Building Better Events... Continued

Today we had the opportunity to present a Greater Giving Webinar about planning for your auction. We took questions from our callers and in our limited one-hour time frame, we weren't able to get to all of your questions. So Samantha wants to tackle some of those unanswered questions and help you prepare for your auction.

If you have more questions... send them our way. We want to help to make your event a big success.

Q. What are some good ways to get better and more auction items?

A. Great question. We all invest lots of time and planning in our auctions and I like the fact that you're thinking strategically. First, let me remind you that "more" is not always "more." Be sure to avoid the garage sale look or the used & second-hand items.

Focus your time and attention on what your audience is going to like. An easy way to do this is to ask your committee... what would you want to bid on?

Once you have identified your targets now you have to begin procurement. Some fun tips for procurement...

Host a Procurement Party. Get a group of committee members armed with donor forms to walk up and down your boutique shopping districts to talk to shop and cafe owners about their passions and commitments to the cause. Hold a fun competition among committee members to see which team comes back with the most auction donations.

Basket Sign Up Sheet. Create a list of fun themed baskets and pass it around to your board, your staff, and your volunteers to get folks to sign up to be responsible for each themed basket. We have a list in a previous blog post SILENT AUCTION BASKETS

Drop Off Days. Deadlines really motivate giving. If you are in a school environment, I find that drop off days are a great way to get parents to collect their donations and get them turned in.

Wine Party. Wine is always a big hit. If you have committee members with birthdays, holiday celebrations, or other festive occasions, encourage them to ask their guests to bring a bottle of wine as a donation to your auction during their next friends and family gathering.


Q. What are the trends for auctions these days?

A. Hopefully every auction is doing something unique and out of the box. But there are some sure fire items that always do well.

Hot Items:
Useable items such as hand-crafted jewelry, hand bags, or wearables.
Entertainment such as dining gift certificates, theatre tickets, or concerts.
Local travel such as a cabin on a lake or in the woods.
Alcohol: Wine, Wine, Wine

Audience Specific Items:
If you are at a school, student art is a hot commodity. But don't just auction off student art by individuals. Engage groups of students to participate in an art project together so that you have parents bidding against each other on the same piece of work.

Danger Danger:
Avoid too many items. If your audience can each walk out of the event with their item of choice at the minimum bid then you've lost the opportunity for competitive bidding. I recommend keeping your silent auction more selective and do not exceed more than 1 item for every 4 bidders.

Collector Items or Subjective Items:
Art, fine jewelry, and antiques are best kept in specialty auctions. If you have cultivated an audience of art collectors then art is your auction is great. If you don't have an audience filled with art collectors then that expensive piece of art is not going to bring you much in the way of funding.


Q. Do you have some ideas for keeping your auction event fresh?

A. YES. I encourage everyone to think out of the box and start doing things different. Some ideas for you to think about.

Engage Your Client Base:
Hold a theme contest and get people to throw their idea into the pool.
Ask your supporters to nominate your honorees.
Challenge your guests to a table host or ticket sales challenge.
Increase donations with an auction basket contest with prizes for creativity.

Themes:
Use creative themes to involve your guests with costumes, to set your decor, or event to design your program. Some fun ideas and execution that I've seen recently have been:
Mardi Gras - with a parade and mask contest
Supper Club - to showcase student performers
Dancing With the Stars - challenged big donors to show off their skills
Kids Playground - engaging donors in being a big kid


Looking for more...

If you have more questions. Send them our way by adding to the comments. We'd love to help you while helping others. Join the dialogue.

Looking for some training? Join us for our Portland workshop on September 17th called THE ART OF THE SPECIAL APPEAL. Learn how to raise more money at your event with a really well executed special appeal. REGISTRATION is now open for this and all of our auction training workshops. MORE INFO

When our Webinar is available online we will be sure to post it here for you. But if you need some hands on support, ask us about Auction Boot Camp!

Next Webinar with Greater Giving - 30day Countdown - How to plan the final details of your event. October 6th. www.greatergiving.com