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!
