Silent Auctions: A Guide to Clever Fundraising

Silent auctions are a great way to raise funds for your nonprofit. But how do you host one? What do you need to be prepared for? How can you make sure that it is successful? There are many different ways to host and run a silent auction, and some work better than others, depending on the situation.
This guide will help you find out what you need to know before, during and after your fundraising event, so that it is a success.

What Are Silent Auctions?

A silent auction is a type of fundraising event in which people bid on items being sold by a charity or organisation. In contrast to live auctions, there are no auctioneers present during a silent auction and bidders submit their bids in secret. The person who bids the highest wins each item.

Silent auctions usually occur over a set time, sometimes just one night or over multiple days. At the end of this period, the highest bidder wins each item.

Why Are Silent Auctions Great for Fundraising?

Silent auctions are easy to run and can be run by volunteers, which means you’ll have more flexibility about when you hold them and how much time you dedicate to them. Plus, they’re fun and interactive!

A silent auction is also a great way to raise awareness of your charity. If you’re planning on doing a lot of fundraising activities in the months leading up to your event, having a silent auction as part of this will help make sure people know what it’s all about—and that they want it.

Lastly, silent auctions can help you raise a lot of money for your cause. It is better to hold a silent auction event during, for example, a dinner party. You won’t be having problems with attendees in this case.

How Do Silent Auctions Work?

The most common setup for a silent auction is to have a bidding sheet on display so that people can see what’s up for grabs. Bidders write their bids on the sheets and hand them in, usually at the end of an event. These sheets are then tallied and passed along to the highest bidder. That person wins the item and pays for it (plus shipping costs) right there.

If you want to go paperless with your silent auction bidding process, you can use electronic bidding software that lets users bid through their mobile devices. This way you don’t need volunteers to count up all those paper sheets.

How to Run a Silent Auction?

Silent auctions are an excellent way to raise money, but they can also be expensive if you aren’t careful.

1.     The first step to running a successful silent auction is to set up a budget. To avoid this problem, decide on the maximum amount that your group is willing and able to spend on the event before you start planning.
2.     Once you’ve settled on an amount of money for your silent auction’s budget, decide on the theme and venue that will work best for your group.
3.     If there are any items or services that could be donated by local businesses (such as catering), these should be secured early so that they don’t get away from you.
4.     Set up a website with all the details before advertising anything else—this will attract more potential buyers and make everything easier down the road.

Silent Auctions Are All About the Experience

Silent auction is about the experience and is just as important as the money raised. The fun of bidding on unusual items and experiencing the thrill of winning is what makes this type of fundraiser so successful. So, it’s important to put plenty of thought into creating an experience that will impress your guests.

Here are some ideas for creating a memorable event:

• • • • Make it interactive. One way to do this is by encouraging guests to bid with their phones or tablets instead of writing down their bids on paper. This makes it easier for other people in the room (or online) to see who has placed each bid and how much they have been outbid (or are outbidding). This also allows you or another organiser to tally up all bids at once instead of having someone sitting behind them writing these things down all night long!
  • • • Choose an unusual venue. Why not hold your silent auction at a restaurant? Or rent out space in an art gallery? The ‘wow factor’ will make your event stand out from other fundraisers that may be going on around town at the same time.

Choosing the Right Silent Auction Items

Several factors to consider when choosing the right silent auction items are:

• • • • Choose items that are unique and desirable. If you’re going through all this trouble, you want your bidding war winners to be happy with their purchase. Make sure the items can’t be purchased in stores (or at least, not easily) and that they’re something your customers would love owning.
  • • • Make sure they’re easy to transport and store. If it takes six people and two trucks just to get them from point A to point B, then it’s probably not worth having at your event. You want people bidding on these things because they want them, not because they can’t handle moving them around themselves.

• • • Think about how much time it takes for preparation and display. Some of our favourite examples include tables or chairs. However, if setting up those tables requires a whole day before the event starts or if you need someone else there with power tools every time one breaks down, then maybe table sales aren’t for you after all.

Helping Hand Group Auction Services: Lending You a Helping Hand

Silent auctions are a great way to raise money for your cause. They’re fun, they’re engaging and they can help you achieve your fundraising goals. However, if you want to make sure you don’t get caught out by any of the pitfalls mentioned above, then we recommend getting in touch with a professional auctioneer who will be able to give you advice on how best to run an event like this one.
At the Helping Hand Group, we help fundraising events with full event assistance and a long list of auction items. Our expert fundraising event staff can help you raise more money for your special cause. For more details about our services, contact us here.