Earlier this year, society came to a halt as COVID-19 spread to all corners of the globe. For nonprofits, this meant finding digital alternatives to their donor engagement activities in order to keep their doors open during this uncertain time. Even though the pandemic has turned society upside down, nonprofit fundraising doesn’t stop for anything. Thanks to […]
It’s the night of your big fundraiser. The money raised will define your ability to execute your mission and impact the lives of the communities you serve in a positive way. Your organization has planned every detail. Everything is running smoothly. You’ve come to the point in the night when you will ask your donors (don’t call […]
As school fundraisers wrestle with the idea of a virtual live gala (VLG), I thought it would be helpful to share my experience as a benefit auctioneer who just hosted two of them. Spoiler Alert: VLG’s rock! “FIRST SCHOOL” (March 13, 2020) On March 13, 2020—in response to the safety measures in place to slow the spread […]
If you are holding a silent auction for a fundraiser, you may be having a difficult time determining how many items you should put up for bid. Too few and you risk not raising enough money, but too many and you stifle competitive bidding and spread the same amount of money across more items. What is the […]
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 […]
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 […]
You’ve procured some really great auction items. Great! These items will sell themselves! Think again. Presenting your auction items in the right way with the right ambiance is critical to driving up bids and satisfying guests. Pay particular attention to these four areas: 1. Sound Guests who wish to participate in your silent auction will be frustrated […]
Your silent auction committee likely obtained great vacations, unique memorabilia, and bucket list experiences for your live or silent auction. Your committee likely also procured an array of small gift certificates from local businesses: cleaning, dance lessons, chiropractic service, haircuts and styles, tanning sessions, massages, whitening, self-defense classes and many more services. What should you do with […]
Once you finished procuring items for your benefit auction, it’s time to put together your auction program. Once you’ve decided on which items to include in your live auction, putting your live auction items in the correct order can make a huge difference in your total revenue. Here are some tried and true tips: 1. Lead Off […]
In the world of benefit auctions, most people know the basic formats for live and silent auctions. If you have an audience that’s game, mix things up with a different auction format or a variation of a familiar format. You may be surprised (and delighted) with the results. These are some of the basics, and there are […]
