Stellar offers new Catalog Copy Writing Service

Stellar Fundraising Auctions has partnered with copy writer Chaia Milstein to launch our new catalog copywriting service. Any fundraising auction team looking for clean, crisp, well-researched catalog descriptions of their live auction items can now get Stellar copy delivered on time and on budget.

Some solicitation teams love to write the descriptions for all of the auction lots they have worked so hard to acquire, and we totally get it. We say more power to you! But sometimes, the act of getting the lots is enough – you still have to line up potential bidders, let alone plan the rest of the event – and writing each of the catalog descriptions is just one thing too many.

Stellar can provide professional copy for all of your live auction items. We thoroughly research each auction lot, seeking the hidden “sizzle” that will engage potential buyers, and assure your donors you are handling their donation with aplomb.

We thoroughly understand the intricacies of the planning process, and will work with your team to establish a timeline that works with your needs. Bringing in a successful auction is enough work, let us make it sound great for you!

For more information about our Catalog Copy Writing Service, or to request a quote for services, please contact us here. Whether you are an existing Stellar client, or simply looking for help with your catalog, we'd love to chat with you.

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.

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!

An Unredeemed Lot is an Excellent Donation

At a recent planning meeting where we were discussing repeat auction lots for an event, it came out that one of the donors felt seriously slighted because their lot was never redeemed. A buyer had paid top-dollar for the lot at the auction, and had yet to cash it in with the expiration date looming. The donor felt slighted, and was inclined not to make the donation again.

Over the past decade, we've consistently seen an average of 45% of auction lots purchased at fundraising auctions go unredeemed. This isn’t a function of the desirability of the lots being offered at fundraising events, but a reflection of the nature of supporting causes through auction purchases. People who make a purchase at a fundraising auction do so first and foremost because they believe in the cause; the desirability of the lot simply justifies getting caught up in the heat of the moment and (hopefully) overpaying.

Buyers assume that 100% of the money is going to the organization putting on the auction: if they don’t redeem the lot they will have still made a good donation to the cause. Most buyers also support more than just one cause, and often have shoeboxes full of certificates they keep meaning to redeem. Buyers aren’t trying to slight donors, they simply lead busy lives and have scheduling conflicts.

It is understandable that some who donate lots to an auction most often do so because they really were looking forward to making their event happen. There are a lot of possible solutions, such as putting the donor in direct contact with the buyer to coordinate the event, but they are all fraught with potential for disaster.

The simple solutions is to assure donors that their donation is loved: by you and the people who bought it. Their donation helped raise significant amounts of money for a cause they believe in. If the buyers haven’t taken them up on their generosity yet, it is not a reflection of how wonderful their lot is. It’s just more proof that we all lead insanely busy lives, and sometimes making time to show up and buy the lot is a major accomplishment, let alone making the lot happen.

The Top 5 Worst Ways to Introduce an Auction

The way in which a fundraising auction is introduced tells the crowd a lot about what is to come. Successful events carefully map out the transition to the auction, ensuring that we’re building momentum to an important moment for the evening and the organization.

Occasionally, however, instead of setting the stage for success the person who introduces the auction (and auctioneer) sends a completely different message. Here, then, are the top 5 least successful ways to introduce a fundraising auction (all of which we’ve experienced at real galas):

1. “I hate to interrupt your dinner, but it’s time to do the auction.”
2. “I know everyone is having a good time, but…”
3. “Boy, has anyone else’s 401k/portfolio taken as brutal a hit as mine did this last week? Seriously. I’m glad to see so many people given how bad the economy is…”
4. “There’s going to be some dancing later, we’ve got a great band, so just sit through this and we’ll get to the fun part.”
5. “I know we all hate auctions, but ours is short.”

That last one is, if you can believe it, verbatim from an event Ed did last fall - I was there, and saw the whole thing. And while a bad introduction for the auction and auctioneer isn’t the end of the world, it certainly didn’t set the right tone from the onset.

A bad introduction is also a sign of a lack of clear messaging across the entire event. If just one of your representatives onstage isn't tuned-in to your message, how off is the rest of your event? The lesson isn't simply to write a good introduction for your auction, the lesson is to do a message audit for your entire event, and make sure everyone is focused on your ultimate goal.