IAAM Foundation

Auction fever is heating up for the annual IAAM Foundation Silent Auction! This year’s auction will be held on the Trade Show floor at the IAAM Annual Conference & Trade Show in Washington D.C. from July 16-18.

Already among this year’s donations are some wonderful travel packages to places you may have heard of like New York City and San Diego (event tickets included, of course). On your trip you can watch your portable Polaroid widescreen LCD DVD/CD/MP3 player – or if you are more of a stay at home type, you will want to bid on the Sony Progressive Scan DVD player – while surrounded by a plethora of facility swag.

Back by popular demand will be a series of amazing autographed sports paraphernalia – remember last year the highlight was Lance Armstrong’s Tour de France jersey. And it keeps getting better, because you keep sending in incredible facility packages and items that your peers in the industry love to bid on! It’s not too late to contribute to the auction – here’s how: go to www.iaam.org, click 2005 Conference, Silent Auction and access the donation form or call the Foundation at 800/935-4226.

We so appreciate your donations, but of course the real fun is in attending the auction and finding that perfect item to bid on and take home. While you are undoubtedly currently very busy saving your pennies to bid on fantastic goods from venues around the world, please take the time to study the helpful information below. These are some crucial tips on how to be a Successful Silent Auction Bidder, adapted from www.ehow.com – How to Do (just about) Everything:

Going…As soon as the Trade Show opens, wander by the Silent Auction area to check out the items that interest you and their starting values (you will have no trouble finding it – always a hotbed of activity on the Trade Show floor). This will allow you to determine early to throw your budget out the window for the Must Have Item.
Buy your initial handful of 50/50 lottery tickets.
Get first dibs on every item you love by writing the amount you would like to bid on the sheet provided. Feel free to bid early and bid often.
Going…Go back periodically over the course of the next few days, to stake out your item and see if you have been outbid. As the auction continues, you may wish to bring a towel from your hotel room, to wipe sweat from your brow.
Invest in a few more 50/50 lottery tickets.
Occasionally write a new (higher, much higher) amount on the bid sheet to increase the bid and up your odds of leaving town with the much coveted item(s).
Hover menacingly by the item immediately prior to the closing of the auction. Since this is Washington, you may be able to hire an off-duty secret service type to wear sunglasses and stand near the item with his beefy arms crossed.
Going… You may have to practice the fine auction art of “sniping” or waiting until the final moment before the auction closes to submit your final bid – we do not condone violence at this or any point.
GONE! Enjoy your wonderful new possession and feel really proud of yourself for having supported the IAAM Foundation! Remember that donations to charities are tax deductible, including those to charitable silent auctions. If you itemize the item(s) on your tax return, you can deduct the price of the items you purchase if it is greater than the fair market value of the goods and services you received.
With your remaining (?) cash be sure to purchase your last set of lucky 50/50 lottery tickets at this time. By now the pot is likely up high enough to cover at least some of your silent auction booty.

An update on the “Give It 100%” Campaign: THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this year’s annual giving campaign. The IAAM and IAAM Foundation’s 2004/05 fiscal year is now complete and we are happy to report that the percentage of IAAM member contributions is up almost 50% over last year. Thank you for helping us to raise more money for FUNDING THE FUTURE.