Our webinar, Let the Bidding Struggle Start: Public sale Methods and Merchandise Concepts to Excite Your Donors, was full of knowledge on public sale objects and merchandise methods for nonprofits, and our viewers got here PREPARED with a number of nice questions. We wish to share a number of the Q&A under.
You may also watch the webinar recording. Should you’re trying to get began with GiveSmart on your auctions and different occasion wants, please request a demo.
What are your ideas on consignment objects for an public sale?
There are lots of organizations who discover success with consignment objects. In case your group takes this route, it would be best to have just a few guardrails in place to greatest help your success.
In terms of together with consignment objects in your public sale, be sure you over-communicate with the consignment firm. Make sure you solely need to buy objects that really promote at your occasion, and if bidding on any merchandise doesn’t meet the specified quantity, then no transaction will happen with the corporate for that merchandise. These negotiations guarantee you’ll make at the very least some revenue off of each merchandise offered in your public sale.
Together with consignment objects in your public sale means your group received’t make the complete revenue on the objects, however you possibly can nonetheless play your playing cards proper and make a whole lot to 1000’s of {dollars} on objects that may yield a excessive promoting value. You might begin your first bid quantity on the honest market worth or the worth quantity the consignment firm requires as fee, so any bids over that quantity go immediately again to your group.
Additionally, you will wish to talk which objects are consignment objects together with your donors. Some donors need all of their cash to go to your mission, so speaking that the revenue on an merchandise shall be break up is essential to creating your donors completely satisfied from the beginning.
If consignment objects aren’t on your nonprofit, check out 30 Silent Public sale Gadgets That Don’t Price a Dime for public sale merchandise concepts to fill out your choices. And brush up on how you can make the ask for public sale objects, too.
Do you suggest utilizing at the very least considered one of every of the merchandise classes in an occasion, or is that too many?
The high 4 merchandise classes in auctions throughout the U.S. embrace signed memorabilia; journey, holidays, and experiences; meals; and alcohol and wine. Relying in your capability to collect objects on your public sale, it could be in your greatest curiosity to incorporate at the very least one to 2 objects from every of those classes in your public sale as reside or silent public sale objects, as they common the best variety of bids and the very best return on honest market worth (FMV).
As well as, think about using every kind of merchandise class obtainable on the GiveSmart platform in your occasion. We surveyed a number of top-performing occasion campaigns that every raised over $500,000, and every of them had one factor in frequent: they ALL used each kind of merchandise ultimately.
These merchandise sorts embrace:
- Dwell Public sale
- Silent Public sale
- Prompt
- Raffle
- Vote
- Donate/Want Record
Providing several types of high-performing public sale objects in addition to a number of methods for donors to take part and contribute will assist improve your general occasion income. But in addition contemplate your group’s capability to prepare and handle all of those merchandise sorts and classes. If it’s essential scale it again, contemplate which choices would possibly generate essentially the most curiosity in your donor base.
Do you’ve got steering on what number of silent public sale objects to have for the variety of individuals anticipated in particular person at an occasion? What about an occasion with in-person and online-only public sale individuals? And do you suggest a restricted variety of reside public sale objects?
Your group’s greatest practices will range based mostly on viewers choice, typical spending habits, public sale package deal honest market values, and extra. A basic rule to begin with is one public sale package deal for each two to 3 attendees, providing not more than 100 packages. Extra packages don’t all the time equate to more cash raised. Your packages could possibly be made up of a number of objects (espresso lovers’ basket, date night time basket, and many others.) or a standalone merchandise (journey, jewellery, and many others.).
If internet hosting a hybrid occasion/public sale, which many organizations are doing as a greatest observe, contemplate how many individuals shall be within the room, what different actions you’ve got happening, and the extra paid/supporting alternatives for in-person friends (a wine pull, heads or tails, different recreation alternatives). Work out what the common attendee has spent at previous occasions. All of that info helps you select what number of objects you are feeling will allow you to maximize the fundraising on your mission.
For reside public sale objects, contemplate limiting this to not more than 10. Dwell objects ought to POP and be unique choices that folks actually can’t simply get wherever else (well-known personal chef expertise, skybox, experience alongside, set tour, inventory the bar with wine membership wine, and many others.). Contemplate previewing these objects, and ensure your donor improvement employees shares your reside public sale with their main donor checklist. It’s best to ALWAYS supply a proxy bidder for main donors who can’t make it to your occasion.
Have you ever seen success with silent auctions being open previous to occasion begin for on-line bidding?
Sure, we have now! Utilizing GiveSmart, clients can set their objects open to bids at any time. Any kind of merchandise in your occasion can go reside everytime you need, and you’ll even set your objects for “Preview” to extend your donors’ anticipation to bid.
You might promote tickets for early on-line participation, embrace it as an add-on ticket possibility on your in-person public sale attendees, or enable anybody to register and take part early at no cost.
Early public sale participation not solely extends your occasion’s working time, it permits for extra donors to take part from wherever, and for donors to get their info within the system earlier than the occasion begins so the check-in and checkout processes are infinitely simpler!
Pre-auction participation of any form, whether or not it’s early bidding, raffle ticket gross sales, on the spot objects like merch, or tickets for a wine pull, will improve your occasion’s income. . . earlier than your occasion begins.
Click on right here for extra info on GiveSmart’s public sale and cellular bidding options.
What are your ideas on NOT displaying silent public sale objects at your occasion?
It’s as much as you and your donor preferences! If you wish to save the table-top house at your occasion and make the checkout and merchandise assortment course of simpler and sooner, contemplate retaining your silent public sale objects on-line solely. You will get artistic and enjoyable with merchandise photographs and movies, of which you’ll be able to add a vast quantity in your merchandise pages. This encourages your donors to take part on-line together with your in-person and digital occasion individuals.
When you’ve got some objects that want eyeballs on them to promote, you possibly can contemplate displaying just a few objects to tease your donors and hold the remaining on-line.
No matter you resolve to do is as much as your occasion house, your employees and volunteer capability, and your donors’ preferences. However, as all the time, don’t be afraid to get artistic and have FUN!
Do you’ve got any information on the success of themed occasions that align together with your mission, comparable to a pet-themed public sale?
We’ve seen organizations host themed occasions with nice success, usually tied to their mission! Listed here are only a few concepts to spark your creativeness. If you’re on the lookout for extra, try a lot of our Fundraising Guides for concepts.
Army and Veteran Organizations
- Veteran made paintings
- Americana
- Army-themed sports activities attire
- Prime parking spot for households
- Principal for a day
- Out of uniform passes
- Pet photoshoot
- Customized pet calendar
Are you able to clarify the brand new banner label of “Alternative” on raffle objects?
There are lots of variations of raffle-type experiences which you could present your donors. Having the flexibleness to personalize this merchandise label within the GiveSmart system permits for a greater person expertise, because it eliminates any merchandise confusion because of naming limitations. If you’re calling your raffle an “Alternative” or “Recreation of Probability,” the banner customization characteristic permits the platform to reflect this. And, it modifies not solely the merchandise banner but in addition the verbiage in textual content message templates, visitor receipts, and when viewing them on the My Data web page.
Please reference your raffle guidelines and rules by state to find out what your alternative naming conventions may be.
Any recommendation for making your fundraising occasion extra enjoyable or completely different? I don’t need donors to get an invite and assume, “Oh no, one other boring fundraising occasion.”
Video games and experiences are assured to spice up the enjoyable at your occasion! Contemplate including Heads or Tails, video games for attendees to take part in, photograph cubicles, or another experiences that would add to the thrill of the day (or night time).
Including a themed part, comparable to a coordinated pop of shade or everybody carrying formal apparel with loopy sneakers. Dialog items make networking simpler and get the conversations began!
Consider engagement alternatives that would hook up with your mission as effectively. Should you fundraise for kids, contemplate a tree the place the youngsters make ornaments with needs, and donors can stroll across the tree and skim them. Or, in case you are a corporation that helps the setting, contemplate out of doors alternatives like planting a tree or a pollinator backyard throughout your occasion.
How do you management who paid to play Heads or Tails throughout a reside occasion?
When somebody purchases a ticket to take part in an in-person recreation like Heads or Tails throughout your occasion, present them with a visible marker as an entry prize, like Mardi Gras beads or a flashing ring. Earlier than you begin the sport, ask all individuals to carry up their visible entry prize. You get to make sure everybody taking part has already paid to play, and the enjoyable continues!
Are you able to clarify what a present card wall is?
A present card wall may be made in considered one of two methods.
It may be a “seize and go” show of present playing cards and certificates at your occasion! You may show them by kind or by quantity. You may pin up the precise present card, or you possibly can create placeholder playing cards they’ll seize and change for the true present card on the finish of the occasion throughout checkout.
It may also be a show of uniform envelopes and other people purchase an opportunity to tug an envelope. Some envelopes are empty, others have nominal present playing cards, and a choose few have a bigger present card as a prize.
The present card wall is a enjoyable, visible technique to show your present playing cards (that additionally saves beneficial real-estate in your tables!). Contemplate asking your committee to select up just a few of the smaller present playing cards or use their bank card factors to accumulate them. Should you’re involved about securing the provides to create your present card wall, contemplate securing a sponsor and together with an indication with their brand on the wall.
How do you make registration and ticketing seamless for donors attending in-person for an occasion and on-line just for bidding within the public sale?
Step One: Manage your ticketing choices.
What varieties of experiences are you providing? What ticket ranges do it’s essential embrace? What number of tickets of every kind will you promote? Do you’ve got an early chicken value? Do you’ve got any add-on choices?
When contemplating in-person and off-site attendance for an occasion, guarantee you’ve got a full understanding of the ticket ranges and experiences you may be providing. For instance, an in-person attendance ticket would possibly embrace dinner and drinks. Contemplate providing one thing just like compensate for that have to off-site attendees.
Step Two: Promote your tickets on-line by way of the GiveSmart platform.
You may create a number of ticket sorts and customized order varieties on GiveSmart, and people tickets may be tracked per person. In every of your tickets, you should definitely embrace any particulars on what’s included in that ticket degree. And, be sure you ask any questions on dinner, to-go cocktail kits, t-shirts, golf handicaps, and extra.
Step Three: Ship a day-of textual content message to allow self-check-in and self-checkout for all attendees.
This ensures your attendees are registered and their fee info is within the system earlier than your occasion begins, so their participation in-person and on-line can go with out a hitch!
For raffles, do you’ve got any recommendation on capping the variety of raffle tickets obtainable or providing a vast quantity?
There are MANY several types of raffles to think about on your occasions, so the variety of tickets you supply for a raffle can rely upon the kind of raffle(s) you resolve to have.
For instance, in case you host a reverse raffle or a golden ticket raffle, you would possibly contemplate limiting the variety of raffle tickets offered.
- In a reverse raffle, the grand prize goes to the particular person whose ticket is drawn final. To make it much more enjoyable, you possibly can let your individuals decide the numbers on their tickets. Restrict the ticket numbers to #1 – #100. Watch as numbers get referred to as and donors get excited to search out out which quantity is the final quantity standing!
- In a golden ticket raffle, you promote a restricted variety of tickets at a excessive value, for instance, 100 tickets at $250 every. The winner of the golden ticket raffle is allowed to decide on an merchandise out of your reside public sale merchandise lineup BEFORE the public sale begins. Organizations which have accomplished this promote out the raffle, which is $25,000 in income earlier than your public sale begins!
Should you resolve to host a raffle that includes a recreation of probability, comparable to a Plinko board, a hoop toss, or a balloon pop, you would possibly contemplate a vast quantity of raffle tickets so individuals can buy as many possibilities as they need.
The raffle prospects are limitless, so it’s as much as you to resolve what your group wish to do, what you’ve got the capability for, and what matches together with your mission. Get artistic and have enjoyable!