The Top 10 Most Exciting Auction Lots of 2019

The list of this year’s most exciting auction lots includes a combination of tried and true access lots, high-end buy-ins, and one incredibly unique organization-centric art piece. Much like years past, “exciting” is a purely arbitrary assignation focused on each lot’s uniqueness, creativity, and the buzz generated at the event.

Sale price weighs into the decision, but only in comparison to how other items sold at that same event. The capacity of crowds varies and comparing maximum sale price between different organizations’ events is an unhealthy and unrealistic exercise. Where I do mention price, I use it within the context of the event in which that lot was placed as a manner of highlighting how exciting that lot was.

The goal is to inspire you to create your own stellar lots, so I can include them in my next best-of list! So here are my most exciting fundraising auction lots of 2019, presented in no particular order.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Experience

Your two VIP passes will give you full access to the annual Conversations with Exceptional Women conference featuring Nobel Laureates, astronauts, best-selling authors, media personalities, and the featured 2020 speaker, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg! The notorious RBG will be in conversation with her daughter and granddaughter. Three generations of change makers!

Your VIP passes will give you access to an intimate dinner with Justice Ginsburg. Accommodations in a grand deluxe room will be provided for three nights at the Limelight Hotel in Sun Valley, Idaho.

Sun Valley is a picturesque ski resort city in Idaho, which became a nationally known destination with the arrival of Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s. Since then, Sun Valley has been a seasonal home for luminaries, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey, Demi Moore, and many others.

Pack Your Suitcase to See the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field

The Packers have been sold out since 1960 and there is currently a 30-year waiting list to get season tickets. But now you and three of your friends or family will have front row seats to see a Packers game AND get coveted (and priceless!) Field Passes for pre-game festivities, including a photo op with Aaron Rodgers.

Make it a three-day adventure with two nights of lodging for four at a fine hotel in Green Bay’s Stadium District, nearby Lambeau Field. Cap off your Green Bay Packer excursion with dinner for four at Aaron Rodger’s favorite restaurant, Chives.

[Editor’s note: This was sold at a San Francisco charity event and was wildly successful by any measure.]

The Ultimate Disneyland Experience

Host an extraordinary dinner party in the heart of Disneyland Park, at a private residence once envisioned by Walt and Lillian Disney as a secluded family retreat and a luxurious oasis to host celebrities and dignitaries. Hailed by Modern Luxury Orange County as an “exquisite adventure of flavor, texture, and artful presentation punctuated by fresh and high-quality ingredients,” you won’t want to miss the true magic of 21 Royal.

You and your guests will be treated like royalty at this one-of-a kind Disneyland Resort experience that was described by the Robb Report, a luxury-lifestyle magazine, as “an evening spent in an incomparable setting” and an experience where storytelling and attention to detail are “elevated to their highest level.”

Your experience includes:
• Private party for up to 12 guests at 21 Royal
• A VIP escort to the site of the evening’s festivities
• Multi-course seasonal menu created by a culinary team of Disneyland Resort signature chefs paired with wines by an expert sommelier
• Park admission for all 12 guests is included on the day of the 21 Royal Experience
• Multi -night stay at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa

Fly, My Pretties, Fly!

Let Cal and Irving take your group of four people for a fly-fishing excursion! Select from one of Cal and Irving’s bucket list of places to fly-fish in the U.S.

• Enjoy 2 - 3 days of guided fly-fishing, cuisine and lodge accommodations
• Destinations include “fabled waters” like the Fall River in California, the Big Hole, Beaverhead and Missouri Rivers in Montana
• Experienced local guides will take you to some of the best fishing in the area
• All experience levels are welcome (no prior experience necessary!) and all fly-fishing gear provided

Restrictions: Number of days fishing dependent upon location selected. Transportation not included. Valid from May to November 2020 on a mutually agreed upon date, subject to availability.

[Editor’s note: this lot has been the most popular lot at this auction five years running. It has sold twice every year and raised over $300,000 in that time. Cal is the CEO of the organization, and his celebrity makes this lot perennially popular – I included it to exemplify how a longstanding lot, that doubles every year no less, can still be exciting.]

A Little Night Music with Cyrille Pannier

Hosted by [Organization] Board members Jennifer & Chris with The San Francisco Four Seasons Chef Cyrille Pannier, this is an evening you won't want to miss! Leave your digital world behind as you join this only-in-San Francisco-style salon held at Jennifer & Chris’ San Francisco home.

You’ll enjoy cocktails in the downstairs speakeasy, followed by a private live performance by San Francisco Opera Adler Fellows.

Your magical night continues with a magnificent dinner by Chef Cyrille, and perfectly paired wines of course! A celebration of beautiful music, fabulous food & libations, and excellent company, this will be an unforgettable night!

[This was sold as a buy-in lot for eight couples. The opening bid was $500 per couple, and it sold for over $1,200 per couple.]

Dorothy G’s Surgical Tape Art

We have a surprise for you this evening from Dr. Dorothy G: Yale University Hospital pediatric anesthesiologist! Dorothy has been a volunteer with ReSurge for over 20 years and been on 36 Resurge trips. Dr. Gaal uses surgical tape to make playful creations that keep kids distracted and at ease. She has made hundreds of these artistic creations over the years, and tonight she made this one especially for you.

It’s a celebration of 50 years of Resurge and a representation of hope for what is to come. It has the Stanford logo, in honor of ReSurge founder Dr. Don Laub; a dove, because we all want world peace; the tree of life; an eternal knot; ohm and more!

[This was meant to act as a warm-up opening lot. The opening bid was $100 and the final sale price was over $5,000. It did so well that the next lot was challenged by the buzz in the room.]

Whiskey Business

Mark Twain said, “Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whiskey is barely enough.” We agree. Bolster your home bar or host a tasting for friends – 16 bottles of whiskey can be yours tonight. Raise your paddle for many nights of whiskey to come!

Package includes :
• The Glenlivet 18-year Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
• Russell’s Reserve Single Barrel Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
• Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
• Oban 14-year Old Single Malt Scotch Whiskey
• Woodford Reserve Single Barrel Whiskey
• Bookers Whiskey
• Two bottles of Macallan 12
• Pendleton 1910 Rye
• Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey
• Johnnie Walker Black Label
• R&R Canadian Whiskey
• Jack Daniels Gentleman’s Jack
• Basil Hayden Kentucky Straight Bourbon
• Lock, Stock and Barrel Straight Rye Whiskey
• Noah's Mill Whiskey
• George T. Stagg Bourbon Whiskey

[This variation on the “Instant Wine Cellar” sparked a lot of interests and is a good reminder that variety is valuable.]

Live From New York: It’s Saturday Night in the Big Apple!

Whether you are seeking laughs from an original political satire with Alec Baldwin, a little Kate McKinnon, or the Weekend Update, experiencing the live taping of Saturday Night Live is sure to deliver!

You and your guest will have house tickets to a taping of SNL for the Spring 2020 season. Plus, if available, you will have the chance to go behind the scenes for a meet and greet with the cast and crew.

While in New York, experience the Big Apple like a local with dinner for two at Nobu Fifty Seven in Manhattan, which showcases the signature new-style Japanese cuisine of legendary chef Nobu Matsuhisa in a chic Midtown setting. Stroll the city and visit the Lotte New York Palace Hotel for cocktails and appetizers in the Gold Room, which invites guests to experience the glamour and opulence of the Gilded Age in a space that transports them back in time.

Your stay in New York includes accommodations for three nights in a centrally located 4-star property, and airfare is included courtesy of American Airlines, the Official Airline of our auction.

James Beard Nominees with Williams Selyem Wines Buy-In

Mark your calendar for Sunday, March 1, 2020. This is a must-eat buy-in dinner prepared by top-notch, preeminent chefs in San Francisco. If you tried to count on your hands all the major awards their work has been nominated for, you would run out fingers before you even got started.

To complete each course Jeff Mangahas, Vice President of Winemaking for William Selyem Winery,  will collaborate with your chefs and hand-select each and every wine including coveted wines from their library selection.  A perfect night out with friends, this once-in-a-lifetime evening is one that you will not soon forget.

Participating chefs include:
David Barzelay of Lazy Bear
Stuart Brioza of State Bird Provisions
Val Cantu of Californios
Ravi Kapur of Liholiho Yacht Club
Pam Mazolla of Prospect
Thomas McNaughton of flour+water & Central Kitchen
Nancy Oakes of Boulevard
Gayle Pirie & John Clark of Foreign Cinema
Charles Phan of The Slanted Door
Staffan Terje of Perbacco

Preset Date | 40 Couples |$5,000 per couple | All food and wine costs are included

Get Satisfaction with the Rolling Stones for Six

Wild horses couldn’t keep you away! Six people enjoy section C141 row 13 seats for the Rolling Stones “No Filter” tour at Levi’s Stadium. You’ll have a limousine to and from the concert with a champagne picnic to enjoy en-route or at the stadium.

Bonus Lot Idea: The Centerpiece Auction

Editor: The Centerpiece Auction was popular fifteen years ago but fell out of favor in ‘08/’09. Searching for additional revenue enhancers last year, we dug the Centerpiece Auction out of the vault, with wild success.

The Centerpiece Auction is dependent on two factors: 1) You want to sell your centerpieces, and 2) You have a single prize that you can offer to the person who spends more on their centerpiece than anyone else in the room.

At some point during the auction the auctioneer announces that it is time for the Centerpiece Auction. One person at each table stands up and auctions their centerpiece to their table.  Each table has a method for recording the results of the sale, like a small piece of paper and a pen or pencil, and staff or volunteers scoop up the results as soon as each table is finished.

Once the results have been tallied, we announce who won to the entire crowd, and at the end of the night the highest bidder at each table takes their centerpiece home: win/win!

To help each table determine who will be their auctioneer, you can havie the youngest person stand up, put a red dot on the back of one chair at each table, or some other random method. The prize that you offer for the person who spends the most should be borderline between silent and live auction – something attractive enough to get people’s interest but still make a profit. Your auctioneer should tell each Table Auctioneer where to start the bidding.

The centerpiece auction can be very chaotic, but it is fun and it can be extremely profitable. At an event where the highest selling auction lot raised $6,000 the centerpiece auction for a wine tasting party for 20 people raised over $13,000 for 24 centerpieces. The highest single bid for a centerpiece was over $1,500 and the average sale price was $540!

How to: Sequence Your Live Auction

Once you have successfully solicited the lots for your live auction, the next big challenge is deciding on a sequence for them. The order in which you sell your auction items is equally as important as the items you are selling.

Every decision you make has the potential to earn or cost you money. Lead or end with the wrong lot, and you will not realize the full potential of those lots. Put too many similar items in a row, and you run the risk of alienating the bidders who aren’t interested in that type of lot. Lump all of your highest-valued items together, and one of those items is going to underperform.

The right sequence creates an auction that flows with a sense of narrative, that builds to high points, and embraces downbeats. Most importantly, the right sequence ensures that you make the most money with the items your team has worked so hard to secure.

We could spend hours discussing this topic, and sometimes spend hours working on the sequence for one of our client’s auctions. There is too much information to try and convey in this single blog post. So we’ll cover some easy to implement points.

An auction is like a locomotive: it takes time to build momentum

Do not lead with your most expensive lot

Do not kick off your auction with your biggest lot, or even your third or fifth most expensive lot. The first lot in any fundraising auction is challenged. The crowd hasn’t settled down and people haven’t warmed up to the process yet. You need to build momentum, like accelerating a steam locomotive. Your first lot should be something that has a low retail value, but hopefully a high perceptual value. Or, at the very least, is one of your lower-end lots that is appealing, but won’t be disappointing no matter what it sells for.

Do not end with your most expensive lot

While it can be exciting to end an auction with a really expensive lot that raises more money than anything else at your auction, I guarantee that if you do so you are costing yourself money.  The person who comes in second on your most expensive lot is trying to give you money. More money than anyone else in the room. If the most expensive lot is last, they have no more opportunities to give you that money.

But if there are more lots after the most expensive lot, that second-place bidder will have opportunities to spend more. More times than not, they will wind up bidding over value on a less expensive lot. I observed one bidder stop bidding at $10,000 on an item, only to come back a few lots later and spend $6,000 on a lot that was valued $4,000. To top it off, she turned to her table and said, “I just saved $4,000!”

Give your donors as many opportunities to give you as much money as possible.

 Separate types of lots

Unless your auction is comprised solely of trips, do not place all the trips in a row. Spreading them out in your auction will ensure that the people who want the trips have ample opportunities to buy them, and that the people who don’t want trips won’t be bored by a parade of trips.

Alternate values

The most successful method of ordering an auction is to build momentum, like accelerating a locomotive. Once you have momentum, you can’t expect every lot to sell at a high value. Every time something sells for a bunch of money, there is a buzz in the room that makes the next lot challenging. Embrace that buzz by alternating values, so you have mid- or low-level lots following expensive lots.

This creates a flow that embraces the natural tendencies of your crowd, and, most importantly, helps realize the full potential of the auction lots in your auction.

Auction lot idea: “The Wine Spectator Top 100”

Wine is consistently one of the top-selling categories of auction lots in fundraising auctions, and the vast majority of charity auctions we conduct feature at least one or two “wine lots.” People like their wine and are often more than willing to overpay for it in support of a good cause.

But not every committee is comprised of wine lovers with expansive wine cellars, and sometimes coming up with a good wine lot is a daunting challenge. Committee members often don’t have the wines and don’t know which wines they should purchase to donate.

We’ve worked with a number of committees to come up with ideas for lots that can be achieved without necessitating a deep and expensive cellar. Lots that can be assembled at minimal expense to your individual committee members, but for which the collective perceptual value is very high. One lot that is the easy to replicate and consistently yields solid results is “The Wine Spectator Top 100.”

Every year Wine Spectator releases its list of the top 100 wines of the year. It isn’t simply a list of the 100 highest scoring wines from the previous year; the editors of Wine Spectator base their list on “quality, value, availability and excitement.” All important criteria when assembling an auction lot!

Wine is perennially popular, especially wine with provenance. 

What this means is the wines on the Wine Spectator Top 100 are readily available and relatively affordable. Thirteen of the top twenty wines on the list have a retail value of $50 or less. Only eight of the entire list cost $100 or more.

I recommend creating a lot of at least ten bottles. “Ten of the Wine Spectator’s Top 100 Wines” has a nice ring to it and is an achievable goal for most committees. Avoid duplication by agreeing as a group which wines you’ll be targeting individually. This ensures people have a clear direction and clearly defines the goals of the lot.

Here’s a dirty little secret: although it is nice to target the top ten wines on the Wine Spectator list, you really don’t have to have all wines from the top of the list. Wines from anywhere in the top 100 will work – as long as a few of them sniff the rarified air of the top of the list.

From a bidder’s perspective, the fact that someone else has pre-assembled a group of highly qualified wines makes this lot appealing. If the retail value is relatively low it, great! That gives people the opportunity to earn a higher tax deduction if they pay over value. And the many times I’ve sold variations of this lot, the final sale price has outperformed retail value.

Have a favorite go-to wine lot for your fundraising auction? Let us know in the comments below!

The top 10 most exciting lots of 2016

At the end of each year I comb through every auction lot I sold and compile a list of the “most exciting” lots I sold that year. It’s an arbitrary assessment, based on the uniqueness of each lot, the creativity that went into the lot, the buzz generated at the event, and how much it sold for. A lot doesn’t have to be a huge seller to be included here; it just has to be exciting.

In 2016 the Warriors remained one of the best-selling tickets in the Bay Area, Hamilton became understandably hot, and chefs and vintners remained the rockstars of fundraising auctions.

One interesting trend was the continued growth of buy-in parties. As buy-ins gain acceptance at more and more fundraising auctions, committees and donors are becoming better at assembling creative buy-in experiences. This year three buy-in experiences made the top 10, including a SWAT team experience that generated over $50,000!

Once again, the goal of this post isn’t to inspire you to duplicate these lots. My goal is to inspire you to create your own stellar lots, so I can include them in my next best-of list!

So here are my most exciting fundraising auction lots of 2016, presented in no particular order.

On Broadway

Enjoy a trip to New York City to see Broadway’s most sought after show, Hamilton: An American Musical on Broadway.

This package includes two round-trip main cabin seats to New York on Virgin America, accommodations for two people for two nights and three days in New York. A collection of Kendra Scott jewelry to get you ready for the show, and two tickets to see Hamilton on May 13th at 8:00 pm at Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Escape From Alcatraz! 

Experience one of San Francisco’s great unsolved mysteries for yourself! Join Water World Swim and First Graduate’s Ann S. on an adventure that people rarely have the opportunity to explore—an Alcatraz to San Francisco swim. Perfect for those in triathlon training, or just another day in the life of the average thrill-seeker, this package includes transportation by boat to Alcatraz. Before the main event, you’ll receive one private swimming lesson, along with one group practice. Then set out on the San Francisco Bay for the most memorable journey of your life!

Buy-In Lot: Napa County Sheriff SWAT Team Adventure!

This daylong session is as real as it gets without being in harm’s way. Ten adults will live out their fantasies and partake in a day of heart-pounding adventure with tactical training, demonstrations, instruction in the use of special weapons, and SWAT Team assault exercises.

This truly unique opportunity includes Sheriff’s Department transportation from a central point to and from the SWAT training site in Napa County.

Firearms instruction will include a variety of specially selected weapons under the supervision of SWAT team experts. Besides sharpening your aim, our “good guys” will expose you to a simulated SWAT team invasion where you will be asked to play a role that will test your instincts and judgment under pressure.

Travel lunches will be prepared, but water will be the only drink served. Only the guns can be loaded during the exercise!

Following your heroic day on the range and at the assault building, you’ll unwind at a special reception at Trinchero Family Estates in St. Helena. Fine wines and tasty food will be served so that the whole team and your instructors can raise a toast to your bravery and valor! Your performance will be critiqued and awards will be presented by Napa’s finest, including Sheriff John Robertson himself.

We recommend you get a good night’s sleep the night before this exercise!

Opening bid: $5,000 per person

Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski with Peay Wines – Dinner for Eight in Your Home

Chef Stuart Brioza and Nicole Krasinski of San Francisco’s James Beard award-winning State Bird Provisions and The Progress will bring their modern, original culinary sensibilities to the table as they collaborate on a five course feast for eight guests in your home.  The 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 – much like these talented chef-proprietors themselves! And, of course, a special dinner calls for a special wine.  Andy Peay will introduce his handcrafted wines.  Peay wines come from a vineyard ideally located to produce superior fruit to which the Peay family adds their wine making knowledge. 

PLUS! Stuart is throwing in guaranteed reservations at State Bird Provisions for the next year. Any time you want to eat dinner, give them a call and you’ll be in!

 “Sully”– New York Movie Premier and After-Party

Walk the red carpet like a star at the New York premier and after-party of the upcoming Warner Bros. Pictures film, “Sully,” from Director Clint Eastwood, starring Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart and Laura Linney.  Not only was Sully the inspiring keynote speaker at our gala last year, you may also remember him for serving as Captain during what has been called the “miracle on the Hudson.”  This upcoming film details Captain “Sully’s” once in a lifetime experience, and this package is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity.

The winner of this package will receive:
● First class roundtrip airfare for two (2) to New York
● Two (2) tickets to the movie premier & after party, date TBD
● A 3-day, 2-night stay at the Marriott Marquis

Luxuries in the Wild

The ten lucky travelers who snag this lot will escape the realities of everyday life and spend four memorable days floating down the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness with the best outfitter in the Northwest, Far and Away Adventures. This unique experience is like a deluxe safari on the river … high-end luxury “glamping” with exceptional, personalized service in some of the most remote and stunning terrain in the country. Accompanying you will be your favorite rock stars of wine, Kosta Browne. Dan Kosta himself will be in attendance to keep you satiated with some of the most sought-after selections from their vineyards.

Start each morning with a tasty breakfast cooked and served by your guides. Spend the day however you wish. Maybe enjoy a few hours each day fly fishing under the direction of an expert guide, or explore the hiking trails and old mining cabins along the shore. Cool off with a swim alongside the rafts. Paddle your own kayak for kicks. Marvel at the wildlife in Impassable Canyon. Or just float along in peace, basking in the pleasures of such an awe-inspiring place.

As the light fades each day and you lounge by the banks of this gorgeous river, glass of your preferred Kosta Browne wine in hand, Steve Lentz, chef extraordinaire from Far and Away Adventures, will delight you with delectable organic gourmet dinners. After your meal and more outstanding wines, share stories and laughs around the campfire before falling into bed under a blanket of stars, tired and fully satisfied, only to wake up and do it again the next day. Sounds heavenly, doesn’t it?

[Editor’s note: The Warriors were so hot in 2016 that I had to cheat and include two of their lots, just for contrast]

Warriors #1: Everybody Say...“WARRIORS!” Playoff Tickets!

Make a big splash with Steph and Klay and three of your friends

Head to Warrior’s ground for round 2 of the NBA playoffs with three of your blue and gold wearing friends! Golden State is having an epic, record setting season and is well on its way to another NBA Championship! You’ll take a limousine to and from the game from your home and have awesome lower level seats in the Oracle Arena. And you won’t even have to worry about what to wear—included in this package is an official Steph Curry All-Star Jersey!

Warriors #2: Warriors Game in Style: Helicopter Ride to Warriors Game for Four

Talk about arriving in style! Four people will enjoy a scenic helicopter ride from the Santa Rosa Airport to the Oakland Airport and a short limo ride to your seats at the Golden State Warriors game! You’ll sip on libations from Jackson Family Wines on your way there and enjoy the Jackson Family Wines wine area on the mezzanine.

Name Our Red-Tailed Hawk & Enjoy a High Desert Adventure for Four

The High Desert Museum’s most recent addition to the wildlife collection is a two month old red-tailed hawk that will be part of our stellar Raptors of the Desert Sky outdoor flight show. You can name this magnificent bird and learn about it and other soaring species during a field trip led by our Curator of Natural History and Curator of Western History. They will both accompany you on a two-day journey through eastern Oregon’s sagebrush steppe. It is a landscape rich with history—the ancient homeland of Native Americans once traversed by lost emigrant wagon trains, the scene of conflict between U.S. Cavalry and desert tribes and, for a time, the domain of California cattlemen and their buckaroos.

Naming opportunities often make for extremely engaging auction lots, especially with a program as beloved as the High Desert Museum's "Raptors in Flight".

You’ll venture to Steens Mountain where subalpine landscapes of aspen-fringed meadows rise above the desert, with a spectacular view from the summit. There you will enjoy a picnic lunch overlooking glacial-carved canyons. We’ll visit places like Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, the chain of desert lakes in Warner Valley, the Warner Mountains, and Paradise Valley. This trip will take place during the late spring or early summer of 2017.

Your chosen name will be publicized on the Museum’s website and in our member newsletter. You will also receive a certificate of naming with a photo.

Buy-In Lot: Lunch with the Leading Ladies of Napa Valley

Back by popular demand! Beth Nickel of Far Niente Winery invites 25 ladies to join her and other Leading Ladies of Napa Valley in Beth’s lush garden on the grounds of Far Niente Winery. Joining Beth will be none other than Margaret Duckhorn, co-founder of Duckhorn Vineyards; Emma Swain, CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards & Winery; and Delia Viader, founder of Viader Vineyards & Winery. Be ready for a lavish afternoon of wining, dining and entertaining tales of their Napa Valley histories. With each course of the meal, the wines will flow and these ladies will dish, divulging wine country secrets and stories.

In addition, each will bring a favorite wine from her winery to give each guest as a memento of this most magical afternoon. Remember, what’s heard in the garden stays in the garden! This is a $1,000 per-person buy-in lot for 25 women. Date is not changeable.

Buy-In: Wing & Barrel Ranch Clay Shooting and Lunch with Charlie Palmer for 16

Escape to an exclusive and incomparable private hunting club in the heart of the wine country with 15 of your friends for a day of shooting, exceptional food, and fine wines at Wing & Barrel Ranch. Life-long friends Darius Anderson and Mike Sutsos, Jr. have spent their lives traveling the world following their passions, and these experiences are where the vision for this extraordinary club was born—combining a passion for the sporting life and all that surrounds it. Wing & Barrel Ranch brings together the best of shooting, food, wine and the wine country lifestyle. As renowned shooting coach Chris Batha’s only West Coast Sporting Clays Course, it features 15 fully automated fields, each containing three shooting stations. Please note that no experience is necessary and that everything (ammunition, guns and instruction) will be provided for you and your guests.

Guests will also sit down to an unforgettable lunch prepared by the legendary Charlie Palmer, Wing & Barrel Ranch’s Culinary Advisor and one of the most highly regarded chefs in America, critically acclaimed for his signature Progressive American Cooking. Lunch will be accompanied by delicious wines from Kosta Browne and CIRQ. You are invited to embrace a way of life, share the experience and surround yourself in this private setting created to make legendary memories. Join us on your journey towards realizing your finest passions.

Suggested Opening Bid: $1,000 per person

Bonus Lot: Escape to Vegas for Three Nights

Las Vegas and Elton John for Two
Your stylish Las Vegas escape begins at the modern, upscale five star Vdara Hotel and Spa, an all-suite, gaming-free hotel located in the new City Center complex, near the Bellagio Hotel.  Indulge in your grand luxurious suite located on the 53rd floor with a large spa-style soaking tub. The highlight of your escape will be the Elton John concert at Caesars Place on February 18th.  Sir Elton himself is providing you with his personal seats, plus two backstage passes to the green room.  End your escape with a dinner at the award winning Michael Mina Restaurant in the Bellagio Hotel, a gift certificate of $250 provided.  Plus we are including a $500 gift card on Southwest Airlines.  What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!  

Creating desirable packages for your live auction

Procuring enticing packages is one of the most challenging aspects of organizing a fundraising auction. Solicitation committees often get hung up on comparisons to other events and focus on the lots they see doing well at other fundraising auctions.

And while there is value in learning from one’s peers, we never encourage our clients to focus on specific auction lots. It can be frustrating, and it seldom yields results.

For example: I’ve sold “Breakfast with Bo Derek the morning after the auction” for over $20,000. This was wonderful for the event that had Bo as a supporter, but it is useless to the rest of you reading this right now (unless you are good friends with Bo as well).

Instead, we encourage our clients to focus on the types of lots that sell best and then work to find the most desirable packages in each of those types. There are three levels of desirability across all types of auction lots: Retail, Access, and Relationship:

• Retail is the ground floor of desirability in an auction lot. If your attendees can find a price for it online, they’ll bid accordingly. There are types of auction lots that do fine when sold as straight retail, such as trips. Generally speaking, however, it is the least desirable.

• Access denotes an experience bidders could not enjoy otherwise, something that is not available through retail channels. Lots that offer access engage your crowd to spend more, and make your auction more memorable. 

• Relationships are the hottest selling lots in any auction we do. “People support people” is one of the oldest adages in fundraising, and nowhere does this prove more true than onstage. Relationship lots offer access to a “celebrity,” and the definition of celebrity varies.

Creating attractive packages for the live auction is one of the most crucial elements of the pre-event planning we consult on, and one of the areas upon which we focus the majority of our consulting. As such, we’ll be discussing this and brainstorming desirable auction lots in person at our upcoming workshop: “Raise More, Right Now: Advanced Fundraising Auction Strategies.”

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.

Do you need more than just an "auctioneer"?

Many of our new clients are pleasantly surprised after our second or third meeting about how we have offered many new suggestions and ideas about ways to grow their events. "Our last Auctioneer never mentioned any of this stuff, we talked a couple of times and then he/she showed up at the event, read our catalog to the crowd, and left!" 

We believe that the best way to have a great idea is to have a lot of ideas, ideas that are based on what has worked at hundreds and hundreds of events nationwide and what might work at yours.  Would you welcome suggestions and new approaches about:

• Getting your board on-board
• Getting everybody on your committee on the same page
• Timelines
• Messaging
• Silent auction strategies
• Unique new live auction lots and their ordering
• Crafted appeals
• Changing the mindset of your attendees from "They do the same thing every year" to "I wonder what they're going to do this year?"

As far as I know, the only way to accomplish this is to engage a CONSULTING FUNDRAISING AUCTIONEER, who will work with your team.  Just a few questions during the interview about what kind of participation to expect from a prospective Auctioneer should let you know whether you're getting a bid caller or a game changer!

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

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.