Tom was an incredible addition to our event. During the live auction, he brought humor and energy that livened everything up and kept everyone engaged. During our fund-a-need, he was able to appropriately bring passion and respect. He took the time to learn about us, our needs, and our mission – and fully delivered.

I’ve heard nothing but great feedback from guests, members of our board, and staff. We’ll definitely be having him back!

- Kirsten Brochinsky, Director of Development

What can I say about Tom Stebbins? Hire him immediately for your fundraiser before he is booked.

This was our very first virtual fundraiser and although we had worked with Tom at a live event in the past, we were very worried about how everything would translate on a virtual platform. He did not miss a beat or a donation. Tom’s energy and enthusiasm was apparent the minute we went live; from introduction to a final very funny farewell. He worked the crowd with a deftness and professionalism that had all of us in awe.  Best of all we surpassed our goal because of his expertise.

Don’t wait for the gavel to fall and you can’t get him, call and book him now. We are already getting on his calendar for the spring season.

- Hon. Terry Craven, Executive Director

…the trifecta of superlatives that is Tom Stebbins! Tom stepped into the role of emcee for the MSPCA-Angell’s annual gala with magnetism and total professionalism and, quite literally, knocked our socks off. Our audience hung on his every word, he expertly navigated the flow of the event—employing perfectly-timed strategies to pull the audience together at key moments—and, most importantly for us, raised a record amount for our live auction.

In short: he brought down the house and I can’t recommend him highly enough!

- Rob Halpin, Chief Communications Officer

Tom was incredible from the get go. This was the first time we had ventured into using an Auctioneer.

Tom was helpful from the beginning, he used his knowledge to help guide our show flow. He gave us new ideas and added a fresh flavor to our event. This was a third year event and we raised $30,000 more than last year's event.

We believe the increase was in part due to Tom and his incredible presentation. We are excited to work with Tom in the future!

- Lindsay Jewett, Executive Director

We are so grateful for all that Tom brought to the Opera Saratoga virtual gala! Tom demonstrated an incredible level of commitment throughout the planning process, showing how personally invested he was in our success, and providing much needed guidance and support for our first online event. During the gala, as both our emcee and auctioneer, Tom’s energy and enthusiasm were infectious.

Thanks to Tom, we exceeded our financial goals for the event, and we have received nothing but raves from our patrons.

- Steve Rosenblum, Opera Saratoga 2020 Virtual Gala Chair

It was pure joy working with Tom Stebbins on our first EVER virtual Happy Hour to raise funds and awareness for Friendship Home. We did this in lieu of our annual gala because we were unable to host a live event due to COVID-19. Tom brought a level of sophistication, humor and professionalism to our event that helped us surpass our $350,000 goal!

He made us look good, kept everyone entertained and informed and set the pace for our virtual event. We are so happy that we took a chance with Tom. We came out ahead of our goal and we made a new friend along the way!

- Heather Dwyer, Director of Development

Tom went above and beyond for Woodland Hill, joining our regular planning meetings, getting to know us and the WHMS culture, providing input on promotions, and even giving us specific fundraising recommendations following the event. Before the event, Tom assured us that he could raise more than our previous Raise the Paddles. We actually nearly doubled our Raise the Paddle totals from our previous year and nearly doubled the number of families donating!

Our guests loved his good natured teasing, and we loved that he got more people to bid, donate and engage, thus helping us exceed our fundraising goals.

- Michelle Edwards, Head of School, Woodland Hill Montessori

Tom has been our auctioneer for the past two years. He has successfully brought our annual fundraiser to a new level with his knowledge, advice, and skill in the live auction and fund-a-need portions of our event. Not to mention he is very fun, and a great cultural fit with our organization. 

With his help, we were able to exceed our goals at both events - and this year’s event was virtual! We are thrilled to invite him back in 2021 for a third year.

- Susan Cable, Virtual Fall Affair Gala Chair

Tom was incredible throughout the process of our event. We brought him in a little over a month before our event and he was able to coach us through some really difficult challenges, giving tips on our auction, event marketing, setting run of show, etc. He researched our organization so that he could represent us well. The night of the event, he was on fire, rallying the crowd, providing a consistent emcee voice throughout the event, and helping us raise more in our auction and paddle pledge that we'd have been able to on our own.

He promised he would more than cover his fee, but he truly did so much more.

- Corinne Christian, Special Events

When Covid-19 forced us to shift our annual in person event to our first ever Virtual Gala, one of the first components we knew we needed was a great emcee.

From our first meeting with Tom, we were impressed with his ability to understand our needs and strategize with us about how to make our event as successful as possible. Tom engaged the audience and made our event fun while conveying our mission. His enthusiasm during the Fund-a-Need was contagious and he truly has the ability to adapt to any situation.

- Jaclyn Joworisak, Thomas Edison State University Foundation

Tom Stebbins has emceed our live auction at our Fall Gala for the last few years. This year, as we turned our event virtually, Tom didn’t miss a beat. He was spectacular! Tom is enthusiastic, funny and even though he was connecting through a computer, he got the crowd excited! Donations came rolling in.

We received a lot of positive comments from our attendees about Tom’s positive energy! 

- Bridget Taylor, Executive Director

Thanks to BidFire, I am addicted to virtual events, whether it be completely virtual or hybrid. These events are the way of the future for many of us in fundraising and our no-go gala may be the start of a tradition.

- CIndy Reitebach, Gala Coordinator

This was our first time running a fund-a-need appeal at our benefit breakfast. I was not sure how our guests would react but we raised twice what I expected. Tom was gracious and engaging and I do not think anyone felt uncomfortable with our ask. He took the time to understand our mission and who our audience would be.

He was very supportive of me and made me feel confident that our fund-a-need would be a success. And it was.

- Marjorie Madfis, Yes She Can, Inc.

This was my second year working with Tom Stebbins as our auctioneer, and let me say, Tom is so much more than an auctioneer... he is a fundraising consultant, an event planner, and an extra set of hands to help you however you need on the day-of. As someone who regularly attends fundraising events, Tom knows how to run a fundraiser and will make suggestions before, during (and even after) on how to make your event even more of a success. From the marketing materials you have on display to the run-of-show to making your guests feel appreciated and special, there is no detail overlooked when working with Tom. During our recent event, Tom noticed that a line was growing at check-in, so Tom came to me and asked if he could take a tray of prosecco down to the guests waiting to keep them happy. I was so impressed and so were our guests! This is the level of professionalism and attention to detail that you can expect. In the past, I’ve been hesitant about working with a professional auctioneer. But Tom has eased any of these hesitations. Tom brings so much energy to the fundraising portion of the evening that your guests will WANT to support your mission and participate! If you work with Tom, I feel strongly that you will not regret it.

As a non-profit marketing/fundraising consultant, I found Tom to be personally invested in the success of his client, going well beyond what a typical auctioneer or emcee would do the night of the event. This was my first time working with him, but I know we will work together for the benefit of another non-profit very soon!

- Vanessa Bilanceri, Non-profit marketing / fundraising consultant

We knew Tom was a talented live event MC after having had him host our in person 2018 & 2019 fundraising galas with great success! But 2020 is a whole new world as our event went virtual as many are now. Tom graciously made himself available every week to be part of conference calls with our virtual event planner and our entire team leading into our event. All the hard work paid off, with Tom really taking it to the next level of performing the night of our event!

All of our virtual guests felt very connected and entertained throughout thanks to Tom! We exceeded our fundraising goals and many of our guests made it a point to tell us how much they enjoyed Tom’s performance! Tom really goes the extra mile for the team and always makes you laugh. He has a fun energy and quick wit!

Tom has truly created a relationship with our annual audience. I know they remember him and look forward to seeing him every year, as do we!

- Jennifer Khichi, Virtual Gala chair