Charles Antin

Charity & Commercial Auctioneer
Fundraising Consultant
Master of Ceremonies

Charles Antin holding a microphone and a bottle of wine.

With Charles’s help, you aren’t hoping for a success come auction day -
you are ensuring it.

Being on stage is only a small part of what makes a successful fundraiser - the work needs to be done prior. Whether your organization runs an established auction and paddle raise or you are putting together an event for the first time, Charles can offer insight into best practices.

He works with some of the longest-running fundraising auctions in the country, as well as organizations holding a fundraiser for the first time. He will be on as many or as few event calls as you wish, offering his past successes as a guide in ensuring the success of your campaign.

Fundraiser Auctioneering

Paddle Raise
or
Fund-A-Need

Commercial Auctioneering

Film & TV Auctioneering

Charles Antin has been a fundraising and commercial auctioneer since 2007.

Charles has auctioneered hundreds of benefits from Miami to Nashville to Jackson Hole to Los Angeles, Atlanta, Destin, San Francisco and Hong Kong – and, of course, many in the metro NYC area, where he is based.

These auctions range enormously in size and scope and cumulatively have raised tens of millions of dollars for charitable organizations. Charles has executed a $12,000,000 paddle raise and a $15,000 paddle raise. He’s auctioneered in front of 1,200 people and in front of 50. He’s sold 52 lots on stage auctioneering for over two hours straight, and performed auctions that contain a single lot, or paddle raises only (no lots at all!)

He has auctioneered on stage with celebs as diverse as Seth Meyers, Sean Penn, all three Clintons, Dikembe Mutombo, Matthew McConaughey, Paul Rudd, Alan Alda, John McEnroe, and Giants wide reciever and Super Bowl winner Victor Cruz.

On the commercial side, Charles is the Global Head of Wine Auctions at Zachys, and was both a commercial and charity auctioneer at Christie’s for close to a decade. He was also a NY State licensed commercial auctioneer at Christie’s (at the time of licensing the youngest at the firm), bringing down the gavel on thousands of lots and tens of millions of dollars of wine, watches, Post-War & Contemporary art, Asian art, and single-owner collections such as the collections of Robert H. Ellsworth and Huguette Clark. 

Charles has also trained commercial and charity auctioneers and auctioneered for years for one of the biggest movie and TV memorabilia auction houses in the country.

Charles holds an MFA in fiction from NYU, a commercial pilot’s license, and his essays and fiction have appeared in Food & Wine, The New York Times, the VQR, and elsewhere.

Charles shaking Alan Alda's hand

Paddle Raise
Fund-a-need

Nearly every event incorporates an “ask,” usually called a fund-a-need, fund-a-cause, or paddle raise. Sometimes, there is no auction at all – only a paddle raise. The goal of a paddle raise is to create a snowball effect, a cascade of hands or paddles in the air that not only results in the most funds possible raised for the organization, but as much participation as possible, as well as the overarching feeling that the attendees have worked together as a community to fund a cause important to them. 

Charles works with numerous tech partners and whether you’re running a paddle raise with physical paddles, donor cards, iPads, or mobile devices, he can help you to implement best practices that result in maximum return in a way that is fun and enjoyable for your attendees.

His goal is always to engage every attendee at a level that is comfortable to him or her.

REACH OUT AND LEARN MORE.

Paddle Raise
Fund-a-need

Nearly every event incorporates an “ask,” usually called a fund-a-need, fund-a-cause, or paddle raise. Sometimes, there is no auction at all – only a paddle raise. The goal of a paddle raise is to create a snowball effect, a cascade of hands or paddles in the air that not only results in the most funds possible raised for the organization, but as much participation as possible, as well as the overarching feeling that the attendees have worked together as a community to fund a cause important to them. 

Charles works with numerous tech partners and whether you’re running a paddle raise with physical paddles, donor cards, iPads, or mobile devices, he can help you to implement best practices that result in maximum return in a way that is fun and enjoyable for your attendees.

His goal is always to engage every attendee at a level that is comfortable to him or her.

REACH OUT AND LEARN MORE.

Commercial Auctioneering

Charles began his career as a commercial auctioneer at Christie’s in 2007, where he was the youngest licensed auctioneer globally at the firm and responsible for the sale of tens of millions of dollars of wine, Chinese porcelain, watches, furniture, contemporary art and more. 

In 2015 Charles joined Zachys, one of the world’s biggest wine-only auction houses, Charles has sold tens of millions of dollars of wine in both live and streaming-only auctions in New York and Hong Kong.

In addition, he has trained Phillips auction house auctioneers, wielded the gavel at numerous regional auction houses, and auctioneered considerable movie and TV memorabilia including a screen-matched X Wing for $2.3m (then a record), C3PO’s head from Anthony Daniel’s private collection and Audrey Hepburn’s screen-matched dress from Sabrina (1954).

Charles is available for auctions regardless of category, from memorabilia, to art, furniture, cars, watches, auctioneer training, and more.

REACH OUT AND LEARN MORE.

FILM & TV AUCTIONEERING

Charles played the auctioneer of a major auction house in the Anna Kendrik HBO Series “Love Life.” He is happy to discuss opportunities to bring his real-life expertise to the silver screen.

REACH OUT WITH INQUIRIES HERE.

Fundraiser Auctioneering

Charles has been a fundraising auctioneer since 2007. Charles’s ultimate goal of maximizing dollars raised, 100% participation from the crowd and most importantly, an enjoyable and engaging event that leaves your attendees wanting to stay engaged with the organization.

Charles’s style is tailored to your event. He will help with run of show, lot order, lot procurement, how to effectively use tech partners, and other questions, such as room layout and tech requirements, as needed. He often works with boards and event planners to brainstorm, source, and hone auction lot ideas. 

Near or on event day, Charles reviews the run of show and speakers, top bidders and attendees, lot makeup, reserves, and any last minute changes.

Post gala, Charles is always available for a debrief. Charles has been working with some galas for over a decade and believes that a post sale debrief can be an effective way of incrementally improving a fundraising gala over the years.

REACH OUT AND LEARN MORE.