Gretchen Carter, Greater Giving
Gretchen joined Greater Giving in 2008 after working as an Event Coordinator for a private restaurant and club in Roanoke, TX. In addition to special events, Gretchen has been a Board member and active volunteer with several organizations, and co-chaired a capital campaign to raise $1.7 million for a new mission building at Trinity Presbyterian Church. In addition to success in traditional fundraising approaches, Gretchen leveraged online peer-to-peer fundraising technology to exceed her fundraising goals when participating in two campaigns to support the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. Gretchen is an expert in combining technology and fundraising best practices to retain volunteers, strengthen and expand donor relations, and increase overall fundraising revenue
Trisha A. Brauer, MBA, CAI, BAS
Chief Executive Officer
Taking Bids Benefit Auctions, LLC
Going once, twice, sold! Taking Bids Benefit Auctions (TBBA) is based in Kansas City and is leading the industry with record-smashing methods to raise money for nonprofits. TBBA believes in making our community a better place one auction at a time.
Education is important to owner and head auctioneer, Trisha Brauer. She holds a Bachelors degree and an MBA. She completed her auction training at World Wide College of Auctioneering. She is an active member of the National Auctioneers Association (NAA), as well as the state associations for Iowa, Kansas, Colorado and Missouri.
Trisha also holds the designation of Benefit Auctioneer Specialist (BAS). This designation is awarded and recognized by the National Auctioneers Association and represents specific education and training in conducting benefit auctions. This designation has been awarded to only 3% of the nation’s auctioneers. She has also completed her Certified Auctioneer Institute (CAI) designation. This is a 3 year program and is the highest designation recognized by the NAA. In addition to helping nonprofits have recording breaking events, she is a professional trainer for the NAA and teaches auctioneers across the country the art of benefit auctions. She also sells real estate in the Kansas City metro area.
