Months of careful planning set the stage for a successful fundraising auction, but as soon as you open up the doors to your crowd, anything can happen...

In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell are joined by special guest Leslie Peterson, Executive Director of the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation, to discuss all of the work that goes into Carefully Planned Spontaneity. Leslie, Devo and Greg discuss the many events they've done together, and those magical moments of spontaneity they worked so hard to achieve.

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/2025/4/25/carefully-planned-spontaneity

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

How important is a theme for a fundraising event? Can a good theme help you raise more money? Will a bad theme cost you money? And what even is a "bad" theme, anyway?

In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell are joined by special guest, Michael Irvine, VP of Development & Marketing for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sonoma Valley, and this episode Theme is the Theme. Michael shares his strategy for creating a theme that incorporates the tastes and likes of the honoree, recognizes donors, and provides opportunities for marketing and decor. Oh, and Greg and Devo share some colorful stories as well

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog/2025/3/30/theme

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

What happens when you decide to gamble with your fund-a-need? When you opt to go fishing for donations above any known commitments? How does your crowd know what to expect in your live auction?

In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell discuss the ways going out on a limb can succeed wonderfully, or fail miserably. From a donor who insists that the opening level of the fund-a-need was off by $90,000 to the crowd that was not prepared to donate at all, join Devo and Greg as they go Out On a Limb.

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog/2025/3/20/out-on-a-limb

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

What are the three things every fundraising auction should do when soliciting a winery for donations? What are the cardinal sins you should always avoid? How far in advance should you solicit a winery for a donation? What is the best way to approach a winery for donations?

Suzanne Tate, proprietor of TATE Wine in Napa, joins host Greg Quiroga for "Inside the Industry", an in-depth look at the world of fundraising auctions. Suzanne and her husband, David, launched their boutique, single-vineyard wines in 2011, and have participated in many fundraising auctions per year since.

Suzanne is also the newest auctioneer to join Stellar Fundraising Auctions, and you can read more about her on our website: https://www.stellarsf.com/suzanne-tate

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions: https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

After the auction is over, one gala mom insists on a little extra service from Greg. Devon crowd-sources the costs of going overtime. And dance floors, dance floors everywhere, but not a crowd to see...

In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell discuss all of the things that can go right (and wrong) on the dance floor at a fundraising auction. From the mom who wouldn't take "no" for an answer to a simple solution to bring your auctioneer closer to all of the crowd, this episode will not leave you in the dark.

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog/2025/2/27/dancing-in-the-dark

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

When it comes to fundraising auctions, where you hold your event can sometimes make or break it. There's nothing like being memorable for all of the wrong reasons. But if your location is epic...well...that's a good sort of memorable.

In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell discuss the best, and worst, locations they've done fundraising auctions. From a backcountry ski lodge, to a mission-appropriate park setting, to three tents cobbled together in a rainstorm, if there's one thing this episode has it's location, location, location.

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog/2025/2/11/location-location-location

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

Resets often bring unintended consequences, and in this episode we discuss what happens when a fundraising auction decides to start anew. A new auction chair fails to assign some important roles for the auction. A crowd discovers how many changes it can handle in a single year. And Greg gets hired to not do an auction.

Join fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell as they start over, and launch the second season of Black Tie and Tales.

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/

Yay, 2024! Close out the year and our first season of Black Tie and Tales on a positive note with fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell, as they look back on their most positive moments from 2024.

Organizations work together to change the world. An event's theme makes the event bigger, better and more meaningful. A simple and fun addition to the fund-a-need helps raise more money faster, and more!

Read the accompanying blog post to this episode on our blog: https://www.stellarsf.com/blog

Presented by Stellar Fundraising Auctions (http://www.stellarsf.com) and brought to you by Greater Giving, easily manage fundraising event registration, check-in, check-out, auction items and sales: http://www.greatergiving.com

And Sojourn Ventures: Consignment travel for charity auctions, done right: https://www.sojournventurestravel.com/

Take a peek behind the curtain of the wonderful world of fundraising auctions with two auctioneers who have seen it all. https://feeds.captivate.fm/black-tie-and-tales/