. Be creative. Nonprofits host silent auctions in tons of different places, from golf courses to art museums to school gymnasiums. In a silent auction, items are displayed to the attendees and each item has a bid sheet. Supporters can use silent auction software to look at items and place and monitor bids directly from their smartphones. Silent Auction Bid Sheets: Template & Complete Guide - OneCause Silent auctions offer an engaging, interactive way for supporters to participate in fundraising. Today, were sharing top tips & silent auction ideas from Network for Good customers who have hosted highly-effective online auctions as part of their fundraising strategy. Let them know about how the auction went afterward. The bid sheets either on paper or digital include a description of the item, the starting bid and the minimum increment for the next bid. This increases their engagement and commitment to the nonprofit. If you decide to use mobile bidding but have an older donor base, you may want to have a handful of volunteers on hand to help participants place their bids. Takeaway: To procure the items that will receive big bids at your auction, consider your donors interests and budgets and choose items that theyd be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Choose an Activity/Entertainment 5. These live updates make the silent auction more dynamic, and will inspire bidders to look for hidden gems or be drawn into the competitive bidding for the most sought-after lots. It's helpful to have a committee assigned to the auction so that they can split up the various tasks required. Because the auction depended on item donations from local businesses, advance planning was crucial. When youve decided a date, secured a venue, sourced plenty of big-ticket donations, decided on any additional entertainment, then its time to sell tickets and get your invites out. If your silent auction was a big success, chances are you will want to hold another one in the future. How to Run a Silent Auction - BetterUnite Help Center Meetup with a celebrity or leaders in your organization. Physical promotion When a local business contributes to your auction, ask if you can put up a flyer for the auction in their establishment as well. When setting a goal, make sure to factor in the needs of your campaign. For in-person bidders Go ahead and set up your auction item tables as usual. Having a clear picture of your silent auction's constraints, necessities, and goals will keep everyone on the same page. How To Plan A Silent Auction: 7 Steps For Success | Givebutter Because the auction depended on item donations from local businesses, advance planning was crucial. You may also want to invite certain, specific guests to your auction. Typically a bid is written on a paper bid sheet, which includes the guest's bid number and how . 5 Things to Avoid When Running an Auction. As you approach the auctions close, give the bidders a last call warning at ten and five minutes before the end of bidding. 2) Click the Edit Item in the action menu . When the day arrives you should be able to set up easily. Direct winners to where they can make payments and receive their items. If so, take a look at our guide on how to run a successful silent auction so that you can make it a key revenue driver! Seeing an item they want can be a huge motivator for supporters to attend, so take advantage of it! Here are some key players that youll need to recruit: Most of these roles can be filled by both staff and volunteers. The team focuses on gathering items that they know will resonate with their audience. With the direct integration to the donor management system and the customer support that Network for Good provided, it was easy to put on our event, Goetzke says. Decide beforehand how to handle situations where the person with the winning bid does not show up to pay and receive their item at the auction itself. We suggest you move forward a step and discover more about the type of event youre going to run. On the popup window, leave the Purchase Options dropdown as Silent Auction Item as this is the default. Takeaway: Ultimately, the bidding method you choose is up to your organization and whether an online or offline method would appeal more to your base. The type of venue you go with will ultimately be up to your organization, but here are a few important things to keep in mind: Of course, just as important as selecting an excellent venue is booking it on the right date. Set your fundraising goals, pick an auction theme, and start procuring your items at least three months in advance. It's up to you whether you run your silent auction traditionally or digitally. Youve still got work to do after the auction, especially if you want to hold a successful event again in the future. You may be asking; what are the benefits for paper vs digital? Youll need people to find worthy donations so make sure they have good connections and are incredibly friendly and likable. 1. In this article, well cover all of the planning steps youll need to help your first (or next) silent auction run without a hitch. The key difference between silent auctions and traditional-style auctions is that instead of a loud environment with an auctioneer and items being auctioned off sequentially, silent auctions allow bidders to browse all of the items at their leisure before deciding to place a bid. Most types of auction software come with specialized features to help you generate an event site. Savannah Early, Garden Manager, shares, For the auction items, we make sure we have really nice, unique items. Social media Post about the auction on your official. They aren't just fundraisers they're also entertainment for your guests. It is recommended to establish a policy of final sales to discourage any attempts of returns. In this step, its time to focus on the main event: the items that will be up for auction. Some larger corporations have systems in place to make donations for use in fundraising auctions. Whether you are a charity, non-profit organisation, fundraising for a school or holding an event, silent auctions are a great fundraising technique for any event. How to Run a Silent Auction. function setFooterIframe() { Savannah Early, Garden Manager, shares, For the auction items, we make sure we have really nice, unique items. If you are just starting, then the bids area will be blank. Source Silent Auction Items To Sell. Silent auctions may be run in-person, online, or as a hybrid of both of those. Hosting an event like a silent auction increases visibility for the nonprofit. A silent auction is a fundraising event where items or experiences are displayed for attendees to bid on through a written bid sheet. Its important to create excitement and get people bidding., 4. If you like, you can prefill the sheet with incremental bids so that bidders only have to enter their name or bidder number on the sheet. Perhaps something luxurious like a new car. You gathered information or data on new prospective donors or even additional information on your current donors. Join the discussion in our Slack channel on connected fundraising. The event includes a silent auction, which was entirely online for the first time in 2021. hosts a fundraising event to coincide with National Health Center Week. Likewise, you should avoid weekdays when theyll be tied up with work. How to Plan a Silent Auction: Updated Guide - OneCause Are the volunteers who are procuring auction items going to deliver? How To Plan and Run an Amazing Silent Auction - ThankView Blog You want to encourage bidding wars! This tends to help encourage higher bids and better overall results. A fundraising event is a wonderful time to bring your community together to share the impact of your mission and to offer your guests the opportunity to support your work. Give them an idea of how the organization will put their funds to usethis gives them a tangible sense of making a difference to your cause. 12 must-know silent auction rules (free template!) - Givebutter 6 DOs and DON'Ts of Hosting an Auction A fundraising event is a wonderful time to bring your community together to share the impact of your mission and to offer your guests the opportunity to support your work. People respond to gamification across all sorts of applications. Silent auctions are a highly effective way for nonprofits to raise funds. 4. In-person, online, or a hybrid version? If youve run a successful silent auction, youve probably found yourself some brand-new donors. It can get a little confusing and with this type of event, there are many cogs in the wheel, so follow this guide to make sure yours is a success! While you can certainly pull together a virtual auction quickly, its ideal to start planning at least a couple of months in advance so you have an opportunity to ask sponsors for high-interest auction item donations. At the end of the auction, the highest bid for each item wins. They could be any of these, VIP event tickets to concerts, sports events or theater performances. But every reward comes with some risk. If youre hosting a ticketed, high-society silent auction, youll want a fancy venue to match, such as a banquet hall or conference center. 1. Takeaway: Just because your auction is over doesnt mean your work is quite done yet. . Reach out with your requests for donated items. Join 73,000+ of your peers getting industry news, tips, and resources straight to their inbox. Since there are so many facets to silent auctionsincluding planning, organization, and set-upyour event will need a strong team to make sure that all your ducks are in a row. As a general rule, bidding opens on items at a certain time and people input their bids through whichever method is chosen (it may be run via auctioning software, or some in-person events simply use sheets of paper where people write their name and bid amount). If theyre all from the city, perhaps a location out in the suburbs isnt ideal. Auctions that arent in conjunction with other events might require catering and consideration for amenities. Do your research now and save yourself a lot of hassle in the future. Dont obscure the visibility of any items, have them all dotted around the edge of the room so that theyre easily accessible. After all, you dont want to funnel more money into your event than youre going to raise from it! The Best Simple, Smart Fundraising Software for Nonprofits. Consider who your guests are, their interests, and their budgets. To facilitate this, implement some light programming to shake up the event. Alternatively, nonprofits also use silent auction software to facilitate this. Recruit plenty of staff members and volunteers to ensure that your event runs without a hitch. Weekends or weeknights are the best bet for a large turnout. The Importance of Emotional Connections in FundraisingJune 28, 2023, A Fundraisers Guide to Marketing Campaigns for Small Nonprofits & CharitiesJune 27, 2023, Ticketing and Guest Management with Givergys Fundraising PlatformJune 19, 2023, The Ultimate List of Tennis Club Fundraising IdeasMay 23, 2023, Winter Fundraising: Embracing The Giving SeasonMay 15, 2023, Reach your goals by engaging a larger audience and making it easier to give with Mobile Fundraising, Mobile bidding will transform your events, providing instant guest engagement for outbid notification, messaging and invoicing, Increase fundraising revenue, drive guest participation and simplify event management, Allow supporters to watch, participate, and donate from the comfort of their own homes, Combines your online audience with an in-room event to maximize your fundraising opportunity, Choose from an incredible list of consignment items where donors can bid and book with confidence, A fundraising host helps you deliver your fundraising strategy, boost giving and maximize engagement, Our global event staffing solutions to ensure your in-person or online event runs smoothly, Our award-winning mobile bidding technology brings silent auctions to life helping you raise more, Make it easier to give and ensure complete accuracy with our pledging system, Expand your fundraising campaign to a wider demographic with a prize draw or raffle, Our ticketing system streamlines registration and payment collection for your fundraising campaign, Process your winning bids, prize draw entries and donations quickly, safely, and securely, Our event check-in system is the perfect solution for attendee management, Sealed bidding helps you combat fundraising fatigue during live and online fundraising events, Use guest messaging to communicate key parts of your fundraising campaign, Live auctions spark excitement among the crowd as an auctioneer calls out the highest bids. In certain cases, if necessary, the second highest bid may be considered. At an in-person fundraiser, having to run around and collect silent auction bid sheets, declare item winners, organize item delivery, and collect payment is exhausting and stressful. If youre running a larger event from a business account on social media, you may decide to put some budget behind your campaigns to reach more people. Traditional silent auctions have paper bid sheets where bidders manually write their bids on each item. Again, get to know your audience and decide accordingly. Tips for Running a Successful Silent Auction | Network for Good Arrange display tables around the venue in a way thats conducive to good traffic flow. How to run a successful silent auction - GiveSmart Bid assistants or event emcees can encourage engagement by talking up the auction items. Ask for Donations & Silent Auction Items What Is and What Isn't a Great Silent Auction Item 3. First, you'll want to add your auction items to the auction you've built on your silent auction platform ( you can learn more about digital auctions here ). This creates a hard stop and an automatic tally of winners and the total amount that they owe at the end of an event. Unlike direct donations, participants get a chance to receive something in return for their contribution. All of the time, money, and energy you put into your silent auction will only be worth it if you can raise enough to meet your overall campaign goals. April 8, 2022 13 min read Silent auctions are an enjoyable and engaging way to raise money. How to Run a Silent Auction: 3 Simple Steps for Nonprofits - Qgiv.com Joe Goetzke, Development and Marketing Director at Eagle Bluff, says that the auction raised more than his team anticipated, and they plan to include a virtual auction as part of each event now, even when they go back to in-person after the pandemic. The entire process of hosting and running an online auction can be streamlined using good technology, such as Network for Good's events and auctions platform. Your socializers should be on hand at the auction floor, giving bidders space, but remaining on the lookout for anyone with questions or who seems to be losing interest and wants some conversation to pass the time. To be successful, you need to have the time and resources to commit to planning and executing the auction. Technology allows you to focus on your sponsors and attendees, with confidence that the bidding and payment process will be seamless. 655 15th Street NW Suite 650 Washington, DC 20005 2023. Well, paper is the more traditional method. You may be calling on their aid again for the next auction. The chair coordinates team members and volunteers and ensures good communication with all those who need to be in the loop. url= url + '?GCLID=' + gclid; Ask yourself if theyre young, family orientated, perhaps they are wealthy or is this event happening in a relatively poor community? Knowing your audience is key to stimulating bidding action. Not only do they give your supporters a fun and engaging way to donate to your cause, but they help increase your bottom line!In our September Webinar, we discussed exactly how you can run your most successful silent auction ever, covering topics like:Incorporating mobile fundraising technology into your silent auctionReaching a larger audience and engaging a larger donor baseFinding the most unique and exciting silent auction items at no riskWe also had a special guest co-host from Philantopia. This is where iWave can help. Money Back Guarantee. In addition, we recommend sending out specific invites to who you anticipate as your big-spending guests. The Basics of an online auction. As shown in the image, you will be able to see all the bids coming in as you run your auction. If so, take a look at our guide on how to . The winners are typically announced or directly contacted, and arrangements are made for payment and delivery of the auctioned items. In addition, a paper auction can be forgotten about and not continually in the minds of your guests. document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() { Now how are you going to ensure that they stick around? Philantopia offers non-profits unique auction ideas for your live or online auction, focusing on amazing travel packages and exciting event experiences.So click below to view our webinar recording and learn how you can use these tips and strategies to raise more money than ever with your next silent auction.Original Recording Date: September 26th, 2018 Silent auctions are a staple for most fundraising events. Logistics team These are the people responsible for every aspect of the mechanics of the auction, from timing, to how people will bid, to coordinating the dissemination of auction purchases. } There is no one type of venue for silent auctions that stands out from the rest. All rights reserved. Heres what to take care of during this stage: During the auction itself, there are several things you and your team can do to keep things running smoothly and generate healthy bidding. To avoid situations where a bidder tries to withdraw after realizing they did not thoroughly examine the auctioned item, it is crucial to emphasize that all items are sold in their current condition. Celebrity meet and greet. All good things must come to an end, and your silent auction is no exception.