In the audio seminar series Secrets of the Charity Auction Experts we provide a lot of tips and tools for planning successful live and silent auction fundraisers.  Of course these auctions happen in the context of a special event.  So in addition to getting auction items and such, there’s so much general event planning that […]

Have you ever thought about a live auction as being like a circus?  It’s true!  During the auction all eyes are focused on the stage to your ringmaster, the auctioneer.  Any great circus has many other performers to make the event a success.  Your auction also needs “ring people” to help the person on stage […]

In the past few weeks the media buzz about Twitter has exploded.  Even if you’ve never been to the site, now most people have at least heard of it.  Like with the Twitter war between CNN and Ashton Kutcher, it’s mostly been about the numbers.  A million followers?  Wow. But really social media is not […]

Sandy Rees is doing a free teleseminar next week called “Fundraising in Tough Times.”  Here’s why she decided to host this call: With the economy the way it is right now, it’s easy to get discouraged about asking people for money.  I’ve given my “it’s gonna be okay” talk to many groups and I’ve decided […]

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is hosting two online chat events this week.  You can submit questions ahead of time, whether you can attend the chat live or not.  Grant writing and international philanthropy will be discussed: The first is a live discussion this Tuesday, April 14, at noon Eastern time about grant writing strategies. We’ve […]

Last week I was excited to attend the national Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) conference.  There were a lot of great seminars. What I really enjoy most about going to conferences though is meeting others who work in the nonprofit world. At the first morning opening session I struck up a conversation with someone who […]

While looking for a new job in fund-raising, someone suggested that I look into The Foundation Center’s online courses. I am certainly glad that I did. They offer a variety of courses, some for a fee and others that are free. The Foundation Center is well-known as a leading authority on philanthropy. It was first […]