Encourage your core audience to share the auction with their contacts, including through social media. Keep in mind that some items are easier to deliver than others, and you may need to win the person who made the call to take the winnings to their final destination. Of course, it always depends on your audience, but we made a list of 30 silent items at the auction, including 15 socially distanced options. All silent auction items, even if they can not be bought normally, come with the dollar value. Online auctions are also an important feature in times when face-to-face meetings are not possible.
In exchange for donated items, you can offer free corporate advertising during the fundraiser and in your marketing materials. If possible, try to receive all offers of donations in writing or collect items on the spot. Most museums or entertainment venues will donate items if you request it in writing.
Preparing for a silent auction can take months of research, communication and organization. The amount of time alone makes silent auctions a high-profile fundraising investment event, and their implementation determines how profitable the ROI is. Donated gifts are often purchased as silent auction items and usually include products or services.
The minimum raise requirement determines how many dollars a bid should have in the past. Once the bids are over and the winning bids have been announced, the winners will be able to pick up their items in the departure area where the transactions take place. Depending on the structure of the silent auction, there may be participants who do not participate in the online auction and are not interested in self-registration. These offline participants must also register for the auction, especially if they win items. Collecting appropriate information for offline participants is important, especially when it comes to entering winning bids into the system. If you end an auction during a live event, you should end it before the end of the event.
Our full-service charity auction services include professional auction staff. In addition to mobile bidding, silent auctions can be conducted completely online. The right auction software makes this process as easy as possible by including event tracking features, an item catalog, and a custom bidding app. When it is time to end the silent auction, it is necessary to collect bid sheets and declare the highest bidder for each item. If a mobile bidding program is used, the winning bids are automatically confirmed. Gamification techniques have always been an effective means of promoting fundraising.
Once you have your items organized, create bid sheets for each one. The rest of the sheet should contain a series of numbered blank lines. Be sure to support your offer sheets with cardboard or clipboard so that people can write on the sheets.
Learn more with our guide to online auctions.How many items should I buy for my silent auction? A good rule of thumb is to provide 1 or 2 auction items for each bidder or donor at your event. First, try to check the silent auction ideas donor data to find out as much as possible about the interests of bidders and the average donation amounts. Yes, the IRS has specific guidelines for all amounts paid at the market-driven price it sets for each item.