Coppy Holzman, CEO of the online charity auction website Charitybuzz, opened his talk at the Clinton School Tuesday night with an anecdote about President Clinton. It seems that the entire idea of Charitybuzz came about because of a situation involving the appearance of President Clinton and Chevy Chase, so it seemed in a way like Holzman was coming full circle.
Introduced by Class 7 student Jordan Aibel (the first of his class to introduce a speaker), who shared an amusing anecdote about visiting an auction and wondering about how to get it online, Holzman shared a brief presentation with the audience about the history and accomplishments of his organization.
Rather than being a site that auctions memorabilia – “Take that to eBay,” he said – Holzman’s website offers more distinct opportunities to its donors, including a day spent with President Clinton, private tennis lessons with Andre Agassi, or the chance to be Richard Branson’s intern for the summer, with 80 percent of the proceeds going directly to the nonprofit the auction is benefiting.
Charitybuzz has made a considerable name for itself in the world of social media and is able to use the popularity of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian or Selena Gomez to help raise funds and, more importantly, awareness for various causes.
One of the great aspects of Charitybuzz, Holzman said, is that it takes full control of the auction work so that its non-profit partners can focus solely on their day-to-day work.
Charitybuzz has partnered with numerous corporations over the years looking to advance their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) portfolios. Just last year, Charitybuzz partnered with Ralph Lauren to raise over $1.2 million for breast cancer awareness. In an ongoing partnership with the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, Charitybuzz has helped to raise over $5 million in the last 5 years alone.
Holzman was quick to point out, however, that while most of the price tags in the auctions have been on the higher end, the company is looking to create regional offices throughout the country to have auctions – with considerably lower prices – that can benefit local organizations.
Holzman maintained throughout that he built his business by maximizing available opportunities. He encouraged the audience to follow their passions, remarking that one learns more from stumbling than from succeeding.
Video of Holzan’s Clinton School speech will be posted soon at Clinton School Speakers
This post was written by Clinton School student Veena Rangaswami (’13).
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