Silent Auctions- is a great, low-cost way to increase the income and return-on-investment for a nonprofit fundraising event. The basic idea of a silent auction is receiving donated items from businesses, individuals or other groups or organizations of goods, services, gift certificates, experiences, tickets, memorabilia or anything saleable to your target audience. Your
organization displays the items and provides a minimum bid and usually a minimum raise on a paper bid sheet.
Live Auctions- means that the attendees are bidding for the items out in the open for all to hear and see. A live auction requires an auctioneer who verbally calls out the auction item, starts the bidding and manages the bidding process. Bidders raise their hand, or a bidding paddle, to signify they are bidding. Usually live auction items are highly priced items, or experiential items that are hard to get. For example: a round of golf for 4 people at an exclusive club where memberships are difficult to get; a private, curator-led museum tour at night when the museum is closed.
Paddle Raisers- is used during the live auction. It is a way to sell off a high priced item that you have multiple of. The auctioneer will start the bidding at a high price and work their way down until you have enough paddles in the area to cover the number of the item you have. For instance: if you have 4 rounds of golf at a very high-end golf club. The auctioneer will start the bidding and lower the price until 4 paddles are in the air.
Special Appeal- is an opportunity during the auction for the auctioneer to take a moment to bring the focus of the evening back on the organization. This part of the evening is what benefits the organization the most. The special appeal is a great way to involve every attendee at your event and turn them into donors. This part needs to be crafted in such a way that the attendees feel the pull of their heart and their wallets. It is best to have a large goal in mind- say like a scholarship fund where you want to raise $50,000. The auctioneer will start at $50,000 and work his way down and hopes to raise more than the goal you intended.
To learn more about auctions and how to create your own join us on May 24th for Fundraising Auction Made Simple workshop. Learn more here- http://kazproductions.wordpress.com/auction-workshop/
