11 Ideas for Charity Auction Venues
By: Sherry Truhlar of RedAppleAuctions
Changing your venue is an easy way to give a facelift to your benefit auction and it comes with the added benefit of often increasing attendance, if you select wisely. Guests love checking out new venues!
Watch this charity auction venue blog post right now and read more below!
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A client living in the South called. The hall where she was planning to hold her auction wouldn’t be available in the two hours immediately prior to her reception opening.
“We promised it to the young couple getting married the next night,” the events coordinator said, “They need a couple of hours of rehearsal time in that space.”
Drats! My Auction Chair is now researching other possible auction venues.
Changing your venue is an easy way to give a facelift to your benefit auction and it comes with the added benefit of often increasing attendance, if you select wisely. Guests love checking out new venues!
Consider these alternatives.
- Private homes - It will work if the home accommodates the guest count. Standing on a staircase to conduct the auction gives a bird's eye view, too.
- Bed & Breakfast -At an auction gala a couple of years ago, the buzz was all about the new venue, which was a stately antebellum home which had recently opened as a bed & breakfast.
- New hotels - For a change of scenery, head to a new hotel. "New" might mean "recently built" or it can just be new to your group.
- Refurbished or renovated hotels - What facility is getting a facelift in your area? Check the paper or local business journal for details of who is undergoing a renovation.
- Museums - Depending on the museum, expect to pay big bucks - $50,000 isn't uncommon here in Washington. (Personally I don't think it's a smart use of your funds.) In the Fort Lauderdale, FL area, the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum hosted a client's school auction and offered a much more affordable rate.
- Public spaces – An organization in our area conducts an auction with 1,000 people underneath a center town hall pavilion. With good weather on your side, a gala under the stars will make for a memorable evening … and that space rents for a mere $500 fee.
- Catering hall - Because catering halls are specifically designed for events, catering and parking is often a snap.
- Shopping malls - Your auction might be either indoors next to the mall fountain or tucked into an empty storefront. For more ideas on negotiating those empty storefronts, click here. (LINK TO http://www.redappleauctions.com/venues/charity-auction-venues-shopping-mall/
- School auditoriums and church fellowship halls - These are perennially popular for two good reasons: cost and a nice open space. Parking is also rarely a problem.
- Theaters - To conduct a live auction, it's easy to have people seated in a theater. Just make sure the lobby is large enough to accommodate your silent auction (if you have one).
- Work facilities - Know of a cool work facility? We've conducted more than one benefit auction in an airport terminal or hangar. What about a manufacturing plant, nightclub, or – in Hutchinson, Kansas – a salt mine 650’ underground?
If it’s got the right amount of space and acoustics can be adjusted for an auction, almost any venue will work for your gala.
Fundraising auctioneer Sherry Truhlar, CMP, BAS, CAI is featured in national publications for her trend-setting work with auction fundraisers. She teaches auction chairs easy ways to improve an auction’s financial return. Start improving your auction today by getting her FREE Auction Item Guide TM. The Guide lists the 100 top-selling items sold for over value in charity auctions. Claim your FREE copy at http://www.RedAppleAuctions.com.
