Do Sign Up Boards at a Fundraising Event work?

Here at Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services we are always searching for alternative "revenue enhancing" ideas at our fundraising auction events other than the live auction, silent auction and fund a need or ask.  We have compiled a book of several revenue enhancers to use at your event and share this with all of our clients.  Well, here is one of those enhancers that works well if executed properly... Sign Up Boards.  When your organization has an over abundance of 8-20 person parties, like a bourbon and cigar tasting party for the guys or a fiesta and salsa dancing party for the girls, then a sign up board may just be the thing you're organization is looking for.

Here's how it works.

Step 1:  Design a poster board with the amount of lines matching the amount of people the party is for and number them 1-8, 1-10, etc. and set a fixed price for each participant (i.e. $50, $100, etc.)

Step 2:  Have a reveal time when the board(s) are uncovered and open for sign ups (Hint: Have your professional auctioneer make a big deal about it on the sound system).

Step 3:  When guests come over to the boards have volunteers explain each party to them and have the guests put their name/bidder number on the open lines.  Once the board(s) are full then your parties are sold out!

Simple, fun and effective!!  This is one of many ways to add a revenue enhancer into your fundraising auction event.  Good luck with your fundraising auction event!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS with Elite Auctions & Fundraising Services

Wine Auction for Your Fundraiser

Wine is one of the most popular items to sell at fundraising benefit auction events.  Remember to check your state laws regarding selling wine at fundraisers as some states have laws prohibiting it and others have none at all (another great reason to have a professional benefit auctioneer handle your auction).  

There are many ways to sell wine at your fundraising auction event.  Here are a few:


1.  Wall of Wine.  Visit this link by Debby Roth-Bush of Greater Giving for great Wall of Wine ideas: http://www.pinterest.com/debbyroth/wine-pull-wall-of-wine/ 

2.  Wine in your live auction.  There are several ways to auction off wine in your live auction.  You can sell premier wines by the bottle, you can sell wine tasting trips, or you can sell wine by the case.  All of these methods tend to do extremely well at fundraising auctions.
 
3.  Wine in your silent auction.  Similar to a live auction you can sell wine in just about any way imaginable.  We have seen a lot of success by selling fine wines by the bottle in the silent auction and then delivering them to the winning bidders' tables at dinner (check the venue for corking fees).
 
4.  Wine as a raffle item.  Bottles of wine, wine tastings and cases of wine can be raffled off at your fundraising event as well (once again check with your state laws on wine sales and raffle rules).

All and all, wine is an excellent choice for fundraising events and tends to do extremely well at auctions benefiting your great cause.

Contact Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services today to find out how to incorporate wine into your benefit auction event.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

What everybody ought to know…… About The Fundraising Auction & Consulting Business

WHY WE ARE PUBLISHING THIS INFORMATION

A little while ago we were talking with the Executive Director of a big nonprofit organization, a well-informed woman.  She said that she had never done business with a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant because she was afraid she wouldn’t see the return from hiring a professional vs. using a volunteer.
Since we are professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants you can imagine that was something of a shock… made us think.

The fundraising auction business does use a lot of specialized techniques, but there really isn’t anything complicated or mysterious about what those techniques accomplish for your nonprofit or school.  Because we’ve used them so long and so frequently, we’ve just assumed that everybody understood them...That has been our mistake.  And a big mistake.  For if nonprofits and schools don’t understand what professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants do, they aren’t likely to invest their money in them.
“So what?” you ask.  Well, here’s “what”.

If nonprofits and schools don’t invest their funds in professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants, they won’t have the capital they need for growth which ultimately affects the people they help.  That capital can come from primarily from one place; People at your fundraising auction event.  Not just a few people with great fortunes, but from many people who have the means to support your cause. 

Or look at it from a different point of view.  Nonprofits or schools who don’t understand the value of a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant are easy prey for a wide variety of mistakes often made at benefit auction events that ultimately result in mediocre returns.

Or look at it from the purely personal points of view.  A lot of nonprofits and schools might like to invest in a professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant where they could increase their fundraising event revenue.  But if they are unfamiliar with the techniques and value provided by a professional, they aren’t likely to invest their money in them.

For all these reasons, it is important that nonprofits and schools know as much as they can about the fundraising auction event business.

But where do you start?

Well, it would seem that a good place to start would be with the “techniques” used by professional fundraising auctioneers and consultants that our friend, the Executive Director, was concerned about.  And we might as well go back to the most common techniques in the business.  You may find a lot of this explanation pretty elementary, but the next person may not be completely clear about the exact differences between the various techniques.  So we’ll start right there, in the belief that you’ll be kind enough to skip what you already know.

Click Here to Keep Reading!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS with Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services