Whether this Benefit Auction is your 2nd or 22nd, Atlanta Benefit Auctioneer Specialist Dean Crownover will share his secrets on making your event a success.

Learn more than 70 solutions for topics such as:

• Creating committees
• Setting your event timeline
• Setting financial goals
• Obtaining sponsorships
• Finding the perfect auction items
• Choosing the right kind of venue
• Choosing an auctioneer
• Marketing your event
• Night of event logistics
• Learn additional revenue-generating activities

You’ll learn all of this, and still have time to get your questions answered.

When: Thursday, February 28th from 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Registration begins at 8:30 am

Venue: Clarkston Community Center, 3701 College Avenue, Clarkston, GA 30021 (Near Decatur)

Early bird price of $25 before February 14, 2013. Price after February 14: $35
Continental breakfast and coffee included.

• 60% comes from the live auction and fund-a-need (special appeal)
• 30% comes from the silent auction
• 10% comes from miscellaneous (games, raffles, etc.)

Let’s focus on the miscellaneous 10% and why it’s so important. True, it is a tiny chunk of profit – perhaps not even worth the effort that went into it you might say. But it is powerful to your event for another, very vital reason. It keeps the non-bidders and those who won’t win involved.

Why is that important? Most of your guests cannot statistically win a silent or live item. Assuming that you have about half the number of items as there are guests in the silent auction not everyone can win something. Even more so with the live auction, if you have 10 – 15 items being sold only that amount of guests can win.

So what about these other guests? If they don’t win a silent or live item how can they contribute financially to your cause? Games, raffles and activities, that’s how. These activities usually have a low buy-in amount so almost anyone can afford $10 – $25 to play something like a raffle, Heads or Tails or Wall of Wine. This is great for those guests that don’t have deep pockets like your power bidders in the live auction do.

It’s important to have a few activities at your event so you have that competitive edge, too. If I have a choice of two fundraisers to attend that night, I want to go to the one that will be the most exciting. I don’t want another predictable evening where there’s little to do other than circulating the silent auction tables, making small talk with other guests and hoping the live auction starts before my babysitter goes into overtime. I want to go to where the fun factor is so high that I’ve forgotten I’m even paying a babysitter!

Plus people like to play. It’s why carnivals are so popular. We want to test our skills. There are so many choices and variations for games, raffles and activities that the combination is endless. You can offer something different each year and that will help bring your guests back time and time again.

For your next event consider having a sub committee that organizes activities that will be best for your particular group. Really cater to what they will find fun to play. You and your guests will be glad you did!

But what about your potential guests and the decision they must make?

With more fundraisers being put on the calenders each month your potential guests have lots of choices as to where they will go and spend their money. This means your event is in competition with several others so it must be more attractive. But how?

HDIs
One of the best ways is having plenty of HDIs to sell. That’s Highly Desirable Items. Gone are the days where you can just take any old donation, put it in the silent or live auction and know you’ll make a profit from it. Today you must have items that are so wanted by your guests that it will cause bidding wars.

To have HDIs that your particular guest will treasure you must look at who they are and what they value. For example, if you have an older crowd coming to spend you won’t want to stock your tables with the latest Xbox system or extreme sports packages. That is not what they want to buy. For this group you may want more unique dining experiences and exotic travel offerings.

Rule of thumb
How do you know if it will be considered highly desirable with your group? One rule is to ask yourself during the acquisitions brainstorming session, ‘Would I pay 50% or more fair market value for this item?’. If you and several members of your committee would then the chances are your guest will, too. If it gets you excited then they will get excited. If the item or experience does not thrill you or your committee it won’t thrill your guests so drop it and keep on brainstorming. Why is this you ask? You are a cross section of the group you want to attract. Chances are you have similar tastes. If it works for you it’ll probably work for them.

Survey them!
Still not sure what they want? Ask them. In the age of online surveys you have the power to ask your prospects what they may want. Go to your trusty database of past donors and event attendees and send them a very simple survey. Make it less than six questions (about a minute to fill out) and you’ll get more responses. Use that info to brainstorm with. You’ll see common themes and wants.

Market to them
Finally, once you have acquired the items and packages you feel will work, market them on your website and through emails. Get them so excited with your great offerings that they’ll be chomping at the bit to attend your benefit auction. Also, so you don’t overwhelm your prospects, it is best to feature about 2-3 items per email. Do this once a week and maybe twice a week when you are a less than a month from the event.

Good luck and have fun!
Dean Crownover, BAS

With Father’s Day upon us this weekend, there sure is a lot to thank dads for. I think about all the things my kids’ dad does for them. He really is Superman. He gets them dressed and feeds them breakfast in the morning and chauffeurs both of them to preschool and day care, while I battle the morning commute. By the time I come home from work, the kids have been picked up from school, lunches have been packed for the next day, and the kids’ dinner is on the table. Phew! The impact of fathers is often overshadowed by the powerful presence of mothers in the household, but most have a lot more to offer than even they know.

Recently, I had the luxury of speaking with Dean Crownover. Dean is not only a professional benefit auctioneer, but he is Dad to his five-year-old son, London. London will be starting kindergarten this fall and Dean has a pretty good idea how he can use his professional skills to help enrich his child’s education – school fundraising auctions. At BiddingForGood, about 40% of our clients are schools, and with education budget cuts on the rise, more schools are searching for alternative funds to support their programs. We often work with PTAs/PTOs that are comprised of predominately women, so you can imagine my delight when I spoke to Dean about the “male perspective of school fundraising.” Dean was kind enough to share insights on how he got involved with school fundraising and to offer advice to other Dads who would like to become more involved.

How Dean Got Started with School Fundraising:
A benefit auctioneer by trade, Dean’s wife volunteered him for the first auction at The Museum School of Avondale Estates in 2009. At that time, the school wasn’t even open yet and a fundraiser was needed to get things up and running. His wife, Amy, was not only on the fundraising committee, but was also a member of the founding board. Since this school had played such an important part in their lives since its inception, Dean was very happy to help. In 2010, he wanted to be more hands-on so he took his wife’s place on the fundraising committee, a position he still fills today.

Dean Incorporates His Professional Experience into School Fundraising Auctions:
Because he specializes as a benefit auctioneer, Dean treats the school like a client. For the school, this means that they receive the best professional help available to improve their bottom line, including workshops, documents, and meetings that would otherwise come at a cost (lucky school!). As a side benefit, Dean gets to use the school as his guinea pig to apply new concepts. As he learns new best practices in the field of benefit auctioneering, he then applies them to the school to see how well they work. If they work, he is able to show his clients how to incorporate them and discover greater success. And Dean is on a roll – everything he has tried works like a charm (games, activities, streams of revenue, etc). The school has doubled their net every year so far!

Tips and Advice for Other Super Dads:
Dean is the only male on the fundraising committee and says, “This really surprises me. I’d like to see more dads seek out their fundraising committee chairs and volunteer to be on the team.” He adds, “While being involved is a commitment, it is not one that is overwhelming.” Dean’s fundraising team meets once or twice a month leading up to the event, and weekly the month of the event. This sounds like a great way for Dads to get out of the house and meet other parents.

Being a committee member does have its advantages. For instance, Dean highlights participation in the food-sampling meeting when the caterer brings food selections to be taste-tested. Deans says, “Without a doubt, this is the most popular meeting!” At each meeting, there are often snacks and adult beverages to help them brainstorm.

The main tip Dean would like to offer other dads is: “Don’t be afraid to voice your ideas. A male perspective is important.”

The Secret to a Successful Fundraising Event:
Dean’s secret for successful fundraising events is not to overlook the most popular item categories. Dean says his committee discusses all types of items and experiences, but they once overlooked a major category – electronics. He reminded the committee that while females are the majority of buyers at auctions, men like to shop, too. Having “manly” items like electronics help to keep the male bidders engaged at the event. Dean uses items such as iPads to lure in male participation and can often sell them over market value.

Father’s Day Traditions:
Father’s Day traditions can be fun to start and carry on. I asked Dean if he had any traditions and found he is starting a new one this year. Last year, he took up running and has since participated in a few 5K and 10K races. Now, he admits, “I’m slow and stink at the sport but my son sees my joy… and even likes cheering me on. He’s even participated in some tiny, fun runs and loves it.” As a family they have all entered the Chattahoochee Nature Center’s Possum Trot 10K & Fun Run, which is the Saturday before Father’s Day. Dean will run the 10K and Amy and London will do the 1-mile Fun Run.

It’s Important for Parents to Get Involved:
Dean shares in my belief of the importance of “getting involved.” In his words, “Parents/dads should get involved for several reasons, but one of the biggest is that the stronger the committee, the better the bottom line. If a dad has ideas, or better, access to donations that can bring in big bucks, then that helps them reach their fundraising goal.” He adds, “For me, I know I only get one shot at being the best dad I can be. Being on our school’s fundraising committee is another way I can serve my son by helping bring in funds for his school that will ultimately make his educational experience better. Plus, by seeing his dad and mom participating in various board and committee functions, we hope he is getting the message that helping your community is important. Hopefully this will stimulate him to get involved with his child’s school if he decides to be a parent in the future.”

Special thanks to Dean Crownover for sharing his words of wisdom with us. We hope he and all the other Dads out there have a great Father’s Day!

Memorize the last sentence. It should be your mantra when it comes to the goal of your fundraisers.

Marketing the charity auction
by Seth Godin
How much would you pay for a twenty dollar bill?

In tough times, many schools and non-profits rely on charity fundraisers, and a popular one is the auction. The method is simple: supporters donate things, and then they’re auctioned off, with all proceeds going to charity.

If you have a vacation house, the thinking goes, the incremental cost of donating a week is low. And wow, I can buy a week at that house for way less than it’s worth. Everyone wins.

If you have a friend who works on the Letterman show, you can get two VIP tickets for free and donate them and someone at the auction gets to go to the show for not so much money.

This bargain hunting is fine as far as it goes, but it never leads to a wildly successful auction, because the story that’s told is too small.

If you’re only willing to bid $19 to buy a $20 bill at this auction, you’re not doing charity, you’re bargain hunting. There’s nothing wrong with bargain hunting, it’s fun, but it’s not philanthropy. I think bargain hunting for a good cause is just fine, but wouldn’t it be great if the event could raise far more money and change the way people view the organization?

The Robin Hood Foundation raised more than 24 million dollars at their last auction, because people competed to overpay. And that’s the secret. The story the charity must tell is: “don’t pay $19 for this twenty dollar bill, don’t even pay $30, we need you to pay $40!” The satisfaction of overpaying (whether you overpay anonymously or in public) is what they sell, not a bargain.

This is not the easy path. It is much easier to sell your public on bargains than it is to sell them on generosity. The good news is that once you get over the hump, it scales. Bargains scale downward… better bargains are lower-priced bargains, which means you scale to zero. Philanthropy scales upward… better overpaying is more overpaying. A public auction is always a public competition. The challenge is to create social approval for what would otherwise be bad auction skills! Enlist a few stooges in the audience in advance, then start by auctioning off that $20 bill. When it goes for $45 and the winner gets an ovation, you’ve set a tone.

The goal of a non-profit seeking money needs to be to create an environment in which the community congratulates itself on overpaying.

For more of Seth Godin’s wisdoms check out his blog:

© Dean Crownover – MyBenefitAuctioneer.com 2011

My Benefit Auctioneer: Dean Crownover is an Atlanta-based benefit auctioneer with over 20 years of professional entertainment experience. His love of good causes and non-profit organizations shows in his attitude and performance at every event. Dean delivers sidesplitting comedy that turns his auction into a real show – one that leaves his audiences rolling in the aisles – after placing their bids, of course.

After I dig for details it always seems to come down to one thing. They failed to ask themselves:

Are we planning a fundraiser or a “friendraiser”?

The answer to this incredibly important question guides every single planning decision they make leading up to their event.

What’s the difference?
It’s actually very simple. With a fundraiser your primarily goal is to make as much money as you can in one night. With a friendraiser your primarily goal is to have a party and raise awareness about your cause. One of these must always take precedence over the other. But you say, can’t we do both? Yes, but to make the most money possible you must be a fundraiser and not a friendraiser.

It’s easy to see where committees get off track. Most committee members have had experience sometime in their lives planning a party so understandably they begin the process the only way they know how. They begin with the guests in mind first and decide on elements that those guest will be wowed by – choosing a new, hip venue, coming up with a never-been-done-before theme, booking the cover band de jour and so on. Because they put these elements first they unknowingly are planning a friendraiser.

Planning a fundraiser, however, has a very different approach. You must treat the event as if it were a business that is only open for one night a year and not a party.

Casino for a day
Think of your event as a casino for an evening. Upon first look a casino seems like one big party. The room is open, festive, bright and exciting. Upbeat music plays while drinks are dulled out in mass. Sounds of winners celebrating can be heard at various times in various parts of the room.

But if you really look closer you realize every detail in that room was designed to make as much money as possible. There are no clocks so you can forget about time. The room is laid out in just a certain way to move guests towards certain activities. Cashiers are everywhere to take your credit card so you don’t have to worry about having cash. The games have been carefully designed to be fun but also make max profit. The music does not overpower the guests yet keeps them awake. Even the smells have been carefully planned to make gamers feel warm and fuzzy.

To make the most amount of money you can in one night for your organization you must think like fundraisers.

How Fundraisers Plan
Here’s an example of how fundraisers plan versus how a friendraiser plans.

• The Guests – If your first instinct is to invite the whole world to your event, you are planning a friendraiser. Fundraisers, however, know that more bodies in the room does not translate into more profits. They only invite those who love the cause AND also have the money to spend. This combination is crucial.

• The Room – Fundraisers want the room to be self-contained. The stage, silent auction, guest tables, bar, etc are all in the same room. They don’t want to give any reason for guest to venture off. Friendraisers want the venue to be cool and unique so keeping it all contained is not the main priority.

• An Auctioneer – Fundraisers know to book a great auctioneer first. A professional benefit auctioneer helming the live auction typically brings in double the money than a non-professional. Friendraisers usually don’t even think of this aspect. By doing that they leave real money on the table.

• Auction Items – A friendraiser goes for whatever donations they can get and as much as they can get. A fundraiser holds an “acquisitions party” with her committee to brainstorm what items and experiences their guest will most likely be interested in. They want to match the items with their guest for max profit.

• Event Timeline – Friendraisers think of the event as a party so they want things to go late. This means starting the live auction much later. A fundraiser knows that starting the live auction about two hours from the time the doors open brings in more money because that is about the time that guests are relaxed but excited and ready to bid. Holding the auction much later means bidders have left because they are bored, tired, or have a babysitter that is on the clock back home. Or worst – all three!

No Wrong Way
I want to make it clear that there is no wrong road here. If your goal is to have more of a party than make money there is nothing wrong with that and being a friendraiser is fine. Some of my clients tell me that is all they want. Making maximum profit is not their main objective. By having a friendraiser the organization still makes some funds and are happy.

Most of my clients, however, want the most profit they can get that night. If this is your goal start thinking like a fundraiser and your event will thrive!

© Dean Crownover – MyBenefitAuctioneer.com 2011

My Benefit Auctioneer
Dean Crownover is an Atlanta-based benefit auctioneer with over 20 years of professional entertainment experience. His love of good causes and non-profit organizations shows in his attitude and performance at every event. Dean delivers sidesplitting comedy that turns his auction into a real show – one that leaves his audiences rolling in the aisles – after placing their bids, of course.