Selecting the Best Benefit Auctioneer for Charity Fundraising: Insights from Ellen Toscano “The Singing Auctioneer”

When you hire Ellen Toscano, aka. “The Singing Auctioneer,” to help run your fundraiser, you get more than just a professional auctioneer. A singer since the age of three, Toscano knows how to work a crowd. She’s capable of adapting to last-minute changes, writing her own scripts, and even promoting a nonprofit’s mission through custom songs (just listen to her celebrate the Salvation Army’s mission to the tune of Aretha Franklin’s “R.E.S.P.E.C.T”).

However, for Toscano, hosting a successful benefit auction requires more than just a great stage presence. That’s why she also provides consulting services to help nonprofits plan their fundraisers. She knows when to work extra time to collect donations, share powerful statistics to motivate supporters and rewrite item descriptions to make them more enticing.

All this has led her to work with many nonprofit clients for years, often exceeding their goals by tens of thousands of dollars. It’s also made her a top finalist in PayBee’s 2024 Bid Masters Award. 

I spoke with Ellen Toscano to learn more about what to look for when hiring the charity auctioneer for your fundraiser. Here, we explore the services professionals offer, the role of online auctions and Fund-A-Needs in modern fundraising, and how performance skills can enhance a charity auction.   

Key Services to Look for in Your Benefit Auctioneer

Not all fundraising auctioneers are created equal.

Some just show up and read the descriptions of your items, hoping this will get audience members to start bidding. This is unfortunately true if you try to save money by getting someone from your staff to manage the auctions. While they may be able to communicate your nonprofit’s mission effectively, they won’t know how to excite a crowd or avoid pitfalls in auctions.

To get the most out of your auctions, find a professional that provides multiple services including:

Auctioneering

The main service most nonprofits think of when they hire a professional, auctioneering means more than just standing on stage and describing items.

“Professional auctioneers know the ins and outs of how to strategically raise the most amount of money possible and achieve a client’s goals,” Toscano emphasizes.

A lot of this involves reading the crowd and gauging how high they’re willing to bid. Professionals can also build rapport with a crowd or individual audience members who need to be coaxed into offering bids. They know how to work information about a nonprofit’s mission or programs into their dialogue to remind audiences about the children, pets, or underprivileged populations they’re raising money for. All this encourages higher bidding.

Then there are the tasks that happen before the actual event.

“A lot of the time, I feel details are missing in item descriptions, so I rewrite those portions,” notes Toscano. “If there’s a wine country package that includes wine tastings, I research each of the wineries to make sure I know the atmosphere there, what makes them unique, what makes them exclusive. Then, if the bidding slows down, I can pull from my research and share information to get the bids to go even higher.”

Other tasks require flexibility and insight born from years of experience.

“We know how to handle things on the fly,” promises Toscano. “I’m often at events where an item gets so many bids the original donor offers to sell it twice. Other times, a client will want to keep fundraising to just 10 minutes. And I’ll say, “You need to be okay with it going over. If we have more people giving — that’s excellent! Let’s keep going. I promise it’ll stay entertaining.” Understanding there needs to be some flexibility to maximize your donations is important. Because you can often exceed your goals, sometimes by tens of thousands of dollars.

Consulting Services

Toscano, who has been trained to work in network marketing and sales, also offers consulting services. She works with clients for several months in advance of an event, going through their entire run of the show to discuss fundraiser strategies and programming errors.

“One pitfall many events fall into is overloading their program with too many speakers before the fundraising portion,” she warns. “By the time they reach the auction, it’s late, guests are tired, and they want to go home. So, if there’s an honoree or awards ceremony, I may suggest that wait until after the auction. Keep the focus on the fundraising. Stop dinner service and clearing of plates so people can focus on donating.”

Other common mistakes nonprofits make when planning events? Not investing in a good sound system.

“At many events, the silent auction and cocktail reception may be in different areas than the main program,” reveals Toscano, “So, I recommend setting up a smaller sound system that allows you to make announcements. See what’s not getting bids and give them a little push. Do some countdowns. When I announce, ’30 minutes left until the raffle closes!’ people hear that and they’re like, ‘Oh, I need to check that out!'”

Making these changes early in the planning process helps your event run smoother, saving you time and money. Toscano finds hiring a consultant pays for itself, not only by helping you avoid expensive mistakes but also by adding items to your programming to maximize your return.

Emcee Services

Professionals like Toscano also emcee services, which makes them responsible for setting the tone of your entire event. Emcees keep programming on schedule, introduce speakers, and communicate your mission. They must be very familiar with your nonprofit and audience demographics. Knowing they’ll be catering to a black-tie crowd or a casual group of donors lets them know how to adjust their approach and connect with your supporters.

“One thing I take as an incredible compliment at the end of events is when people approach me and say, ‘Oh my gosh! What’s your position with the organization?'” observes Toscano. “Because I use ‘We’ language. As far as I’m concerned, we’re all part of the same community. We all care. We’re all here for the same reason. To reach the same goal.”

Emcees must also be able to think on their feet and navigate unexpected situations, such as technical problems. Managing tense situations with humor is a big plus, as emcees can keep an audience entertained and focused on your goals even when your fundraiser doesn’t go exactly as planned.

To get an idea of how well-versed an emcee is at handling different crowds, review video footage of their work, and any testimonials left by past clients. Learn how much time they spend getting to know your organization so they can effectively represent your mission.

Beyond the Auction: Additional Fundraising Techniques Your Auctioneer Can Offer

Some fundraiser techniques come from time-honored traditions with a history of positive results. Other rise out of changing needs, requiring quick adaptation.

Your professional needs to know which techniques will work best for your organization. For Toscano, two techniques that need to be on a nonprofit’s radar include Fund-A-Needs and online fundraising.

Fund-A-Needs

Fund-A-Need (also known as Paddle Raise, Fund-the-Future, Gifts from the Heart, and Bid from the Heart) is a technique that provides donors the opportunity to support a specific need, such as food for a homeless person or a home for a displaced family. Donations can be made at different levels (for example at $100, $500, or $1000 levels) and are typically 100% tax-deductible.

Unlike auctions, the focus is on supporting the need, not winning a prize. Skilled professionals like Toscano know how to appeal to a crowd’s generosity to encourage more donations.

“I learn the most powerful statistics about a nonprofit to get people to dig deeper and give more money than they may have planned on giving,” she states. “For example, when I’m doing a Fund-A-Need with the Salvation Army, I remind the audience that every $2500 raised can move a family of four out of homelessness. That’s huge.  I’ve seen people give multiple times because they’re like, ‘Wow! I can do that at this level?’ Or, ‘Oh my gosh, $500 does this? I’m going to donate again.’ It’s pretty incredible.”

Fund-A-Needs are so good at raising money that Toscano has clients who only offer Fund-A-Needs, favoring them over charity auctions. She notes that auctions are limited in the donations they can receive by the number of items they offer. By contrast, Fund-A-Needs can collect donations from anyone who wants to give, maximizing donor participation.

Virtual and Hybrid Galas

The COVID-19 pandemic requires nonprofits to start raising money by hosting virtual galas. This required auctioneers like Toscano to quickly develop a new set of technical skills to support their clients.

“[During the pandemic], one very brave client wanted to pivot to a virtual event,” she recalls. “I used my computer, iPad, and cell phone. On one device, I was seeing donations as they came in. And I would encourage people and let them know what was happening: ‘Oh my gosh, here we go! We got another one! Thank you so much! Can we get a few more? We’re so close to our goal!’ It was essentially the same thing I did in person, but heightened and trickier, with a lot more technology.”

This ability to convey enthusiasm through a computer screen and communicate information from multiple sources is a skill professionals now need to develop. Virtual auctions and galas can source donations from much wider audiences, but without someone to mediate the experience, supporters will be less likely to contribute.

Having proper technical support is also important. Toscano notes that PayBee helped facilitate many virtual events during the pandemic. This went beyond hosting online auctions and extended to record-keeping and tracking donor activity.

While public gathering restrictions have lifted, allowing a return to in-person fundraisers, professionals like Toscano now need to be able to handle other new forms of fundraising — like hybrid galas.

“A hybrid event is its own baby,” acknowledges Toscano. “Because you need to know exactly what’s going on and where the cameras are. You want to keep your focus on the people in the room, but you also don’t want to leave out the people participating virtually. There are so many different aspects to stay on top of.”

Benefit Auctioneers Bring a Unique Draw to Your Galas

By now it should be apparent that good benefit auctioneers must have excellent stage presence.

However, the best benefit auctioneers offer something extra — a unique set of performance skills that keep audiences coming back year after year.

Exactly what these performance skills are varies. Some auctioneers use their background in stand-up comedy to connect with audiences. Others produce game shows and treat donors like contestants.

Regardless of their approach, once you find a professional with that unique draw, they become an integral part of your success.

For Toscano, who spent 10 years performing in the world’s longest musical revue San Francisco’s Beach Blanket Babylon, her singing ability became her unique selling position. Even here, however, she found ways of differentiating herself from other singers.

“When I was with Beach Blanket Babylon, we would rewrite lyrics to well-known songs and familiar tunes,” she shares. “So, I took that and began writing custom songs for nonprofits. People love it when they hear a song they know then suddenly the lyrics start plugging in bits and pieces about their organization.”

Toscano’s songs often motivate audiences to donate during Fund-A-Needs.

“My favorite way of incorporating a song is to use it as an incentive to raise more money in what I call the ‘Song Challenge,‘” she states. “For instance, when I work with Make-A-Wish, $10,000 is the average cost to grant one wish for a child with a critical illness. So, if we’re at 40 donations at the thousand-dollar level, I’ll let the crowd know that if we can get ten more donations and grant one more wish, I’ll sing a special song I prepared for you.”

Toscano’s songs are so well-received, that nonprofits regularly invite her back to run their fundraisers. To make sure audiences don’t get the same performance every year, she comes up with new ways to integrate music and singing into fundraisers.

“Lately, I’ve been singing duets with people connected to the nonprofit during the ‘Song Challenge,'” she notes. “I ask the organization for someone beloved in their community who can sing and rehearse with them ahead of time. I’ve sung with the founder of organizations, executive directors, Italian tenor Pasquale Esposito, and this year, I’ve gotten to sing with three kids. If it’s a child or youth-based organization, people love hearing a kid sing. It’s a lot more work, but I love working with children.”

Take time to learn what makes your professional unique. If you find their performance connects with your audience, see if they can bring that energy back in new and exciting ways for future galas.

Finding Your Best Charity Auctioneer

Finding the best auctioneer for your nonprofit means more than just hiring someone who can manage auctions. The best professionals offer consulting and emcee services that elevate your entire fundraiser experience. They can adapt their skills to additional techniques like Fund-A-Needs and virtual or hybrid fundraisers. And they can connect with audiences in a way that draws crowds to your fundraisers year after year.

To find auctioneers like this, it’s important to thoroughly vet your prospects. Many professionals advertise their services on websites that also offer testimonials and video clips of their work. Locate those who seem like a good fit for your organization and interview them. See how well their values and background align with the needs of your nonprofit. The more time you invest in locating your ideal auctioneer, the easier it’ll be to form a mutually beneficial partnership that will help you raise more money each year.

Ready to find for your benefit auctioneer? PayBee provides a partner network of benefit auctioneers, tech support, and event planners who have helped hundreds of nonprofits host successful fundraisers. Our partners are familiar with our online fundraising platform and can use our software tools to provide you with the optimal fundraiser experience. Learn more about how we can help by searching our partner network and scheduling a free demo of our platform today!

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Learn more about Ellen Toscano’s services by checking out The Singing Auctioneer LLC and contact her at info@yoursingingauctioneer.com to see how she can help your nonprofit or charity fundraiser.

This is the first in a series of write-ups on the winners of PayBee’s 2024 Bid Masters Awards. Finalists in the awards are recognized as top national auctioneers in popular nonprofit publications and receive PayBee fundraising platform discounts for new clients. See all the finalists and learn how to promote your favorite auctioneers by visiting the PayBee Bid Masters Leaderboard.