A local women's shelter had run a Golden Ticket at their benefit for years — their own version, where the winner got to choose one of the live auction items. For the last few seasons it hadn't performed. So this year, the Development Director decided to try the HGA Golden Ticket for the first time.
A sellout before the doors even opened
They began selling tickets online the Monday before the event. By the time the doors opened Saturday night, all 100 tickets were gone — a complete sellout, with the high-margin revenue already in hand before the program even started.
A second Golden Ticket, offered at exactly the right moment
The auctioneer that night was Blake Hartman, an HGA preferred marketing partner. Blake suggested something experienced auctioneers know works: offer a second Golden Ticket as a live-auction item — but only after all the other fundraising was finished. So after the live auction and the paddle raise had run their course, the team put one more Golden Ticket up for bid.
The bidding stalled at $3,500. And then, just before Blake called it sold, a gentleman at the back of the room held up ten fingers and shouted, "$10,000!"
The win behind the win: a brand-new $10,000 donor
Here's what made the night remarkable. That man had come as a guest. He wasn't known to the organization. He'd had multiple opportunities to give throughout the evening — the live auction, the paddle raise — and he passed on every one of them. He chose to make his gift when the Golden Ticket came back up.
Had the team not offered that second Golden Ticket as a live-auction item, he may never have made his generous donation at all.
Two wins in one night
When the lights came up, the shelter had two wins instead of one. They netted $15,000 from the Golden Ticket — and they had identified a brand-new $10,000 donor, someone they can now build a lasting relationship with for years to come.
The HGA Golden Ticket, in the hands of an experienced preferred marketing partner, made a real difference for this organization — turning a tactic that had gone stale into the most productive moment of the night.