packages. All too often an organization will take all of their various sports donations and put them into one mega-package, only to see it sell for the same as just one of their experiences would have on its own.

For example, one year a client had a behind-the-scenes experience with the San Francisco Giants for four people that sold for $3,400. The next year they decided to add 49’ers tickets, Sharks tickets, Oakland A’s tickets, and Stanford Football tickets to the same Giants package. The combined mega-package sold for…$3,600.

Would these people overpay to see the Oakland A's? Don't bet your auction on it.

Sports fans are often rabid – the word “fan” is derived from “fanatic” after all – but about their team or their favorite sport. Just because someone is a baseball fan doesn’t mean they are necessarily a football fan or a basketball fan and so on. Combining a bunch of experiences that they aren’t necessarily interested in into one auction lot doesn’t change their perception of value.

Put another way, if a buyer is willing to spend $3,000 on a Giants experience, adding a bunch of other games for teams they don’t care about isn’t going to magically increase their maximum bid. And it certainly isn’t going to maximize the potential of your donations.

Furthermore, the hope that the different sports fans will bid each other up doesn’t yield results, either. Each fan has their own perception of value for the single component they are interested in – which is always less than the value of the package as a whole.

If you have a bunch of different sports experiences donated to your auction, do you and your donors a favor and keep them separate. You’ll make more money, make your donors happier, and you might even get some valuable data on your bidders’ sports preferences.  

How to solicit wineries for auction donations

Wine and wine-related experiences are consistently some of the best-selling items in a fundraising auction. Almost every auction committee we work with is attempting to add more wine to their auction, and the question we get asked most is, “How do I get wineries to participate in our auction?”

Tony Lombardi of Lombardi Wines has helped hundreds of causes over the years.

My good friend Tony Lombardi, founder of Lombardi Wines and former brand manager at Kosta Browne Winery, offered to share some of his insights on this process. In his years at Kosta Browne, he fielded as many as 35 requests a week for donations to fundraising auctions. And while his new venture, Lombardi Wines, may not have the global recognition of KB yet, he still gets lots of solicitations for donations.

And where he can help make a difference in the world, Lombardi loves to do so. “I love working in an industry that is so giving,” Lombardi says, “One that helps raise funds and awareness for so many worthwhile causes, through the donation of wine.” The challenge with so many organizations who do great work seeking donations is narrowing down the list to the few they can support every year. Here are some of Lombardi’s biggest tips for soliciting wineries.

People Support People

First and foremost, don’t go in cold. “The key thing,” Lombardi says, “is relationships. I’d look through the many requests we got every day to see if there were any names I knew, charitable organizations within our local community or causes that were near and dear. If there was no direct connection, it was a little easier to deny the request.”

If you know someone at the winery, make some effort to reach out in a personal (and personable) way. Give them a call, or better yet stop by the winery in person. If you don’t live in the Bay Area and can’t afford a trip to visit wineries in person, write a letter and include a hand-written note. Whatever you do, don’t just send a fax.

Popular wineries get five to twelve fax requests a day, and they all wind up in a big pile. Unless your fax is addressed specifically to someone you know at the winery, odds are it is going to wind up in the recycling.

Know Your Cause

This is a good guideline for anyone doing solicitation, but especially anyone soliciting wineries. You need to know what you are raising money for, where the money goes, and the change you are asking people to help make in the world. If you aren’t clearly communicating key information, it will make a bad impression. And you don’t get many chances to make an impression.

Communicate the emotionally engaging elements of your cause, let the winery know who you are trying to help, and how. Your description should be a solid elevator pitch, not a keynote speech. And if your organization isn’t one of the stereotypically emotionally engaging ones, you need to work even harder to communicate why it needs support (a common theme for arts organizations everywhere).

Everyone who works at a winery – from the proprietor to the winemaker to the marketing manager and so on – has personal causes they believe in. Ask them if there are specific causes they support, and then honor that choice.

Know Your Stats

Wineries make donations to fundraising events because they want to do good in the world, but they also donate to fundraising events because it is a proven method of marketing. A crowd of people willing to spend thousands of dollars on a trip to wine country will yield more guaranteed lifetime customers than any advertisement.

You need to know the statistics of your event, says Lombardi: “How many people attend, what the ticket price is, what the most expensive auction lot sells for, how many wine lots there are,” is all data that will help guide a potential donor.  “We’re looking for customers that share the same ideals and a loyal relationship we can nurture over a long period of time.” Wineries are looking for a target market, and yours might just be it.

Build Long-Term Relationships

How you approach people and how you build relationships has everything to do with the support base you build. If a winery doesn’t support you the first year you ask, accept it graciously and move on. Get on their mailing list or find someone in your organization who can get on their mailing list. Send the winery a thank you note for their time, and stay in touch. 

If they do make a donation, be sure to let them know how it helped. Get photos of the winning bidders and email them to the winery with a thank you after the event. Make them feel like part of your event. Better yet, make them part of your event next year by inviting them.

However you go about it, the most important thing to realize is that you are dealing with people. And people always react better and give greater support to people they know. So get out there and build relationships in the name of your event – it’s the best excuse to go wine tasting you’ll ever have.

Display live lot numbers by any means necessary

Every live fundraising auction should make sure the audience always knows what lot number is currently up for sale throughout the entire auction. It is not enough for the auctioneer to announce the number of each lot as they begin to sell it, there has to be some sort of visual display that serves as an anchor for the crowd.

Fundraising auctions are usually rowdy affairs, with people talking at their tables throughout the auction. It is unreasonable to expect each and every audience member to pay strict enough attention throughout the entire event to know exactly where the auction is.

Displaying the lot numbers gives people the ability to tune in when a lot they are interested in is up for sale, and to enjoy their friends’ company the rest of the time (something we encourage, wholeheartedly). Usually this is accomplished through a slideshow presentation projected on to large screens.

The Taste of Howell Mountain event takes place in St Helena in a tent during the afternoon in June: a projector simply isn't an option.

Sometimes, however, it is not possible to have a projector or a slide show. Few projectors can be seen outside during the day, for example. Some venues do not lend themselves to large screens, and some events simply don’t have the budget for high-tech solutions.

It may look a little home-spun, but this flip-chart lot number sign does a very important job.

Our advice is to make the most of the situation in the best way that you can; be creative. Embrace low-tech solutions and find a way to make sure that your crowd remains informed throughout the auction. You can have volunteers walk the stage and into the crowd holding aloft a large numbers (like a high-class version of a boxing ring girl).  If you are in a gymnasium you can use the scoreboard to keep track of where you are.

We’ve even done a number of events that took the most straightforward, low-tech approach possible: a flip chart with each lot number pre-printed on it. Keeping your audience informed will always yield better results than doing nothing. And any auction with more than three lots needs a way to keep the audience informed.

Write up the fund-a-need In your catalog

The fund-a-need is the most crucial component of almost every fundraising auction. The fund-a-need raises more money than any single auction lot and often raises more money than the rest of the auction lots combined.

All of which underscores why the fund-a-need deserves prominent placement in your auction catalog or your written program for the evening.

Don’t make the mistake of assuming that everyone attending your event knows what you are raising money for. Take advantage of the opportunity to market your mission in a heartfelt manner, and encourage newcomers to become supporters by enabling a very specific component of your mission. The fund-a-need is your chance to tell your story in a more focused way to engage existing donors and potential new donors alike on a meaningful, empowering level.

A successful fund-a-need doesn't just happen, it is the result of well-orchestrated marketing, reinforced at every opportunity - including in the written catalog.

The catalog provides you with a means for educating people about your fund-a-need: laying out the case for supporting you and quantifying how they can help you change the world. Even if you have a spectacular speaker, or an incredible video, you should still make an engaging case for your fund-a-need in your catalog.

Spell out exactly what the fund-a-need will help you do, and quantify your ask in very specific ways. It always helps to quantify your need in increments that map directly to the levels you will be asking for in the fund-a-need. For example, if you know you’ll be asking for $5,000, $2,500, $1,000, $500, $250 and $100, tell people exactly what a donation at each of those increments will help you do.

And make sure your quantifications carry heft. People are more likely to respond emotionally if they have already arrived at a logical conclusion. Guide them to that logical conclusion in the catalog, so they can get emotional with their paddles when the time comes to make pledges in your auction.