A private Minnesota school serving 950+ students grades 7-12 holds an annual golf outing each August. The event raises money for capital improvements and scholarships. Event organizers decided to add a live auction to their golf event and hired Lawrence Auctioneering (who already handles their annual spring gala).

The live auction offered the usual items–trips, rounds of golf and sports equipment.
But Brent Lawrence and one of the audience members made the bidding extra fun.
Impressed with how much money was being raised, the attendee spontaneously offered a weekend at a northern Minnesota resort. The auction chanting began. Then, the donor sweetened the deal with fresh cut flowers during the winner’s stay. The bidding continued. Finally, the donor chuckled and said he would personally vacuum the carpet before the guests arrived. The bid paddles went up. The weekend which
normally would have brought $1,500 sold for $3,000.

The school’s development associate described the tournament as the “best in the school’s history.”

“I can’t believe how well we did,” she said. “It was well above and beyond my
expectations.”

Incidentally, the donor was so impressed with the live auction, he’s contracted with Lawrence Auctioneering to help with his foundation’s fundraising event.