Create your own traditions for your fundraising auction

2016 marks the 35th year that the Sun Valley Center for the Arts has held its annual wine auction. 2016 also marks the 22nd year that Atkinson’s Market has donated a collection of seven 3-liter bottles with an image of Sun Valley etched and painted across all seven bottles.

It is a big, impressive, beautiful lot. It is a definitive collector’s lot, and you see previous sets on display in major donor’s homes all over Sun Valley. And over the course of the past 22 years it has raised one million dollars.

The Atkinson's Market annual collection of etched and painted 3-liter bottles is one of many traditions at the Sun Valley Center for the Art Wine Auction.

Every year the image on the bottles changes, making each set unique. Discussions about the art on the bottles, who bought it last year, and who is interested in it this year are all part of the fabric of the weeklong event. Over the course of 22 years, the Atkinson’s Market lot has become as much a tradition as the Wine Auction itself.

I see lots of other examples of traditions like this: the dinner that takes place every year in the same supporter’s home, the trip to Italy to stay in one of the biggest donor’s vacation villa, the chilled magnum of champagne to open the auction. Whatever it is, traditions are a valuable part of any fundraising auction. Traditions provide a sense of continuity, and hopefully make things easier for your solicitation team by not requiring a major revamp of your auction every year.

Whatever your traditions are, acknowledge them, embrace them and make them a part of the fabric of your event. And if you don’t have any traditions yet, now is a great time to create your own.

Creative & memorable save the date card idea

The sheer number of fundraising auctions makes it difficult to stand out from crowd. Every event sends a save the date card, and most of them that come through my mailbox get a cursory once-over before they wind up in the recycling bin.

But this save the date card from the John Muir Health Foundation popped out from the first moment I saw it. Maybe it's a lifelong fascination with holograms, or maybe it is the fact that the card is vibrant and interactive. Either way, this save the date card is unique and eye-catching. 

What is the most creative save the date card you've seen or done?

The most creative save the date card we've seen in a long time, thanks to holograms!

The pre-event marketing that will change your event’s bottom line

If you want your fundraising auction to succeed, you have to market your auction lots in advance of the event. Pre-event marketing can make the difference between an average and a spectacular auction, and different forms of marketing yield varied results.

We often see events focus on methods of broadcasting instead of leveraging individual relationships. For example, we see lots of events focus on publishing the live auction catalog on the Internet or sending it out via hotsheets, email, and social media.

These all have value and are a valid component of any pre-event marketing campaign. However, the most important element of an auction’s success is much more direct: reaching out to individual bidders in person, by phone, or email.

The most successful auction chairs and committees invest time and energy identifying potential bidders for specific auction lots and contacting them in advance to interest them. The most successful auctions have at least two individuals committed to bidding on specific lots in advance.

It is incredibly valuable if you can line up two bidders for each and every lot in advance of your auction – but it’s also an unreasonable amount of work to demand for a longer auction. The truth is it doesn’t have to be done on every lot in an auction, but should be done on a few select lots, including:

• The first two lots in the auction; they set the tone for the rest of the auction. 
• Any lot that has an exceptionally high value; or is more valuable than any lot sold at your auction in the past. 
• Trips with set dates or extended trips that require air travel. 
• Buy-in parties/events.
• Art and jewelry
• Unique access that pertains to the tastes of someone you or the committee knows.

In each case, we are aiming to create momentum, avoid dead-air, and insure that challenging lots are successful in the heat of the moment. The first two lots, for example, set the pace and tone for the rest of the auction. Art and jewelry are the most challenging items to include in most any fundraising auction, and if we must have a certain piece or art or jewelry in the auction, it is important to make sure it succeeds.

The expectation put on these bidders isn’t necessarily that they must commit to bidding until they buy. We are looking to them to get the bidding going; and hopefully drive up the price. If your pre-committed bidders wind up becoming so interested in a lot that they vigorously bid on it and win, fantastic! But it’s not the expectation. At a certain point, we have to trust the process of an auction, and any momentum boost makes that process more successful.

Stick to your timeline

There is a tendency to adjust the timeline of an event mid-event if things aren’t proceeding as planned. Usually it’s because people aren’t bidding on the silent auction with as much fervor as the silent auction chairs had envisioned. They want to keep the silent open for “an extra 15 minutes, to give people a chance to bid.”

Unless there has been a major incident that is preventing attendees from getting to your event on time, don’t alter your timeline. Especially if your timeline has been published in the catalog or elsewhere at the event. The timeline for the evening is the one element that you actually have control over; hopefully you established it strategically.

Altering your timeline can have serious repercussions across the rest of your event. It can throw off the timing for dinner, it delays the start of your live auction, and ultimately it costs you money. More than that, however, altering the timeline can aggravate your crowd.

I emceed a silent auction conducted via mobile bidding recently, hyping items and announcing closing times. The event chair opted to keep the silent open for an extra 15 minutes, to “give people a chance to bid from their seats at dinner.”

When I took the stage to announce that the silent auction would be open for an additional 15 minutes, people actually booed! Their expectations had been set, and they were ready to move on with the evening. They didn’t want to have to spend any more time protecting their bids, they were ready for the next phase of the evening.

This crowd recovered and didn’t hold this decision against me or the organization, thankfully. But all it really takes is for you to piss off one of your big bidders to negatively impact your event.

Strategically craft your timeline, publish it, and stick to it. Your crowd will be happier, and your event will be better for it.

Choosing an Opening Lot: Piece of Cake

“What's the best lot with which to open our auction?”

I invariably answer that question first by saying there is no one best lot to start every auction. Different events have different success with different opening lots...but I usually follow that answer by asking the organization if they have ever considered starting their auction with a cake. Perhaps paired with a chilled bubbly.

The benefits of opening an auction with a cake lot are many. A cake is relatively easy and inexpensive to procure. It can be donated, or at least made by, a business known to the organization -- a bakery near campus for a school’s auction, for example. Or better yet it can be made by a figure held in high esteem by the organization.  

I once auctioned off, at a fundraiser for a Catholic school, a cake made by one of their beloved nuns.  With an opening bid of $100, it eventually sold for $2,200. As the bids rose and rose, the crowd all watched the Sister, in attendance at a front-and-center table, instead of me the auctioneer. There was cheering and thunderous applause for the winning table as the lot closed and the Sister beamed.  

Obviously, we had moved beyond simply selling a cake. It had become a beautiful shared philanthropic and community moment and a chance for all assembled to honor a deeply loved member of their organization.

Another advantage of a cake is that regardless of the amount for which it sells, it can be started with a nice egalitarian opening bid of $50 or $100. At an auction where many lots may have dauntingly higher opening bids, this gives everyone, including those of more limited financial means, a chance to raise their paddles and get in the game early on.

A cake is also fun. It can be shown off during the bidding by a thoughtfully chosen “Vanna.” If the event includes seated dinner, the cake can be brought to the winner's table, cut, and served within minutes of the lot closing. And it can be paired with a pre-chilled champagne or a nice dessert wine, brought with glasses to the high bidder's table, and also served immediately. Everyone at that table will feel extra special and festive, and everyone near that table will remember how fun and delicious winning looked the next time they have the opportunity to bid.

If an organization has already used and experienced success opening their auction with a cake, they might consider taking the idea to the next level and trying a “cake dash.” For example, a school event last year featured eight different desserts -- a cheesecake, a pie, a tray of gourmet cupcakes, a torte, etc. etc. -- each paired with spirits and laid out beautifully for the guests to ogle during the reception. Then to start off the auction, guests at each of the 25 tables chipped in for a table bid. The highest-bidding table got first pick of the cakes, the second highest table bid got second pick, and so on. The eighth highest table bid got the last cake.  

Before the cake dash ended, the cutoff dollar amount for the eighth-highest table bid was announced, and all tables were given an opportunity to raise their bids. Things predictably got competitive as some tables fought for first pick while others vied for the eighth and final spot. It was lively entertainment for the guests, it raised thousands of dollars for the school, and a lot of delicious cake was eaten by all.

So for any group planning an auction event and looking for a looking for a simple, fun, and egalitarian opening lot for their guests, Let Them Eat Cake!