Easy access to this information can help ensure a more positive online auction experience for your participants. While dedicated online bidding tools exist, you can also handle online bidding through free forms and tables available online. Jotform offers free templates for collecting auction bids, and you can customize them for your own organization or event.
Selecting the right auction items is extremely important and can make or break your fundraising efforts. Consider your guest demographic; who are you guests, how old are they, are they predominantly male or female and do they have any common interests? These are all questions you should ask yourself before setting out to source your items.
So it’s important that you invest in the ones that will drive your event forward. Planning a charity auction can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be if you incorporate the right strategies into your process. While procuring items, booking a venue, and figuring out ways to engage your guests can quickly become daunting, there are ways you can still plan an effective fundraising event. Holidays are a fantastic time for auctions and events of all kinds, and they lend themselves wonderfully to a variety of different auction items. The auction items that typically receive the most bid activity appeal to donors’ needs or interests, are well-priced, and are unique or special in some way. There’s no perfect, magic formula to choosing the right virtual silent auction items, as this will depend on your unique circumstances, particularly your audience.
Easily add auction functionality to your website with WordPress plugins, eliminating the need to code. The CMS and many of its plugins are free to use, making it ideal for users with a limited budget or who want to test this business opportunity first. There is no buyer’s premium and you don’t have to be a member to bid. I hope you enjoyed these tips about running a silent auction on Facebook. If good items for silent auction are doing a sealed bid auction, where bidders may place only one secret bid, they can submit their bid via a private message.
This is where a streamlined silent auction platform can come into play. These software platforms equip your auction event team with the right tools to manage and execute a seamless silent auction from start to finish. Everything from your auction event staff to your procured items and even your promotional efforts requires careful planning. Whether it’s your first silent auction or you’re a certified auction veteran, planning a silent auction can be time-consuming. Spread the word about your upcoming online auctions with donors. Use templates and social media integrations to get people interested.
You can pitch your auction plan to your superiors, knowing no hidden costs await behind the curtain. One caveat we noticed in their Google reviews was varying confusion from bidders and organizers. But CharityAuctionsToday includes advantages, such as promoting the auction to the entire bidder pool to maximize your auction profits. AuctionMaestro Pro is auction software built by SofterWare that’s a great standalone auction tool but also has a seamless integration with DonorPerfect’s donor management system.
PayBee also encourages nonprofits to email donors a yearly tax receipt so you’ll get all your information on one page. Fully customizable bid increments as well as minimum and maximum bid amounts on all your auctions and auction items. Bulk upload your auction items and set specific properties for each item such as min bid amount and custom bid increments. By using Auctria from day 1 of event and auction planning fundraising means being organized. Saved time means human resources can be used to tell your story, develop relationships, market and raise more funds.
By taking the time to look back, you will see which items performed best. Then, you can use that information to procure similar items again, as they’re likely to perform well. For example, you might auction off a Santa Claus or an Easter Bunny visit to the bidder’s home or work. Alternatively, you can also auction off something signed by a celebrity.
At the end of the auction, guests will be prompted to pay for their winnings. You can track payments, respond to guest messages, and facilitate distribution of items utilizing our robust analytics dashboard and exports. Those who won’t look beyond these flaws prefer a platform focusing more on customer support and web design, such as CharityAuctionsToday, which can create a more satisfying auction partnership.