Recent studies found that around 25% percent of Americans volunteered in 2022. With so many dedicated supporters, your organization could come across an interested potential volunteer at any time. Would you feel ready to answer their questions and promote your cause? More than likely, you already have a dedicated section on your website that addresses volunteer FAQs, […]
Your big fundraising gala is coming up. Now it’s decision time. Which items are worthy of inclusion in your live auction? And which items should you delegate to silent bidding? Here are the factors to consider when setting your live auction lineup: Broad Appeal The key to high bids is competition among bidders. Period. If there is […]
School auctions represent a great opportunity for a variety of people to get involved at any level they are able. For the teachers, their contribution can be to coordinate a class project that can be sold at the auction as an instant heirloom. What parent wouldn’t want a lasting memory of their child’s third-grade experience? In this […]
Virtual events are a key fundraising tool for nonprofits, but they require time, money, and effort to be successful. Given the resources necessary for planning and hosting an event, you shouldn’t have any questions about whether or not your event accomplished your nonprofit’s outreach and fundraising goals. Tracking metrics helps your nonprofit evaluate the impact and return […]
If you’re running a silent auction, setting the proper starting bid, bid steps and buy-it-now price will result in higher bids and bigger donations. Starting Bids Here are some rules of thumb for setting the starting bid (AKA minimum bid) for your silent auction items. Type of Item Starting Bid TravelPledge Experience Use the TravelPledge-provided starting bid, […]
Many nonprofits are tempted to run their silent auction fundraiser on Facebook. After all, most of their supporters already have an account and Facebook doesn’t charge anything. But, are charity auctions even permitted according to Facebook’s terms of use? If so, what’s the best way to run a silent auction on Facebook? Drawbacks to Running a Silent […]
In this post, you’ll learn how to maximize donations during your Fund-a-Need. What is the fund-a-need? The fund-a-need, or paddle raise, is where you solicit donations from the audience at your gala. In the typical fund-a-need format, the auctioneer starts at a high amount, say $5,000, and asks donors to raise their bid cards to commit to […]
In this post, you’ll learn 10 amazing tips to increase bidding at your silent auction fundraiser. 1. More items are not always better A good rule of thumb is to auction approximately one item for every two attendees. For example, if you expect 200 people, then the ideal number of Silent Auction items would be 100. If […]
In this post, you’ll learn the key metrics you need to evaluate after each fundraising auction. These metrics will help you determine how you performed compared to last year and highlight what to improve. Revenue and Costs First, look at the big picture stats. Specifically, total revenue, total expenses and finally your expense ratio which is your […]
Two economists, Paul R. Milgrom and Robert B. Wilson, won the Nobel in economic science on Monday for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats. At TravelPledge, we are quite excited about auction theory getting so much attention in the news! We looked at a few of Milgrom and Wilson’s findings to see how […]
