About Us
“Creativity Is Intelligence Having Fun.” – Albert Einstein
Platinum Charity provides expert fundraising auctioneering and consulting services to maximize the dollars achieved at your next charity event. We have been fortunate to have been involved in numerous charity events and galas over the past 2 decades. We focus on the “fun” in fundraising, making every event an enjoyable and
memorable experience. Your guests will leave the benefit delighted and looking forward to the following year. You will find that our company and services are unlike any other charity benefit fundraising auctioneers.
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” – Warren Buffett
We work alongside you long before the ballroom doors open. In our pre-event role as fundraising consultants, our team is part of the planning process. We work closely with our clients to brainstorm fundraising elements and auction items. We also put together the perfect run of show and script for the event. We are as much entertainers as we are auctioneers. While it’s our job to raise the most money possible, it’s also our responsibility to engage the attendees and create memorable moments with our infectious energy and passion.
“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.” - Coco Chanel
Whether your charity is auctioning packages worth $2,500 or in excess of $100,000 a package, our goal is to help your organization get to the next level of fundraising and continue to help you grow year after year. With fresh ideas, one-of-a-kind experiences, rare memorabilia, and much more. Our motto is "Evolve or Dissolve", and we want to keep your event and charity EVOLVING!
John & Christy Harrison
John and Christy are a power duo. John is a licensed auctioneer who has been on stage entertaining and helping charities raise money for over 15 years, while Christy is a professional Gala consultant who has been privileged to help lead countless non-profit organizations to new heights.
John and Christy are successful business owners who are established in the Tampa Bay Community. They began their benefit auction careers after attending various galas and fundraisers as guests and donors and soon found themselves as vital members of several nonprofit organizations’ planning committees; John and Christy’s priority shifted to helping others, not merely as donors, but by volunteering their time and talent.
After dozens of events, hundreds of hours planning, and copious amounts of fun, the inquiries started rolling in. People were asking if they would sit on their personnel boards or chair their annual galas. Everyone wanted to know their secret formula. The answer is simple: people and passion.
Some Recent Partners
Do Auctioneers Really Raise More Money for Nonprofits?
Yes! Professional benefit auctioneers can raise a lot more money for your nonprofit.
If you’re looking to raise more money for your nonprofit (and, aren’t we all?), a professional auctioneer can help. Imagine what your nonprofit could do with tens of thousands of dollars more every year. A benefit auctioneer knows just how to accomplish that goal before and during your event.
Ways auctioneers raise more money prior to a nonprofit event
A professional Benefit Auction Specialist will begin their work the minute a consultation begins. They do this in a few ways:
- Strategize ways to do audience and donor development throughout the planning process. This requires specific marketing and communication outreach strategies that Benefit Auction Specialists know well.
- Help you understand language around leadership momentum gifts that generate energy and inspire giving.
- Understand how to look for energy gaps in the run of show. A Benefit Auction Specialist provides effective strategies to gain and keep the rooms full attention throughout the program.
- Empower committees to expand their reach and thinking to grow sponsorships prior to the event. This can be accomplished through donor appreciation and procurement parties/events.
- Help set knowledgeable live auction starting bids and, even more so, effective starting bids.
- A free auctioneer may miss thousands of dollars because homework wasn’t done prior to understand the item being auctioned and what the most effective bid increments might be to advance the bid.
- Provide ideas to the committee on how to maximize funds through revenue enhancer games and ideas.
- Recently we helped an organization come up with $10,000 extra dollars for the night of their event from a game. We also helped them procure two live auction items that didn’t even exist yet because of the knowledge of the professional fundraising auctioneer.
These are just a few of the ideas benefit auctioneers bring to the table before your event.
Ways auctioneers raise more money during a nonprofit event
During your event, the auctioneer knows how to make the best impression on your attendees and get the most money out of the room.
- Before fundraising begins, a Benefit Auction Specialist has someone from the organization introduce them to guests as they arrive. This builds rapport and connections prior to going on stage.
- A professional auctioneer can fundraise tens of thousands of dollars “fishing” for paddle raise funds. They can understand the room and know when to move on and when to sell a bottle of tap water or program for $5,000 (Yes, this happens!).
- They will know how to call out more than 100 bid cards at the $100 level of the paddle raise so that every recorder doesn’t miss one.
- A Benefit Auction Specialist will understand how to empower donors to give again during the paddle raise once they’ve already given.
- They will understand the room and create opportunities to double live auction packages that weren’t intended to be doubled.
Professional Benefit Auction Specialists spend a lot of time educating themselves through the National Auctioneers Association. They collaborate with an extensive network of other fundraising professionals, constantly improving their approach. These professionals will bring ideas to the table you’ve never heard before. Auctioneers’ techniques, knowledge, education, network, and drive will help you raise more money for your nonprofit.
Freddie Silveria FSA Auctions
