In her thirteen-year tenure at Classic Wines Auction, Heather Martin has helped Classic Wines reach $43 million in total fundraising, aiding an average of 82,000 children and families annually.
Written by Megan Oliver
Heather Martin’s Plan B was to go back to practicing law, so she took—and passed—the Oregon bar exam. Just in case. What she really wanted to do was to work for a cause. The smattering of pro bono cases she had worked during her commercial litigation career in Columbus had stirred in her a desire for a philanthropic position.
Martin and her husband were a decade into their careers and looking for a change. They talked about moving west to Seattle or Portland, where they could begin a new chapter in a milder climate. When her husband was offered a dream position in Portland, they made the move.
It’s tough for most people to imagine taking a bar exam, let alone as a backup plan, but it’s that tenacity which took the sharp, driven and quick-witted Martin from having little nonprofit experience at age 33 to getting hired as executive director of Classic Wines Auction just a year later—a few weeks before she found out she was pregnant with the first of the couple’s two sons.
“Life, right?” mused Martin. “It moves quickly.”
In her thirteen-year tenure at the organization, Martin has helped Classic Wines reach $43 million in total fundraising (two-thirds of which has gone directly to fourteen family services nonprofits), aiding an average of 82,000 children and families annually. She was also named Executive Director of the Year in 2016 by Portland Business Journal.
The Classic Wines Auction was originally a fundraiser started in 1982 for Metropolitan Family Services. Each auction was raising about $1 million by the time Martin started in 2004. That type of return from a single event was groundbreaking.
Consistently recognized as one of the top ten charity wine auctions in the country by Wine Spectator since 2001, Classic Wines spun off as its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2004, under Martin’s leadership. Supporters recognized the potential to expand the fundraiser’s reach as its own entity—helping more underserved families in the Portland Metro area and southwest Washington.

Martin’s vision for growth has spawned many offshoot fundraisers that are produced by Classic Wines throughout the year. These curated wine events come with large overhead, even with what Martin said includes a “huge volume of donations made throughout the year for event spaces, people’s time, and wine and experience package donations.”
Still, the premiere events’ allocations constitute about 50 percent of the annual individual donations for each of Classic Wines’ five equal partner organizations—most of which are legacy partners, as the selection process is intensive. All partner nonprofits provide instrumental family services work, from after school programs to mentoring to support for families struggling with physical and mental health issues. It’s a rare nonprofit model, as Classic Wines only raises funds and does not implement programs.
“Our focus is growing the fundraising model, adding events and expanding the auction,” said Martin. “At the end of the day, it comes down to us making the most impact we can. But I think equally important is the broadened community exposure for the missions of these organizations.”
Over the years, Martin came to realize that the Classic Wines model worked best with nonprofits that are accustomed to soliciting significant private donations—in addition to having strong board support, solid financial practices, effective staff and successful event experience.
“They are better prepared for this type of fundraising than organizations which don’t typically operate in that realm,” said Martin. “Because these organizations have worked together with us and for a period, they trust each other. The equal split works in large part because they trust that everyone is working equally hard toward the goal.”
The four-person team at Classic Wines looks thoroughly at potential partners: What is the size of their budget and how do they manage their financials? Do they have a staff member who can spend time on the partnership without diluting what the organization is doing elsewhere?
“It’s a time commitment, so the organization needs to have at least three people on their development staff,” she explained. “Board members also need to be actively involved to champion the events and bring other influencers into the fold. We can do more together than any one organization alone.”
More than 700 people attend the March auction, a formal affair that brings in wine collectors and philanthropists from the region and beyond to enjoy drinks and a five-course, gourmet meal while bidding on silent and live auction packages. Tickets to the event cost four figures, and auction items range from cases of rare Bordeaux wines to rides in private jets to private dinners with famed winemakers. Around half of the wine comes from Oregon and Washington wineries.
Year-round preparations for the big night necessitate a great deal of help from the staff of the five beneficiaries, a throng of volunteers, co-chairs, committees and four wine ambassadors.
“My approach is creative but with a strong dose of reality,” said Martin, while admiring a display of her favorite varietal, rosé, at SE Wine Collective. “I read, I pay attention to the food and wine scene. With all our events, we try to stay on top of what is new and buzzworthy, then combine it with what is tried-and- true and beloved so people find value in attending and bidding on our curated auction packages. We want to create amazing experiences that people couldn’t necessarily just go out and purchase on their own.”
This innovative and experiential perspective is also what has taken Classic Wines from one auction to a series of successful events. Now, Classic Wines facilitates more than fifty intimate winemaker dinners in locations ranging from the Imperial to Cellar Z at Zupan’s. All winemaker dinners take place either in November, after harvest, or during the two weeks leading up to the March auction.
“The benefit dinners come at a more accessible price point than the auction,” she explained. “It offers the growing number of wine lovers and winemakers an opportunity to connect and engage with causes at whatever level they are comfortable with.”

Partner Organizations

Portland:
Metropolitan Family Service (MFS) – since 1982 New Avenues for Youth – since 2005
Friends of the Children – since 2006
Unity Center for Behavioral Health – since 2016
SW Washington:
YWCA of Clark County – since 2008
This article is also published in our flagship publication, Cascade Living Magazine.