10 Top Celebrity Charity Auctions

Last year there was a new nonprofit fundraising trend – the celebrity auction – and we featured a few of them here on the Miratel blog like the Chelsea Lately Auction for Human Rights Campaign, Grammy Musicians Online Nonprofit Fundraising Auction and The Night of Too Many Stars Auction. Today, with the help of Look to the Stars, we’ll be counting down the top 10 celebrity auctions of 2012.

1. 1. U2 Package: The lucky winner got to meet U2 front man Bono backstage after attending one their concerts from the VIP area. This lot also included Bono’s famous Irish Falcon Gretsch Guitar, which was signed and personalized. The final bid was an impressive $212,000, which went to benefit J/P Haitian Relief Organization, Happy Hearts Fund and Artists for Peace and Justice.
   2. Lunch with New York City’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg to benefit The Humane Society raised $185,000.

Autographed Fender Bass Guitar auction item from 121212 concert

1. 12-12-12 Concert to benefit the Robin Hood Fund for Sandy Relief was a major television event, but there was also an auction. A Fender Bass Guitar signed by Paul McCartney, Bruce Springsteen, Roger Daltrey, Billy Joel, Dave Grohl, Eric Clapton, Jon Bon Jovi, Michael Stipe, Chris Martin and others who were backstage at the event raised $135,000for the relief fund.
2. To benefit his Rafael Nadal Foundation the French Open Champion auctioned off a private tennis lesson, which brought in $100,000.
3. The 12-12-12 Concert to benefit the Robin Hood Fund for Sandy Relief’s auction had a number of lots including: A Gibson Les Paul Guitar signed by Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Michael Stipe, Roger Daltrey, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen, Jon Bon Jovi and others who were backstage at the event raised $90,000 for the relief fund.
4. As an item for The Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Barbra Streisand donated to have the auction winner as her personal guest while she performed at her Malibu compound with hosts Bill Clinton, Josh Groban, and David Foster. This once in a lifetime experience went for $80,000.
5. To help raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, a day in New York City with Former President of the United States Bill Clinton brought in $80,000 to help sick children.
6. GLSEN (The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network) auctioned off lunch with George Clooney and Dave Karger at the exclusive Soho House West Hollywood which raised $58,000.
7. Robin Quivers co-host of Howard Stern Show held an auction for her 15 Foundation, which “support[s] deep, long-term interventions empowering youth in the three areas of Mind, Body and Spirit.” The auction lot included “[sitting] in on the Howard Stern Show in New York City and meet Howard and the staff, including a tour of SiriunXM Studios” and it raised $57,500.
8. City of Hope, is an “innovative biomedical research, treatment and educational institution, is dedicated to the prevention and cure of cancer and other life-threatening diseases” To help support the charity, music icon Sir Paul McCartney donated 2 tickets to any of his shows and access to the pre-show sound check. This experience went for $57,500

Donating an autographed item or an experience is a way for celebrities to interact with their fans and help support their favourite charities. Also, participating in this type of fundraiser is an easy way to help bring media attention to the event the charity is hosting and their cause. In the end, everyone wins as die-hard fans and collectors get an once-in-a-lifetime experience and/or item, the celebrities get good publicity and the charity gets much needed attention and funds.

___________________________________________________________________________________

For nonprofit, nonprofit fundraising, CSR business and other news, connect with us on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and Pinterest or subscribe to our RSS feed.

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery services, donation caging, donation processing and other donor management services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all contact centre services and mail house operations and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.