Benefit Auctions & Fundraising Events of 2025

The Grant Halliburton Foundation funds programs that provide services and awareness for mental health. This event brought together Dallas’ finest to fund the mental health service needs not provided by the state. The auction was lively, but the hearts (and wallets) truly opened during the paddles up. We ended the night 43% over the goal, setting an organization fundraising record. We couldn’t have done it without an All-Star team effort!

Moja Tu sponsors families with children seeking higher education opportunities, providing the financial support to allow children in Africa to attend high school and even get their college degrees! Families in Africa often suffer from lack of access and affordability. Moja Tu provides financial and social support to lift entire villages by giving the gift of education and an unlimited future. This year, we passed the fundraising goals by 35%! What a night!

Capital City Village is an organization that builds community within the Austin, TX senior community. Their group and its volunteers work directly with the elder community, helping with light chores around the house, cooking, meal prep and social outings. By engaging the community, Capital City Village allows seniors to stay in their homes longer. The community energy is infectious and it was a lot of fun working with this group.

Junior Achievement of Central Texas connects struggling students with mentors, giving them experience with trade skills and entrepreneurship. Jake connected the mission directly to the hearts of the audience and the paddles started popping up like popcorn. We blew away the expectations for the night! His appeal helped supporters understand their importance to the organization’s mission. he connected their support directly to the impact on the lives of everyone involved. It’s not just about the money, its about changing lives on both sides of the paddles.

The Animal Defense League of S an Antonio is dedicated to saving the lives of lost, unwanted and unplanned pets. As a crucial part of the community, their funding is vital to saving the lives of our favorite companions. By amping up the energy and sales skills, he sold a package they have every year at 4X the price. The donor was so excited, she donated another week at her vacation house to sell it twice. That’s a huge impact that went straight to the bottom line.

Treefolks provides free trees for neighborhoods, plants trees in local parks, and restores lost habitat in the Austin area. Their mission is carried out by an army of volunteers dedicated to making Austin greener, cooler, and beautiful. When I hit the stage, I knew the night would be special. I am passionate about the environment. I worked with the board, donors and volunteers to truly understand the mission and motivations of their supporters. The result?…I exceeded their live auction and paddles up fundraising goal by 60%.

Explore Austin is a nonprofit that provides outdoor activities and experiences for economically challenged youth in the Austin Area. This event helped to fund the gear and logistics for nationwide camping, canoeing and rock climbing experiences. Jake’s ability to connect the guests with the mission hit the mark. During the appeal, he successfully as a donor to 5X the top level of giving, surprising everyone in the room. He surpassed the nights goal by 40%.

Team Catapult provides equipment, prosthetics, volunteer guides and support for athletes with disabilities so they can compete in endurance sports. This was the first year they included a live auctioneer in the live program. The organizer was understandably nervous, but we beat the goal by over 100% and rocked the house!

Any Baby Can provides a wide range of family support, ECI (early childhood intervention), and financial aid services to families in central Texas. As a special needs father, Jake’s family received crucial services for his daughter through Any Baby Can. As a big ‘Thank You,’ Jake and his wife Zeena have hosted their One Stellar Night Gala for the last 2 years.

Project Mend supplies mobility equipment for seniors, veterans and those with special needs in the San Antonio and surrounding areas. By working with their event committee, Jake elevated the fundraising program’s live auction and paddles up appeal for giving. Jake’s experience as a father of a daughter with special needs resonated with the crowd. His authenticity was undeniable, sincere and authentic. The results were a 250% increase in fundraising from the year before.

Care for a Child’s Heart provides open heart surgery for children in Kenya. When they decided to elevate their fundraising program, Jake helped integrate a live auction and paddle raise into their program. Jake captivated the audience with his paddles up appeal by sharing his personal experience with his own daughter. The crowd reacted by giving at every level in the paddles up, including at the highest level (which Jake had doubled in the moment, feeling the connection in the room). He surpassed the night’s goal and we all left buzzing about the night’s success.

Thriving Hearts Crisis Center provides support, counseling, shelter and resources for women and families escaping abuse and human trafficking. As a new organization we had our work cut out for us. Jake was able to surpass the previous year’s total by 45%.

Jake is a history serious fanatic. When he was approached to bid call for on an online auction of historical weapons from the Bronze Age to the Vietnam War, he jumped at the chance. Combining his knowledge base with in depth research, he intertwined educational commentary with his chant for a unique bidder experience. Each of the 2 events were over 8 hours of continuous auctioneering. They were a lot of work, a lot of fun and big success for the auction house.

Russell Lee Elementary has an great party each year for the PTA fundraiser. It included a live auction of trips, experiences and jewelry, but the best part was auctioning off over 20 pieces of artwork made by the students. Jake kept the audience engaged as they competed for bragging rights, ultimately raising more money than ever before. It proves you can create an atmosphere of giving whether you are in a fancy ballroom or a dusty party barn. What a night!

Project Mend supplies mobility equipment for veterans, seniors and people with special needs in the San Antonio area. The need is huge and growing each year. When Jake took the floor, he had no idea he was going to triple the previous year’s total revenue. It was an incredible night for the organization, Jake’s team, and a victory for all of the clients they serve.

Jake was ready to play ball when they asked him to conduct the auction in the team’s uniform. This was the first time their organization had stepped up into a live program like this. Not only did Jake bring in more money in just the live auction than the entire event last year, he helped the event committee plan the live program that set them up for success.