Most benefit auctions consist of several Silent Auctions and one Live Auction. Silent Auction setup is vital to the success of any auction, because this is the part of the evening that people experience first. For planning purposes, here are some guidelines to follow when doing advance planning for your Silent Auction: 1. Close your Silent Auction […]
While it is not necessary to hire outside help for your event, you may find it well worthwhile to consider at least some professional assistance to help make it run smoothly. Experience is a great insurance policy. Hiring benefit auction experts to help train volunteers and to ‘‘run the show’’ the night of the event will allow […]
If you’ve ever worked on an auction committee, you know how difficult it is to choose a date, venue and theme for your gala. Not only must you reconcile differing opinions from your committee members, but you must also choose a date, venue, and theme that work together in harmony. Below are some considerations for deciding on […]
You’ve just convened your auction committee for its first meeting. After exchanging names and pleasantries, it’s time to set a crucial expectation: Your auction is a business that will be fun, not a party that makes money. Right from the start, it is very important that your committee buy into the fact that they are setting the […]
Choosing the right venue for your gala can affect attendance, guest experience, and ultimately donations raised. Just because a venue is free doesn’t mean it will result in the greatest amount of money going to your cause. Ask yourself these questions before settling on a venue: Convenience Is the location easy to find and well-known? Does it […]
The answer to “How much do you want to make at your benefit auction?” should not be “As much as we can.” While technically true, such a vague answer is not helpful for making decisions. Rather, goals need to be specific, achievable and measurable so you can build a plan to achieve them. In this post, we […]
When planning your benefit event, remember these words: “You are not your audience.” Translation: planning things that appeal to you may not result in the biggest donations. Rather, you must understand what your most important supporters value and deliver it to them. In this post, we explore how to segment your audience and then target your actions […]
As an organizer of a benefit auction, you may wonder whether you should use pre-bidding, also known as pre-selling. In this post, we cover the basics of pre-bidding and help you decide if it is right for your fundraiser. What Is Pre-bidding? Pre-bidding allows guests, or those not able to attend, to preview and bid on key […]
In another post, we discussed differences between a Steering Committee and a traditional Auction Committee. In this post, we identify the key roles and responsibilities for your Steering Committee. Of course, the same person can fill multiple roles so long as they have the bandwidth. This post is adapted from The Big Book of Benefit Auctions by […]
As a volunteer organizing an auction, you may think to yourself, “I am not going to be working on the auction next year. I only signed up for one year!” That may be true, but someone is going to be working on the auction, and one of the best gifts you can give your organization is to […]