Charity Auctions for Novices: 7 Key Issues to Know

As a nonprofit skilled, you’ve in all probability heard that charity auctions are time-consuming. On prime of the venue particulars, ticketing, and advertising and marketing you’re used to dealing with for basic fundraising occasions, there’s merchandise procurement and bid monitoring to contemplate. The introduction of digital and hybrid choices has additional difficult issues, too.

Nevertheless, with a robust fundraising plan, you’ll be able to maintain a extremely profitable charity public sale that may not solely increase income however deepen engagement. Charity auctions are an effective way to create a sense of neighborhood—both in-person or on-line—and have interaction donors with pleasant competitors. 

Right here’s the whole lot it is advisable to know to host your first profitable charity public sale:

1. What’s a charity public sale and what does it appear like?
2. Which kind of public sale do you have to host?
3. How can charity public sale software program assist?
4. Which group members do it is advisable to recruit?
5. Which objects do you have to procure, and the way?
6. How do you promote an public sale occasion?
7. How are you going to maximize incoming public sale income?

A charity public sale could also be extra intricate to plan than your different fundraising occasions, however the payoff in fundraising income and donor engagement might be definitely worth the effort. Use this information for the whole lot it is advisable to get began. 

1. What’s a charity public sale and what does it appear like?

A charity public sale is a fundraising occasion during which supporters bid on donated objects and packages. Your nonprofit is chargeable for procuring objects or reserving packages (resembling trip stays or consignment journey) that may get supporters excited to bid. This stuff might be procured as in-kind donations from sponsors, bought outright by your nonprofit, or by way of public sale merchandise consignment companions.

Throughout the occasion, your supporters compete to position the best bid on public sale objects. The individual with the best bid wins, and your group earns the proceeds. Generally, all charity auctions comply with the same four-step course of. Use the next timeline as a suggestion:

1. Open the bidding. In case you’re utilizing cell bidding software program, no matter whether or not it’s a dwell, silent, or on-line public sale, bidding opens robotically at your preset time. In case you’re internet hosting a standard paper-based silent public sale or a dwell public sale, announce the opening of bidding to the company.
2. Start with a beginning bid. Every merchandise is assigned a beginning bid quantity previous to the occasion, often at 35-50% of the market worth. That is the minimal quantity that the primary bidder can bid.
3. Bid increments. Individuals will compete to position the best bid. Every consecutive bid on an merchandise should sometimes be 10-15% better than the earlier bid worth. Contemplate including Purchase Now choices at 150%-200% of the merchandise’s worth to assist drive bidding and make it straightforward for supporters who need to pay prime greenback.
4. Shut bidding. Whoever positioned the ultimate, highest bid is the winner of that merchandise. The winner pays the agreed funds on to your nonprofit. 

Bid increment directions must be given to contributors forward of time or configured into your cell bidding software program so the public sale can run easily. For extra info on the fundamental outlines of a charity public sale, try this OneCause information to planning a charity public sale. 

2. Which kind of public sale do you have to host? 

Relying in your nonprofit’s price range and measurement, some public sale varieties could also be extra favorable than others. There are 4 several types of charity auctions that your group can host:

• Reside public sale. A dwell public sale is the traditional in-person occasion led by an auctioneer. Company announce their bids by elevating a bidding paddle, calling out quantities, or getting the auctioneer’s consideration in one other method. For a dwell public sale, you will want to lease a venue, rent an auctioneer, and certain provide catering to your company as a part of a broader night of leisure. 
• Silent public sale. Not like a dwell public sale, the bidding at a silent public sale is extra discrete and fewer public. Individuals write in bids on sheets of paper and may examine again to see in the event that they’ve been outbid, then write in a better bid quantity. A silent public sale may also happen with cell software program. Due to its flexibility, you’ll be able to host an in-person, digital, or hybrid silent public sale. 
• Digital public sale. A digital public sale incorporates conventional silent public sale components however takes all the course of on-line. Your nonprofit can attain individuals from throughout. These occasions might be extremely cost-effective whereas nonetheless producing spectacular closing income numbers. A digital public sale may also be longer in length than an in-person occasion. To make your on-line public sale extra participating, you need to use a live-streaming platform to indicate off the objects and generate bids in actual time. 
• Hybrid public sale. A hybrid public sale combines in-person and digital components for a memorable event. Usually, a hybrid public sale will contain a digital public sale with in-person dwell or silent bidding for a smaller viewers. For instance, with a hybrid silent public sale, you would invite a restricted in-person visitor checklist to a venue and enable a digital viewers to have interaction in real-time bidding. 

The flexibleness of codecs permits organizations of any measurement to host an public sale. Take any one in every of these public sale varieties and scale them to your viewers measurement. A web-based public sale might be an particularly useful gizmo for smaller nonprofits to increase their attain. 

3. How can charity public sale software program assist?

Planning and internet hosting a charity public sale is time, useful resource, and manpower-intensive. There are a ton of transferring components and managing all of them can simply get overwhelming. Nevertheless, working with charity public sale software program from the beginning of your planning course of drastically eases the trouble. This software program may also help you:

• Elevate more cash. This software program takes the bidding course of on-line, so these bodily in attendance and people who aren’t can each take part. Additional, you’re capable of present company with further channels to donate exterior of shopping for auctioned objects. For instance, you’ll be able to add a “Donate” button to your public sale webpage so supporters can merely donate any quantity to your trigger.
• Simplify the planning course of. All logistics are automated and run by way of the identical platform, eradicating a lot of the stress of coordination. Plus, as soon as your public sale is up and operating, your supporters gained’t have to fret about navigating to a number of completely different websites to take part, which helps to maintain them engaged. 
• Add comfort for contributors. Donors can buy tickets, place and observe bids, and checkout on-line. This simplifies the donor expertise and eliminates the trouble of ready in lengthy strains to take a look at after the very fact.
• Entry worthwhile metrics. Software program brings your whole planning into one platform, so you’ll be able to simply entry a whole view of your occasion’s success and assessment alternatives for enchancment. 

Internet hosting a charity public sale is an effective way to spice up income and engagement, however you additionally have to make the planning straightforward in your employees. That is the place public sale software program can turn out to be useful, particularly to streamline the behind-the-scenes group and execution. Plus, in the event you select the appropriate software program it may be tailored for every type of public sale occasions you host sooner or later.

4. Which group members do it is advisable to recruit?

Simply as with every different fundraising occasion, charity auctions require a devoted group of staffers and volunteers to run easily. You’ll want helpers earlier than, throughout, and after the occasion to ensure it goes off with no hitch. Delegate duties throughout your group, making certain you’ve people or teams to deal with the next components of your public sale:

• Occasion planning. This group plans the occasion, together with selecting the date, reserving the venue, recruiting volunteers, and even spreading the phrase. Your group will want a robust nonprofit advertising and marketing plan to draw as many individuals as potential to your public sale (thereby rising the quantity of income it’ll generate!). In case you’re internet hosting a digital or hybrid public sale, you’ll profit from having a devoted sub-team or committee for dealing with expertise, as effectively.
• Merchandise procurement. This group solicits public sale objects for the occasion. Every member must be snug soliciting donations and conversant in which kinds of items would do effectively amongst your nonprofit’s viewers. 
• Occasion volunteers. Volunteers are important to pulling off any in-person public sale occasions, whether or not they’re serving to with arrange or tear down, helping as public sale spotters/screens, or operating registration and checkout.
• Emcee or auctioneer. You’ll have to recruit an emcee or an auctioneer, relying on which sort of occasion you’re internet hosting. An emcee retains an in-person or digital silent public sale on observe whereas an auctioneer is the ringleader of a dwell public sale.

To make your public sale as profitable as potential, you should definitely plan early. Selecting and organising the appropriate software program and procuring objects generally is a very prolonged course of. One of the best ways to keep away from overwhelming your group is by making ready as quickly as potential. 

5. Which objects do you have to procure, and the way?

The charity public sale objects you procure will rely largely on what your donors are keen to pay and the place their pursuits might lie. Brainstorm which objects would possibly attraction most to your particular donors utilizing the next suggestions: 

• In case you’ve held an public sale prior to now, mirror on its success. Overview which objects have been standard sellers and think about bringing them again or comparable objects that might equally appeal to curiosity. 
• Contemplate your company’ value vary. Don’t procure costly spa weekends in case your donors can be extra more likely to bid on reasonably priced restaurant present playing cards and even nonprofit merchandise like t-shirts.
• Perceive your company’ pursuits. Contemplate what’s standard in your neighborhood and what would genuinely be desired. For instance, in the event you’re an animal rescue nonprofit, your supporters would in all probability get pleasure from a day hanging with puppies or kittens! 
• Bear in mind provide and demand. Public sale objects which can be uncommon or distinctive are more likely to be of curiosity to most audiences.
• Range your objects. Keep away from procuring objects that every one fall in a single class, resembling solely expertise packages or solely merchandise. 

Begin with asking coworkers, buddies, members of the family, and every other private {and professional} connections to donate objects. Flip to native companies and retailers to see in the event that they’ll donate services or products as in-kind items. When searching for company items, you’ll have to do your analysis on potential company companions and choose a enterprise with comparable values. 

6. How do you promote an public sale occasion?

Start with compiling a visitor checklist, holding the scale of your venue in thoughts. Ship out invitations and, in the event you’re utilizing public sale software program, carry the ticketing course of on-line for comfort. It may be useful to faucet into a number of advertising and marketing channels to carry consideration to your occasion, resembling:

• Social Media. Social media is a robust software to increase your nonprofit’s attain and get tons of (and even hundreds) of individuals to study your occasion. Determine on which platform could also be only to unfold the phrase about your occasion. This will probably be based mostly in your supposed viewers’s demographic and which platform they’d be most probably to make use of. Then, create participating graphics or video content material creating pleasure round your public sale with directions on how to enroll. 
• E-mail. Ship out an e-mail to your supporters highlighting your occasion with a hyperlink on to your registration web page. Your e-mail ought to emphasize crucial info and embrace a number of visuals to interrupt up lengthy paragraphs. 
• Textual content. In case you have your supporters’ cellphone numbers and a text-to-give platform arrange, texting is an effective way to succeed in out to supporters and ensure they see the message. Based on 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, textual content message audiences grew by 26% final 12 months, which signifies that texting is a superb alternative to market your public sale. You possibly can even embrace an possibility in your message to donate earlier than the occasion. 

By giving company a style of what your public sale will maintain prematurely, you’ll be capable of successfully drum up pleasure. You can even arrange a web based public sale web site by way of your public sale software program to function a catalog for the occasion, providing you with one other worthwhile advertising and marketing asset.

Embody all important details about the occasion itself on the web site. This features a brief introduction to your group, the occasion title or theme, the schedule, what the proceeds will profit, the principles for bidding, and directions for utilizing your cell bidding platform if relevant.

7. How are you going to maximize incoming public sale income? 

Public sale occasions are likely to get donors within the temper to provide, so put together to profit from this momentum whereas it exists!

Contemplate the next methods to maximise income at your subsequent charity public sale: 

• Make a dwell attraction. Your emcee or auctioneer asks company for donations, reminding them of a fundraising objective your group hopes to succeed in by the tip of the night time. Show a fundraising thermometer all through the occasion so company can observe how shut you’re attending to the objective.
• Promote mounted priced objects. These are objects which can be offered, not auctioned, for a set value. This contains further occasion actions (resembling present playing cards or a thriller field drawing) and even occasion merchandise and equipment.
• Create get together sign-ups. Plan a enjoyable occasion and promote visitor spots on the occasion. Examples of this could be a film night time, a bunch cooking class, or perhaps a themed get together. These work effectively for digital or hybrid occasions and might be led by volunteer ambassadors.
• Use a donation sales space. This can be a great way to supply a giving alternative to those that don’t find yourself leaving with an merchandise. As an alternative of ready in an extended checkout line, company may give rapidly and simply. In case you’re utilizing cell bidding software program, there’s no want for a bodily sales space as donors may give by way of their telephones.
• Goal your audiences. In case you’re internet hosting a hybrid public sale, you’ll have to develop methods that may interact each in-person and distant attendees. For instance, invite a smaller group of main donors to the in-person occasion and everybody to the digital occasion. Then, goal your completely different objects to every viewers as wanted—dwell bidding for luxurious trip packages, hybrid bidding for the fuller vary of things in your catalog, and many others. This helps you fundraise extra effectively and get monetary savings on the in-person logistics.
• Promote adverts in your catalog. Each attendee will browse your public sale catalog whether or not it’s a printed model or on-line, and that’s an enormous promoting level! Present merchandise donors and native companies with the choice to purchase an advert in your catalog (digital or paper) and have their brand featured someplace inside.

These are only some methods you’ll be able to maximize income at your subsequent public sale. You recognize your viewers greatest, so tailor your fundraising methods to your supporters to extend your occasion’s success. 

Wrapping Up

Auctions generally is a lot to plan, however the fundraising potential of those occasions is excessive. Whether or not you propose to host your public sale in-person or just about, you’ll be able to successfully interact your viewers with pleasant competitors, enjoyable objects, and alternatives to provide again to your nonprofit. With the assistance of charity public sale software program, the planning course of will probably be a lot smoother to your group. 

In regards to the Writer

Kelly Velasquez-Hague

Kelly Velasquez-Hague brings over 20 years of fundraising, nonprofit administration, and gross sales/advertising and marketing expertise to her function because the Director of Content material Advertising for OneCause. As a member of the OneCause gross sales and advertising and marketing group, Kelly manages the entire firm’s content material technique and execution. She is enthusiastic about empowering nice missions and loves that her present function permits her to proceed to assist nonprofits attain new donors and lift extra funds for his or her trigger.