BeCause

Los Angeles on the Silver Screen

February 25, 2014
This Sunday, Ellen DeGeneres and a cast of thousands will take over the Kodak Theater in Hollywood for the Academy Awards, and viewers at home will be treated to the view of a room full of movie stars. But, of course, Tom Hanks and George Clooney aren’t the only film-famous sights to see in Los Angeles. Tinseltown has long been immortalized on the big screen, and a tour of the city will visit any number of well-known vistas.

One of the best L.A.-spotting movies of recent vintage was “(500) Days of Summer,” which took place in the city’s newly revitalized downtown district. A daylong walk of the area can take tourists to the park where Zooey Deschanel’s Summer and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Tom bonded (Angel’s Knoll, where the bench at which they sat even bears a plaque commemorating the film), the bars they frequent (the karaoke scenes were filmed at the Redwood Bar, while Tom punches out a romantic rival at Broadway Bar) and even the building where (spoiler alert!) Tom gets his big interview (the Bradbury Building, also a major location in “Blade Runner”). Of course, a film with a title like “L.A. Story” is going to be a treasure trove of on-the-street locations. The classic Steve Martin comedy takes place all over the city, with the Museum of Contemporary Art and Venice Beach each providing key settings for Martin and company (including a very young Sarah Jessica Parker). But the most noteworthy place seen might be during the film’s “graveyard” scene, featuring a cameo from Rick Moranis, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The gravesite has been seen in “The Player,” “Bonfire of the Vanities” and countless television shows, from “Six Feet Under” to “Columbo.” Along with its burial plots, Hollywood Forever is known as one of L.A.’s most morbid venues for movies (the Cinespa screening series in the summer) and concerts (at the cemetery’s Masonic Lodge).

While most of those locations are still in operation today, one famous L.A. film landmark sits empty, now existing almost solely to be used in television and movies. Johnie’s Coffee Shop sits at the corner of Fairfax Avenue and Wilshire Boulevard, non-operational since 2000, and stands out from the surrounding buildings thanks to its bright blue-and-white striping and neon signage. But even if it’s not still slinging cups of joe and diner food, Johnie’s is still a favorite of location directors; “The Big Lebowski,” “Reservoir Dogs” and an episode of “Mad Men” were all filmed here. But its most pivotal scenes might have been in the late ‘80s cult classic “Miracle Mile,” where it stood in as the café called “Fat Boy” and where Anthony Edwards first tells the assembled masses about an impending nuclear strike.


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Keeping the Torch Lit

February 18, 2014

The 2014 Winter Olympics is days away from finishing, with the elaborate Closing Ceremony planned for February 23. Once the big show leaves town, though, Sochi will still have all of the infrastructure improvements, added attractions and other bells and whistles that come along with hosting an event the size of the Olympiad. (It will also still have an uncomfortable number of stray dogs and some mangled bathroom doors.) While going to the actual Olympics can certainly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, there are still remnants of the Olympic experience left behind in host cities and countries. Give your donors the chance to take advantage of all the perks of the Games without all of the hassles of an overstuffed host city by offering a trip to one of these former homes of the Winter or Summer Olympics. Vancouver may have been the host of the 2010 Winter Olympics, but nearby Whistler was the home of many of the skiing events, thanks to the presence of Whistler Blackcomb. The resort, the largest in North America, already had its own Olympic history: It was conceived for Vancouver’s bid for the 1968 Winter Olympics, then constructed anyway when the International Olympic Committee awarded the Games to Grenoble, France. Almost 50 years after those games, Blackcomb finally got to host its own Olympic races, including the alpine skiing series. But even if your donors are not the adrenaline junkie types, they can drive the Sea-to-Sky Highway, considered by many to be one of the world’s most beautiful road trips, or take the Peak 2 Peak Gondola that links the Blackcomb and Whistler mountains. When the IOC brought the Games to London in 2012, it knew that the Olympics would be held in a modern city well-equipped to host the world. But the competition still needed a central home, a place that would live, breathe and pulse the spirit throughout those 16 summer days. With that in mind, what is now known as Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was created. Visitors to the park will be able to get a bird’s-eye view starting in April, when the ArcelorMittal Orbit, an observation tower with two platforms that, combined, overlook the enormity of the space. It’s all well and good to see the Olympic sights, but experience is the key word when visiting Albertville, France, the host of the 1992 Winter Olympiad. At the La Plagne Bob Experience, visitors can take off down the same bobsled run used during the Games more than 20 years ago. Whether it’s with friends sitting behind a professional “driver” in a bobsled going 120 kilometers per hour or riding solo in a luge/sled hybrid, your donors can experience a taste of the Olympic spirit. Cheering crowds, gold medals and sponsorships not included.

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Why Travel?

February 13, 2014
There are any number of items that can attract donations at charity auctions. Local restaurants can contribute meals or gift certificates, gyms can offer personal training sessions, and spas can put together day-long getaways. Each of those entries have their places at a well-run fundraiser. But when it comes to a centerpiece item, something that makes the eyes of donors light up and their imaginations race, there may be nothing better than a well-curated, once-in-a-lifetime travel opportunity.

Why add a travel package to your auction? Here are a few simple reasons:

Joy by Association: Vacations have been proven to reduce stress, improve the quality and quantity of sleep and prevent burnout. But maybe as important is a vacation’s effect on family relationships. Some of the best memories, those that last a lifetime, come from taking off to an exotic locale with the spouse and kids. Waking up in a Parisian hotel room overlooking the Eiffel Tower, walking through ancient Rome, scuba diving in Bali … those are some of the once-in-a-lifetime moments that kids will remember and cherish forever.

Many of your donors are overworked, and push themselves to be successful and take care of their families. A luxury travel experience can be just the stress reliever that a busy executive needs, and that donor will always associate the good feelings of that trip, those life-long memories, with the non-profit that helped make it possible.

Big Ticket Items Mean Big Money: In order to get higher bids, one must ask for more money. It’s not a difficult assertion to follow logically, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of playing “small ball” when setting up a charity auction. An organization may be worried about asking for too much, especially at a gala auction where attendees have already paid a significant amount to attend the event.

It’s important to remember, though: These people are at the event to support the non-profit. They want to help. They are an organization’s biggest backers, and offering them a chance to contribute in a larger manner—especially when it comes with the trip-of-a-lifetime as a “bonus”—is enticing.

Hassle-Free, Risk-Free Consignment Selling: Like an exotic trip or a fantasy experience, there’s no risk when selling a package put together by a trusted charity consignment auction travel company. You don’t pay for the trip until you collect payment from the donor. If it doesn’t sell, there’s no harm. It’s a way to quickly add an item to the auction menu and adding that “WOW” factor without risk or having to ask for a donation.

In addition, with careful procurement, consignment travel options can complement other items. Have a French dinner gift certificate to auction? Pair with a trip to Paris! Autographed sports memorabilia? How about a trip to see any regular season sporting event in the country? Also, consignment travel can help support other auction items, allowing a non-profit to accept a wider range of gifts to sell. If a friend of the organization has a timeshare week to donate, for instance, a consignment package can “complete” the donation with airfare to and activities at the destination. There’s no limit to the creativity when there’s no risk to the selection.

What’s your reason for enticing donors with travel?

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Travel with a Ticket

February 04, 2014

On February 6, the pitchers and catchers of the Arizona Diamondbacks will report to training camp in Scottsdale, AZ. They’ll be the first players to open pre-season workouts, and the first athletes to send the thoughts of sports fans racing to the spring months. But the return of baseball is far from the only sporting event to think about when the snow starts to melt and the days get longer; the calendar is loaded in the months of March, April and May with major events and championships in several sports that your donors might care about. Why not couple a charity auction travel opportunity with a ticket to a major spring sporting event? Mitch-Stuart has you covered, with trips revolving around everything from one of America’s oldest sporting events to one of the country’s most prestigious golf tournaments. Since 1934, the Masters Tournament has held a special place in the hearts of golf fans. Traditionally the first of the PGA Tour’s four “major” tournaments each year, it takes place in Augusta, GA. every April, a time of year when the temperature averages in the 70s and there is little precipitation. It’s a perfect setting for a vacation, too, with Hickory Knob Resort State Park and the cities of Savannah and Atlanta all within reasonable driving distance. Not every sports fan craves the tranquility of the links, though. For those who like their competition to be a bit louder, consider heading to the capital of Indiana for the Indianapolis 500. More than 250,000 fans cram into the Indianapolis Motor Speedway over Memorial Day weekend to see their favorite drivers race while enjoying experiences ranging from infield tailgating to, as Mitch-Stuart has arraigned for charity auction winners, seats in the Penthouse Tower. It’s a holiday weekend away at one of the most prestigious race events in the world. Cars at the Indy 500 can boast of more than 600 horsepower, but in Kentucky, the most important race is between combatants that don’t need engines at all. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, and is not just a sporting event, but a way of life for residents and expatriates of the Bluegrass State. The Mitch-Stuart travel package takes winners to both the Derby and the Kentucky Oaks race on the day prior, while even taking care of souvenirs. Bring your own big hats, though.

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