Fun Raising While Fundraising - Part II

Part I of Fun Raising explored the growing phenomenon of non-profit online and live auctions, and how they can contribute to a nonprofit’s bottom line. Once you decide to add this fund-raising strategy to your development plan, you can use the following tips to make your online, live or combination auction as successful as possible.

Tips for a Good Auction

Unique experiences. “What sells best at charity events are unique experiences,” advises Paulo Adams of Paulo Adams Auction Services. He suggests talking to your town’s fire department about having a truck brought to a kid’s birthday party, or working out with the city that the winning bidder will have that pile of snow left by snowplows removed from their driveway all winter.

“[These] sorts of things go over big,” Adams states.

Photo: Guests placing bids at the recent Center for Teen Empowerment silent auction Erin Ryan, development associate at the Center for Teen Empowerment, which held a combination auction earlier this year, says that the center held back art and other unique items for the live auction, but posted the descriptions online to generate interest.

Beware too many items. However, Ryan warns, they had “incredibly generous donors and almost too many items.” Adams also cautions against having too many lots, and recommends bundling them together. He mentions a previous auction where the community really pitched in and contributed 600 lots, but there were only 200 people attending the event. By bundling together items such as dinner and a show, or putting together a spa basket, lots become more attractive. “Don’t be afraid to package things together – it makes for a really nice event.”

Plan ahead. Adams recommends that your fund-raising committee start planning months in advance, ideally a year. Paula Goldfarb, events and sponsorship manager at Susan G. Komen for the Cure in Boston, strongly suggests forming an auction committee, since the pre-auction preparation is the most difficult part. This will help with outreach and finding donors.

Consider your demographic. Jon Carson, CEO of cMarket, which helps nonprofits conduct online auctions, says that gift cards do well – bidders can see the obvious value, and competitiveness and the desire to score a bargain kick in. cMarket’s logs show that women tend to favor dining, travel, and health and beauty items, while men tend to bid more generously on dining, sports items, and electronics.

Be sure to take credit cards. Adams says he cannot emphasize this enough. While merchant processing fees may feel overwhelming, by not allowing bidders to use credit cards “you are costing your organization money.” He suggests working out a sponsorship agreement with a local bank, where the bank will donate the processing fees.

Know your audience. “Be keyed into who your event attendees are, and what their [spending] capacities are,” stresses Ryan. “If an item is too precious, people are afraid to bid.” Adams advises that “the price point of your items needs to meet the means of your bidders.”

Quality, not quantity. Goldfarb emphasizes that having a good range of items is much more important than the number of items.

Take advantage of your board’s connections. Encourage your board members to hit up their friends, and reach out to potential donors not in your database.

Articles on Fund Development

Leverage external events. The Center for Teen Empowerment had several Celtics items online. While the items started off slowly, when the Celtics entered the playoffs, bidding suddenly became furious. Komen for the Cure had several Red Sox items (signed bats, etc.) during the World Series.

Pair your celebrity auctioneer with a professional auctioneer. “Celebrity auctioneers are great to get people in the door,” Adams confirms. However, he suggests using them as emcees and handing the microphone to a professional when it’s time to start bidding on items. “[Celebrity auctioneers] don’t know the trade. They don’t know how to draw bids from the floor. They don’t know when the audience is done bidding.” A professional auctioneer can help you get the best value for your big-ticket items.

Allow maximum bids. By including a “guaranteed bid amount” of twice the item’s value, you are giving an opportunity to a donor who doesn’t enjoy competitive bidding to still walk away with the item they want, to your organization’s benefit.

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