Our Silent Auction committee, co-chaired by Hatti Hamlin and Whitney Greer, received 62 donations this year-the highest number of items in PRRT history!
Asked their secret to success, Hatti gave the following advice:
- There’s no shame in asking ANYBODY to give. The cause is a great one (scholarships) and the group can truly be touted as a great audience for almost anything: we are senior PR professionals who are incredibly “connected” and capable of word of mouth promotion of their goods and services. I wrote at least a dozen solicitations to companies and people I didn’t even know, asking for donations. A few bore fruit.
- Ask for more. If what someone offers isn’t what you had in mind, suggest an alternative (diplomatically.) Or better yet, be specific about what you had in mind (a ticket voucher vs. tickets for a specific date-the former is more flexible and thus of value to more people.) Or, if a winery donates wine, suggest that they’d get even more mileage out of a special tour and tasting, a luncheon, etc.
- Use your connections.
- Leverage your relationships.
- Relentlessly follow up. And always express appreciation.
- Follow up on leads while they are hot (before they get buried on your desk).
- Make note of news stories.
- Ask your friends for ideas. I mentioned the event to some friends whom I lunch with regularly. Turns out that one of them donated her talents leading a walking tour of North Beach. Another suggested a few other good ideas.