Wade G. West
President and Senior Auctioneer , American Fundraising Auctions
      Mr. West is President and Senior Auctioneer at American Fundraising Auctions. He is a former television news reporter and news anchor in the CBS Television Network system. Since developing the art and science of fundraising auctions to a new level, he has raised more than $5,000,000 to help charities, hospitals, colleges, universities and others in their critically needed work.
      As a reporter, he was one of only three journalists allowed into the control room at the now-destroyed nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, Ukraine. His reports from inside the “Forbidden Zone” brought the story of the human tragedy at the world’s worst radiation accident to viewers throughout North America. He has also interviewed Presidents, Prime Ministers and soldiers in the heat of combat.
      As a reporter, he saw the results of the good works of charitable, educational and health-related organizations. His broadcast reports helped build public support for those programs and agencies. But in that work, he learned that no matter how important an issue, how critical a need, or how worthy an organization, nothing happens until the funding is in place to actualize the dreams of the organization.
      Since his retirement from active broadcasting, Wade has devoted his work to getting those organizations he covered for so many years the funding they need to grow and succeed. As a result, AFA will conduct approximately 70 auctions around the country thus year, adding about ten million dollars to not-for-profit organization’s budgets.
      Mr. West also speaks for the U.S. State Department, the European Union Conference of Mayors, the U.S. Justice Department and the South American Interfaith Counsel on how to use the media to help in the fight against illicit drug use. That work has taken him repeatedly to Italy, Switzerland, Sweden, Iceland, Argentina and Brazil where he routinely speaks to audiences of more than 500 people. He routinely receives rave reviews for his presentations.
      On the issue of using auctions to increase funding for not-for-profit agencies, Mr. West has spoken in Florida, New York, Connecticut and other areas for the Target Funding Group and to the Alabama and Central Florida chapters of AFP.

      The presentation title comes from the results achieved for the Children’s Miracle Network; $529,000 raised in 37 minutes….with 88% of the money coming from people who had never contributed to CMN before. Learn how to ensure fundraising success by creating the maximum income increase at no expense to the organization, even if you thought a live fundraising auction was not viable; how to use a fundraising auction to eradicate “Donor Fatigue;” the problem many fundraising professionals are encountering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters, even with some of their most loyal supporters; how to use fundraising auctions to develop new donors among people and organizations that have not supported you in the past.

Benefits and Learning Objectives

1. Know how and when to use fundraising auctions for maximum benefit
2. Be able to obtain high value specialty items for their auctions, such as all-inclusive trips to Europe, adventure travel such as a flight at twice the speed of sound over Moscow, 220 mile per hour laps in a Ferrari and a tour of the factory where these cars are assembled by hand or front row seats at a haute couture fashion show in Paris or Milan, without ever purchasing anything for their auction.
3. Know how to increase the income from any silent auction they currently conduct by 250 to 400%.
4. Develop the skills to use the live auction to actually reduce special event expenses while at the same time ensuring more high-value potential donors attend the event.