I’d like to introduce a new face here at Step by Step, benefit auctioneer Sherry Truhlar (pictured at left).  Sherry’s stories and advice have been published in publications (e.g. Town & Country, The Washington Post Magazine, AUCTIONEER, The Eleusis, The Virginia Auctioneer) and heard on television (e.g. E! Style, TLC) where she inspires and teaches […]

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Kevin McKinley, who is the director of golf and skiing at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, Michigan, which was voted one of the top 25 golf resorts in America according to Golf Digest. Kevin has been working in the golf industry since 1996 and has been at the helm […]

Alright, so your major fundraiser event is over. Your self-imposed deadline has come and gone. Now comes the part when you add all the donations up, subtract your expenses, and find out if you met your goal. Hopefully, you have not only met your goal, but you have wildly exceeded it. However, that isn’t always […]

Just this past weekend, I attended a mini-fundraiser for a sports team that three of my children are a part of. There is a family on the team who owns a local 50’s style diner, famous for their frozen custard. They offered to give the team 10% of the food sales for one night, plus […]

In this economy, one strategy to help you maintain a strong overall sale value of a party is by splitting up the value among many bidders. Here’s how it works. Remember the adage, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts?” For example, a house is more valuable than the individual pieces of […]

If you review a community event calendar you may see organizations offering a one-mile fun run with their events.  This short distance run can improve your audience reach within the community and compliment a 5K or 10K nicely.  They can also be great add-ons to weekend festivals or health fairs. Including more people in your […]

Social media applications like blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook can be useful tools to help you publicize, gain attendees and supporters for fundraisers such as benefit auctions. Not only are these tools free to use, but they enable you to relay short, constant reminders about your  fundraiser. Creating “something to write” can be overwhelming for […]