How To Organize The Perfect Fundraising Gala

22/11/202122/11/2021

Organising a perfect event is essential, but it requires significant time, effort and expense. And no matter the cause, it’s vital to create fundraising ideas that would not only generate profits but would also last for years to come.

Hosting a gala is one of the most popular events organised by charity fundraisers because it easily fits into all types of organisations, both big and small. It is a great opportunity to recognise your organisation’s success and to connect with your donors on a personal level.

When you organise a gala gathering, it can either be a formal and regal event or a casual social gathering with a small or large guest list. However, even with the resources online, devising the program flow can be challenging, especially if you are incorporating several activities. With that, it’s always crucial to engage with the best fundraisers to oversee the planning process.

Why Create a Fundraising Campaign

Two of the valuable reasons why organisations put so much effort in creating an event is to raise money and raise awareness. To do this, activities, such as dinners, auctions or tournaments, are planned carefully.

There are so many types of fundraising campaign initiatives that you can do to achieve your goals. Events like peer-to-peer fundraising, crowdfunding, online fundraising, text-to-give campaign and social media campaign are some of the creative ways to showcase your organisation’s brand.

1. Find New Potential Donors

Successful fundraisers know how to target the right audience to increase the organisation’s effectiveness. As an organiser, you have to know who your donors are so when you reach out to new supporters, your strategies will lead to a positive outcome. The more you know about your existing donors in the community, the more you will be able to come up with creative and strategic fundraising event ideas for your campaign.

2. Ensures Consistent Funds To Support Activities

Firstly, funds are the reason why you are able to run operations. Having a regular flow of funds sustains your organisation’s mission, vision and goals. If you can’t raise money, ultimately, the organisation will cease to operate. The good thing is that ideas for fundraising are truly limitless. Understanding your goals will provide you with numerous activities to include in your event.

3. Maintains Support From Existing Donors

Taking good care of your existing donors is just as essential as getting new ones. Supporters are the lifeblood of any charity or non-profit fundraising affair. Therefore, knowing what motivates them to give is vital to your lasting relationship.

To really create an impact on your supporters, your organisation must show good stewardship to the donor money. One of the reasons why donors give to your fundraiser event is their personal connection to your cause. When they can see the impact of their generosity, they will trust your organisation and will continue to give more.

How to Organise a Fundraising Gala

1. Devise a Program That Meets Your Fundraising Gala Goals

Your goals are important to ensure that you are heading in the right direction and to assess your event’s success. Whatever your goals are, they should be an essential part of the planning process.

2. Decide on Your Gala Theme

Deciding on a theme will bring fresh experience to your supporters. From the food, venue and decorations, you can spark more personality, enjoyment and excitement. Moreover, with your theme, you can narrow down your options, making it easy for you to go through the planning process.

If you are not sure what theme to use, get creative with some of the popular themes like Masquerade, Black Tie Event, Wild West, Tropical or even Hollywood theme.

3. Create a Realistic Budget

As with any other fundraising event, budget is crucial if you want a return on investment. A definitive budget must include actual costs of expenses, as well as the projected income.

Even a small gala requires a budget that would completely cover the expenses. It also means that while it is important to stay within the budget, it should not compromise the quality of the event. If your budget is limited, look for creative ways to make your gala event stand out. The best events are often a result of meticulous planning and innovative schemes which strikes the right balance between increasing donors and keeping the costs down.

4. Incorporate Creative Ways to Encourage Donations

In today’s technology, people have more access to donate a portion of their money to any cause. And as an organiser, you must adapt to this change because registrations and admissions are not just enough to earn profits. So, be ready to incorporate any method that would generate more contributions. Encourage donations through text-to-give, donation kiosks or social media links.

5. Include Several Fundraising Ideas

Engaging with your supporters is one of the key successes when organising a gala event. Therefore, you have to incorporate the main event that would draw people to your cause.

One of the great ways to highlight your gala is to include auctions because your guests can bid on their favourite items. Hosting an auction as part of your gala requires a professional team to procure items.

Helping Hand Auction Services

Although there are many ways to organise a gala fundraising event, the key to success is to always engage with a reliable fundraising event team.

Not sure what items to include in your gala auction? Let us help you. Helping Hand is a leading auction service that has already built a strong reputation throughout Australasia.

At Helping Hand, we provide auction ideas for fundraisers, credible auction items and services to take your event to the next level. More importantly, we have the right people with high expertise to run your event.

Why hire Helping Hand? Because our team can bring success to your organisation. This is our profession and with years of experience, we can provide you with the most comprehensive auction event service there is.

So, if you are looking for fundraising ideas in Australia for a large crowd or easy fundraisers for small groups, call us and we will discuss better options with you.

Silent Auctions: How to Increase Your Bids and Host an Unforgettable Event

22/11/202122/11/2021

Silent auctions are among the most effective fundraising ideas that charitable institutions and other groups use to collect funds. However, the outcome of this helping hand activity heavily depends on the way it is organised. So, when planning to conduct a silent auction, make sure to have careful planning and comprehensive preparation. Aside from that, it is also best that you have a solid understanding of the following.

What Is a Silent Auction?

A silent auction is a type of auction conducted by allowing the bidders to submit their offers privately. This helping hand activity does not involve an auctioneer, and the buyers are allowed to make direct bids. Due to this setup, all the bidders don’t know each other. Also, the secrecy practised on the submission of the offers increases the chances of getting the higher price for the items offered.

How to Conduct a Silent Auction

Conducting a silent auction can be overwhelming, so consider the following steps when preparing for one.

Step 1: Set up an auction committee

Setting an auction committee is the first thing you should accomplish when planning to conduct a silent auction. By doing this, you will be able to create a team that will handle the essential aspects of this helping hand activity. This includes managing the tasks like venue setup, securing of items that will be auctioned, ticketing and marketing.

Step 2: Select the best venue

Selecting a good venue is an essential aspect of preparing for a silent auction. Doing this right will most likely boost the event’s chances of getting favourable results. When doing the selection, make sure to take into consideration a few crucial factors like the expected number of attendees, the availability of amenities that will be needed during the auction and more.

Step 3: Secure the items to sell

Secure all the items that you intend to sell at your event earlier. This will allow you to determine the quantity of goods that will be sold. Also, knowing the number of items that will be sold can help you develop a more effective strategy to sell them during the event.

In case there are a lot of items to sell, make sure to group these into packages. This ensures that the number of items that will be sold is not more than the number of bidders. The technique is also helpful in boosting the level of competition among bidders. Thus, your event will most likely earn higher bids.

Step 4: Pricing of items for auction

Have all the items up for auction properly priced. For best results, try to create a bid sheet for every item that will be auctioned. Make sure that the sheet includes the name and a brief description of the item, and the name of its donor. Don’t forget to include a few lines that the bidders could use to write their bids.

Step 5: Set up the registration process

Set up your helping hand event’s registration prior to its actual schedule. To do this, you can allow the attendees to register using some of the silent auction software, such as Silent Auction Pro, ClickBid, Xcira and more. You can also allow them to register a payment card to make the bidding process simpler.

Step 6: Set up the venue

Make sure to proceed to your helping hand event’s chosen venue earlier. The technique will allow you to check on the setup and implement the needed last-minute changes when needed. Also, coming in earlier gives you more time to fix some issues on the venue that might hinder the event’s success.

Step 7: Close the silent auction

Closing your silent auction well will help you establish a good reputation in the industry. Typically, you can spontaneously close the event. Doing so can encourage the bidders to keep on bidding for the items since they will not know when the auction will be closed.

Aside from that, you can also set a pre-planned end time to close your helping hand silent auction. To encourage the bidders to make more last-minute bids, make use of a countdown timer.

Why Conduct a Silent Auction

A silent auction is a must-have helping hand or charitable event for groups that want to raise funds. Many of them consider this as their preferred auction type because of the following.

- - A silent auction allows the selling of more items.
  - A silent auction can increase the retention rate of a donor.
  - A silent auction makes some of the attendees become organisation supporters.
  - A silent auction helps in extending the organisation’s donor base.
  - A silent auction is proven to boost the event’s revenue.
  - A silent auction is a great way to entertain guests.

How to Increase Your Bids?

A silent auction is a good way to raise money. However, the revenue obtained from doing the event depends on the bids that the bidders are offering in exchange for getting the items offered for sale. That’s why you need to learn how to increase the bids during the auction by doing extensive research on how it’s done. You can also consider the following tips.

1. Identify the items that will excite the donor

Given that a silent auction derives its revenues from the proceeds of the items sold to the attendees, you should ensure that these would excite them. To accomplish this, study and know your audience. Look for ways to identify the items that appeal to them. By doing this, they will most likely place higher bids on every item that will be offered during the auction.

2. Make use of mobile bidding

The use of mobile bidding apps available out there is an effective way to increase your silent auction’s bids. These apps allow you to put the bidding on the hand of every donor. In addition, this makes participating in the auction more convenient for you and the donors.

3. Seek help from experts

Seeking help from experts has always been the most effective way to increase your auction’s bids and make the event successful. Many fundraisers consider this technique their most preferred option. This is because hiring reputable service providers, such as Helping Hand, allows you to sit back and relax. Once hired, they will handle all the procedures needed to make your silent auction a success.

Helping Hand Auction Services

For years, Helping Hand has helped hundreds of clients get the best out of their fund-raising activities. Our years of experience in handling this kind of event make us highly successful every time.

We provide our services at no cost to our clients! We offer auction items on a consignment-type basis, and we cover the costs through the sale of the auction items that we provide. We set up the items at your event, manage the auctions, as well as the payments, removal and shipping. That’s how we help. For more details, contact us today.

Tips to Host a Successful Online Auction

22/11/202122/11/2021

A growing number of nonprofit organisations are now adding online auctions to their fundraising strategies because of how effective they are at reaching their target audience. Now that everyone is adjusting to the new normal, looking for alternative ways to raise funds is necessary.

Typically, fundraising campaigns and initiatives provide nonprofit organisations with great help in raising money for their programs. But with so many aspects to consider, doing an in-person event can sometimes feel overwhelming. So, where do you start in hosting an online auction?

How do you organise an online auction?

#1 – Create a team

Handling everything by yourself is a considerable challenge. That’s why it’s best to create a team to help you with virtual auction execution. Having people to back you up can help you manage everything and designate particular tasks that you need to get done immediately.

#2 – Set realistic goals

Next, you need to determine your goals to help you stay focused throughout the project. You can start by establishing your budget, including the system or tools that you need. It’s also best to include the particular revenues you need to achieve and the engagement level so that you can plan the event effectively. A few of the goals you need to complete are getting new sponsors, promotions, stewarding your current sponsors and engagement.

#3 – Review your software

You wouldn’t want to have something go amiss during the live event. So, it’s best to check your system to get yourself familiarised with it. When looking for a software application for your event, it’s highly advisable to invest in a software application that you know will help you execute your plans. You might also want to take your time reviewing your toolkit to fill any of your knowledge gaps.

#4 – Create an item wish list

Any auction can only be as triumphant as the quality of your auction items. While there’s no surefire way of getting the best auction items your guests will want, it’s always helpful if you know where to start. One way to do it is by looking at your past auction event’s performance. Check your previous events and see what you did well and what you could have done better. Also, don’t be afraid to get creative when it comes to your auction items. They need to be interesting enough to draw attention to the event and encourage a bit of competition with everyone.

#5 – Create effective marketing strategies

You need to formulate effective marketing strategies for your plan to succeed. A few promotional techniques that you can consider include invitations, early registration promos and a couple of advertisements that can help you generate excitement from the crowd. Given that you’ll be holding online auctions, you should create compelling digital promos that encourage competition among the audience.

#6 – Create your online auction website

Once you’ve established your marketing strategies, it’s now time to set up your website for the fundraising campaign. You need to ensure that you can customise each page based on your event and the project’s mission. You can also put your donation appeal, auction catalogue and fixed-priced items, such as raffles and merchandise.

#7 – Plan the entire program

It’s best to create a virtual program that’ll complement the auction to capture your target market’s attention. The same with how you’d plan for a typical in-person party, you need to start planning a program that’ll give it the same vibes. You can begin with an introduction from your speakers, followed by an inspiration video. Then, start the live auctions for the first two items before having a break. You can then resume with the auction and end it with a special musical guest.

How do online auctions work in Australia?

Registration Process

When attending online auctions, you need to register first before you become a part of the event. That’s because online registration makes it easier for the organisers to track the items you’re bidding or selling. It also allows them to keep up with the bids and determine who’s winning. Additionally, online registration is an excellent way to build a database that contains both the bidder’s and the seller’s feedback.

When registering for an online auction in Australia, it’s highly advisable to set up a different online email account to your primary account to help you track the auction’s progress. Even more, setting up a separate email prevents you from getting spam messages into your primary account.

Winning bids

Every bid for the auction closes precisely at the time that the organisers scheduled it. If you’re planning to put up a few sales of multiple lots, then those with the highest bids at the end of each auction need to buy the item at the agreed price. Meanwhile, if no one bids above the set price or even meets it, the organisers will close the auction without any winner.

Once the virtual bids end, the buyer and the seller will communicate via email to make the payment arrangements. They can also discuss the delivery and other queries there.

How do you run a successful auction?

Get quality auction items

If you want to get your participants excited, it’s best to get auction items that capture their interests. The more quality items you’ll get, the more successful your fundraising project will be.

Captivating imagery

Another factor that you need to consider is the images and marketing copies that you’ll use for the event. Your marketing strategy will play a massive role in your event’s success. So, ensure that the images and copies will captivate your target market’s attention.

Use social media

You can use social media algorithms to know which content is best for your audience. Every platform has its unique idiosyncrasy. So, you need to understand what type of media will work well on each social media platform that you’ll use.

There’s no such thing as a can’t-miss formula when it comes to online auction marketing techniques. That’s why you need to find the one that’ll suit your project best.

If you need assistance with your live online auctions in Australia, send us a message at Helping Hand. We’ll be more than happy to lend a hand.

Unique Fundraising Auction Items to Help Your Next Fundraising Event – Kobe Bryant, Coldplay, Green Day

21/02/202008/04/2021

Good auction items have the ability to stand out to people on an auction table through admiration of the previous owner. Memorabilia can come from sports stars, musicians, artists and other famous people. Good fundraising auction items are those that are unique, often signed, and professionally framed . They are for display to allow someone to express their appreciation for the celebrity. They are great ways to boost funds raised during silent and live auctions.

Good fundraising auction items available now for events:

Our team currently has a series of good auction items in stock from some big names in the news. These types of auction items can significantly boost funds raised at fundraising events.

Kobe Bryant – RIP 2020. Signed basketball impressively boxed framed with a custom designed matboard. One of the greatest basketballers of all time, Bryant collected 5 x NBA championships, an NBA MVP, and 2 x Olympic Gold Medals among countless other achievements during a 20 year professional career. A true champion who will surely be missed.

Green Day – Signed guitar framed on a custom designed matboard, featuring the signatures of Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tre Cool. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees and undoubtedly the biggest punk band of all time!

Coldplay – Signed guitar framed on a custom designed matboard, featuring Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland, Guy Berryman, and Will Chapman. One of the world’s biggest bands with more than 100 million worldwide album sales, and the recipients of countless major awards.

Contact a Helping Hand Group team member near you to find out more about these items. We also have countless other items available to suit the interests of your guests.

Fundraising Auctioneers: Unique Skills and Customised Approach to Auctioneering

12/01/202013/01/2020

Live Auctioneer for Fundraising Auctions Jason Kazanis helping with fundraising ideas.

Did you know that there exists a specific type of live auctioneer that specialises in fundraising auctions?

Fundraising auctioneers have a unique, tailored approach to hosting live auctions that can significantly improve guest participation, bidding, and overall fundraising results. Helping Hand Group has developed a network of fundraising auctioneers over more than two decades who assist our team at hundreds of fundraising events throughout Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and other countries in Asia. Our team has witnessed improvements in size and number of bids due to the specific skills that fundraising auctioneers bring to live auctions held at fundraising events.

Fundraising auctioneers are different than other auctioneers who focus on items such as cars, equipment, property, or livestock.

Fundraising auctioneers work with fundraisers on a regular basis and have developed the experience and skills required to effectively engage with different types of audiences that attend fundraising events. Fundraising auctioneers conduct their auctions in a different way because participants are bidding based on a different motive than, say, a standard property auction. During a property auction, participants bid based on their desire to own a particular piece of property at the best possible price up to their maximum bid. However, during fundraising auctions, participants not only bid based on their desire to own a particular item, but also to give generously to the benefitting charity. This is where fundraising auctioneers excel:

1. Fundraising auctioneers excel at tapping into the emotions of your guests to ensure that all guests are reminded of the purpose of the fundraising event – to give generously to your cause.

2. Fundraising auctioneers will connect with your audience with dialogue, gestures, and interactivity to get their attention, maintain it, and ensure they know how to participate.

3. Fundraising auctioneers will find ways to encourage higher bids while running a fun auction with effective dialogue to encourage guests to start friendly bidding rivalries and push bids as high as possible for your cause.

4. Fundraising auctioneers make the auction items “come to life” by leveraging descriptive selling and promoting the benefits and usability of the auction item itself.

5. Fundraising auctioneers can work within tight timelines to ensure that your event schedule stays on-time.

Live auctioneers for fundraisers are flexible and can auction almost anything that you have to offer.

Fundraising auctioneers have the ability to present and auction off a wide range of auction items. Helping Hand Group has a variety of autographed memorabilia, themed items, unique experiences, and holiday packages that work well with our fundraising auctioneers. However, if you have acquired your own items – regardless of the value – our fundraising auctioneers have the skills to adapt and connect the value and theme of the item to your guests to ensure as many people are inspired to participate and bid as generously as possible.

Live fundraising auctioneers can be provided at no cost to your event budget.

Helping Hand Group can provide one of our live fundraising auctioneers at no cost to your event budget when our team also supplies five auction items to your auction list. Our team can also work with you to ensure that the type, theme, and value of the auction items are well suited for your guests to ensure the greatest opportunity for success possible. Our team covers our service costs when our auction items sell at your event. So, it is up to us to ensure that our team strives for the best possible results at your live auction!

Helping Hand Group maintains a network of fundraising auctioneers that can be made available to perform their services for your live fundraising auction.

Contact our team to discuss the many options available to suit your next fundraising gala or corporate dinner auction.

99 Cricket Bats Signed by Sir Donald Bradman to Return to Australia

17/12/201908/04/2021

For two decades, 99 cricket bats signed by Sir Donald Bradman sat carefully wrapped up in a cage in a Texas storage unit, forgotten by everyone but the man who bought them. The 99 signed bats are now being returned to Australia. They will be given to charities and community sports groups who can use them to raise money.

Helping Hand Group will sell the bats to charity groups for a margin, and the charities can sell them at action for fundraising. “It was perfect, I thought we should bring them back to Australia where they belong,” Mr Oliver Slobodetsky, Co-Founder of Helping Hand Group said.

“A lot of people don’t know this but Bradman signed anything and everything he could to almost devalue his signature, he believed everyone should have the opportunity to have signed memorabilia of his, so there are a lot of miniature bats, caps and that sort of thing around.

“But being in the industry for a while, I know that these bats will be valuable back in Australia because they’re full sized and Bradman signed the bats on the wood, whereas most bats being sold online have Bradman’s signature on a piece of paper mounted onto the bats.

Klassnik wouldn’t reveal how much he initially paid for the 99 bats, but conceded it “was a lot”.

The Helping Hand Group has donated one of the Bradman bats to The Sunday Telegraph and a special charity campaign to raise money will be announced next week.

For more details contact Helping Hand Group Co-Founder Richard Ernster.

What are some of the best auction items for fundraisers?

16/10/201919/12/2022

Spice up your auction items with unique holidays to remarkable destinations.

Adding one or multiple big holiday packages as auction items to your fundraising auction is a great way to maximise the funds you raise at your fundraising event. Holiday packages inspire your guests to reach out beyond their comfort zone by appealing to their desires to get away, relax and explore the world. They are generally higher in value and draw higher than average bids. Since holiday packages can accommodate 2-10+ people (depending on the package), guests have been known to band together and bid as a group. In other cases, one guest could have other friends or family in mind when he or she gets into the bidding. This can significantly drive up the value of bids your auction items receive and ultimately the total amount you raise.

Do you have a small budget (or no budget at all) for fundraising auction items?

No problem! We understand that putting on a fundraising event is taxing on an organisation’s budget. Helping Hand Group offers holiday fundraising items at no cost to your event budget. The packages are only paid for when sold. So, any type of fundraising event can showcase one or multiple holiday package items. This allows you to take advantage of the bids they can obtain without the stress of the items hitting your budget.

How can you WOW your guests and get them engaged with your silent auction items?

Off-the-beaten-track style holiday adventure packages are a great way to bring a buzz to your auction. They are similar to that one-of-a-kind piece of art or autographed sports jersey from a famous sports player.

Here are Helping Hand Group’s Top 3 holiday packages that will turn heads at your next fundraising auction:

#1 – Ancient Adventure in Jordan for 2

Your auction winner will visit the magical ancient city of Petra, one of the Middle East’s most spectacular, unmissable sights. For four days and three nights, they will enjoy the hospitality of a modern Bedouin family and experience true Jordanian culture with a home cooked meal. The adventure will start with a trip to Al Madras to see the upper and lower halves of a single monument. Then, they will see Obelisk Tomb and Bab as-Siq Triclinium and the Roman Theatre from above. Then, they will continue to the High Place of Sacrifice and pass the Roman Soldier Tomb via Wadi Farasa to Qasr Al Bint.

The third day will have them trek on a five hour hike to Petra and the Treasury, Amphitheatre, and Monastery El Deir. They will trek along the lesser known back trail across mountain ridges to the Baida region enjoying breathtaking scenery and archaeological monuments that portray the layers of Jordan’s rich history, heritage, and religious relevance. A truly incredible and one-of-a-kind experience!

#2 – Whale Sharks in West Papua for 2

Your auction winners will enjoy a city tour on the first day and explore the town of Nabire. They will visit a traditional market and ‘tembok MAF’. This is a popular hangout place for the locals. On days two and three, they will head to Sowa where they will experience a breathtaking swimming excursion with whale sharks being fed at the bagangs (traditional fishing platforms). After swimming, they will enjoy a late fish barbeque served on a beautiful small island.

#3 – Behind the Veil of North Korea for 2

Your auction winners will spend five unforgettable days and four nights in Pyongyang commencing with a visit to the Arch of Triumph and the Mansudae Grand Monument. On day one, they will drive to Kaesong and visit Panmunjom, DMZ and the Karson Koryo Museum. After lunch, they will visit the Tomb of King Kongmin before transferring back to Pyongyang. Day three will have them visit to Mt Myohyang and the Pohyon Buddhist Temple. They will also see the International Friendship Exhibition Hall. Following lunch, they will visit the Ryongmun Caves before returning to Pyongyang. On day four they visit Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, Fountain Park and Juche Tower. After lunch, they will visit USS Pueblo followed by the Victorious Fatherland Liberation War Museum, the school children’s palace and the Kwangbok Supermarket.

This incredible package includes four nights accommodation as well as private English speaking local guide. It also includes private transportation, sightseeing, all meals (excluding drinks), DPRK visa fee, DMZ entry fee, flowers to lay at memorials and airport transfers. (US Passport holders cannot travel).

Questions or want to learn more about all of the holiday auction items we have to offer? Contact a team member today to discuss.

View more of our auction items currently available for fundraising events.

How to choose the best auction items for silent auctions

07/10/201907/10/2019

What are the best auction items for silent and live auctions?

Does the value or uniqueness of the item matter? Or perhaps the type of item?

Actually, both of these factors come into play in choosing the best auction items. Even more importantly, it is important to think about who you are inviting. What are they interested in? What do they gravitate to when they want to be entertained or relax? Everyone has a hobby, interest, or niche topic that you can appeal to with auction items tailored to them. The more you know about your guests, the better. Start with demographics (age, gender, etc) and consider their jobs or where they live. If you know them better than that – great! What are their hobbies and interests? What do they do when they are want to go on vacation? Both general and specific information about your guests can point you in the right direction and choose the best auction items for great results.

What if I don’t know much about my guests?

That’s ok! A team of fundraising event experts like Helping Hand Group’s can walk you through the best auction items that suit certain crowds. A fundraising event expert can use past event experience to guide you towards items that tend to get guests excited for the auctions. This can lead to more bids, higher bids, and more raise for your cause.

What are some examples of the best auction items?

Vacation packages are a great place to start. They appeal to a wide range of event guests. However, autographed memorabilia can get certain guests very excited to join your silent or live auction. The best auction items are unique, stand-out, and cannot be purchased in stores. They often come in the form of items and artwork signed by musicians, athletes and artists.

Some examples of three fundraising auction item categories that our team has available – art, sport, and music memorabilia:

Elton John – Signed original LP framed as part of a larger tribute piece. One of the world’s best-selling artists. Elton John has a long list of achievements including multiple Grammy and Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Tony Award and a back catalogue of hit singles from over 50 years in the music industry.

Charles Blackman – Framed ‘Alice on the Table’ print on artist paper. A Printer’s Proof from a Limited Edition, and featuring the embossed seal of the artist. A stunning piece from one of one of Australia’s greatest artists!

LeBron James – Signed and box framed LA Lakers jersey. With 3 NBA championships, 2 Olympic gold medals, and many other individual achievements to his name, LeBron James is recognised as the greatest basketballer in the world today. Stands shoulder to shoulder with the best basketballers in history and only time will tell if he can surpass them all.

Contact our team to discuss the many items we have available that would the best auction items for your next silent or live auction.

View more samples from our fundraising auction item list.

Australia’s BEST Charity Auctioneer, Jason Kazanis

12/09/201908/04/2021

Are you looking for ideas to boost your fundraising auction total?

An experienced, effective Fundraising Auctioneer can make a significant impact on your fundraising total and the experience your guests enjoy during your live fundraising auction.

Jason Kazanis is the Head Auctioneer for Helping Hand Group, and rated as Australia’s best Charity Auctioneer. Jason (or the other top Auctioneers from Helping Hand Group) can raise your event TENS of thousands more. This due to his precise fundraising skills. Helping Hand Group will provide Jason at NO-cost to your next event, so that not only will you raise far more, you will not have to pay $1,000+ for his incredible skillset!

Here are 5 key reasons why Helping Hand Group Auctioneers are the very best for fundraising auctions:

1. Helping Hand Group Auctioneers excel at tapping into the emotions of your guests to ensure that all guests are reminded of the purpose of the fundraising event – to give generously to your cause.

2. Helping Hand Group Auctioneers will connect with your audience with dialogue, gestures, and interactivity to get their attention and maintain it. They will also ensure they know how to participate in the fundraising auction.

3. Helping Hand Group Auctioneers will find ways to encourage higher bids while running a fun fundraising auction with effective dialogue to encourage guests to start friendly bidding rivalries. This competitive process leads to the sale of ‘Multiples’, which can double, triple or in some cases, quadruple, your donation amounts!

4. Helping Hand Group Auctioneers make the fundraising auction items “come to life”. They leverage descriptive selling and promote the benefits and usability of the fundraising auction items.

5. Helping Hand Group Auctioneers can work within tight timelines for the live auction to ensure that your event schedule stays on-time.

Want to have Jason, or another TOP Fundraising Auctioneer at your next event? Contact us today!

Read another story about Jason’s impact on a fundraising auction for Starlight Children’s Foundation here.

Planning a fundraising event? Here are 5 tips to help you make it a success

10/06/201910/06/2019

Planning an event can be very stressful and hectic. It is also be a fantastic way to raise a significant amount of money for your special cause. That being said, there is a long list of variables that need to come together in unison to create an effective fundraising event.

Our team has put together a shortlist of the top five fundraising event tips and best practices.

Fundraising Event Tip #1: Set your event budget

It is important to ensure that your ticket price will cover most of your event costs. This will ensure that the funds you raise will go directly to your cause. Set and secure sponsorships as early as possible as this also helps cover other expenses involved with putting together the event.

Fundraising Event Tip #2: Plan your run sheet

It’s important that the event flows in the most important way to maximise fundraising. Ensure guests are well fed, ‘watered’ and entertained before really emphasising why they have all come together for your event.

Use a heartfelt speech or video that tells the story of your cause in an emotional way to appeal to you guests. This should make sure everyone understands the impact of their donations Then, ensure you go straight into your Live Auction. This is the most crucial time to drum up funds.

Important note: Ensure that food service is not happening during the Live Auction. Guests should not be distracted by dessert or their food. You want their full attention on the auction items.

Fundraising Event Tip #3: Keep the activities fun and entertaining

Do something different. Create a spark! Wow your guests to encourage them to donate and spend money. Consider including competitive games such as heads and tails, balloon raffles, or Helping Hand Group’s Last Donors Standing Format as a way to engage with your guests.

Use your table centrepieces as a way to raise funds. It is most likely that you’ve spent money to make the room attractive. Use them as a lucky draw with raffle tickets with one winner at each table!

Try out a unique venue location indoors or outdoors that offers a special view, architecture or décor. Consider pairing your event up with a public event that is planned in close proximity to your venue.

Fundraising Event Tip #4: Be well organised ahead of time with proper help to reduce stress and workload

Consider bringing in a third party fundraising specialist (such as Helping Hand Group) to ensure your auction is stress free! They take care of everything such as bringing in big ticket items, providing the bidding platforms for you to facilitate your auctions, and providing a smooth, care-free auction process.

Don’t leave finding donations to the last minute. Plan ahead and reach out to your network and chase people up persistently to ensure they confirm all details so you can plan and promote your auction lists well in advance.

Start selling event tickets early. Planners have been known to often leave this detail to the last minute. Focusing on guest attendance should be a high priority as this is the hardest element of the event sometimes.

Note: If you will use an electronic silent auction platform, connect your ticketing system with your auction platform. This promotes registration before your event so your guests don’t have to spend time doing it at your event. Speak to a Helping Hand Group staff member today about how we can help you do this!

Fundraising Event Tip #5: Post-event Follow Ups and Thank Yous

Take the time to use the data you’ve collected from your event to thank people for their contributions. This could include your prize purchasers, your volunteers, people who donated items or people who donated their time helping you put the event together. It’s a small gesture that can go a long way when planning your next event.

Helping Hand Group can handle all your post-event auction tasks such as chasing outstanding winners for payment, handling item deliveries and ensuring guests get their vouchers and have a great time using their prizes!

Contact a Helping Hand Group Fundraising Event Expert near you for more information and tips for your next fundraising event.