Karen Wrege
Founder & Fundraising Strategist, Capital Benefit Auctions
Former CIO, U.S. Department of State
10+ Years in Nonprofit Fundraising
5.0 ★ Verified on The Bash
Serving Nonprofits Nationwide
About Karen
Karen Wrege founded Capital Benefit Auctions after a career that took her to the highest levels of federal leadership. As Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Department of State, she managed complex, multi-stakeholder systems at scale — and discovered that the disciplines of systems thinking, data analysis, and strategic communication translate directly into the world of nonprofit fundraising.
What Karen brings to a benefit gala is not instinct. It is architecture. She built the Capital Benefit Auctions analytics engine to surface what years of fundraising data actually reveal: which auction items are underperforming, where the paddle raise ladder is losing momentum, how much revenue an organization is leaving on the table — and precisely what to do about it.
Since the early 2010s, Karen and the Capital Benefit Auctions team have helped nonprofits across the country — from independent schools and research hospitals to conservation groups and community foundations — break their own fundraising records, year after year.
For organizations in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Karen offers full-service pre-event strategy and live auctioneering engagements. For organizations anywhere in the country, Karen's Event Fundraising Consultation delivers the same data-driven strategic review remotely — a comprehensive multi-year analysis of event fundraising history with written recommendations and a one-hour presentation, for a flat fee of $500.
Areas of Expertise
Selected Results
Raised in 90 seconds during the Fund-A-Scholar paddle raise.
Paddle raise grown from $15,000 to $78,000 in a single year.
Average year-over-year paddle raise growth.
"The mic only matters because of what happens before it turns on. Every Capital Benefit Auctions engagement begins months before the event — with data, with donors, and with a plan built around your specific room. The Capital Benefit Method is not a template. It is a framework that adapts to your mission, your audience, and your numbers."
Work with Karen
Capital Benefit Auctions serves nonprofits nationwide. For live auctioneering engagements, we primarily serve the Washington, DC metropolitan area. For organizations anywhere in the country, the Event Fundraising Consultation is available remotely for $500.