Are you a nonprofit organisation looking for ways to raise funds? If so, a live auction can be a great way to proceed.
However, it can only be an effective solution if your organisation has proper access to a venue, volunteers, a good connection with merchants, members who can donate items for bidding, and interested members who can attend and bid. With the best auction tips, you can turn your live auction into a “mainstream event” like a gala dinner.
Here are some preparatory auction tips to help you organise the fundraising event efficiently.
1. Determine Doable Goals For Participation & Earning:
To generate money from your auction, you’ll have to determine attainable goals for interested people participating in the event. Also, set goals for the number of items you want to avail for the bidding and how much you expect to earn from them.
2. Set Your Budget:
Go through the numbers to determine whether your event will be profitable.
Depending on what you receive as a donation and your existing assets, your primary cost upfront will most likely include expenses for food and beverages, sound system, clipboards and pens, hall rent, decorations, catalogue printing, and the host/auctioneer’s fee. Ask one of your members if they can provide a vehicle to ferry the auction items. If not, you’ll have to rent one.
For profit-making, you’ll have to plan on selling ad space on websites or in catalogues, selling signature drinks, seeking business sponsorships, charging admission, holding balloon pops or raffles, and obviously, generating profit from the items that have been auctioned off.
3. Determine a Date and Location For The Live Auction:
Several nonprofit organisations tend to organise auctions during the fall. It attracts people who have started buying holiday gifts but aren’t in a state of shopping exhaustion yet.
The ideal time to schedule the auction would be a weekend evening so that the guests would have some time to spare and stay late. However, if you need to choose a weekday for some reason, pick the time of 5:30 p.m. and make dinner arrangements for everyone.
If you’ve considered a location beforehand, say, your board member’s large backyard or your school’s auditorium, that’s great. If not, you should consider it your priority and make sure you obtain a venue for the auction date.
Once you decide on the venue and the date, publish save-the-date notifications on your website. When choosing the location, make sure it’s large, spacious, well-ventilated, and well-lit.
4. Decide Who Will Be The Auctioneer:
Another excellent auction tip would be choosing an auctioneer from among the members of the organisation. Hiring a professional auctioneer who comes with staff can cost you thousands of dollars for a single event.
There’s no doubt about their proficiency and expertise to earn back that money, but if there’s someone in your organisation who is confident and well-acquainted with this job, you can save a lot of money.
Closing Thoughts:
Get the most out of these comprehensive auction tips to make your upcoming live auction event successful. Make sure you follow this advice, draw up a plan, and seek donations for goods and items of high value to generate a high profit on every bid.
