Keith L. McLane, BAS, is one of the country’s preeminent fundraising auctioneers and special appeal/fund-a-need experts. He holds an MBA from The UCLA Anderson School of Management and is a graduate of the world-famous Missouri Auction School, which Newsweek magazine dubs “The Harvard of Auctioneering.” He is also one of only a small number of auctioneers in the country–and one of only eight auctioneers in California–to have achieved the National Auctioneers Association’s Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) designation.
Gathering a crowd at a premier San Francisco charity auction event.
In the early 1990s, Keith studied and learned the nuances of live auctioneering with REDC (www.auction.com), the nation’s largest and most successful real estate auction firm. Since 1995, he has specialized in organizing and conducting charity and fundraising auctions for schools, charitable organizations, and nonprofit groups. Performing auctions across California and beyond, Keith has become well-known for leaving “no money on the table” and for his fun and entertaining auctioneering style that takes him out from behind the podium and deep into the audience!
Past and present clients include numerous elementary, middle, and high schools, PTA organizations, school districts, educational foundations, and undergraduate and post-graduate institutions, as well as dozens of national philanthropic organizations which directly benefit disadvantaged/special needs youth, homeless families, women in crisis, senior citizens, military organizations, health-related causes and arts foundations.
Since 2002, KLM Auctions has expanded to include a stable of the most dynamic fundraising auctioneers in the industry. Every one of our auctioneers is a first-rate charity auctioneer in their own right, and has been trained by Keith with respect to the methodologies, nuances and flair of conducting the most dynamic fundraising auction the patrons at your event have ever seen. Why? Because “bored bidders don’t bid!”
A huge, dynamic crowd in San Francisco.
KLM Auctions customarily provides a myriad of supplementary services, including extensive pre-auction consulting, silent auction “turbo-charging”, Fund-A-Need/Paddles Up expertise, and working within the theme of your event to create a professional yet genuinely exciting evening for your attendees. These elements, combined with our decades of experience in maximizing live auction revenues, are why we have engendered so many raving fans.
Recently, Keith performed a fundraising auction for a prominent elementary school’s PTA in Lafayette, California. The financial goal for the live auction and Fund-a-Need/Paddles Up portion of the evening was $50,000, based on previous years’ events. With a few new strategies and Keith’s auctioneering, they were able to raise $90,000 in the live auction alone — far exceeding the PTA’s expectations. The money raised enabled the school to hire additional teacher’s aides, invest in more computers, and sponsor a host of extracurricular activities that had potentially faced elimination.
Wrapping up another successful auction.
Your organization will always net more money with an experienced auctioneer who knows how to encourage and maximize bidding and specializes in fundraising/charity auctions. KLM Auctions has the expertise, experience, and finesse to achieve top dollar while providing a very entertaining evening that your guests/patrons will remember for a long time.
Keith is always happy to answer your auction-related questions via phone or email, whether they occur to you today or on the day of your event.
If you are one of the people responsible for making the important decision of choosing your auctioneer, Keith looks forward to speaking with you, and helping to make your auction a raging success!