Quick Tips For Successful Fundraising Auctions

Auctions—either live or online—are a popular way for nonprofits to raise money. They can be a lot of hard work, but auctions can be fun, too. There is a right way to run an auction: you’ll know you did when you see a big audience, they have a great time and you hit your fundraising goal.

If your organization has an auction coming up or is considering one, here are 7 tips to consider that could make it more successful!

  1. Remember, it’s supposed to be fun! Create an atmosphere of excitement that will keep your volunteer committee inspired to continue through the planning process. It’s a big job to do an auction successfully, so make it fun and energetic.
  2. Give people a reason to attend. Is it a celebrity guest? Amazing auction items? An intriguing theme? If you become known for surprises, trips or fabulous wine, people will look forward to coming every year.
  3. Don’t try to run the auction alone. It takes many hands to gather the auction items, solicit donations and support, advertise the event, prepare the space, hire the auctioneer and the other thousand pieces that go into fundraising auctions.
  4. Rushing won’t help. Allow plenty of time: six to nine months is considered the minimum.
  5. Choose quality over quantity for auction items. An items that goes for $50 will take as much time to merchandise and sell as an time that goes for $500.
  6. Find the right volunteers. Approach it like a business. Figure out the jobs that need to be done, write job descriptions and match volunteers to the jobs they’re most suited to. For example, retailers can design the displays, graphic designers can do the invitations and programmers can help with the database operations.
  7. Keep great records so next year’s fundraising auction is just as successful—and easier.

If you decide to host a fundraising auction, do your homework and do more preparation, planning, and promoting than you think you’ll need.

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