In 2010, the first Benefit Auction (BA) Summit was held by the NAA and the participants raised a few hundred dollars by conducting an impromptu benefit auction. Benefit auctions at the summit continued for several more years, and the BA Summit participants began to discuss how to ensure the funds they were raising would benefit future summit participants. The National Auctioneers Foundation agreed to keep a Temporarily Restricted Fund specifically for the education of this benefit auction community.
NAA member, Kathy Kingston, was a pioneer in the benefit auction world. She helped develop NAA’s Benefit Auction Specialist (BAS) designation, hosted the Certified Auctioneers Institute (CAI) Benefit Auction that raised funds for the Larry McCool Scholarship and was very instrumental in transitioning the Pass It Forward donation program that the Foundation holds annually from a small annual giving program to one that now routinely raises around $100,000 a year. It is the single most important funding program the Foundation has.
On Jan. 30, 2020, Kathy passed away peacefully after finishing a class for benefit auctioneers. She was only 66 years old. She was passionate about benefit auctions and just as passionate about the NAA. She entered the International Auctioneer Championship (IAC) several times and was awarded the Chuck Cumberlin Sportsmanship award. Kathy Kingston was a well-respected author, consultant, instructor, mentor, and practitioner who constantly sought out ways to help all auctioneers elevate their benefit auction skills and knowledge.
To honor her memory, this Temporarily Restricted Fund was renamed the Kathy Kingston Benefit Auction Education Fund and is used exclusively for retaining presenters to educate benefit fundraising auctioneers.