Silent auctions are an effective way to raise funds due to the ability to manage everything completely online with apps like Bid Beacon. However, without a clear plan, the process of setting up and running a silent auction can become quite the challenge. With a silent auction template that guides you through the basics, your next silent auction is sure to go off without a hitch.
Whether you are planning for a charity gala, school fundraiser, or community-wide event, this step-by-step guide covers 7 essentials on how to run a silent auction.
1. Define Your Fundraising Goals
Having clear goals in mind will help to make sure everyone on your team is aligned and rowing in the same direction. To start, decide on a fundraising target that you would like to reach, and hopefully, exceed! What’s important is to keep your goal realistic so that you event has an actual chance at hitting the targeted amount.
Many times, we’ve seen silent auctions set unrealistic fundraising goals which can have negative consequences on your event as whole. Primarily, it can be deflating for auction guests who are keen on helping an organization reach their goal but it’s simply too far out of reach.
Some key considerations to make when deciding on your goal, include:
- Understanding the expenses required to run your event so that achieving your fundraising goal can help recoup these costs.
- Considering the demographics of your potential attendees to gauge what their interests and spending capacity may be.
- Relying on additional sources of fundraising like online raffles, event ticket sales, merchandise sales, or donations.
2. Set an Agenda
Anyone who has planned a fundraising event before knows that it is never too early to start planning. By following a silent auction template and creating an agenda, you and your team will be more effective in prioritizing each task leading up to the event. From building a team of organizers and sourcing silent auction items, to promoting the event and managing the post-auction process, everyone will know what needs to be done and when.
Again, no two auctions are ever the same so agendas will vary. Below is a sample that can be used as a starting point that you can then modify to meet your event’s objectives.
Timeframe | Key Tasks |
3-6 Months Out | Build a team, define auction format, set fundraising goals, and look for a venue if needed. |
2-4 Months Out | Begin item sourcing by soliciting for donations from community members, within your organization, or from local businesses. |
1-2 Months Out | Finalize your auction details, create physical bid sheets if needed or get set up on an online platform like Bid Beacon. Begin promoting your event. |
Week of Auction | Ramp up promotions to generate last-minute interest. If using an online platform, encourage guests to join the auction early and get set up before bidding starts. |
Post-Auction | Distribute items to winners, send out ‘Thank You’ messages to donors and participants, and evaluate auction results. |
3. Source and Organize Auction Items
No matter how much planning goes into an auction, without bid-enticing items, your silent auction will struggle to meet its goals! To avoid that, take the time to source items that will draw attention, spark bidding wars, and keep your participants engaged.
To nail item sourcing, you need to take a step back and really understand your audience’s demographics. Depending on aspects like the average age, gender, spending capacity, or even time of year will help dictate which types of items will make the most sense for your event.
Use this silent auction template for effective tips on acquiring the best possible items for your silent auction:
- Reach out to members of your organization, those within your community, or local businesses to inquire about donations.
- Consider your audience’s demographics and the overall size of the event. Are you anticipating 25, 50, or 100+ participants? This information will help determine both the quality and quantity of your items.
- Engage with item consignment services like Risk Free Item Shop to receive exclusive, bid-worthy items that have zero upfront cost. Low risk and high reward to help maximize your fundraising potential!
4. Select the Right Silent Auction Format
Arguably one of the most important decisions your organization will make is whether your silent auction is online or offline. Traditional silent auctions (offline) use physical bid sheets that require guests to be in-person to place and monitor their bids.
Compared to its online counterpart, this is where traditional silent auctions fall short. With an online silent auction platform like Bid Beacon, guests can engage with the auction from anywhere. Additionally, bidders can also receive instant notifications when being outbid, allowing for more competition and higher bid totals.
If your organization is concerned about making the switch to online fundraising, don’t be! In 2022, fundraising statistics suggest that 63% of donors prefer to give online! This means that supporters are becoming increasingly more comfortable with using online fundraising platforms.
5. Settle on Your Bidding Process
Regardless of your silent auction format, you will need to settle on the bidding process your guests will follow. This silent auction template will help you to determine your starting bids, bid increments, unique ways to contribute, and auto-bidding if using an online platform.
Learn more about each down below:
- Starting Bids: Pricing items too high or low will make it difficult to reach your fundraising goal. Consider the market value of each item and set the starting bid anywhere from 25-40% of that value. There’s no exact science here as each item is unique and will vary in popularity depending on your audience.
- Bid Increment: Like your starting bids, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. A best practice is to avoid $1 increments to reduce the risk of items selling below market value. For lower quality items, $5 to $10 increments can help keep bidding activity high while generating good revenue. Higher quality items will vary but consider anywhere from $25 and up to ensure these items sell for a fair price.
- Unique Ways to Contribute: In parallel with your silent auction, consider giving your guests more ways to support your cause. If your event is in-person, include a live auction to give attendees additional ways to bid. Also consider popular fundraising methods like donations and raffles to maximize your fundraising potential.
- Auto Bidding: If considering an online silent auction platform, look for one that has an auto bidding feature. This significantly streamlines the bidding process for your guests as they can allow the platform to bid for them. Organizations who have ran auctions on Bid Beacon have praised the auto-bid feature as an excellent way to raise additional revenue while simplifying the guest experience.
6. Promote Early and Often
A common mistake we often see is that organizations miss the mark when it comes to marketing and promoting their silent auction. We all know how much time and effort goes into setting up an event, so don’t let that hard work go to waste! If you aren’t sure where to start, this silent auction template lays out an effective way to increase awareness and registrations.
Every organization will be different but consider these popular ideas to market and promote your silent auction:
- Leverage social media, email marketing, and word of mouth to spread the word and attract sign-ups.
- Stay on top of communications so that you are getting in front of your target audience more than once. Sometimes, it can take a person multiple times to see your messaging before acting!
- In your messaging, highlight your organization, the cause your supporting, donors, sponsors, and promote any high-value items that will attract bidders.
7. Post-Auction Procedures
You did it! Your auction has ended, winners were declared, and payment was received, now what? First off, give you and your team and round of applause because it’s no small feat to run a successful auction.
With that said, there are best practices that organizations can consider making so future fundraising events are successful.
- “Thank You” Messages: Sending out personalized messages thanking all your donors, sponsors, and attendees is an easy way to show your gratitude while increasing the chances of receiving continued support for your other events.
- Share Fundraising Results: Consider pairing this with the “Thank You” messages or communicate it out separately. Sharing your accomplishments will help participants feel a sense of satisfaction that they contributed towards your success. Publishing your successes online is also a great way to encourage continued support towards future fundraising endeavors.
- Reflect and Refine: As much as we all want to think every event goes perfectly, that’s rarely the case. There’s always room for improvement, especially when it comes to hosting a silent auction. Take note of what worked and what didn’t so you can refine your silent auction template for future fundraisers.
Tried and True Silent Auction Template for Success
When planning to host successful silent auctions, having a defined silent auction template should be your priority. Whether you are a seasoned fundraising event organizer or brand new, this customizable template is indispensable.
And by leveraging an online silent auction platform like Bid Beacon, you can effortlessly maximize bidder engagement while simplifying the administrative workload. From setup and promotions, to facilitating a smooth auction closeout, you can do it all with the right platform.
