to go to the WAA Web Site.
Return to TOPICS
Below are just a sampling of some of the various fundraising causes that Kelly has been involved with through the years:
*YMCA's
*County Fairs
*National Kidney Foundation
*Public and Private Schools
*Churches and their Affiliates
*Symphony Groups
*Choral Companies
*Rotary Clubs
*Kiwanis Organizations
*Boys & Girls Clubs
*Select Baseball & Wrestling Teams
*Homeless Associations
*Non-profits & Service Organizations
*And a multitude of others!
Return to TOPICS
Please resist the temptation to "save" dollars by using an auction company and/or individual that is not specifically skilled in the successful production of a fundraising event. The dollars you "save" will most likely result in a much lower yield for your entire cause.
As most successful events take between 6-12 months to effectively plan and coordinate, it is absolutely essential that you receive the maximum amount of proceeds for the time invested.
When you use a "free", "bargain", or "friend of a friend" auctioneer in the majority of cases you get what you pay for. They are usually not individuals that have dedicated their business model towards conducting Benefit and Charity Auctions. They do these types of events as a public service.
There are basically two problems with this "low cost" approach in obtaining Benefit Auction professionals:
- Though this is a very admirable donation of their labor, it stands to reason that the time they can commit towards your event will be limited. Their "bread and butter" comes from their other priority business activities. Due to this, they will only be able to provide you with minimal pre-auction assistance and be available just for the day of your event. This is important to keep in mind because the best fundraising success hinges upon the effective preparation and fulfillment of a coordinated fundraising auction plan. If the "auctioneer" you select is only minimally involved with the important planning stages of your event then their financial impact the night of the auction will be minimal as well. This is because fundraising auctions derive 80% of their financial potential from pre-auction preparation and planning with only the last 20% attributed to the skillful production of the event itself.
- As they are not specifically trained in the techniques of benefit auction logistics or auctioneering, they will tend to sell your items the same way they market their primary specialty. Benefit and Charity Auctions require a completely different approach in auction planning, venue set-up and auctioneering style. Frankly, it takes many years to perfect the best formula for success. The key thing to remember is your guests are looking to be entertained but at the same time feel good to "over pay". It takes a real professional to ensure the best results.
NOTE: Exclusively dedicated Fundraising Auctioneers are an Investment not an Expense!
Return to TOPICS
Lee Auctioneering & Consulting stands ready to prove their value to you. Please find below a few of the many testimonials the company has received for its exemplary service in the Benefit and Charity Auction industry.
Thank you for all the hard work at the auction. Again, I am very appreciative of all the extra work you put into our auction. The work at the office and in organizing was truly invaluable. You can work a room and keep us entertained while selling your heart out.
Carrie Perez, PCS North Samaritan Counseling Center
Kelly Lee performed his responsibilities with great professionalism, enthusiasm and expertise, helping us to increase revenues tremendously over the previous year. His auctioneer style engaged the audience making it a very enjoyable and fun evening for all in attendance. He was most helpful prior to our auction, with suggestions and ideas to enhance our program and procedures.
Candus Carlson, Western Washington Fair Association
This past April, Sound Experience had the pleasure of facilitating a benefit auction for our environmental education program we do aboard the historic schooner, "Adventuress". Kelly Lee operated the auction and was FABULOUS! Kelly was a pleasure to work with before, during and after the auction. He provided excellent advice prior to the event giving us suggestions and helpful forms to use. During the auction he was friendly, lively, professional, and fun to work with. Best of all he brought in more than our monetary goal for the evening. I highly recommend Kelly as an auctioneer. He was great fun and our audience only had wonderful things to say about him.
Jenell DeMatteo, Sound Experience
Once again Kelly did a fantastic job! THANK YOU!!!
Eliska Rodousky, Redmond Parent Cooperative Preschool
The Citizens for Snohomish Schools Team would like to thank you for running our "Growing in Snohomish" auction in June. We want to thank you for lending your skill, talents, and experience.....you make a great team! We could never have done everything on our own! We know that because of you, our auction was highly successful; and we earned much more money than we could have any other way! We were ecstatic when we saw the results! Again, our sincere thanks and appreciation to you for spending the evening with us....everyone seemed to have fun, while helping our school district and our kids!
The Snohomish Citizens for Schools Team
Dear Kelly, What a night! Thank you so much for everything. You certainly made our auction the success that it was. I will recommend you to everyone looking for a fun, lively fundraising auctioneer. You were great!
Joan Abel, St. Margaret's Director of Thrift Services
Kelly Lee served as auctioneer for our YMCA "Yes to Kids" auction in October. As we were quite impressed with him the previous year we were delighted he was available for a return engagement. Kelly provided exceptional and professional guidance before, during and after our auction. He provided helpful feedback to our last year's event that made this year's auction run even more smoothly. He was available for helpful and positive support in the planning process and invaluable in organizing the live auction catalog items. Kelly's sense of humor, enthusiastic energy, and rapport with the audience produced excellent yields at our auction. His suggestion of a "Mini-Live" during the buffet was a great success with over a 96% yield. I have no reservations recommending Kelly Lee for his excellent and professional service.
Lynn Rabenstein, Skagit Valley Family YMCA
I would highly recommend Kelly's services to any group considering undertaking a benefit or charity auction. We had a live and silent component to our auction and Kelly squeezed more money than I thought possible out of our guests and they cheerfully gave it! He cajoled and enticed them into bidding in a very creative manner. Kelly's knowledge of where to place items in the bidding process, how to set up your room, how to display items, and how to plan your catalog was invaluable. He obviously has done this many times and knows what is successful. He was willing to work with me ahead of time to make sure that we were on the right track and gave good advice that made our auction a success. I would highly recommend using Kelly Lee to make your auction event a lucrative and enjoyable evening.
Rhonda Staton, Redmond High School Booster Club
Dear Kelly, Now that the dust has settled on "Plant a Seed for the Future", McGilvra Elementary School's first auction we wanted to send you our thanks for the role you played in making our event a huge success. We are grateful for the optimistic spirit and attitude that you brought to this project, especially when we hired you fairly late in our timeline. McGilvra received great "value-added" by your input, recommendations, advice and support. The direction you provided on procurement, pricing, catalog production, auction program and logistics were critical to our decision-making. THANK YOU!!! At the auction itself, we had a complete feeling of confidence that you were in charge, moving the program along on schedule. Your announcing was enthusiastic, confident and fun. And we are pleased with how well you worked with our "celebrity" auctioneer. Your ability to both lead and support him took much finessing and you did a great job.
Debra Prinzing & Julie Schoenfeld, Auction Co-Chairs for McGilvra Elementary School
Dear Kelly, The class of 2004 parents cannot thank you enough for all of your help and contribution to making our auction a success. I have put off writing you, groping for the right words to reflect our feelings, without much luck. With your help, we raised three times as much as we could have on our own! From the beginning you helped with great ideas and suggestions, coming to our evening meetings, and talking with me over the phone. Your willingness to share your experience with our committee made our process easier and MUCH more enjoyable! In retrospect I can see how right you were on things we chose to do differently. We all loved the way you came down into the crowd and worked them. There was disappointment on the crowds' part when the Live Auction concluded! THAT WAS A FIRST FOR ME!!! Your truly personable nature rang through and the crowd responded to it. From the beginning of the evening to the end you continued to guide us with the utmost patience. Finally, your detailed review of events and amounts after the auction was nothing short of AMAZING! With your expertise and attention to detail you made our auction A HUGE SUCCESS!! For me, it was a wonderful learning experience and one I would venture to do again. We just cannot thank you enough. I would be honored if you would EVER like to use me as a reference.
Marilyn Martin, Auction Co-Chair for Lynnwood High School
Dear Kelly, Thank you very much for your assistance in making our auction a success. Your input as we prepared for the auction was invaluable. We were especially impressed by the resource materials you provided. Without a doubt, even an organization that had never done an auction before could use your resources, ideas and guidelines to put on a successful, productive and memorable auction. Your materials were effective in helping us execute a well-planned event that was enjoyed by all who attended. In addition, your follow-up and debriefing materials were exceptional. You obviously invested a significant amount of effort in tracking a large amount of data and statistics before, during and after the event. Even more important was how you summarized and reported the data to us afterward, so we could glean helpful information about how to make next year's auction even more successful.... Please feel free to refer any other prospective clients to us for a well-deserved vote of confidence.
Auction Committee for Peaceful Glen Christian School
Return to TOPICS
So now it is up to YOU! Do you think that Lee Auctioneering & Consulting could help you have a more successful event?
Soon your committee will be expending their valuable time, energy and resources towards your next event. It is vital that the return on this personal commitment be the best possible financial result. The timely addition of Lee Auctioneering & Consulting to your team is an investment that will pay immediate dividends rather than an expense that reduces the overall yield.
Return to TOPICS
Lee Auctioneering & Consulting would be very proud to add your organization to its long list of satisfied clients. They will listen to your financial goals and then propose a service package that will accommodate your organization's budget. Please note below they are located in Arlington, WA and can be reached by phone or mail. You can also contact them via email by clicking "Email Us". Your valued inquiry will receive prompt reply.
Copyright 2002-2004; All Rights Reserved
