Auction fundraisers have evolved a lot since paper and pencil bid sheets and long checkout lines. There’s so much more fundraising in addition to just the auctioning at an auction fundraiser. Auction teams that offer sponsorships, direct donations, raise-the-paddle or fund-a-need exceed their fundraising goals. Having a better understanding of the audience and new technology can help to boost your auction fundraiser. 

With these auction secrets, you can crush all of your fundraising goals.

Attracting Bidders

The more bidders you have, the higher and faster the bids will rise. One of the best ways to attract bidders and swell participation is to make the auction fundraiser fun! Have some creative activities planned and get some interesting or unique auction items. You could also advertise an early bird discount on entrance tickets. This will help attract early buzz about the event. 

Attract supporters with an exciting influencer. 

Utilizing a keynote speaker is sure to get people excited to come to your event. It’s so helpful to get a speaker with a following already behind them because it expands your audience to their whole following as well. Use this to your advantage as soon as you can. Post everywhere about it, send out emails and do anything to spread the word. When you’re looking for potential influencers, don’t just choose anyone with over a thousand followers. Make sure they truly feel a connection to the cause and can serve as an ambassador for the auction fundraiser. Don’t be afraid to ask them to invite their friends and colleagues as well as potential sponsors. You can upsell VIP tables to really take advantage of the partnership. 

Theme, menu, venue.

Entice invitees with a fun theme, and a desirable venue and menu. Sure you want people to come to your event because they care about the cause, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a cut-and-dried fundraiser. Choose a theme and lean into it in your branding while marketing the event. Use all your current and active communication channels such as email, flyers, banners and social media to continue the auction story. Show as well as tell with many photos and videos of the event location and cuisine.

Attract bidders with interesting and desirable auction items.

An online auction catalog is a must-have to showcase the auction offerings. When you’re starting to gather items, try to understand and figure out what the auction audience will really bid on. If you don’t know the answer, send out a quick survey to stakeholders, board or frequent volunteers and supporters. Examples that have produced desirable auction outcomes are: 

• Local treasures that are good for your backyard 
• Local services such as first responders typically will donate experiences that are unique  
• National products & services that are recognizable  
• Professional and collegiate team tickets or memorabilia (almost all donate- just ask)
• Large ticket items like big sporting events and exotic vacations
• Priceless items and keepsakes that are one-of-a-kind and personal to the group 

Showcase auction items prior to the auction fundraiser in every communication channel where you regularly reach your audience. Do so many times over with fresh messaging. Start marketing the auction fundraiser in advance with save-the-date, then showcase many of the auction items and share the auction venue and food & fun offerings. Use an abundant amount of photos and videos to tell the auction story. 

Attracting Sponsors

Supporters come in a few different forms. Sponsors can pay to partner with a nonprofit within the auction fundraiser. Attendees are also supporters in the short term by bidding on items and they hold long term potential for future participation. 

Asking a business or individual to sponsor an auction needs to also answer the “what’s in it for me?” question. You can recognize your sponsors in the form of signage, acknowledgment on invitations, catalogs, and other collateral and links to the business or banner in the online catalog. Make the level of acknowledgment equal to the level of giving. Maybe the highest level of giving warrants a special table: consider using a different color table cloth or fancy desserts. Bringing attention to the sponsors may encourage more to step up for next year or hop on the sponsorship ladder.  

The event is the perfect segue to share the story behind the cause. What will the proceeds of the auction fund? Tell and show your story to attract and gain attention. Use social media leading up to the auction to raise awareness of both the auction and the cause. Use lots of photos and videos of the auction items. 

Auction Income Boosters

Auction fundraisers are more than bid sheets. They are the perfect venue for raffles and direct donations. Online auction boosters utilize the inherent technology to advance bids faster and higher.

Offering raffles at the event adds to the excitement. Sell tickets at a single ticket price and at a bundled price, i.e. one ticket for $5 and five tickets for $20. Raffle purchasers tend to be somewhat different from the auction bidders, some people just can’t pass up a raffle. Offering a raffle will open more wallets and purses. 

Direct donations, fund-a-need, and paddle-raise all accomplish the same goal. But asking for a donation without an item in return is the truest form of donation. You can dress it up and encourage donations in a fun way with an emcee leading a paddle-raise or fund-a-need. During this phase of the event the charity will usually show or tell a story, present past recipients, make an emotional connection with the audience. Then the emcee or auctioneer will ask for donations. Typically they will start very high (“very high” is dependent upon past experiences or pre-arranged donations). The donor will raise their paddle to signify they would like to pledge a donation at the stated amount. As you can imagine this is a very visual maneuver. The emcee will then drop to the next lower increment of giving, and hopefully, more paddles will raise and donations will be recorded. This will continue until the goal is met and the need is funded or the bidders stop bidding. 

Utilizing a professional auctioneer or emcee can breakthrough auction goals. Firstly, the auction team can focus on their guests to personally welcome and engage rather than having to focus on running the operations. Secondly, it’s a different experience when a person from outside the event is running the live auction or paddle raise. They bring a new voice to auction, tend to be more assertive and persistent thus yielding higher final donations.

Online auctions have unique technology conveniences to boost the fundraiser. In addition to the inherent convenience of social sharing, bidding can be maximized with proxy and anti-sniping features. Employing the use of proxy bidding allows a bidder to insert a maximum bid amount. The auction software is instructed to place bids on their behalf up to their defined amount. Proxy bidding saves time for the bidder to have to respond to each outbid notification and helps the charity raise more money faster. 

Anti-sniping prevents a last-second bidder from placing a bid moments before an auction closes. If a bid is received within a set amount of time prior to an auction closing, the online auction for that item would remain open for an extended period of time, giving the previously outbid bidder the chance to bid again. The additional time lets bids reach the highest pinnacle.

Auction action tip: Mobile bidding at an in-person event moves bids forward swiftly. When using mobile bidding instead of bid sheets, bidders receive instant outbid notifications without babysitting their preferred auction items. The best practice is to close mobile bidding before any key speakers or presentations to reduce distractions. 

Choosing an Auction Software Partner

Auction fundraisers used to be a huge organizational puzzle pieced together with excel spreadsheets, document bid sheets, collections from cash, check and credit card services. Now running an auction fundraiser is not only a utility program but also a fundraiser booster. Ideally, the auction program will centralize the entire process from the first donation to the last receipt and all the bidding in between. Look for a program that can be used by all team members on a web-based platform to stay connected and always up to date. Choose a program that is designed to easily share and promote the auction details, ticket sales, auction catalog. 

Auction action tip: Auction software features should be streamlined so when registered bidders travel through the auction process it is smooth and orderly. 

Special thanks to Auctria for sharing their expert advice. Over 21K groups raised over $100M using Auctria. Our gift to you as a NonProfit Hub reader is the Auctria auction timeline & checklist for both event and online auction fundraiser. The checklist lays out the entire auction to-do list by month to help keep get organized and keep the auction fundraiser on track. Download and share with your entire auction team today.

Follow on Twitter, Facebook & Pinterest. 

Connect by email: hello@auctria.com

The post The Evolution of Auction Fundraisers appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.

Auction fundraisers are a proven instrument to blow away your fundraising goals. If you haven’t considered an auction for fundraising, learn how to choose a type of auction and demystify the process. For those who have hosted an auction fundraiser, we share some master tips to bring it up a notch.

Auction fundraising advice to crush the fundraising goals:

1. Auction types
2. Finding auction items
3. Post-auction benefaction

Sharing the basic knowledge and steps on how to run a fundraiser will give you the confidence to embark on the auction fundraising journey. These best practices and expert tips will make your current auction fundraiser’s bids and income soar.

Choosing the type of auction fundraiser

Auction fundraisers come in two types: in-person events and online only. Both serve the purpose of fundraising, however the process of reaching your goal takes a different form. Silent and live auctions  conjure images of food, drink and celebration, all for a great cause. The more recently popularized online auction fundraiser does away with the in-person aspect and focuses solely on the auction itself.  There are considerations to choose one over the other to match the audience and maximize your results.

In-person auction events are ideal if you have:

1. The ability to plan and execute the event.
2. An audience that will attend.  

Silent and live auctions require significant planning. Consider the capability and willingness of your team to put together the entire affair. Also, consider the anticipated participation level of the current supporters and the likelihood to reach new ones. In-person auctions can be signature events for your organization, allowing you to share your story and accomplishments. When the auction is paired with an event, it garners wider attention and engagement.

Online auctions are an attractive and lucrative option when an event in conjunction with an auction isn’t feasible. The online auction extends from a few hours to multiple days, removes the barrier of required attendance and therefore expands the bidding potential. Online auctions can broaden your reach through organic sharing much more easily with a few clicks, likes and follows and influencers on social media.

Auction action tip:

It may take a while to grow a following for an auction. Brand the auction, give it a name, learn what works and what doesn’t each year. Auction fundraisers that have been running for multiple years report gains with each event in both number of bidders and income.

Finding auction items

Auction items are central to the ‘fundraising’ part of the auction. Nonprofits will quickly realize that finding the items is not so intimidating once you get a few tools in place. First, start with a friendly but direct procurement letter. Many local and national businesses not only like to donate, but also have the budget to do so. Donating is seen as goodwill and good corporate citizenship, so asking for donations can be beneficial for them, too. Hand deliver the procurement letter to receive immediate feedback on the status or ability of the business to donate. Many larger businesses have a more formal request process online. In this case, they’ll still need a copy of the procurement letter and may request additional information as needed.

Auction action tip:

Try asking for a donation while you’re making a purchase. While dining, ask as you are paying the bill; while shopping, ask when the products are in your hands. It’s much easier for a manager to say ‘yes’ to help an active consumer.    

Be sure to have a nicely rounded offering of auction donations that will appeal to your audience.  Provide a variety of starting bid price points as well as types of items. Think outside the standard restaurant and shopping gift cards. Almost all professional and collegiate sports teams will donate, and many theme parks, entertainment venues and manufacturers are willing as well. Over 500 links to donation request pages have been posted to these mega-donation Pinterest boards.

Auction items don’t necessarily have to be in the form of a manufactured product or service. Look around to find priceless items to offer. For instance, schools can offer VIP seats for graduation; police and fire stations can offer special visitations. Community groups do well by offering a meet-and-greet, lunch or dinner with prominent community members. Arts and culture groups can offer up-front seating or VIP access before or after events. In any case, several bidders vying for one item is the formula to push bids higher.

Post-auction benefaction

After the auction has closed, harness the enthusiasm that was generated by the event. More people are aware of and understand the cause. Anyone who touched, bid, volunteered or sponsored  deserves a thank you note. In the thank you note, share how the funds raised will advance your mission. Be qualitative and quantitative by sharing data and stories. Now is the ideal time to ask for a small favor to extend the relationship, like a follow on social media or volunteering for a future event.

Auction Action Tip:

Personalize your outreach by thanking participants for something specific, like purchasing a raffle ticket, bidding on an item or pledging a donation. Only after thanking them is it ok to ask for additional contributions.

Choosing an auction software partner

Auction fundraisers have lots of moving parts. In order to manage the process, a software partner is a necessity. Find a program that has the features you need now and the features you might need in the future. Make sure it allows teams to collaborate remotely and keeps your data safe. Using the same program from inception streamlines the auction from the donor to the donation, bidder registration to the bidding process, collections to receipts, then tops it all off with thank you notes and easy reporting.

Auction action tip:

Read reviews and references before choosing a software. Make sure it meets your budget as well as your auction fundraising needs.

More than 21,000 groups have raised over $100 million using Auctria. Please take advantage of our free auction timeline and checklist available for download. It lays out the entire auction to do list by month to help you stay organized and on track. 

Now you have all the tools to host an auction fundraiser that can truly make a difference.

The post How to Maximize Your Auction Fundraiser appeared first on Nonprofit Hub.