Black Tie and Tales

Fundraising auctions are not usually life or death situations...but in the rare cases they are, how would you react? In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Bell recount emergency situations they've encountered while onstage, and how they managed the moment. From a kitchen emergency that delays the entire event, to a fatal heart attack, this episode e...

Jonathan Moscone joins us for an in-depth discussion of how he took California Shakespeare Theater's fundraising gala to new heights. Jonathan shares the work he did with his board, committee, staff, volunteers and supporters to make some big changes that resulted in huge payoffs. Then Devo and Greg share their own quantum leaps, often involving the introduction of fundraising concepts like the fu...

Check your calendar and set your DVR, in this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctions face competition for donor attention from professional sporting events. One organization goes all-in on a Golden State Warriors game, only to see the Dubs lose, while another organization scores in the playoffs. In this episode of Black Tie and Tales, fundraising auctioneers Greg Quiroga and Devon Be...

A drunk woman crawls onstage and decides to make the event all about her. A vintner takes over the fund-a-need pitch and turns it into a marketing opportunity for their wine. In this episode of Black Tie and Tales fundraising auctioneers Devon Bell and Greg Quiroga recount some of those moments when an individual took over an event, and share strategies for how to prevent these charity auction hor...

Not everyone is thrilled when a charity decides to bring in a new fundraising auctioneer. In this episode one mom goes to ridiculous lengths to prevent Greg from starting an auction. Devon learns the hard way that too much of a good thing is still too much. And both share about the favorite change they've helped bring about in a fundraising event. View more information about Buy-in parties here: h...

Black Tie and Tales episode #1: where we meet our hosts, fundraising auctioneers Devon Bell and Greg Quiroga, learn the goals for the podcast (and maybe more than we wanted to about Greg's childhood), and hear some truly terrifying tales of sound gone wrong at a charity auction. Bonus content: Greg surprises Devo with a recording of his first fundraising auction ever. Devon Bell and Greg Quiroga a...