As one of the top Charity Auctioneers | Fundraising Auctioneers in the country I get the opportunity to work celebrities often. Working with Celebrities is great! They bring a lot of energy a lot of excitement and potentially lots of new donors to your event. Celebrities can be a big draw to any Charity Auction. 

But, can your Charity Auctioneer handle a big personality Celebrity? Will they get star struck? Will they let them hijack the event? Or, will the work together to raise more money than your organization ever thought was possible?

Watch my new video to find out how your auctioneer should be working with celebrities during your event.

I've been doing things differently for awhile as a Charity | Fundraising Auctioneer and although my current and potential clients have noticed, the media has just gotten wind.

I was contacted by the Huffington Post to talk about using Social Media to engage with Millennial donors. The article is up today and I'm thrilled, honored and excited to be part of the conversation about engaging a new generation of donors.

Click Here to read the article and don't forget to comment!

,I love June. For us full time Charity Auctioneer | Fundraising Auctioneer people - this is the end of the busy spring season. I've had on the busiest Spring Auction Seasons that I can remember and I'm booked for half of Spring 2017 as of today.

I'm changing my business model a bit that has left some people confused. Let me explain.
This business is amazing. Being a Charity Auctioneer | Fundraising Auctioneer is the best career I have ever had. It has allowed me the opportunity to meet amazing people, to engage new donors and to work with fabulous organizations. Being a Charity Auctioneer has allowed me the chance to have and run my own business and allowed me to feel empowered every day as a business owner and a respected partner to my clients.

However, there are just so many wonderful organizations that I don't have enough time or dates in the year to work with them. This spring I found myself have 6 charity auctions in 7 days. For me, that was too many. I was exhausted, tired and frustrated with my job. I wasn't happy going to work for the last 3 auctions, and that wasn't fair to each of those clients, nor to their carefully cultivated guests in attendance.

So moving forward I did 2 things.

First and foremost I ordered a big, giant calendar. The kind that teachers have and hung it on the wall. I used my daughters markers to write in every auction I have booked for the remainder of 2016 and into 2017.

Second, I set a limit for myself:
No more than 2 auctions a week.
No more than 44 auctions per year. 20 in the spring. 24 in the spring.

I'm happy with my decision. It's good to know that I have boundaries and limits that I set for myself. I'm happy knowing that I'll have a good balance of family time and work time. 

Since I let my clients know this I have received an unexpected side effect - early bookings and early contract signings. They are eager to ensure that they are part of the 20 dates that I have for the fall and 24 for the Spring. They know that securing my Charity Auctioneer | Fundraising Consulting services early is in the best interest for both of us, and I like having synergy with my clients.

I have 3 more Auctions for Spring Season and cannot wait to enjoy the summer months in Sonoma and have some fantastic trips planned. 

Silent Auctions are one of the most common features of a Fundraising Auction | Charity Auction | Benefit Auction world. As a Charity Auctioneer |Fundraising Auctioneer, I am constantly asked 'What Time should I close my Silent Auction?' or 'What is the best way to close a Silent Auction?'. To me I think that there are two basic options. I put together a new quick 2 part video series about closing Silent Auctions with Part 1 below. 

It's no secret to my clients that I live in Sonoma County, CA. I am lucky to have tons of Charity Auctions in my neck of the woods, but about 60% of all my Charity Auctions are located in San Francisco, Marin, Palo Alto or the East Bay. It's not close but it is definitely not what I would consider far.

As soon as my Live Auction and Fund-A-Need are complete - I always stick around to personally thank donors that bid and won during the live auction. I want them to know how much I appreciate their donation and their bidding, not only as the Charity Auctioneer | Benefit Auctioneer but also as an emissary of the organization that I am working for that event. 

Once the client is done with my services and I've said my goodbyes - I hit the road for the 1-2 hour drive back home, depending on where my Auction was that evening. I love driving home in the dark after a Fundraising Auction, as it gives me time to think things through and continue to perfect my craft. 

Once I've gone over the evening a few times in my head, I'll throw on a Podcast. I am slightly obsessed with Podcasts and  regularly reder to my drive as a 1 or 2 Podcast drive - depending on the length. I love the silence of driving alone and the stories I hear and the facts I learn through Podcasts. Currently, I'm listening to Freakanomics, Here's The Thing, Radio Lab & Strangers.

At the half-way point in every drive home, I ALWAYS stop at McDonalds or In&Out Burger. I think it is too risky to eat when working as the Charity Auctioneer | Fundraising Auctioneer. I never want to risk staining my clothes with a spill or even worse having bad breath when I talking to people during the live auction. Additionally, event meals are expensive! I don't want my clients spending the money that I raise for them on one more hotel chicken dinner. Thus, I am staving once the event is through and it's off to the Golden Arches or Golden Aaron.

Everyone always asks what I order! I'll share my late night snack secret with you now......1 Egg McMuffin no ham, 1 McDouble - Plain, a small fries and a large ice water.

I love Buy-In Parties! They are a great way to add extra revenue to you Charity Auction | NonProfit Auction or Fundraising Auction. I love that they offer a lower price point compared to the Live Auction. I love that Buy-In Parties create community. And, I love that they encourage your donors to sell them for you. 

Typically, Buy-In Parties have been sold and marketed at the event in the typical pen and paper style. Lately, I'm recommending to my clients that they use "Poster Format". These large poster sized signs are a visually interesting and fun way to promote your Buy-In | Sign-Up Parties at your event!

The Auction Catalog or Auction Program is a foundation of any Fundraising Auction or Fundraising Event. It should not be overlooked or thrown together last minute. Rather it should be worked on and used as tool to help promote you amazing live auction items prior to the event and to help entice and inform guests on the night of.

To a Charity Auctioneer | Nonprofit Auctioneer like me, the program can make or break an auction.
I keep each and every program|catalog from every event and I'm fairly certain that most Charity Auctioneers do the same. I reference mine all the time for ideas about auction items, wording, language and quite often my new clients like to look at the collection for ideas.

I always have a discussion with clients about their program as part of the pre-event consulting. But not everyone is client and the information isn't a secret and should be shared!

Thus I have put together a video with a few of my tips and suggestions for Auction Programs. Watch and enjoy!