Running a successful money-making charity auction is more than just lubing a crowd with drinks and throwing gift certificates on a table; there is a science to squeezing out bids from party-goers. It's knowing what items to offer, where and how to display them, when to open and close the bidding, and more.
It was the night before the Super Bowl a few years back at the glitzy "Taste of the NFL" fundraiser, held annually in the city where the big game is played. Party planner Beth Brody was overseeing the silent auction, which featured 400 tempting items up for bid, from cruises to autographed footballs. Among them was a pair of tickets to the next day's big game.
As expected, the bidding got competitive, remembers Brody, vice president of corporate events for Cleveland-based Party411.
Even at high-end events, where decorum is expected -- and understood -- sweet auction items (like Super Bowl tickets) often bring out the animal behind the black tie.
"We place our staff at the hot items," Brody says, "things that you know there's going to be competitive bidding on, because they'll push each other out of the way. They'll fight. I've seen it all."
When the silent auction ended and the staff person went to the sheet to circle the winning bid, two guys were arguing. Both of them claimed -- loudly -- to be the last bidder.
Security called Brody over.
"Here I am, I'm 5 feet tall, and these two huge men are screaming at me," she says, still incredulous. "I said, 'All right, since you both want to go to the game, go together.' "
They, of course, were now at war (even if they were holding champagne glasses), and there was no way they were going to make it a date.
Brody thought fast.
"We're talking about hungry children," she told them (Taste of the NFL benefits food banks around the country). "What I'm going to do is let you guys keep bidding. We'll just keep going until one of you stops. We'll just keep raising more money for hungry children."
When the bidding finally did stop, one guy -- the one Brody suspected was telling the truth about the last bid -- had a $5,000 pair of tickets. The other guy later approached her and offered a sheepish apology. He'd lost his head, gotten caught up in the moment, the competition, the thrill.
Which is exactly what party planners want (without the bloodletting).
Running a successful money-making charity auction is more than just lubing a crowd with drinks and throwing gift certificates on a table; there is a science to squeezing out bids from party-goers. It's knowing what items to offer, where and how to display them, when to open and close the bidding, and more. The goal is more money for local charities. And succeeding is getting more difficult.
"In today's economy, it's very challenging . . . we're not seeing quite the same kinds of dollars that we did," says Lee Rosenberg, who owns Beachwood-based LR Event Management. "You have to be very thoughtful about how to do this now. Everyone is trying to get that fundraising dollar. There are so many nonprofits in this town."
For instance, instead of packaging five or 10 restaurant certificates together in a single, high-priced gift basket, event planners are more apt to put them up for auction individually, says Rosenberg, to make them more affordable.
"We need to be creative," she says. "We want to make our auction better than others."
Here's how party planners do it:
The items
It's simple: A charity auction that offers exceptional items earns exceptional profits. The question is, what's an exceptional item?
"The No. 1 winner is experiences," says Brody. "If you have money, you can go on the Internet and get a LeBron James signed jersey all day long. What you can't get is a chance to play basketball with a Cavaliers player on the court at Quicken Loans Arena. It got a $4,000 bid because it was an experience you could get nowhere else."
Dinner with celebrities, field passes to games, a chance to throw a ceremonial first pitch at an Indians game, -- they are all winners.
And the clunkers?
"Autographed books are not a hot item," says Brody. "Health stuff isn't big. Three-month fitness memberships? They don't work."
Priming the pump
"Auction buying is impulse buying," says Rosenberg.
And what adds to impulsiveness? The warm feeling of charity, a belly full of good food -- and a couple cocktails.
"We count on that," says Rosenberg, laughing. "We absolutely count on that."
Brody dismisses it.
"Does it make them spend money they wouldn't have spent? Perhaps," she says. "But I think that in this day and age of drinking and driving, people are more cautious. . . . I'm sure it does affect them a little bit but I wouldn't say it was a huge factor."
Still, anecdotal evidence abounds of people being guilty of BWI (bidding while intoxicated) and waking up the morning after a charity event with a headache and a gift basket of 12 beach towels, a garish necklace or artwork best suited for a closet door (the inside of a closet door).
Kami White, who grew up in Hudson and now lives in Maryland, remembers going to a school charity event for a neighbor's son -- and drinking a lot of red wine.
"We ended up buying," she said, via e-mail, "a framed picture of the Golden Gate Bridge, a big Mexican fiesta basket, a diamond necklace, a wine tasting for 12, and a dinner for 10.
"Luckily, my husband lost out on the trip to Aruba."