Category: fundraising event

Are You Looking for a “Magic Pill” to bring in MORE MONEY at Your Fundraising Auction?

Post author By eliteauctions
Post date June 25, 2015

We all know that a “Magic Pill” doesn’t exist in the physical sense, but what if I tell you that doing one simple thing could double or triple your fundraising auction revenue; would you believe in a “magic pill” then?

There are so many facets that make up a successful fundraising event: great venue, good food, dedicated board, etc. I can speak for us at Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services when I tell you that our team of dedicated fundraising professionals will take your revenue to the next level and you will think that you just took a magic pill. We have time and time again proven that we can consistently increase revenue to double or triple what the previous volunteer auctioneer was able to attain. We do this with pre-event consulting. We don’t just show up the day of the event and you hand us a list of auction items and off we go… this is how you guarantee poor results! We work with your committees and board up to a year in advance and guide you through every up and down of the fundraising event roller coaster with simple, yet effective techniques that guarantee to show you spectacular results. Click Here to find out what consulting will give your organization.

The greatest thing about our “Magic Pill” approach is that we have a super secret way that we actually pay you to hire us… Visit our website to find out how to get one of these “Magic Pills” for your next fundraising auction event!! EliteFundraisingAuctions.com

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

auction benefit california giving charity connie waddell elite auctions fundraiser fundraising event means to support cause mike grigg most important ingredient nonprofit

What is the most important ingredient to a successful fundraising event?

Post author By eliteauctions
Post date February 20, 2015

Is the most important ingredient the type of live auction items or what kind of food you serve or how many silent auction items you have, etc.? While all these are important, the answer is NO! The single most important ingredient for a successful fundraising event is having the right people in the room.

So you may ask “Who are the right people?” These are simply the people that believe in your cause and have the means and desire to support your cause through monetary giving (Whether that be in a silent auction, live auction, fund a need, or any other type of revenue enhancer.

A FUNDRAISING AUCTION EVENT SHOULD FOCUS ON FUNDRAISING!

This sounds so simple yet many organizations get away from this and focus on the party. Your event should be seen as an opportunity to raise as much money as possible and spread your Nonprofit’s message. If your guests are coming just to have dinner and not support your cause monetarily then you are missing your opportunity to have a super successful charitable event.

Quite simply, you are looking for QUALITY NOT QUANTITY.

You would rather have 150 guests with the means to support your cause than 500 guests who are there for the party or there because the boss gave them tickets. For example, if you take those 150 attendees that have the means to support your cause and they give an average of $500 per person then your organization would raise $75,000; not to mention the fact that you will pay less for your venue, less for your food and less for your beverages, ultimately raising your net. If you take the 500 guests that were mostly given tickets (i.e. from bosses, friends, etc.) and most of them don’t have the means to support your cause, you may be lucky to have them give an average of $100 per person. This equates to $50,000, which is 50% less than the example above. Your net figure is also going to be much lower because you will need a larger venue, more food and more beverages.

When your committee sits down for its first meeting, the primary objective should be putting people with the means and desire to support your cause in the seats!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

auctioneer benefit auction consultant california charity auctioneer donors elite auctions fundraiser fundraising event mike grigg planning fundraiser procurement

What Should Your Nonprofit Organization be doing in the “Off-Season”?

Post author By eliteauctions
Post date December 2, 2014

We all know that the Fall fundraising season just came to a close and everyone is in holiday mode now. All I can say is DO NOT wait to start planning, procuring and cultivating your donor list until the last 2 months prior to your next benefit auction event! Here are three simple things you can do in the “off-season” to start planning for your next charity auction event:

1. Cultivate your donor list – Start making those important phone calls and contacts to your donors that generously gave at your last event. You don’t have to start asking for more at this point, just thank them for their donation and start to develop a relationship with them. Don’t just call them when your next event is approaching and ask for money or items; this looks like you only care about them when you need something! Really try to get to know them and take some notes as you talk to them to remind you for future calls.

2. Hire your professional fundraising auctioneer and consultant – Good auctioneers book up extremely quickly, many times 8 months to a year in advance! DO NOT WAIT TO BOOK THEM OR YOU MIGHT NOT GET TO WORK WITH YOUR FAVORITE AUCTIONEER! I recommend booking your benefit auctioneer immediately following your last event if you were happy with the service they provided.

3. Start to procure for items – It’s never too early to start procuring items for your next event. In fact, you have a great opportunity to ask for items or help getting items for your next event as you stay in touch with your donors and build those relationships (not necessarily the first phone call thanking them for their participation).

There are obviously many things you should be prepping for in regards to your next fundraising auction event, but these are three simple things that you absolutely should be doing well in advance to ease the panic when your event is right around the corner.

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS of Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services

benefit auctioneer california auctioneer charity auctioneer elite auctions fundraising consultant fundraising event iceberg mike grigg

What Most People Don’t Know about Working with a Great Benefit Auctioneer

Post author By eliteauctions
Post date September 2, 2014


A great benefit auctioneer is involved in the planning months in advance.

Most people that attend fundraising events see an auctioneer up on stage chanting away to raise funds for a great cause, and it appears to be seamless for a good benefit auctioneer. What they don’t see are the countless hours in consultation and setup that it took to get to the fabulous auction. The day of the fundraising auction event is just a tiny piece of the pie.

I like to compare a good fundraising auctioneer’s job to an iceberg, 90% of it is underwater and only 10% (the part you see) is above water. If you have an auctioneer that is simply showing up the night of the event and getting on stage (the 10% of the iceberg above the water) then you are probably leaving a ton of money on the table. In order to maximize your event’s revenue you must diligently work for several months leading up the event (the 90% of the iceberg below water).

Remember, a great benefit auctioneer will be part of your planning process as well. Be very careful with having an auctioneer just show up the day of your event with no prior engagement in your planning process. Always use a professional benefit auctioneer versus a volunteer!

Written by Mike Grigg, AARE, BAS with Elite Auctions and Fundraising Services