A word about Charities....

With a struggling economy, this year has been about finding ways to expose my work either for little cost or free. I've started entering national competitions, and working with animal rescues and charities. I decided to donate a painting to a very well-known charity. Black tie event, women in cocktail dresses, and dinner for $250 ea. 500 of the wealthiest names in Scottsdale, all in one place.

Getting in front of a qualified audience is always key - and a hard thing to do! Public art show attendees include everyone from art students to art collectors, can't always tell who you're talking to, and yet you need to know before you can sell your art. I was excited because with this charity, that obstacle was eliminated. A business owner I know donates every year, good cause and exposure for his business - this was the same place I was coming from.

My donation painting was $3,000 and minimum bids would start at $500. It's hard enough to "give" work away but I'm willing to do so for a good cause and the right exposure. I knew going in, there was a chance that someone could walk away with it well under it's value; that's part of the risk. There were 60 items in the silent auction; everything from vacation travels to jewelry, even trips to celebrity talk shows. 

The auction started at 6:30 pm and people dressed to the nine start coming through. It's open bar, drinks were free. As the room got more and more crowded we noted that no one was really paying attention to the silent auction items. I glanced at my associate's donation item, which was nice but not extravagant or the higher priced items from his store. While I'm here, I'm also going to share that those running the event, did not bother to make their way over to Ben and I, thanking us for our donation. A potential sale of $3,000 going to their cause- that is a lot of money for us. Too bad class didn't come with their wealth.

The painting did get noticed and people picked up my cards, though no bids were placed. One soul tried to bid on it for $150, so I clarified to her that the min. bid was $500, increments were $100. She assured me, "Oh! Well if you decide to sell the painting for cheaper, let me know!" Unbelievable. Walking around I noted that only about 6 of the 60 items were bid on, and the current bids were sitting about 1/3 of the item's value. By the time the auction was over, I was relieved no one had bid on my work and I could have it back in my inventory! This was just the wrong situation.

We learned that night what my contact reiterated the day after: there are 2 types of charities: those that are serious about raising money for a cause, and those that need an excuse to throw a party. He never donated expensive items to this one for that reason. I learned a lot here, and thankfully, I'm out nothing but my time and won't be back. The trick now is finding which charities truly to be involved with?