Access Queen says: about that auction...

Wed May 4 18:27:14 PDT 2005

I encourage folks on this list to consider offering items for auctionwhether they will be attending the Halifax OSonOS or not.  I was theAuction Goddess for the Spirited Work community for about a year andit is a way cool fun thing to do:  money buzzes buzzes buzzes with allkinds of new connections.
To seed your thinking about what you might have to auction, I wouldlike to tell a story.
The Seattle Practice of Peace was sponsored, in part, by Spirited Workand we scheduled our POP conference to be immediately followed by aSpirited Work seasonal gathering.  We invited all of our 'invitedguests' to stay for Spirited Work and many of them did.
I was thrilled to have people coming from all over the world who couldbring items for my silent auction and I invited all of our 'invitedguests' to bring something to sell in the auction that representedtheir culture. Some of the items that were contributed included: Burundian coffee, Colombian coffee, hand-embroidered pillows done byPalestianian craftswomen, hand-carved art from Nepal, very inexpensivetouristy souvenirs from India. . . the range in value was quite wide. The great thing was that people bid up and up and up to buy a pound ofBurndian coffee:  I might have put down $10 as a minimum bid butseveral people bid and each pound of coffee sold for much more.  Itwas so much fun to be at the nexus of all that abundance:  peoplewanting to give in all kinds of ways and people getting something theywanted in all kinds of ways.  One guy donated a perfectly ordinarybottle of wine that cost him about $10 and for some reason, it soldfor forty bucks.  The guy who paid the forty  bucks was a pal of mineso I made sure to point out to him that he could buy the same wine for$10 at the store but he assured me that he wanted to be a part of thefun-raising.  It was so lovely.
Some of our invited guests forgot to bring something for the auction.. . . which was perfectly fine but I did approach each of these guestsand ask them if they had brought something.  One guest, John Engle,was disappointed that he and his wife Merline had forgotten to bringsomething from Haiti.  He felt pretty bad so, just to cheer him up abit, I suggested he think about offering a service.  I even went sofar as to tell John that people often contributed their services to'my' silent auctions and it was a really good deal because even whenpeople 'buy' a donated service, they almost never use the service.  Iexplained to John that I had learned that people are often looking fora way to give and for some reason a person might not open theircheckbook and give one hundred dollars outright but they will opentheir checkbook and buy professional editting services that they arenever going to use.  It was a nice win-win and it was so much fun tobe the nexus of the wheeling and dealing.
John came up with a great idea.  He took a piece of paper and wrote aflyer about his offer:  he would custom design a one week visit toHaiti.  He set the minimum bid for $200.  "No, John," I said, "$200 istoo high for an auction item that no one will ever really use.  Youhave to remember, John, that this is really about creating a way toencourage someone to give money but no one will give $200 for guideservices in Haiti that they will never use."
"No, Therese," John insisted, "I have done this service for peopleseveral times and it is worth a lot.  It is definitely worth $200."  Iwas sure that John's services were well worth this minimum bid. . .but I did not trust my community to pony up $200 bucks. . . Johninsisted.
Two bidders offered $200 for John's tour guide services in Haiti.  Tothe best of my knowledge, neither of these bidders ever took a trip toHaiti. . . but each of them contributed $200 to Spirited Work.  Wow,John taught me a good lesson.  If he had listened to me, we would haveraised $50. . . but instead, we raised $400.
I did these silent auctions enough to see patterns emerge.  There werealways people who bought stuff they didn't really want just so theycould support the auction.  I know this because sometimes people wouldpay for the item they won with the highest bid. . . and then theywould discreetly give me the item and tell me to put it in the auctionagain.
As a matter of fact, someone sold some pashmina shawls at the POP toraise fuinds to cover some of their conference expenses.  A POPparticipant bought one shawl and then donated it to the Spirited Workauction on the Q.T. and then someone else came up to me and offered methe full value of the shawl but asked me to keep it in the auction tosell again.  And then the shawl sold AGAIN at the auction.  That shawlgot sold three times that week and two of the 'sales' went to ouraccess fund.  I was kinda sorry when someone finally bought itoutright and took it home because I was starting to have fantasies ofselling if over and over ad infinitum.
It is important to keep prosperity in play.  Even if you aren't comingto Halifax. . . and esp. if you are. . . . I strongly encourage you tofind a way to give to the fundraising efforts.  I absolutely guaranteethat you will get more than you give.  Give a gift to the OSonOSauction to affirm your own prosperity.
Offer a bed and breakfast weekend in your home. . . don't worry if youthink no one would want to visit you in Vancouver or Denmark orwherever you live.  Make the offer, give the gift and see whathappens. Offer tour guide services in your country, as John Engle did. If you are a poet, offer to write a poem or two for X minimum bid. Think openly about what you might give.
A well worn but beloved book. . . CD's you don't listen to anymore. .. an inexpensive souvenir from your part of the world.  Seattle-ites.. . what could you bring that would represent Seattle?  How about asmall package of smoked salmon?  An old Nirvana album?! What wouldconvey the essence of Chicago or of the Midwest?  Or of all the otherwonderful places people will represent?
I was at the recent Turtle conference and each participant was given aTurtle t-shirt. . . . well, I don't wear t-shirts but I took myt-shirt. . . and then I donated it to the next Spirited Work auction.. . . only Spirited Work was cancelled this season so I am thinking myTurtle t-shirt might find its way to the OSonOS auction. . . .

On 5/4/05, Lisa Heft <lisaheft at openingspace.net> wrote:>  >  > > Chris wrote: > > < Don't forget, I'm willing to auction off a CD for the fund this year.  Do> it whenever you'd like.  There's a sound sample at> http://www.chriscorrigan.com/music/musicbio.html>  Cheers, sweets,>>  >  > > …I love it when he calls me 'sweets'… > >   > > So at the 2003 OSonOS in "Swenmark" (our colleagues from Sweden and Denmark> co-hosted this OSonOS in Denmark) we started a "Silent Auction" tradition to> raise money for the Access Queen Fund and others raising money to help cover> their expenses to get to the OSonOS. > >   > > It works like this: if you are coming to OSonOS you bring (or send with> someone who is going) fabulous things from your country – things that you've> made or that come from your community.  For example, I will bring a CD of> Chris's wonderful music to Halifax (for the 2003 auction people brought> earrings, things to eat, handmade dolls and more).  During the OSonOS these> items are displayed and everyone marks on little cards what they will offer> to pay for them.  At the end of the OSonOS the highest bidder for each item> gets the item and the money goes to the Access Queen Fund (or if you need> it, to your own fund for helping you get to that OSonOS).  It is called the> "Silent Auction". > >   > > Another thing we do (which we started at the 2001 OSonOS in Vancouver) is> called the "Global Village Marketplace".  You bring or send fabulous things> (see above) and sell them during the OSonOS (no silence, no highest bidder –> just a table with peoples' fabulous things and the prices they recommend and> envelopes for putting in money as others buy these fabulous things).  In the> past we have had handmade cards, decorated eggs, earrings, hand-knitted> socks, poetry, videos, scarves and more).  Money goes either to the Access> Queen Fund or to your own fund helping you get to that OSonOS. > >   > > Both of these things will be set up at this year's OSonOS > > (unless someone wants to conduct a silent auction on the OSLIST somehow to> conclude before August – I am happy to set up at the actual OSonOS but I do> not have the time or energy to figure out and manage something online) > >   > > SO: if you are planning to come this year, think of what you can make or> gather to bring with you to sell, if you like.  > > If you are not planning to come but wish to help in this way, send fabulous> things to someone who can sell them there for you. > > OR: Conduct your own Silent Auction or Global Village Marketplace in your> own community to raise money for yourself or the Access Queen Fund. > >   > > All for a good cause (the Access Queen Fund and whomever else needs to raise> a little money once they get there…) > >   > > Take care, all, > >   > > Lisa (call me anything you like) >  > > ___________________________ > > L i s a   H e f t > > Consultant, Facilitator, Educator > > O p e n i n g  S p a c e > > 2325 Oregon > > Berkeley, California > > 94705-1106   USA > > +01 510 548-8449 > > lisaheft at openingspace.net > > www.openingspace.net > >   > >   * *> ==========================================================> OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU ------------------------------ To subscribe,> unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of> oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu:> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To> learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs:> http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist

-- Warmly,Therese Fitzpatrick

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