Benefit auctions are not free money

Charity auction. Benefit auction. Silent auction.  I have to tell you, I am not a big fan of auctions.  I think it is largely due to the fact that I was a small business owner for 17 years and the requests that I would receive to donate to auctions were overwhelming.

My business sold popular items, TVs, VCRs, stereo equipment, microwaves and other consumer electronic goods before they were commodities, when prices were still very high.  While we would try to keep stock on hand of lower-priced give-away items, donating to the many auctions that we were expected to support in our community was still a very expensive marketing proposition.

Then I got involved in an Optimist Club and went to one of those auctions that I had been donating to for so many years.  Guess what?  I bought my donation back.  The price that was being bid was so far below the asking price, that I decided I would take the item back and write a check to the club for the amount instead. I did so for every year that followed that I was involved with that club.

My request on this fine Monday morning is please don't ask your local merchants to give more than they can afford in this or any economy.  Think before you go to them time after time with the same request. Believe me when I say they want to support you and it hurts when they can't. It hurts worse when they are challenged by a less than tactful solicitor and sadly, that happens all too frequently.

Similarly, think about your fundraiser.  Who is coming to that auction?  Are they there for a bargain or are they there to help raise money for your cause?  Please make certain it is the latter or your time and money and the donations that you have solicited are not doing their jobs.  Auctions are not simply free money for the organization hosting the event. Auctions, or any fundraising event, become part of the relationship that you develop with others in your community.  Their success, failure, and relevance will contribute to how your organization is perceived.

Let me tell you a story that I heard about today from Paris, Texas.  The Paris Optimist Club is planning an auction for Saturday, May 8 to support a baseball program for children 8-14 and to support the Buddy Baseball program for individuals with Downs Syndrome.  The event supports a single purpose - baseball; and to that end, they have collected sports paraphernalia that the participants in the program and their family and friends are likely to want to own.  They have created a niche market and targeted consumers.

What is most exciting is they have an ongoing competition for which local school's spirit cap will raise the most money.  Last year that distinction went to the Prairiland School whose cap was bought for $550.

It sounds to me like this benefit auction is doing its job by raising awareness, raising money and raising spirits.  I'll be sending people to this example the next time I am asked if I think an auction is a good fundraising idea. My answer: yes, if you have a target market, identifiable support from merchants and consumers and a hook that generates fun and donations purely for the joy of giving.