How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

I want you to think about the term “Fundraising Auction”.

A “Fundraising Auction” is an event where items of value are gathered, and then sold in a competitive bidding situation, either in a Silent Auction format, or in a Live Auction format by a Live Auctioneer. And since typically the best items are saved for the Live Auction, arguably it is the Live Auction that should generate a significant portion of the proceeds in any Fundraising Auction.

So why do so many non-profit groups consider the Fundraising Auctioneer to be the least valuable component in a Fundraising Auction?

The Hosting Facility gets paid.
The Printer gets paid.
The Caterer gets paid.
The Liquor Store gets paid.
The DJ gets paid.
The Florist gets paid.
But the Auctioneer … the individual who is expected to raise the lion’s share of the event’s proceeds… is expected to work for Free. And is usually under-appreciated for the professional services he/she provides.

I’m not trying to underscore the value of the invitations & programs, food, booze, music, and decorations. All are important in their own way. But each of these are “Expenses”. It is the Auctioneer who is going to bring “Revenue”… and thus, the “Profits”… into any event. Which is the ultimate objective of any Fundraising Auction.

Here is a real-life example of how under-appreciated the Auctioneer can be. In two comparable events we worked last year, during the dinner portion of the event one non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) at a table with the DJ, the Interns, the Volunteer Staff, and other event “Help”. The 2nd non-profit group sat the Auctioneer (me) directly next to the CEO of their organization, where we chatted about how important the pending revenue would be to their organization. Which group do you think valued the services of the Fundraising Auctioneer more?

Don’t ever under-estimate the value that a professional Fundraising Auctioneer can bring to your event. The Auctioneer adds value as a pre-event consultant. And the Auctioneer can change an event from a moderate to a huge success.

A Case Study Once I was scheduled to call an Auction for a major local non-profit group. They represented a very good cause and they had a strong and dedicated following. Their event was sold out, quality Live & Silent Auction items had been solicited, and the Special Pledge Appeal had been choreographed and was ready to go. The facility was first class, the appropriate caterer was booked, and the food was ready to cook.

But quite unexpectedly, some unseasonably inclement weather forced the event’s cancellation. Despite all of the committee’s hard work, cancelling the event was the proper decision considering the circumstances.

So the Event Committee scrambled to re-schedule the event for the following weekend.

They confirmed with the Hosting Facility.
They confirmed with the Caterer.
They confirmed with the Liquor Store.
They confirmed with the DJ.
They confirmed with the Florist.
Since they already had the Mailing List of those scheduled to attend, no new invitations had to be printed as all were contacted by email or telephone. So with everything in place, the group went ahead and re-scheduled the event for the following weekend.

But guess who they failed to confirm? You got it… the Professional Auctioneer. They thought so little of the Auctioneer’s contribution that they “assumed” that the Auctioneer would be available and at their beck and call.

But the Auctioneer already had another Fundraising Auction booked for that date with another non-profit group. It was only hour away from the re-scheduled event, and things could have been easily worked out. All Group #1 had to do was start their event one hour earlier, or one hour later, than the Group #2, and the Auctioneer could have helped both groups on the same day.

But because Group #1 failed to anticipate a possible Auctioneer conflict, because they failed to confirm with the Auctioneer before re-scheduling their event, their preferred Auctioneer had to bow out and they had to scramble to locate substitute “Volunteer” Auctioneer only days before their event.

And it cost them.

Learning Points

The Live Auction is usually where the profits are made at any Fundraising Auction.
A Professional Fundraising Auctioneer can be vital to the success of any Fundraising Auction.
The better Fundraising Auctioneers usually get booked quickly.
You need to recognize the important contributions that a good Auctioneer can make to your event.
Michael Ivankovich is a Bucks County Fundraising Auctioneer based in Doylestown PA, and serves the Great Philadelphia PA area. He has been a professionally licensed and bonded Auctioneer in Pennsylvania for nearly 20 years, has been named Pennsylvania’s Auctioneer of the Year, and has considerable experience in conducting Fundraising Auctions. Michael loves helping groups raise needed funds for good causes and one of his specialties is the “Special Pledge Appeal” or “Fund-A-Cause Appeal” which usually enables clients to double their revenue in a single evening.

The Quest For Affordable Small Business Health Insurance

Studies have consistently shown that small businesses are much less likely to provide health insurance to their employees than larger companies. Indeed, the smaller the business, the less likely it is to offer health insurance benefits. As recently as 2003, about 50% of the uninsured in the United States were either self-employed or worked for companies with less than 26 employees.

The main reason for this disparity is cost. Health insurance for small businesses is typically more expensive than for larger companies (on a per employee basis) because it is more difficult for insurance companies to accurately predict the average cost of medical care for a small group. That is, risk is greater for insurance companies for small businesses since small businesses have fewer employees to spread the risk of health claims. It only takes one employee with significant health claims to have a significant impact on the overall costs for the group insurance. This is also the reason why small businesses do not self-insure; the financial risk is simply too great for the majority of small businesses.

So what can a small business do if it wants to offer health insurance to its employees? Often they have no choice but to pay the premiums. More often than not they will split the cost of premiums with their employees, typically 50/50. Unfortunately, these small business health insurance plans are not only quite expensive, but also include significant deductibles and co-payments for the employees.

Small businesses can sometimes reduce their health insurance costs by either joining or forming a purchasing cooperative to negotiate better rates and benefits from companies offering small business health insurance. Depending on the type of business, professional organizations can also offer better health insurance rates to small businesses.

In their search for affordable health insurance, small businesses should obtain multiple quotes before deciding on any one small group plan. One of the best places to start the process is online. By using the Internet, within a very short period of time, small business owners can access dozens of quotes from several insurance companies, making comparison of various plans much easier.

Of course, as a small business owner, if you are not comfortable shopping for your small business health insurance on the Internet, look for a good health insurance broker. If possible, interview more than one broker, and ask your peers for recommendations.

In order to remain competitive in the labor market, small businesses need to be able to offer health insurance benefits for their employees. This is not always easy as cost can be a limiting factor. With some effort, however, small business owners can find affordable small business health insurance. Joining buying cooperatives or professional organizations, using the Internet (probably the most convenient), or contacting a health insurance broker can be effective ways to begin the challenging process of securing affordable small business health insurance.

Improving Access To Postsecondary Education

An array of family, school and community characteristics clearly work together in shaping students’ access to postsecondary education. Our research identified a number of factors, many of them interrelated, that act as barriers to students continuing their education after high school.

These factors include:

- Being from a family in which neither parents nor siblings have gone to college;
- Having parents who are not actively involved in school and in post-high school planning;
- Being from a community with low educational expectations, a community where a college education is not perceived as being particularly valuable, or a community where college is not perceived as being affordable;
- Not being in the top academic track in high school; and
- Not saving for college, not planning ahead about how to finance postsecondary education, and/or coming from a family with limited resources for college.

The Influence of Parents and Family

Undeniably, parents play a key role in shaping students’ attitudes toward college. They have the potential to be the greatest resource in helping their children prepare for postsecondary education, but if they fail to be actively involved, parents can instead create a barrier to college.

- In families where a parent completed college, college attendance is much more likely to be expected for the children. Not surprisingly, parents who completed college themselves report much higher comfort levels with assisting their child in college planning and financing than parents who do not have college experience.
- The extent to which parents have investigated financing options for college emerged as a key factor in students’ college aspirations. Students with high aspirations are much more likely to report that their parents have taken tangible steps toward planning to pay for college than are students with moderate or low aspirations.
- Educators name low student aspirations as the number one barrier to college. The next three factors educators see as key barriers to college for their students involve parents: parents’ lack of a college education, parents’ lack of involvement in planning, and parents’ perception that college is unattainable.
- Students who have a sibling in college have more positive attitudes toward college and tend to get an earlier start with college planning.

The Influence of Academic Tracks

Survey respondents were asked which of three main academic tracks they (or their children) were placed in: Advanced Placement/Honors (about 30% of students), College Prep (about 50%), or General/Vocational Prep (about 20%). While some educators reported that their high schools do not explicitly track students, virtually all students and parents were able to identify their (or their child’s) academic track. This study found dramatic differences in students’ aspirations, post-high school planning approaches, level of parental involvement and overall school experience based on their academic track.

- Parents of students in the College Prep and, particularly, the AP/Honors tracks are stronger advocates for college attendance, more proactive and helpful in planning for the future, and are more likely to have gone to college themselves.
- College-educated parents surveyed were roughly three times more likely to report that their child is in an AP/Honors academic track than were parents who have only a high school diploma. Almost no families in which both parents hold a college degree reported that their child is in a General/Voc Prep academic track.
- College Prep track students and their parents are significantly less proactive than those in the AP/Honors track about taking concrete steps for college planning and financing.
- AP/Honors students are more likely than others to report that some class time at school is devoted to college planning and that their peers are helpful in the planning process.
- General/Voc Prep track students report being less challenged by their schoolwork; they are twice as likely as AP/Honors students to say school is no more than somewhat challenging. Parents of these students report that their children receive lower levels of support and encouragement from teachers.
- Educators and students agree that schools do a better job preparing AP/Honors and College Prep students than General/Voc Prep students for success in the future.
- General/Voc Prep students report more difficulty getting their post-high school planning started and finding information about college planning than do students in the other two tracks. They are more likely to report that they wish their parents had more time to help with post-high school planning. Their parents are less likely to feel that they are receiving good planning information than are parents of students in the other two tracks.
- College Prep and General/Vocational Prep track students who have high aspirations report higher levels of support and help with planning at school (e.g., regular guidance counselor meetings, class time spent on planning, college campus visits through their school) than do those with moderate or low aspirations.

The Disparity between Attitudes and Actions

Educators see low student aspirations as the number one barrier to college, while students themselves, as well as their parents, report very high aspirations and very positive attitudes about college. Our research suggests that this can be explained in part by the distance between attitudes and actions. While students and their parents feel very positive about their futures and their chances of going to college, they are not always taking the concrete steps needed to make this dream a reality.

- 84% of students acknowledge that they hold primary responsibility for their future planning. Some students, however, particularly those in the College Prep and General/Voc Prep academic tracks, feel that it is difficult to get started thinking about and planning for college.
- Student discussions suggest that a “push” from schools to get started with planning early would be helpful, particularly for those students with low to moderate aspirations.
- Educators report that students (particularly those in a General/Voc Prep track, but also those in College Prep tracks) are not proactive in taking advantage of the planning resources that schools offer.
- Students generally perceive their parents as being quite involved and helpful with future planning. But when presented with a list of specific planning activities, they report participation by parents that is somewhat limited.
- Parents may also overestimate their level of involvement in planning for their children’s futures. More parents report having had serious family discussions about future plans than do students or young adults. Students also report having these discussions less frequently and starting them later in high school, on average, than do parents.
- Educators are less positive in rating parents’ awareness of different college financing options and the degree to which they have begun college financial planning than are parents themselves.

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How Important Is the Fundraising Auctioneer to the Success of Your Event?

The Quest For Affordable Small Business Health Insurance

Improving Access To Postsecondary Education