April Brown's Charity Auction World

After Auction Diary

2009-03-11T15:20:00.001-07:00

Auction Powerhouse Tips

2009-03-11T15:05:00.000-07:00

Soundview School Auction March 7, 2009

2009-03-08T14:51:00.000-07:00

Interview with the Auctioneer

2009-03-08T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Top 3 Mistakes U R Making Right Now

2009-03-03T15:29:00.000-08:00

Top 3 Mistakes
Failing to understand the purpose of the auction.
Charity auctions create the opportunity to connect with donors, bidders, volunteers and sponsors. A thoughtful planning process creates confident and competent volunteers and develops deeper and more meaningful associations.

Failure to invest in the financial vision of the auction.
“In the beginning it belongs to others, what’s left belongs to you”. If you operate by my Golden rule, your auction will create greater overall value than any other fundraising event. A charity auction is the only experience that offers Donors, sponsors, guests and volunteers a chance to rub shoulders. They are paying for a positive, uplifting and entertaining experience. Invest as much of their money as it takes to create a memorable legendary auction event.

Failure to Honor Everyone All The Time.
Bartender to Baron, Valet to Vice President, all influence a spirited and special evening. The auction process and environment holds new contacts and support. Cooperating kindly builds comaradarie and loyalty. Your profits will rise with the altitude of your attitude.

The Essentials for Raising More Money

2009-03-03T15:25:00.000-08:00

The essentials

A vision begins with expectation. What is your vision and how will you get there? First create a reasonable expectation with your current resources. Next, hold a vision and develop new resources to deliver that vision.

People seek excitement so let them have it. Give your audience a reason to laugh, cry, cheer, clap and pay to play the auction game.

Stay, play and join the entertainment. Is the audience involved with the auction action? Use the methods of Director Steven Spielberg and produce a memorable and profitable evening.

The benefit auction process offers a hundred ways to engage people in your message , the donors message and the needs of your organization. Do you know how to reach more people with less effort?

Blending the split personality of a selling and giving environment requires careful planning and a strategy for strengthening donor and volunteer commitment.

Complete Game of Heads or Tails

2008-11-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

How to Play Heads or Tails

2008-11-30T13:18:00.000-08:00

Speed Up Silent Auction Bidding

2008-11-30T12:52:00.000-08:00

Dessert Dash Setup

2008-11-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Live Auction Slide Show

2008-11-28T15:40:00.000-08:00

One of the best sales tools for fundraising events is a projected presentation. Slides, video, photos are used to relay or enforce a message. This is an example of an excellent slide show put together in cooperation with Leaderboard. Short videos were intersperced throughout the presentation. You won't hear any background music, but music was played live during the auction and added by a sound tech as each item was being sold.

If you want the absolutely best live auction presentation, use Jim Maes of LTS LeaderBoard. He is simply the best at what he does.

Jim Maes

LTS LeaderBoard of Seattle

425-761-7369 Cell

206-241-0132 Office

jmaes@LTSLeaderboard.com

www.ltsevent.com/seattle/lcsseattle

Garden Art Project for Your Next Charity Auction

2008-09-24T20:50:00.000-07:00

I spent the day with Cheryl Taylor at her lovely home in Carnation, Washington. Cheryl is a analyst for Town Financial but her heart and soul is in art. Art that she creates and donates to non-profit organizations to raise money for charitable causes. Her house is filled with original sculptures, oils, watercolors, pottery and mixed media. Her recent charity items are these beautiful bird baths and garden sculpture formed from natural leaves and silicone forms. It rained off and on but we were able to add 6 new sculptures to her collection. Cheryl donated 2 beautiful leaves to eWomen Network and I am going to sell those next week at the Women's University Club in downtown Seattle. The proceeds from this mini auction will benefit the eWomen Network Foundation grant program.

Whisker City Grand Opening Catnip Mouse

2008-09-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

I just left Crown Hill Pet Supply. Today is the Grand Opening of the brand new Whiskers On Wheels Mobile Adoption Center and the bus is barked in front ot the store. We sold our Whisker City Catatonic Catnip, t-shirts and cookies. Melissa had been working with a lovely woman who was anxiously waiting for us to pull up so she could adopt a wonderful cat. A long time supporter rushed down to buy our organic perennial herbaceous plant native, home grown, no stems, no seeds, Eastern Washington catnip fresh picked by Gramma June.

My mother, knits these darling little mice and stuffs them with fresh picked and dried catnip and then puts them in sandwich bags and sends them to us. We sell the catnip toys for $10 which helps pay our veterinary bill. Our new employees were all together with Mike and I for the first time and it felt great to be together. I have great expectations for Whisker City...

Celebrity Slide Show

2008-09-07T13:02:00.000-07:00

Projects Crafts & Art Projects = Big Charity Bucks

2008-09-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

Click on the link and view over 100 great projects for your charity auction.

Charity Auctions Raise Big Bucks for Autism

2008-09-05T16:40:00.001-07:00

How to Ask for What You Want

2008-09-03T19:53:00.001-07:00

Free Audio Lesson

Acknowledgements to Mark Victor Hansen

Raise more money with Consignment Sales

2008-09-03T09:50:00.000-07:00

Professional Consignments
Selling professional consignment inventory is one the best solutions for getting people excited about your charity auction. Professional consignments are items that are specifically designed to be sold at fundraising events. Unique travel packages, unusual adventures, and sports and celebrity memorabilia to name a few. A professional consignor performs as an agent representing a third party or their own products and services and then offers the same to a non-profit organization below retail. The non-profit sells the goods at auction and pays the consignment fee within days of the event. Unsold tangible items are returned to the consignor. Trips and experiences are redeemed by the winning bidder through communicating with the consignor. The sales and redemption procedure is designed to facilitate a positive and profitable transaction for the supplier, the auction planner and the winning bidder.

To understand consignment, you must first understand the dilemma an auction chair faces. They must find hundreds of donated items in a fixed amount of time and before they know who will be attending the auction. Those items must attract competitive bids at a price this unknown audience is willing to pay. It is a daunting assignment and many auction planners do not have the time and connections to get those items donated outright. You can fast track the entire procurement process by acquiring a few big ticket consignment items with broad appeal early.

What kind of consignment inventory should you consider? Tangible items like art and memorabilia require physical inventory management and certificate items such as travel and experiences are much easier to offer. If the later is unsold, the process is simply over and no further effort is required. Tangible items must be returned or shipped back to the consignor and other issues can arise like damage and theft, complicating your post auction life.

Using consignment inventory is one of the most powerful strategies for kick starting a donation drive and stimulating interest in your auction. You can select the right items in the right quality and quantity from a reputable source that appeal to what you know right now about your audience. Plus, great stuff will stimulate interest and attract a new following. Consignment inventory is a sales tool and more importantly, consignment goods are free to your organization. 100% of the cost is paid by the winning bidder.

Your Questions

What sells best in the live auction?Unique travel destinations raise more money than any other category.

Why should we sell consignment trips?A dream vacation to Bali and a safari to South Africa will give you and your volunteers something to talk about and something to draw attention to the event. Great travel packages attract donors who look to the quality of donations before they agree to donate, sponsor and advertise.

Can we get donors to sponsor the consignment fee?Major donors like to get as much attention as possible for their contribution. Consider writing in the consignment fee as part of a major donor proposal. The trip is then referred to by the sponsor’s name and that sponsor receives maximum recognition before, during and after the auction.

If we sell consigned items, then we don’t get to keep all the money.That’s right. All consigned items have a consignment fee and that fee is paid to the consignment company after the auction.

Don’t we lose money if we sell consigned items?Actually, you don’t lose money. The winning bidder is paying the consignment fee. The organization keeps all the money after the consignment amount.

Why should we pay for a trip we can find on priceline.com?The non-profit organization does not pay for the trip until the trip sells. The trip is reserved by the organization with the consignor before the auction and a check is mailed to the consignor after the auction if the trip sells. Charity Auction World vacation packages cannot be duplicated by other travel services at these low prices. Travel services like Priceline.com do not make reservations for open dates, nor do they make reservations without advance payment.

What is different about Charity Auction World travel?We work closely with the owners of the resorts so that the traveler has a personal, not corporate experience. African Safari Company and SeaOtter Excursions are based out of Seattle, Washington and so is Charity Auction World. We collaborate on every detail with the intent of creating a memorable experience for the winning bidder. All vacation packages have open dates and expire either one or two years after the date of the auction.

We pay our auctioneer a 10% Buyer’s Premium rather than a flat fee. How does that work in relationships to consignment.The auctioneer is paid a percentage of the difference of the consignment fee and the sale price. The auctioneer should be made aware of all consignment fees and exceptions should be written into the contract with the auctioneer.

Doesn’t the winning bidder think the organization is keeping 100% of the sale amount?First, the organization is under no obligation to tell the winning bidder that there is a consignment fee. Second, the IRS allows the winning bidder to deduct the difference between the fair market value and the amount paid anyway, so consignment has no affect on the final bid and the charitable contribution.

Wouldn’t we be better off selling an item that is 100% donated?It depends on the donation. If you have a donation that nobody wants to bid on and the auctioneer is begging for a bid, that time on the auction block was a total loss. It is better to sell a consigned item that stirs bidding than pass on an item nobody wants. If your organization can get exotic vacations to desirable locations, without restrictions and blackout dates, free and clear, then you don’t need us.

Last year we sold a consigned trip and we only made $200 over the consignment fee. The board doesn’t think it was worth it.Now, there are lots of questions I want to ask you. Was there another item of comparable value and design available? Would that bidder have bought something else had the trip not been in the auction? Did the consignment fee have a profit to the organization built into it (Charity Auction World trips give the organization an immediate profit)? Was the opening bid too high? Did the organization market and pre-sell the trip to the audience prior to auction night? How was the trip described? Was anything about the trip confusing? Was the auctioneer a professional? How was the trip written up in the catalog? How was the trip marketed to the audience? Was there a point of sale display? (Charity Auction World gives you everything you need to achieve maximum sales impact)

I was at an auction where I saw the auctioneer sell 14 trips to Hawaii. Were those consigned trips and why did he sell so many?Yes. It is likely the auctioneer was getting a cut of the action on that trip. Probable scenario: Trip valued at $2500. Consignment fee $1100. Auctioneer commission $200. Opening bid $1500. Trip sells for $1600. The organization made $300 per trip and the auctioneer made $200 per trip. The organization grossed $4200 and the auctioneer gleaned $2800 and the organization wrote a check after the auction for $15,400. Was it worth it? The answer is “yes” if that was the only thing those guests were willing to buy at that price. The answer is a resounding “no” if the auctioneer sold out too soon before the competing bids had dwindled to the 2 highest competitive bids which may or may not have represented a larger profit for the organization but guaranteed a much lower commission for the auctioneer.

Let me explain. Auctioneers have to “do the math” as they go on items with duplicates and multiples available. If that auctioneer had a sense that this audience’s buying power was not much over $1600 he may have felt this was the best course for the organization to make $4200. The final sold price would have to be $3200 and sold too 2 bidders to raise the same $4200 for the organization. I have no way of knowing if there were 2 bidders willing to bid that high since the auctioneer did not use that tactic.

Did 14 bidders get a deal? Maybe. Let’s face it. It is always great to get a deal if you are the buyer. Sounds like 14 people got a real good deal, and deals have an upside. The deal buzz will attract more ticket sales in the coming year. 14 people (probably 28 since most trips are for 2) will have an amazing experience and talk up the organization and likely return to the next auction. If the travel experience is positive the memories will cement an alliance between the winning bidders and the organization.

Didn’t the organization lose $15,400?Once again, that depends. That money may not have been collected anyway if the organization didn’t have what those buyers wanted at that price point. A trip to Hawaii and a round of golf at a local course are not comparable. It is just as likely that those guests may not have raised their bid card had the Hawaii trip not been in the auction.

The good news is that the trip flushed out an area of peak interest for their guests and they can procure and plan for those bidders at the next auction. I would consider procuring more trips to various tropical locations, and sell those trips throughout the auction.

Our auction has a budget and we keep our costs under 35%. How can we convince our Board to add the expense of consignments?The most important thing to remember is that consignments are not an expense. Consignment generates revenue and the fees are paid by the winning bidder. Consignment fees should not be calculated as an expense. The trips cost the organization nothing. Zero. Zip.

Can we use a consignment trip as a raffle prize?Yes and you should. Ticket sales are driven by trips like our luxurious relaxing trip to Bali or the exciting safari to South Africa. Raffles can also be sponsored and that sponsor fee may completely cover or offset the consignor fee.

EWomen Network Convention in Dallas, Texas 2008

2008-07-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Chick Chanters strike again! I joined my good friend Lori Richardson in Dallas and called an auction for the Ewomen Network Foundation. Lori and I took turns selling the most amazing donations to an audience of over 2000 women and a few guys sprinkled about. Here is the account of one of the winning bidders of the Oprah package. See the videos by clicking here: http://auctionpowerhouse.blogspot.com/

Katrina Sawa of KSAWA Marketing buys a trip to Oprah for $50,000.

From the blog of Katrina Sawa...

Let me tell you what happened. Each year Sandra and Kym offer these amazing trips and adventures during the conference to all over the world - New York, Bamff, San Fran and even foreign countries. Two years ago I wanted to go on the trip with Sandra and one of her Millionaire Girlfriends plus 10 other eWomen members to New York but the price tag was a hefty $7,500!!!

So this year, they told us what trips they had on the website before we even got to the conference. I looked them over:

one was a pro bowl football trip of some kind to New York (but football??), hotel, air, show tickets, etc
one was a trip to Estee Lauder studios and a pampering trip in New York, makeover, shopping, hotel, air, show tickets, etc.
one was a trip to the CNBC studios and time with Donnie Deutsch, star of The Big Idea show, Hearst Publishing, hotel, air, show, etc.
and the last one was a trip to the Emmys, limo, red carpet, photo shoot, dinner with the Yanceys, hotel, air, etc.

So, the live auction came up, they started with the pro bowl trip which went for a steal by the way - a trip to NY and Hawaii for only $8000 or something crazy like that.
Anyhow...they kept going and the bids went up and up and up....the CNBC I think was one of the last ones and I almost bidded on that one since it had to do with getting in front of great media contacts and that's how you get noticed....but something didn't feel right. (maybe it was the $32,000 it ended up going for - to my new friend Sheila Stewart by the way, you go girl!)
A couple other packages, people would keep bidding it up and then Kym and Sandra would pull the potential winners on stage to ask if they wanted to share the package instead of taking their significant others or whatever plus they kept throwing in other add ons to the packages when the bidding got good so I knew this would be what happens each time.
So, that was it. The auction was over (so I thought) and I hadn't bidded for anything and wasn't going anywhere yet again....
UNTIL.....
OPRAH'S FACE APPEARED ON THE BIG SCREEN!
Yep, it was a surprise package trip to Chicago for a chance to meet OPRAH! They rattled off the perks and details of the trip but frankly I wasn't much paying attention at that point because I already had my hand up with my program in it ready to bid my $10,000!!!!
Oh, this package quickly went from $10K, to $15K, to $20K, to $25K...and it kept going, and going and I kept bidding and bidding.....not even really thinking HOW I WOULD GET THE MONEY but thinking that this was the opportunity of a lifetime and something in my gut told me I had to keep going....
I HAD TO WIN THIS PACKAGE!
The Oprah trip was for 2 people and there was this other woman waaaayyyyy across the room from me also bidding and she kept bidding against me - we'd go in $2K increments and this went on for about what seemed like 30 minutes but I'm sure it was only 4 or 5 or so I guess.
So, it got up to freakin' $65,000 - can you say OH MY GOD!

Yes, it was me and this other gal Glenda bidding and yes, at that point Kym and Sandra and Taya brought us up on stage. They whispered to us for a short time while the audience was laughing and chanting the Jeopardy tune and finally Kym offered the trip to both of us for $50,000 each.

...You almost had to be there to know the energy in the room, the vibration in myself and the enormous mindset shift and belief of complete FAITH (that it would all work out, the universe would bring me good things).
It's a really great package I'm sure; I don't have all the details yet but I trust in faith that this is what I was meant to bid for and what was going to be my next quantum leap in my business.

Children's Medical Research Institue

2008-05-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Soundview Elementary School The Big Guy

2008-05-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Soundview Elementary School

2008-05-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

Families for Effective Autism Treatment

2008-05-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Charity Auction Training

2007-08-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

If you've ever wondered if your auctions are a waste of time and effort, you're not alone.

That's because fundraising auctions ARE a waste of time and effort when they don't bring in enough money.

When you train volunteers only to see them work hard and get discouraged.

And when you have to seek out new sponsors and donors, and get a NO! again and again.

THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

I can teach you to squeeze the utmost fun and money out of auctions with results you won't believe. Nearly 17 years as a charity auctioneer has taught me how to help you make fundraising really pay off - by raising more money, developing happier volunteers, and creating long-term donor relationships, and wa-a-a-ay less trouble for YOU!

I can teach you and your volunteers how to conduct the most profitable charity auctions ever. My training is bursting with ideas, tips and tried and true buying and selling concepts that will greatly enhance how you run your auctions and raffles. And keep everyone smiling throughout!

- Learn what blocks people from bidding and winning and how to get higher bids.
- Streamline your event, from planning to the final bid with efficient procedures.
- I show your volunteers how to be more organized, enthusiastic and appreciated.
- Learn how to develop alliances with donors and sponsors.