Time flies, and as hard as it is to believe – it’s time to start gathering items in earnest for our 2021 BachFest Online Auction! 

For those of you who are new with us, returning from a hiatus, or have a hard time remembering a pre-COVID world, Bachfest is our primary annual fundraising event -this year being our 11th iteration! In light of ongoing health and safety restrictions, we are hosting this event online like we did this past April, featuring items from both beloved local institutions and donors AND more nationally-accessible contributors for potential bidders all across the country! As we begin our preparations, here is what you need to know:

Auction Dates: February 14th – March 1st

Item Receipt Deadline: February 1st

Fundraising Goal: $8,000+

Needs/Expectations: Each member to procure at least 2 items to be offered at auction

Now, we realize that obtaining items during this time may be more challenging and require some creative thinking to ensure a robust list of items that A) are being made available by contributors and B) are consumables people are willing and desiring to bid on during this season.

For this reason, we have assembled a FABULOUS group of folks from our board and choir who have already begun the work of brainstorming such categories/types of items to help you get started. Karen Nafziger and Eliza Adams, our Bachfest Chairs, will be communicating more details about these with you very soon, so please stay tuned via email as we move into November! In the meantime, here is a brief showcase:

1.) Local/Driveable Vacation Getaways (do you or a friend have a time share/vacation spot to contribute for a week or two? More to come here on providing cleaning fee coverage)

2.) Staycation Gift Baskets (wine; food; movies; popcorn; etc.)

3.) Speciality Cocktail Kits (more to come on specific themes our team has assembled!)

4.) Wine/Liquor Clubs & Delivery Subscriptions

5.) Outdoor, Socially Distanced Wine/Brewery Tastings

6.) Pet Adoption Packages from Local Shelters

7.) Online Classes (Music Lessons; Cooking Lessons; Educational Lecture Series; Exercise Classes)

8.) Lawn Mowing Services

9.) Home Renovation Packages/Discounts

10.) Food Delivery Service Subscriptions (Peapod from Giant; Imperfect Foods; Dinnerly; Blue Apron)

11.) Streaming Subscriptions (Hulu; Netflix; Vudu; AmazonPrime; Disney+)

12.) Local Restaurant Gift Cards: donation OR ON CONSIGNMENT (for every $25.00 of gift cards sold, they get $10; more to come on these).

13.) Generic flight/hotel vouchers with extended expiration dates

We’ve already started receiving some exciting pledges, including: a commissioned musical work by Wayne Wold; several private concerts by some of our BIB orchestral musicians (on consignment); two private, driveable time-shares for multiple weeks; and private history lectures/Q&As by Ray Sprenkle offered via Zoom.

And, if you have a new, creative idea – let us know! We aren’t limited to only what ideas the group above has put together so far. This is just designed to give you a jumping off point, so that meeting the goal of 2+ items per choir member is manageable – and fun! – in the midst of a challenging season for us all.

In case you aren’t aware: anything that you or someone else contributes is TAX-DEDUCTIBLE as a contribution to a nonprofit, and you or whomever you solicit the donation from will be provided with appropriate notification as such.

As we move forward, we will put all information on the Choir Corner as it is shared for easy, one-stop access. This is a special area of our website just for BIB choir members that is password-protected and available 24/7. For those of you who are new with us and haven’t used this before, you can access it HERE, password: Bachrocks. Note: if you check it out immediately, we are still in the process of updating it for this season and purpose, so please be patient!

As you develop ideas and commit to pursuing certain items, please communicate these to your section leader, to Eliza and Karen, or to me, so that we can start to mark any and all pledges in our database, and get to work on our marketing plans for the items we are receiving. It also lets us start to notice any gaps and make the most of opportunities for untapped asks/contributors.

And if procuring auction items like this is new for you, REACH OUT and ASK QUESTIONS! We have some very experienced, great folks who are ready and willing to assist you. Don’t hesitate to contact myself, Karen Nafziger (nafzigerkaren@gmail.com), Eliza Adams (elizahadams79@gmail.com), or your section leaders to get you started.

Again, we want to make your participation in this year’s Bachfest as positive, successful, manageable – and FUN – as possible. So stay connected and stay tuned as we dive into Bachfest 2021!

Rebecca

Rebecca Fanning

Administrative Manager

Bach in Baltimore

Bach Concert Series, Inc.

rebecca@bachinbaltimore