About Kevin Durham
From live television to the fundraising room
Twenty years on stage, and over £10 million raised for good causes. I bring a TV presenter’s timing to charity auctions, pledge drives and gala nights.
The short version
I am a professional charity auctioneer, event host and TV presenter based in the UK. My first charity event, back in 2005, put me on stage alongside Annie Lennox, and it set the standard for how every night since has felt.
Over two decades I moved from television and comedy film work into professional auctioneering, building a reputation for events that feel more like entertainment than obligation. I work across the UK, Europe and the United States, from intimate charity dinners to large-scale galas, including a Monaco evening that raised over €1 million.
What makes me different from other charity auctioneers?
The real difference is not the microphone, it is everything that happens before it. Most auctioneers are booked to call the lots on the night. I work the other way round, as a fundraising strategist first. Through my company, Generosity Works, I build the whole fundraising plan for your event months out: what you sell, when you sell it, how the pledge lands, and where the real money in the room actually sits. Then I stand up and deliver that plan from the stage. It is the difference between a night that goes well and one that smashes its target.
The second difference is the software. As far as I know, I am the only charity auctioneer in the country with my own fundraising platform: silent and live auctions, ticketing, raffles, games and a live pledge, all in one place, and it is free to every charity that books me. Other auctioneers rent someone else’s system, from the likes of Givergy or Emma LIVE, or offer nothing at all. Mine is built in-house, designed in your branding, and ready for your night.
The entertainment background still matters too. I presented for Fox, Warner and Universal, interviewing the likes of Tom Hardy, Reese Witherspoon and Robin Williams, and I worked as a comedy film actor before auctioneering. That is why I can host the programme, run the pledge and carry a full night of games and comedy from one microphone, keeping a room engaged so the bidding climbs. Strategy sets the target. The room is how I hit it.
What I bring to the room
- Over £10 million raised for charitable causes across a 20-year career
- Over €1 million raised in a single Monaco evening
- A complete fundraising strategy, planned months before the night and delivered on the mic, through Generosity Works
- My own free fundraising software: auctions, ticketing, raffles, games and pledges in one platform, included when you book me
- Fundraising targets regularly doubled, and in one case raised tenfold
- A television and comedy background that sets the tone for the whole night
- International experience across the UK, Europe and the United States
Generosity Works
Lead auctioneer and host for Generosity Works
Alongside the events I take on under my own name, I am the lead charity auctioneer and host for Generosity Works, the fundraising company I founded. It grew out of the one thing twenty years on the microphone has taught me: the generosity is already in the room. Guests arrive with a figure in mind, and the work is to capture it as a gift, not to buy it back with prizes.
Generosity Works is not a night booked in isolation. It is a full fundraising strategy that starts months before the doors open, builds the running order around where the money really sits across the evening, and puts me on the microphone to deliver it: the live auction, the tiered pledge that follows it, and the hosting that holds the room together. One team, one plan, from the first conversation to the final total.
Behind the night sits our own fundraising platform, built around your event in your branding: silent, live and sealed-bid auctions, tiered pledges with automatic Gift Aid, ticketing and check-in, and a live gala screen the whole room can see. Charities keep every pound they raise, because the platform never takes a commission.
It is built for galas and dinners raising £30,000 and above. If that sounds like your event, it is worth a proper conversation.
Meet Kevin
A minute in the room
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Who is Kevin Durham?
Kevin Durham is a professional charity auctioneer, event host and TV presenter based in the UK. He has raised over £10 million for charitable causes across a 20-year career, including over €1 million in a single Monaco evening, and works across the UK, Europe and the US.
What makes a charity auctioneer worth hiring?
A professional auctioneer reads and drives the room, so bidding climbs and the pledge lands. The difference shows up in the final total, not just the experience on the night, and it usually far outweighs the fee.
Where does Kevin work?
Across the UK, Europe and the United States, from intimate charity dinners to large-scale international galas.
Let’s talk
Tell me about your event
A free initial consultation to talk through your goals, your room and your target. Available for events across the UK, Europe and the US.