With spring break behind us now, it's time to start again where we left off. In my experience, spring time auctions are typically smaller scale events, with some as simple as just a special appeal. If you and your cause or not-for profit group are considering having a special appeal fundraiser; something you might want to consider is a weekday night like a Tuesday or a Thursday.
In my 25-plus years of experience; I have found that inviting your charity's biggest supporters, bringing in a powerful speaker, combined with a well-defined appeal run by a capable auctioneer; you can sometimes achieve the same revenue objective as you would with a traditional fundraising auction. That is, without the added expense and manpower hours that it takes to pull off a typical Saturday night gala. Plus, special appeal-only auctions are also an effective way for you to keep in touch with your patrons and for your patrons to keep involved with your cause and organization througout the year.
A well-defined appeal looks like this:
You state to your audience what you are raising funds for. It may be for continued research to cure a disease or educational funding for a child's tuition. Maybe you are raising money for a specific project or a special piece of medical equipment?
You have the support of a major corporation which plans to match tonight's actual funds raised to double the final event tally. A long-time, loyal patron has been approached or volunteered to start the night's special appeal with a special bid.
You plan to start the night with a $10,000 bid and move down the line till you hit $100. I notice that once my audience gets into a groove with me, the momentum carries itself. So that by the end of your special appeal; we'll find that the majority of the room has participated by making a donation. And in this case, size really doesn't matter. A hundred $100 donations is still a decent chunk of change at $10,000.