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Going…going…gone?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Peter Ta and Eve Gu contemplate silent auction offerings at the recent “Tango on the Tundra” benefit at Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
Has the gavel dropped on silent auctions?
Judging from conversations around town recently, it seems charity event volunteers are of two minds.
Some say they give patrons a fun way to pick up neat items they might not otherwise have access to, while raising additional funds. But others say silent auctions have become dull, and increasingly challenging to fill out (and sell out) in pinched economic times.
“I can’t stand those auctions. It takes up all that space in your pre-function area,” says uber-socialite Sally Dorsey. “It’s just not fun.”
Not so, says Sara M. Foster.
“At a silent auction for the benefit of a scholarship fund for the Atlanta Chapter of the Mississippi State University Alumni Association held several years ago, I got an autographed baseball signed by Ron Polk, recently retired baseball coach at MSU,” she said. “This is one of my most treasured items.”
Foster recently snapped up an oil painting of a cat at an event benefiting Furkids, an Atlanta-area animal rescue organization with which she volunteers.
“As soon as I get it framed, it will take a place of honor in my office so my coworkers can share it,” she said.
By the way, The Wall Street Journal reported recently that some high-end silent auctions in Boston and New York are moving online.
“In the old days, you actually had to go to the party to get the art,” Whitney Museum of American Art Trustee Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo told the Wall Street Journal,
Lynne Yates scored a silent-auction painting as a birthday present the old-fashioned way. The high bidder walked and her sister won the item as a second-chance bidder.
“My sister paid $400 for it. The artist’s website indicates that it is worth about $1,800,” Yates said. “My sister definitely got her money’s worth and I received a great birthday present.”
While silent auctions do seem to be a staple of many charity events around town, you do hear about those that have opted not to offer one. Neither the Legendary Party, which Dorsey is chairing to benefit the Shepherd Center, nor the Vintage Vegas BowTie Ball, which will benefit area teen organizations, plan silent auctions.
“The elementary has a silent auction, you go to a luncheon and there’s a silent auction,” Dorsey says. “It’s overdone.”
What’s your take? Have you bought things from, contributed them to or solicited them for silent auctions? Will you continue to do so?
The Atlanta BowTie Society plans a smashing bash at the W Atlanta Midtown this Nov. 21. The group’s inaguaral gala, the “Vintage Vegas” ball, will feature a Rat Pack-era orchestra, and signature “Bowtini” cocktails - but no silent auction. Back row, from left, Merry Carlos, Lisa Tush, Bill Tush, Dottie Smith and Kelly Willett. Front: Ellenwood Barton. Photo by J. Mark Garrard.
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