Charity Auctions for Rookies: 7 Key Issues to Know

As a nonprofit skilled, you’ve most likely 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 common fundraising occasions, there’s merchandise procurement and bid monitoring to contemplate. The introduction of digital and hybrid choices has additional sophisticated issues, too.

Nonetheless, with a robust fundraising plan, you possibly can maintain a extremely profitable charity public sale that may not solely increase income however deepen engagement. Charity auctions are a good way to create a sense of group—both in-person or on-line—and interact donors with pleasant competitors. 

Right here’s every little thing you should know to host your first profitable charity public sale:

1. What’s a charity public sale and what does it appear to be?
2. Which kind of public sale must you host?
3. How can charity public sale software program assist?
4. Which staff members do you should recruit?
5. Which gadgets must you procure, and the way?
6. How do you promote an public sale occasion?
7. How will you 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 could be definitely worth the effort. Use this information for every little thing you should get began. 

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

A charity public sale is a fundraising occasion wherein supporters bid on donated gadgets and packages. Your nonprofit is answerable for procuring gadgets or reserving packages (resembling trip stays or consignment journey) that may get supporters excited to bid. These things could be procured as in-kind donations from sponsors, bought outright by your nonprofit, or by means of public sale merchandise consignment companions.

Through the occasion, your supporters compete to put the very best bid on public sale gadgets. The particular person with the very best bid wins, and your group earns the proceeds. Usually, all charity auctions comply with an analogous four-step course of. Use the next timeline as a tenet:

1. Open the bidding. In the event you’re utilizing cell bidding software program, no matter whether or not it’s a stay, silent, or on-line public sale, bidding opens robotically at your preset time. In the event you’re internet hosting a standard paper-based silent public sale or a stay public sale, announce the opening of bidding to the friends.
2. Start with a beginning bid. Every merchandise is assigned a beginning bid quantity previous to the occasion, normally 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 put the very best bid. Every consecutive bid on an merchandise should usually be 10-15% better than the earlier bid worth. Take into account including Purchase Now choices at 150%-200% of the merchandise’s worth to assist drive bidding and make it simple for supporters who wish to pay prime greenback.
4. Shut bidding. Whoever positioned the ultimate, highest bid is the winner of that merchandise. The winner can pay the agreed funds on to your nonprofit. 

Bid increment directions needs to be given to individuals 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, take a look at this OneCause information to planning a charity public sale. 

2. Which kind of public sale must you host? 

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

• Stay public sale. A stay 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 approach. For a stay public sale, you’ll need to hire a venue, rent an auctioneer, and sure provide catering to your friends as a part of a broader night of leisure. 
• Silent public sale. Not like a stay 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 test again to see in the event that they’ve been outbid, then write in a better bid quantity. A silent public sale also can happen with cell software program. Due to its flexibility, you possibly can host an in-person, digital, or hybrid silent public sale. 
• Digital public sale. A digital public sale incorporates conventional silent public sale parts however takes all the course of on-line. Your nonprofit can attain individuals from throughout. These occasions could be extremely cost-effective whereas nonetheless producing spectacular remaining income numbers. A digital public sale will also be longer in period than an in-person occasion. To make your on-line public sale extra participating, you should use a live-streaming platform to indicate off the gadgets and generate bids in actual time. 
• Hybrid public sale. A hybrid public sale combines in-person and digital parts for a memorable event. Sometimes, a hybrid public sale will contain a digital public sale with in-person stay or silent bidding for a smaller viewers. For instance, with a hybrid silent public sale, you might invite a restricted in-person visitor listing to a venue and permit a digital viewers to interact in real-time bidding. 

The flexibleness of codecs permits organizations of any measurement to host an public sale. Take any one in all these public sale sorts and scale them to your viewers measurement. An internet public sale could be an particularly great tool 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. Nonetheless, 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 in a position to present friends with extra channels to donate outdoors of shopping for auctioned gadgets. For instance, you possibly can 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 means 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 individuals. Donors should buy tickets, place and monitor 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 actual fact.
• Entry precious metrics. Software program brings your entire planning into one platform, so you possibly can simply entry a whole view of your occasion’s success and assessment alternatives for enchancment. 

Internet hosting a charity public sale is a good way to spice up income and engagement, however you additionally must make the planning simple 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, for those who select the proper software program it may be tailored for all sorts of public sale occasions you host sooner or later.

4. Which staff members do you should recruit?

Simply as with all different fundraising occasion, charity auctions require a devoted staff of staffers and volunteers to run easily. You’ll want helpers earlier than, throughout, and after the occasion to ensure it goes off with out a hitch. Delegate duties throughout your staff, making certain you’ve people or teams to deal with the next components of your public sale:

• Occasion planning. This staff plans the occasion, together with selecting the date, reserving the venue, recruiting volunteers, and even spreading the phrase. Your staff will want a robust nonprofit advertising and marketing plan to draw as many individuals as potential to your public sale (thereby growing the quantity of income it would generate!). In the event you’re internet hosting a digital or hybrid public sale, you’ll profit from having a devoted sub-team or committee for dealing with know-how, as properly.
• Merchandise procurement. This staff solicits public sale gadgets for the occasion. Every member must be comfy soliciting donations and acquainted with which kinds of presents would do properly 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, aiding as public sale spotters/screens, or operating registration and checkout.
• Emcee or auctioneer. You’ll must recruit an emcee or an auctioneer, relying on which kind of occasion you’re internet hosting. An emcee retains an in-person or digital silent public sale on monitor whereas an auctioneer is the ringleader of a stay public sale.

To make your public sale as profitable as potential, you’ll want to plan early. Selecting and organising the proper software program and procuring gadgets is usually a very prolonged course of. One of the simplest ways to keep away from overwhelming your staff is by getting ready as quickly as potential. 

5. Which gadgets must you procure, and the way?

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

• In the event you’ve held an public sale previously, replicate on its success. Overview which gadgets have been widespread sellers and think about bringing them again or related gadgets that will equally appeal to curiosity. 
• Take into account your friends’ worth vary. Don’t procure costly spa weekends in case your donors can be extra prone to bid on reasonably priced restaurant present playing cards and even nonprofit merchandise like t-shirts.
• Perceive your friends’ pursuits. Take into account what’s widespread in your group and what would genuinely be desired. For instance, for those who’re an animal rescue nonprofit, your supporters would most likely take pleasure in a day hanging with puppies or kittens! 
• Bear in mind provide and demand. Public sale gadgets which are uncommon or distinctive are more likely to be of curiosity to most audiences.
• Range your gadgets. Keep away from procuring gadgets that every one fall in a single class, resembling solely expertise packages or solely merchandise. 

Begin with asking coworkers, pals, relations, and every other private {and professional} connections to donate gadgets. Flip to native companies and retailers to see in the event that they’ll donate services or products as in-kind presents. When searching for company presents, you’ll must do your analysis on potential company companions and choose a enterprise with related values. 

6. How do you promote an public sale occasion?

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

• Social Media. Social media is a robust instrument to increase your nonprofit’s attain and get a whole lot (and even hundreds) of individuals to find out about your occasion. Determine on which platform could also be simplest to unfold the phrase about your occasion. This can be based mostly in your meant viewers’s demographic and which platform they’d be 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. 
• Electronic mail. Ship out an electronic mail to your supporters highlighting your occasion with a hyperlink on to your registration web page. Your electronic mail ought to emphasize a very powerful info and embrace a number of visuals to interrupt up lengthy paragraphs. 
• Textual content. In case you have your supporters’ telephone numbers and a text-to-give platform arrange, texting is a good way to succeed in out to supporters and ensure they see the message. In line with 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics, textual content message audiences grew by 26% final yr, which signifies that texting is a superb alternative to market your public sale. You may even embrace an possibility in your message to donate earlier than the occasion. 

By giving friends a style of what your public sale will maintain prematurely, you’ll be capable to successfully drum up pleasure. It’s also possible to arrange a web-based public sale web site by means of your public sale software program to function a catalog for the occasion, providing you with one other precious advertising and marketing asset.

Embody all important details about the occasion itself on the web site. This features a quick introduction to your group, the occasion identify 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 will you maximize incoming public sale income? 

Public sale occasions are inclined to get donors within the temper to provide, so put together to take advantage of this momentum whereas it exists!

Take into account the next methods to maximise income at your subsequent charity public sale: 

• Make a stay attraction. Your emcee or auctioneer asks friends for donations, reminding them of a fundraising objective your group hopes to succeed in by the tip of the evening. Show a fundraising thermometer all through the occasion so friends can monitor how shut you’re attending to the objective.
• Promote mounted priced gadgets. These are gadgets which are offered, not auctioned, for a set worth. This consists of further occasion actions (resembling present playing cards or a thriller field drawing) and even occasion merchandise and equipment.
• Create social gathering sign-ups. Plan a enjoyable occasion and promote visitor spots on the occasion. Examples of this is able to be a film evening, a bunch cooking class, or perhaps a themed social gathering. These work properly for digital or hybrid occasions and could be led by volunteer ambassadors.
• Use a donation sales space. It is 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, friends can provide rapidly and simply. In the event you’re utilizing cell bidding software program, there’s no want for a bodily sales space as donors can provide by means of their telephones.
• Goal your audiences. In the event you’re internet hosting a hybrid public sale, you’ll must 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 gadgets to every viewers as wanted—stay bidding for luxurious trip packages, hybrid bidding for the fuller vary of things in your catalog, and so forth. 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 just a few methods you possibly can maximize income at your subsequent public sale. You realize your viewers finest, so tailor your fundraising methods to your supporters to extend your occasion’s success. 

Wrapping Up

Auctions is usually 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 nearly, you possibly can successfully interact your viewers with pleasant competitors, enjoyable gadgets, and alternatives to provide again to your nonprofit. With the assistance of charity public sale software program, the planning course of can be a lot smoother in your staff. 

Concerning 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 and marketing for OneCause. As a member of the OneCause gross sales and advertising and marketing staff, Kelly manages the entire firm’s content material technique and execution. She is keen 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.