Fundraising Auctioneer
Erin Williams, a key partner at Raising Paddles and a St. Louis Metro resident, serves as both a professional Auctioneer and a dedicated Fundraising Consultant. Each year, Erin speaks at dozens of seminars and workshops in the Midwest and expertly assists 40-50 clients in surpassing their development and fundraising goals through meticulous planning and unparalleled attention to detail. On stage, Erin’s dynamic presence and passionate advocacy for each cause she represents resonate deeply with audiences. Notably, Erin holds the prestigious designation of Benefit Auction Specialist, a credential held by only 300 auctioneers nationwide, highlighting her specialized skills in nonprofit fundraising.
Testimonials
As a first time chair for the biggest annual fundraiser for our Academy with very little time to plan, I was blown away by not only Erin’s professionalism and ability to do her job effectively, but the care she showed. She consistently demonstrated true care for OUR mission and OUR values. She took the time to get to know US as a family with a unique culture so she could cultivate language that spoke to the hearts of our donors. As an organization steeped in faith and family, it is important that we focus on fellowship and the meaning of each gift, large or small. Erin took the time to learn about us so that she could reflect this spirit. She also came to each of our preparation and debriefing meetings with innovative ideas that allowed us to develop an event that capitalized on the strengths of our Committee, Board, and donors. I have received many, many compliments for her work from our community. She will be sought by our family for years to come!
Erin Williams was an outstanding Master of Ceremonies and Auctioneer. I was so pleased by her professionalism and her desire to help our community. She knew our mission and provided us an experience that celebrated what makes Holy Cross Academy a great school. Her work with us made us feel like she was a part of our community. One attendee responded, “The way that she is speaking made it feel like she is a part of the Holy Cross Academy community.” That is the best compliment I could give her. Erin is a big reason why our Gala was so successful.
I interviewed many companies and auctioneers for this position and truly felt compelled once I spoke with and interviewed both Dan Campbell and Erin Williams. They offered insight into how to make our evening a great success and walked us through many details that aided in our party raising significantly more donations than expected. Raising Paddles provided us limitless access to every detail from the paddles, the audiovisual layout, the live auction package line-up, the layout of the tables, and even aided in our personal speakers for the evening.
The night of the event Erin Williams provided an energy in the room that was electric. She drew the crowd in and made the night an overwhelming success. She is a charming, warm hearted, organized, and an extremely professional auctioneer with which to work. Numerous attendees approached me and my co-chair about how great she was and the energy she created for the event. I wholeheartedly endorse and recommend the job that Raising Paddles can do.
Erin, a most sincere thanks for facilitating such a successful paddle raise during our 50th Anniversary Summit Gala. Through your energy, enthusiasm, and expertise, the mood of the paddle raise was fun, upbeat, and most importantly, inspired our supporters to give generously. Thank you for helping us create a most memorable 50th Anniversary celebration!
On behalf of Opportunity International and myself, I want to extend our sincere gratitude to you for leading the paddle raise at our 50th Anniversary Summit Gala this weekend and helping us achieve a record-breaking success of $600,000 and counting! Our experience working with you was exceptional.
Thank you for helping us create such an valuable and moving experience for our guests. We were honored to have you and Raising Paddles as part of this momentous celebration in Opportunity’s history.
Please also know how much I personally and deeply appreciate all of your support, consultation, flexibility, and generosity throughout the entire planning process. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into working with us through every single detail to ensure our donors had a top-notch experience. You are a truly amazing performer. Thanks to your partnership and support, so many people opened their hearts, their Rolodexes, and their wallets to our mission and enabling us to transform the lives of thousands more living in extreme poverty around the globe.
Erin and her team helped us to increase our revenue at our big annual event by over 60%! We’ve received overwhelmingly positive feedback from our guests about their giving experience. Raising Paddles helped make it fun and easy for them to give. A big thank you to Erin and her team! Highly recommend!
“Erin was our auctioneer for Urban Sprouts Gala En Blanc and she is nothing short of amazing! She held our hand through the process, provided great suggestions, and worked closely with us leading up to the event, and the night of, bam! She worked her magic. Erin helped us to double our goal of the evening and we couldn’t have done it without her! Thank you Erin!”