Giving for Good

About 60 times each year, auctioneer Erin Kienzle takes center stage to give her time helping those who need it the most. While many know her as the host of Charleston’s number one lifestyle show, “Lowcountry Live” on WCIV-TV, Kienzle’s heart is wrapped up in her passion for giving back through her company Giving4Good Fundraising & Auction Services. What was once a side hustle has now become a full-time career: hosting and serving as the auctioneer for non-profit organizations’ fundraising events and helping them fulfill their missions to fund vital causes through live auctions.

Kienzle founded Giving4Good in 2022 after attending auctioneer school in 2018 and spending some time honing her craft. “My life changed at age 42 when I launched the company,” she says. “It’s weird that I’m an auctioneer, but as a TV host, I was constantly being asked to emcee events, and my pathway evolved from there.”

Other female auctioneers guided and encouraged her, helping Kienzle see a clear path to merge her speaking skills with her desire to give back to others. When she learned of the possibility of niching her practice to become a licensed benefit auctioneer, she jumped at the opportunity, which paved the way to launching Giving4Good. Since that time, she has raised tens of millions of dollars for non-profit organizations, including well-known causes such as the American Heart Association, Make-A-Wish, and the American Cancer Society. Kienzle says she is in the minority of auctioneers, explaining that only 14 percent in the nation are female. Even fewer females serve as benefit auctioneers. “I’ve never sold a cow, an antique or a car,” she jokes. On a more serious note, she adds, “There is a big need for diverse voices on stage. Sometimes women are more empathetic to a cause and are a softer voice for the organization trying to raise funds.”

Although she is only on stage for a handful of hours at each night’s event, she and her Giving4Good team spend months preparing for every live auction. “We work with organizations for months on how to create a compelling narrative, strategizing on how to relay it during the evening, and creating an atmosphere that opens hearts and sparks generosity,” she says.    

“My background in TV gives me stage presence, but I’m all about engaging the crowd and elevating the energy in the room during an auction,” Kienzle continues. Working alongside her team of spotters—which often includes her husband and at least one of her four daughters—Kienzle whips up the crowd, adds electricity to the air amid fist bumps and winning-bid celebrations, and is delighted when she can help others by using her talents. Her superpower is making connections with donors and ensuring it is an entertaining evening for them. “People come to events for a party, not for a live auction. But it’s addictive to see the power of being able to raise life-changing money in such a short amount of time,” she says.

Kienzle brings that focus on giving into her own household, especially during the holiday season. Each Christmas morning, her family delays their traditional practice of opening presents, and instead, head out to the convention center to deliver gifts to children during the annual Toys for Tots campaign. “Participation has transformed their lives,” she says. “I love watching my kids walk up to other kids to bring them gifts.”

Kienzle learned from listening to major donors how to reach children at the youngest ages with a philanthropic message that sticks with them. “Many of those donors told me they learned to give back by watching their mothers, even if that was something as simple as donating time by baking for the school’s bake sale,” she says. “Those actions influenced them, and I hope I can do that for my girls.”

She has plenty of ideas on how to engage families in raising funds or giving time to a charitable cause. Here are her top three recommendations for creative ways that families can give back to those in need this holiday season:

Host a cocktail party with a giving tree

Modeled after the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree Program, decorate a tree in your home with paper cutouts, each one listing an amount ($10) that someone can give and the results of that monetary gift (buys 5 books for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.) Complete with a generated QR code, the “ornament” can be pulled off the tree for quick gift-giving during the event.

Hold a stocking stuffer social

Instead of guests bringing another bottle of wine as a hostess gift, have them bring a necessity to stuff stockings for a cause near and dear to your heart. Think a new package of socks for the local women’s shelter or a can of food to stock the food closet at The Navigation Center.

Spotlight a charity

Throw a cocktail hour with a theme and invite a representative from a local charity to speak. “Get non-profits in front of people so they can create a story and build relationships with potential donors,” Kienzle says. “Make it much more than just a transactional experience.”

Kienzle doesn’t let her family’s philanthropy end when the holiday season is over; she finds opportunities all year to give back. Each summer, for example, she invites her friends and neighbors to a white elephant pool party at her home, where she leads a live auction event with the proceeds benefitting a different charity each year. It gives her daughters and their friends a chance to see charity in action. It also imparts the lesson that philanthropy can be fun. 

No matter the event she is hosting, Kienzle wants joy to be the focus. She says, “When people are leaving at the end of the night, I want them to say they had an incredible time.”

To learn more about Giving4Good or Erin Kienzle’s auctioneer services, visit giving4goodevents.com.