I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

Over the past few years, many people have made the decision to start a new home based business of their own. The tough economy has left many people suddenly finding themselves out of work through no fault of their own or those in jobs earning less because of salary cuts.It is important to remember that starting a new home based business does involve work. It is not all plain sailing and it can be confusing to know where to start and what to do to become successful. Here are five steps that you can follow to help you get started.1. Get Some Ideas Down On Paper.This is where you start to be creative. Make three separate lists. First, write down everything you ever wanted to do with a new home based business. Second, make a list of all your interests and skills. Make a third list of the talents that you have that others might need and which you could sell. Remember that a new home based business does not have to physically be based in your home. Your home business is about you working for yourself and it’s where you manage your business.2. Do Some Online Research.When you have written your lists, go onto the internet and look for websites that help people with new home based business opportunities. There are websites that will give you more ideas and help you to refine some of your ideas into more precise categories. If you enjoy writing for example, there are a number of opportunities for writers like copywriters and content writing for website or magazine articles.3. Chose One Or Two Possibilities.Now you should be able to narrow down your new home based business idea to one or two that really interest you. Your next step is to see what you need to get started in that type of business and how much you might reasonably expect to earn from that kind of business.4. Determine Your Budget.This will help you to decide whether or not you should pursue that kind of business, and also what you have to work with for a budget. Setting up a new home based business will involve some money and some funds should be kept aside in the event that things do not go as planned. Plainly speaking, not every new home based business is a success.5. Take Action And Get Started.Once your business is selected, and you know what is needed, then you need to take action and actually get started. You will need a website and marketing to bring in the customers. These are skills that you will need to learn because if nobody knows about your business, your business will not survive.

Marketing has always been a complicated, but necessary task for businesses. Advertising campaigns were once limited to the realms of print, radio, and television – but even then marketers had to strike a delicate balance of promoting their brand in a way that was not viewed by customers as overly pushy. Things have only gotten more complex with the introduction of modern technology such as the World Wide Web, social media platforms, and the relatively new yet already pervasive phenomenon of the smart phone. Marketers now have many different advertising methods from which to choose.

There has been considerable debate in the marketing world over the value of email marketing versus the more traditional direct mail marketing. Those in favor of direct mail often claim that emails are likely to be disregarded by customers, however taking a look at the evidence surrounding email marketing campaigns reveals that it is not only a highly effective marketing method, it is also cost-efficient.

Rapid Growth in Companies Using Email Marketing

Some people say that email marketing is already outdated – an old model in its death throes. However, there is research showing how the number of companies that embrace email marketing as part of their overall advertising strategy has increased in recent years and clearly refutes such claims. Email marketing is close to an $11 billion dollar industry and in the past five years, it has enjoyed a nearly 20 percent rate of growth.

Email advertising continues to gain prominence, particularly in small businesses. Research conducted by Hurwitz & Associates revealed that 46% of small businesses utilized email marketing and 36% had plans to begin using it in 12 months following the survey. Furthermore, email marketing on average accounts for around 15-22% of the advertising budget for those businesses that utilize it. It is popular among small businesses because it is a simple, straightforward advertising method that achieves positive results. According to the report:

“As companies grow, they are more likely to adopt email marketing. Companies with 2-4 and 5-10 employees are the most likely to have plans to deploy email campaigns in the next 12 months. Having outgrown the sole-proprietor stage, these companies are looking to increase sales and revenues to support existing headcount and expand business.” – Hurwitz & Associates

Overall Cost and Revenue Benefits of Email Marketing

Email marketing is one of the best methods for saving money on advertising costs, especially for those who have a solid customer base online. When taking into account all of the direct and indirect costs of email versus traditional mail campaigns, it is obvious that the former is far more cost efficient than the latter. In fact, direct mail can cost a jaw dropping 50-100 times more than email.

A study performed by the Harvard Business reviewed and compared cost and revenue results from email and direct mail campaigns highlighting just how much more cost-effective email campaigns can be. The email campaigns in the study performed up to 95 times higher in terms of Return On Investment (ROI) than direct mail. Studies like this underline the fact that email marketing has significant financial advantages over direct mail marketing.

For one thing, promotional emails do not require a small fortune spent on the design process. The photos, digital graphics, and text for an email can all be found or produced online. When it comes to direct mail marketing however, you have to consider the entire creative development process, from the cost of printing your materials to necessary postage.