As I write this just before the Thanksgiving holiday, we are still closing out the annual Harvest Auction campaign, which was a wonderful success. Although it was short of our goal inspired by our record-breaking 2024 results, we still raised an impactful amount similar to our auctions in 2022 and 2023. And when we think about it, the economy, political climate and all the other things that indirectly affect philanthropy are quite different than they were a year ago! We continue to feel blessed by your support in any amount.

Of course, after each Harvest Auction, we continue working to make sure that all of the auction items and certificates get to their new homes, that all of our paperwork is correct, that our thank yous go out and that the donations process correctly. It continues on for a few weeks after the actual event, as anyone familiar with event planning can imagine.

I enjoy visiting with donors as they come in to pick up their items or “pay their tabs,” so to speak. Some round up their totals and make an additional cash gift. Others share fun stories from their relative perspectives that night.

One thing that we sometimes hear from auction item donors is that they wished their items raised more for UMC. Understandably, they hope that their item sparks a bidding war and goes for twice what it’s worth. But in reality, when you look at auction statistics nationwide, that rarely happens. According to ClickBid, which facilitates over 2,400 events annually (primarily auctions), mobile or electronic bidding typically generates over 80 percent of total fair market value on average (traditional paper auctions generate about 50 percent). So how did we do in comparison? Our silent and live auctions had a combined total of $60,000 FMV and raised $54,771. So
we generated 90 percent of our FMV, and we feel good knowing that our auction is more successful than the
national average. Our donors should too!

In reflecting on this year’s Harvest Auction myself, I learned a valuable lesson: Don’t drink from your water glass at the same time two donors—Bill and Jody Tibert, and Dr. Mike and Pattie Bittles—enter their matching and very generous reverse auction bids. I almost spit it out, and they were sitting right in front of me!